Greece and Rome: An Integrated History of the Ancient Mediterranean

by Robert Garland

18 hours 50 mins

Integrated approaches to teaching Greek and Roman history are a rarity in academia. Most scholars are historians of either Greek or Roman history and perform research solely in that specific field, an approach that author and award-winning Professor Robert Garland considers questionable.

In these 36 passionate lectures, he provides an impressive and rare opportunity to understand the two dominant cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world in relation to one another - a relationship that has virtually no parallel in world history. He shows you how these two very different cultures intersected, coincided, and at times, collided.

You'll discover the extraordinary culture that we call Greco-Roman: a unique fusion of civilizations that encompasses statecraft, mythology, language, philosophy, fine arts, architecture, science, and much else. Who were the Greeks and the Romans? How did they organize their societies? How did they interact?

In this unique integrated historical approach, you'll see how Greece and Rome's relationship resembled a marriage: two distinct personalities competing in some areas, sharing in others, and sometimes creating a new synthesis of the two civilizations. And you'll consider their more substantive cultural differences, including religion, their views of foreigners, and their ways of thinking.

You'll delight in the variety of sources - literature, archaeology, the visual arts, coinage, inscriptions - that Professor Garland draws upon to assemble a fascinating and complex picture of these two great civilizations. And you'll appreciate how he keeps Greece and Rome focused on how this material affects us today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Ancient History, Historical, Religion, Mythology

19 pages, Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Dr. Robert S.J. Garland is the Roy D. and Margaret B. Wooster Professor of the Classics at Colgate University. He earned his B.A. in Classics from Manchester University, his M.A. in Classics from McMaster University, and his Ph.D. in Ancient History from University College London.

A former Fulbright Scholar and recipient of the George Grote Ancient History Prize, Professor Garland has educated students and audiences at a variety of levels. In addition to teaching classics at Colgate University, he has taught English and Drama to secondary school students and lectured at universities throughout Britain as well as the British School of Archaeology in Athens.

Professor Garland is the author of numerous articles in both academic and popular journals and books capturing details of all aspects of ancient Greek and Roman life, including The Greek Way of Life: From Conception to Old Age; Introducing New Gods: The Politics of Athenian Religion; and Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks. His expertise has been featured in The History Channel's "Last Stand of the 300," and he has repeatedly served as a consultant for educational film companies.

Reviews

[Irena Pasvinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greece and Rome: Making Sense of the Tangle"

Over the years, I consumed quite a bunch of Robert Garland's books and courses: The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World, The Greek World: A Study of History and Culture, Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks, and How to Survive in Ancient Greece.

Greece and Rome: An Integrated History of the Ancient Mediterranean had been lingering in my TBR list since 2012, but in the recent years it acquired a status of the miracle fix that would bring a bit of order into the monstrous Greco-Roman entanglement in my head. And now, that I've finally gotten to it, it did not disappoint.

In these 36 half-hour lectures Robert Garland presents an engaging and intellectually stimulating analysis of Greek and Roman history. After a chronological overview of their historical development, interaction and conflicts, he explores many different aspects of the complex relationship between Greeks and Romans through looking at their material culture, art, literature, society norms, science, religion and many more.

Robert Garland is one of those brilliant professors who could make an analysis of a laundry list sound fascinating, so when he sets out to lecture on the integrated history of Greece and Rome, he delivers a thought-provoking course in the best traditions of the good old TTC (aka The Teaching Company, nowadays renamed and rethought almost beyond recognition).


Macedonia and the Aegean world c.200 B.C. (Image credit:Kryston, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.)

[Sotiris Makrygiannis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good lecture in form of 37 chapters. Romans as technocrats built an empire that allowed the Greeks to spread Philosophy and later the Jews to give monotheistic religion. These 3 groups have shaped our modern culture and current course of things. Roman empire was a multicultural world that included the immortal, curious Hellenic soul. Can we find today those 3 elements in the modern empire? Germans and the north as the technocrats, south as the cultural bright light and I think Islam is the new Jews in this context.

Now, if you think Brexit in the context of the Roman empire, one should understand the 2nd class citizenship Brits they will become. All the good things that came from Roman law toward Human rights and values, will be reduced to nothing or a bargain chip for trade negotiations.

