Ancient Greece and Asia Minor Documentary Film Page

Ancient Greece and Asia Minor Documentary Film Page

Asst Professor Dr Steven A Martin

Assistant Professor of Asian Studies in Sociology and Anthropology

Intended for students of "World Civilization" and "Searching and Referencing"

GREECE AND ASIA MINOR DOCUMENTARY FILM PAGE

The following videos on archaeology and ancient history of Greece, Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean were systematically selected based on content and accessibility. Videos are intended to compliment course curriculum in Eastern and Western Civilization, as well as my ongoing Greece and Istanbul Learning Adventure pages.

Searching and referencing online educational films and videos

With digital transformations in education, online films and videos bring to light more than just content, we are exposed to – and adapt to – the use of technology in teaching and learning. For example, searching and referencing videos on YouTube suggest an awareness of search strategies one might employ while identifying diverse genres of videos and experts in a given field or topic area.

In the case of searching and referencing Greece and Asia Minor videos – free and available on YouTube – the following genres come to light and are explored.

  • Academic lectures and presentations
  • Mainstream documentary films and series
  • Diverse videos of interest
  • Animated video presentations
  • Travel videos and vlogs

ACADEMIC LECTURES AND PRESENTATIONS

Select videos featured here bring to light various genres of academic presentations and technologies, including videotaped lecture series with professors addressing their students, experts presenting at large academic conferences, experts speaking to small, private social groups, and the use of online powerpoints supported by audio recordings.

Prof. Donald Kagan | Yale Lecture Series

Personal note: my intellectual curiosity and research on ancient Greece and Asia Minor has been greatly influenced by Professor Donald Kagan (1932-2021).

The following playlist offers 24 seperate 1-hour lectures by Yale University Professor Donald Kagan titled Introduction to Ancient Greek History. Kagan, a distinguished professor who specialized in ancient and classical Greek history, is perhaps best remembered for his research and publications on the Peloponnesian War.

Donald Kagan | Introduction to Ancient Greek History | 24-video playlist

Lectures and presentations of interest

Based of my experience in Turkey and developing this webpage, I am increasingly interested in the field of Luwain Studies as proposed by Eberhard Zangger. Below, Zangger's 2015 Keynote speech at the Winterseminar in Switzerland.

Luwian Studies | Eberhard Zangger | 49:00

New Discoveries in Ancient Turkey | Brian Rose | 58:34

Mycenaeans & Minoans Today | Bryan Burns | 1:03:52

1177 BC – The Year Civilization Collapsed | Eric Cline | 52:18

Minoan Civilization | Thersites the Historian | 39:54

Gobekli Tepe, southern Turkey | In memory of Klaus Schmidt

On occasion, the TEDx Talks platform features the work of prominent archaeologists. Featured here, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt (1953-2014) shares 20 years of personal experience and fieldwork at the 12,000-year-old Gobekli Tepe site in southern Turkey.

His talk, delivered in July, 2014, in Prague, was his last public appearance, and he died just 12 days after the video was posted.

Goebekli Tepe | Klaus Schmidt | TEDx | 17:06


MAINSTREAM DOCUMENTARY FILMS AND SERIES

Professionally shot and edited documentary films and series produced by mainstream media organizations, such as the BBC, PBS and Timeline, are increasing available online and offer teachers and students a great deal of educational material and introduce key scholars and experts in the field.

However, one must learn to navigate through mountains of duplicated and reposted videos by nefarious YouTube channels when locating full and original content for referencing.

BBC | Ancient Greece – Greatest Show on Earth

According to the BBC, the documentary looks at Greek drama and theater in three contexts: (1) how drama in Athens was deeply connected to Athenian democracy; (2) the decline of Athens and the success and transformation of theater; and (3) the role played by the Romans in the preservation of theater.

1/3 Democrats | 58:59

2/3 Kings | 58:59

3/3 Romans | 59:00

PBS Empires | Ancient Greeks – Crucible of Civilization

According to PBS, the documentary chronicles the rise and fall of the civilization of ancient Greece, highlighting the birth of science, politics, philosophy and drama as achievements that still shape our world. Narrated by Liam Neeson.