Looks like that the only way to fight an empire and change it is from within. With culture, philosophy and probably some spiritual means.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enormously Insightful Look at the Intersection of Greece and Rome
While ancient Greek and Roman history and cultures are renowned throughout the world for their cultural, intellectual, military, political, and religious aspects, it is surprisingly rare to find studies that approach them in an integrated fashion, as Prof Garland says in the intro. There are many experts of one or the other, but rarely do scholars look at both equally, and not in exclusion but in their relations with each other over the centuries, not just at their respective peaks, but in ascendancy and decline, and the complex interplay of both sides and their conflicting attitudes to each other. Romans in particular had a love-hate relationship with the Greeks, revering their knowledge and religion and philosophy and literature, while at the same time distrusting their work ethic and motivations and honesty while at the same time incorporating them wholesale into their empire as slaves in every part of Roman society, some very highly-placed in power. It's a fascinating approach, and gave me so much better insight into the two cultures than the great courses just focusing on one or the other. Prof Garland himself is a skilled and engaging lecturer with a clear love of his subject matter and great depth of knowledge and insight, so a perfect presenter of these courses.

[Carol Apple · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasant overview of the roots of western civilization. Since the course consists of approximately 19 hours of lecture it is a good thing that Professor Garland has such a pleasant voice to listen to. I am using this course as part of my son's home school curriculum. I wanted him to at least have a thorough introduction to Greek and Roman history, something I got only in scraps and pieces in my own education. Now that I have finished this excellent course I am about 12 hours ahead of my student and am pleased with the result: all those scraps and pieces are now lined up nicely in a historical timeline with a a bit of juicy cultural context. This is the sort of course that shines light on everything else. My 17-year-old son says he is really enjoying it as well.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this.

I am admittingly a Greece/Rome/Sparta newbie when it comes to the history of these amazing cultures. This Great Course was the perfect start to a fun journey towards fixing my knowledge gap and does a fantastic job illustrating how much Greek/Roman influence is present today.

Subjects found within this include the Olympics, trade, naval endeavors, roads, politics, religion, philosophy, and so much more. Towards the beginning there is a huge emphasis on war, which makes sense as this was the way things were back in those times.

Greeks are described as feminine, in the sense that they favored the arts such as science, medicine, entertainment, teachers, and being depicted as 'those who yield.' Romans on the other hand are defined as masculine, military focused, strong, mighty rulers who conquered the Greeks.

A funny quote from the course, based off of a comedy in which a conquered Greek says, "Apart from sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, and roads.. what have the Romans ever done for us!?" Showing that despite the Romans ruling the Greeks, the merging of the two cultures (rather than the genocide alternative) reaped benefits on both ends. As such, the Romans gained a lot of leaps and bounds culturally from the Greco-Roman marriage over time with things such as art, theater, and so forth.

Again, I very much so enjoyed this and would highly recommend to someone who doesn't know a lot about Greece and Rome. Someone who is a history buff and has been exposed to a lot of this type of content might feel differently. I will give warning too, the Dr. Garland does have a bit of a speech disorder (lisp)... which didn't really bother me much and I didn't want to hold it against him.

[Emanuele Pezzani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I already listened to Robert Garland's "The Greek World" and "Living History" and in every lesson he showcases his knowledge, his enthusiasm, his intellectual honesty, his passion. This is probably a crowning achievement, a fully parallel history of Greek and Roman civilizations along their many complex interactions, from Pyrrhus to Justinian throughout philosophy, medicine, architecture, politics, entertainment. Yes, it does help if you already have a background: if you are a novice you'll probably have to listen to these lessons a few times (and also with an encyclopedia and a historical atlas) but you won't regret them either way, I just find him very engaging and inspiring!

[Jan Mc · Rating 4 out of 5]

An older course from 2008 that compares and contrasts the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome. Professor Garland speaks for about 30 minutes each in 36 lectures that cover the history, politics, art, religions, laws, and many other topics of the two cultures, how they overlapped, and how they ended. Garland lectures well and is obviously enthusiastic about the subject. The downloadable PDF is an outline of the lectures and was helpful.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and engaging history of two of the greatest civilizations which shaped our culture to the present day.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lecturer does an excellent job of showing how interconnected these ancient civilizations were. He knows his Classics and presents in an accessible style. Because in school we usually study first Greece, then Rome, we are apt to not realize that Greece overlapped with Rome and in a sense outlasted it in the form of the Byzantine Empire. I enjoyed this series very much.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great survey course. The professor is Robert Graves, author of The Greek Way of Death. I would highly recommend this series.

[Knut Sigurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gjevande og svært interessant førelesingsrekke.

[Graeme Newell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into Robert Garland’s ‘Greece and Rome’ thinking I already had the basics down. In my head, the history went something like this: Greece flourished, Greece collapsed, Rome swooped in, and that was that. Nice and neat, a tidy handoff like runners in a relay race. But Garland completely demolished that idea in the best way possible.

What became crystal clear is that Greece and Rome weren’t simply a baton pass. They were locked in a long, messy, fascinating symbiosis that lasted centuries. The revelation for me was that you cannot study Rome without Greece, and you cannot study Greece without Rome, because for nearly 500 years they were each other’s master and pupil.

This perspective alone made the book worth reading, but Garland doesn’t stop there. He digs into the way these two civilizations shaped one another and, by extension, so much of the modern world we take for granted. Law, architecture, education, government, even the ways we argue with each other at dinner parties trace their roots back to this cultural entanglement. What I loved most was the sense of intricacy. Garland doesn’t just list influences; he shows how they wove together in surprisingly human ways.

One of the delights of the book is Garland himself. His enthusiasm is infectious, almost like he’s whispering, “Isn’t this stuff amazing?” every few pages. You can tell he adores the subject, and it’s hard not to be pulled in by that energy. Honestly, if everyone loved their work the way Garland loves Greek and Roman history, we’d all be much happier people.

And he doesn’t just focus on the grand themes. He brings out quirky, telling details that make history feel alive. For instance, the Romans often looked down their noses at Greeks. They called them devious, manipulative, even a little unhinged. The running joke seemed to be: never trust a Greek… but by the way, could you send your son to study under one? The hypocrisy is almost comical, and Garland highlights it with a twinkle of amusement.

Another fascinating thread is why Rome conquered Greece so decisively when Greece had been such a powerhouse for centuries. The explanation is painfully simple: the Greeks were too busy fighting one another. Their city-states were locked in a perpetual cycle of civil war, burning and sacking each other’s towns like it was a national sport. Rome, by contrast, managed to stop chewing on its own leg long enough to focus outward. The Greeks never quite learned that lesson, and their inability to unite opened the door for Roman dominance.

Reading this book was like finally putting on glasses after years of squinting at blurry history. I realized just how much of my “knowledge” had been built on simplistic assumptions. Garland provides nuance without weighing the story down. He makes it clear that Greece and Rome were responsible for both the glories and the horrors of their age. They gave us philosophy and law, but also conquest, slavery, and cruelty. The relationship wasn’t tidy, but it was profoundly influential.

That said, the book isn’t without its drawbacks. Garland sometimes gets a little too deep in the weeds, and I caught myself rereading passages to make sure I followed his point. His passion can also lead him into tangents that might lose a casual reader. And while I loved his storytelling, the book isn’t exactly light beach reading. You’re going to want a good cup of coffee at your side, maybe two.

But those quibbles feel minor compared to the insights I walked away with. This book gave me a fresh perspective on two civilizations I thought I already knew. It’s smart, lively, and full of details that made me rethink the foundations of Western culture. Garland has a knack for making the ancient world feel less like a dusty museum and more like a living, breathing argument between two rival siblings who both wanted to rule the family dinner table.

In the end, Greece and Rome isn’t just a history book; it’s a reminder that our modern world is stitched together from centuries of cultural borrowing, rivalry, and influence. And thanks to Garland’s enthusiasm, that reminder is a pleasure to read.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to dive into some literature on this subject after a recent trip to Greece and selected this as my intro, and it was great! It's in the form of 36 university lectures of half an hour each addressing topics like religion, statecraft, trade, etc. so it's very easy to dip in and out of listening without getting lost. Due to the nature of the thing it's definitely just brushing the surface of a lot of these subjects, but I liked that--at about eighteen hours total it was less intimidating to approach than some of the longer and more focused works I have in the queue. I would recommend this for anyone wanting an overview on how these societies adapted to each other.

Dr. Garland has a very mild speech impediment which took my misophonia a minute to get used to but overall I enjoyed listening to him talk. I have a couple more of his courses on deck to listen to and I look forward to it!

[Biblioworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Очень интересно послушать про противопоставления этих двух древних цивилизаций.