1/3 Revolution | 54:58

2/3 Golden Age | 55:00

3/3 Empire | 55:01

Timeline | World History

Focused on world history documentaries, Timeline offers educational series from the world's top broadcasters, including the BBC, Discovery and PBS.

Lost Worlds – Troy | 49:53

Minotaur's Island | 48:47

Sparta | Bettany Hughes

Hughes' witty insider and clever feminine perspectives offer a well-rounded understanding of the Spartans, a civilization cornerstone to ancient and classical Greek cultural development.

Spartans 1/3 | 48:07

Spartans 2/3 | 47:51

Spartans 3/3 | 48:45

Secrets of Archaeology | 25-30 min. episodes

Clear and informative short films highlighting segments of ancient archaeology. Selected from a global documentary series of 27 films, I have organised a shortlist of videos relevant to the study of ancient Greece, Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean.

5/27 | Athens

8/27 | Greek Italy

12/27 | Anatolia

13/27 | Greece

15/27 | Phoenicians

22/27 | Minoans

23/27 | Hellenism

24/27 | Apollo

25/27 | Greek Sicily

26/27 | Ionia

27/27 | Mycenaeans


DIVERSE DOCUMENTARIES OF INTEREST

I sifted through a great deal of material on YouTube to select the videos featured here. Each video points to a subject area for discussion, such as maritime archaeology, how ancient civilizations influenced each other through communication, trade and conquest, or the heated debate over legal and ethical removal and transport of archaeological materials overseas, with the Pergamon Altar as case in point.

Uluburun Shipwreck | Southwest Turkey | 2:57 (trailer)

The Hittites | 2003 | 1:58:59

Plunder – Pergamon Altar | 1995 | 24:46

Secrets of Aegean Apocalypse | World Doc | 44:24

Alexander the Great | Epic History TV | 2017 | 53:12

Genetics of the Greeks | Masaman | 11:20


ANIMATED VIDEO PRESENTATIONS

YouTube channels featuring historical topics combined with original animated figures, maps and other visuals are able to condense complicated subjects into easy-to-follow storylines and frameworks.

Featured here, the creative works of Epimetheus.

Mycenaeans | 6:05

Hittites | 10:05

Sea People | 10:05


TRAVEL VIDEOS AND VLOGS

YouTube channels featuring travel films and vlogs offer available content and may provide inspiration for others interested in video making. Rapidly developing smartphone video technology, including automated editing software, allow nearly everyone to shoot, edit and post their own documentary materials.

Rick Steve's Europe

Flamboyant and fact-filled, Rick Steves is among the earliest and most prolific travel show hosts and YouTubers. His work began in the late 1970s with The Experimental College at the University of Washington.

Although catering to the tourism industry, his work is informative and encourages learning and appreciation of ancient history and culture. Since the debut of Travels in Europe with Rick Steves on public television (PBS) in 1991, it was my late Grandmother's favorite weekly show, and her enthusiasm for the program and European history made a lasting impression on me.

The Peloponnese | 24:56

Western Turkey | 25:03

Best Documentary | Pierre Brouwers

Providing a view of history, culture and geography, French filmmaker Peter Brouwers offers facts, figures, and personal insight to the sights, sounds and peoples of the region. I find Brouwers' travel documentaries grow on me as I continue to review his work.

Greece | Athens & Islands | 52:19

Istanbul | Byzantium Forever | 52:12

University Filmworks | Greece and Turkey

University Filmworks is my personal YouTube channel with fun and original content. Production details are available at UniversityFilmworks.com

While the Greece and Asia Minor Documentary Page is orientated towards searching and organizing free online content found on YouTube, I would like to introduce the idea of creating and posting one's own content. From my experience, creating videos is a dynamic learning experience, including the process of editing shots and correctly labeling locations, dates and details.

GREECE | Temple of Aphaia | 2:11

GREECE | Acropolis & Parthenon | 2:52

Istanbul, Turkey | iPhone X Memory Videos

Shot, edited and posted on location with iPhone X!