Профессор справедливо отмечает во вступлении, что обычно их изучают совершенно изолированно, хотя по сути их многое объединяет, они существовали примерно в одно время, и даже взаимодействовали между собой.
А у нас школьный курс истории настолько их разделяет, что мы даже перестаем воспринимать их как что-то сосуществовавшее, для нас это "Была Древняя Греция, а потом Римская Империя".

Конечно, все это работает именно потому что какие-то основы и про Древнюю Грецию и про Римскую Империю мы все знаем. И владея этими базовыми знаниями невероятно интересно наблюдать, как профессор жонглирует этими двумя цивилизациями, противопоставляя их понятия, открывая лично мне глаза на вроде как очевидно связанные вещи, но никогда не приходившие мне в голову при изолированном изучении этих цивилизаций.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work offered a very good overview of the history of Greece, Rome, and the ways these distinct cultures influenced each other and gave rise to a mediterranean (and beyond) Greco Roman civilization.

Too often, Greek history is covered with only a cursory mention of Rome, or Roman histories give only a cursory attention to the Greek and Hellenistic world. Very often much is lost between the cracks of these approaches. Professor Garland does a great job of covering the mediterranean-wide history and detailing the interplay of Greece, Roman and other peoples who influenced the Greco Roman world. I found many "missing pieces" seemed to fit together that help tell the larger story and I am very glad I spent the time with this course.

[M.L. Sund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Packed densely with pertinent information. Professor Robert Garland has put together an exceptionally well-researched and organized reference book on the intertwined history of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The breadth and depth of the content is significant but not overdone. The writing is very succinct. The rather choppy delivery style of speech does not bother me - in fact, I think it punctuates the content in an entertaining way. The accompanying PDF document is thorough and very useful. I wish all history courses were this good. Well done!

[Alli · Rating 5 out of 5]

i've consumed a lot of material about ancient greece & rome, but robert garland's passion for these civilizations is truly awe-inspiring. he is informative, objective, and unafraid to discuss the less than savory sides of the greco-roman worlds, all while keeping the listener fully engaged. he covers 1500 years in 36 lectures for almost 19 hours and i still did not want it to end. also really loved the accompanying PDF--it contains a comprehensive outline for every single lecture and multiple maps to match the ever shifting territories.

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really well done integrated history that spanned everything from art, cuisine, and sex, to war, politics, and philosophy. I would absolutely recommend this to readers of ancient history. I don't feel that Garland wasted any time getting to the point and managed to keep the entire thing entertaining without diverging into minutia that the layperson wouldn't care about.

Great job selecting him for this particular series of lectures.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just Okay for me, No new information and while the premise that the Greek and Roman civs have never really been seen as a whole seems like a good idea in actuality if you know the history of both you get and know this information already.

A fun nice reminder and if you are new to the subjects I can see this being really great but for me it was just Okay.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content was fine. I personally could just not take the halting delivery of the narration.

[Holger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping, comprehensive, relevant and well-performed. Everything you could want in a history book.

[sch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jun-Jul 2019. Wonderful series, fascinating material, engaging speaker.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Mike O'Grady · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I'm not in the business of idolizing the greeks"

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more of an history of Greco-Roman society than a history of the Mediterranean, but it's engaging and informative.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A learned and enjoyable tour of Greek and Roman history, with an especial focus on the interplay between these two cultures.

[A.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fascinating.

[Tim Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marriage for the ages

[Lenny Husen · Rating 3 out of 5]

36 lectures
What I liked: Dr. Roberts "Burial Bob" Garland was an inspiring and dyamic lecturer, full of enthusiasm for his topic. Loved his voice and he had ZERO verbal pauses (ok, very very few). He was well organized. He stuck to his guns, as far as Integrating the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans, and frequently compared and contrasted the two cultures.

What I didn't like: this covered 1500 years and went too fast for me, with too many names I couldn't remember, and he only spent 5 minutes each on Julius Caeser or Marc Antony or Augustus. And jumping from country to country, emperor to emperor, was difficult to follow. For me. I feel I didn't retain much, and my comprehension was limited to simplistic summaries such as "OK, so the Romans basically kicked the Greeks' Ass and everyone else's Ass multiple times" or "Hadrian was hecka cool" or "Nero was a Douche"or, "Wow, those damn looters! Fuck them."

But if you are looking for a fine Survey Course to listen to on your commute, this is it.

I'm looking forward to finding another course that is limited to one place (Italy for example, or Egypt) and to NO more than 500 years, and which is a bit more fun. The fact that I listened to these lectures will help me better understand future books or lectures on this topic.