ISTANBUL | Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar & Taksim Square | 1:26

ISTANBUL | Bosphorus Cruise & Black Sea | 1:10

ISTANBUL | Topkapi Palace & Archaeology Museums | 1:22

Greece & the Rise of the Polis

Greece & the Rise of the Polis

GREEK CIVILIZATION AND THE RISE OF THE POLIS

I am currently developing a series of topics and presentations on early Greek civilization and the rise of the polis for students enrolled in our European Studies program.

In Greek, a polis is generally understood as meaning ‘city-state’, ‘citizens’, or ‘community’. In contemporary intellectual circles, the term may represent an ancient Athenian devotion to freedom of choice, collective citizenship, and democratic principles.

The Acropolis, 2019 | Click to see more photos

Rise of the Polis

The rise of the polis personifies the dawn of the world’s first-ever democracy, a concept manifest in English terms, such as ‘policy’, ‘political’, and ‘police’, as well as globally-recognized place names, such as Indianapolis, Naples, and Tripoli.

Join me as I develop this web page and explore the legacy of Athenian democracy and  philosophy – a series of historical events and places which profoundly shaped the world we live in today.

This page is intended to support my university presentation on ancient Greek civilization. Development of this page is ongoing, with short stories, photo albums and videos forthcoming. 

Geography of Greece and the Aegean Sea

Five archaeological sites

Based on five key archaeological sites we visited in July, 2019, I hope you will enjoy the images and videos posted below.

  • The Acropolis of Athens
  • Island of Aegina and Temple of Aphaia
  • Cape Sounio and Temple of Poseidon
  • Oracle of Delphi and Temple of Apollo
  • Mycenae Archaeological Site and Mycenaean Civilization

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Click on photos to enlarge.

THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS

In our short video, filmed and photographed during a single afternoon at the Acropolis of Athens, we visited The Temple of Athena Nike, The Propylaea, The Parthenon, The Erechtheion, Temple of Olympia Zeus, The Theatre of Dionysus, and the new world-class Acropolis Museum, Bookstore, and Café for lunch.

We sure wish we had more time at the Acropolis, but with our limited budget, and just four days in Greece, we were runnin’ and gunnin’.

Acropolis of Athens, Greece

Parthenon, Acropolis | On site interpretation sign

Bookstore at the new Acropolis Archaeology Museum

ISLAND OF AEGINA AND THE TEMPLE OF APHAIA

Island of Aegina and the Temple of Aphaia

Temple of Aphaia | Island of Aegina | c. 500 BCE

Fisherman | Near the island of Aegina | Saronic Gulf

CAPE SOUNION AND THE TEMPLE OF POSEIDON

Sanctuary of Poseidon | Cape Sounion | 444 BCE

Sanctuary of Poseidon | On site interpretation sign

Sunset at Cape Sounion | Southernmost tip of the Attic peninsula

THE ORACLE AT DELPHI AND THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO

The Temple of Apollo at Delphi | Mount Parnassus, Central Greece

On site interpretation sign | Temple of Apollo | Delphi

Philosopher of Delphi | c. 270 BCE | Delphi Archaeological Museum

THE MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION | LATE BRONZE AGE

The Mycenae archaeological site | Mykines, Argolis, Peloponnese | 1600–1100 BCE

Mycenaean Woman | Fresco wall painting | c. 1350 BCE | Mycenae Archaeological Museum | Mykines

Mask of Agamemnon | 1500 BCE | Mycenae Archaeological Museum | Mykines


ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS

210,000-year-old Homo sapien skull bone discovered in Greece | Apidima Cave, Mani Peninsula, Peloponnese | Nature Science Journal

July 10, 2019 | Nature | International Journal of Science | “Apidima Cave fossils provide earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in Eurasia

Credit | Lead author | Paleoanthropologist, Katerina Harvati | Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

Source | Katerina Harvati | University of Tübingen


Greece and Asia Minor documentary film page

Featuring 30 documentary films of interest on ancient Greece, Turkey, and the civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Click to Greece and Asia Minor Documentary Film Page


Thank you for visiting my Greece Learning Adventure page.

I hope you enjoy the photos, videos, and the information in the links provided. If you feel motivated to learn more about Greece or other Learning Adventures, or would like to arrange for me to give a public talk, please let me know – I’d love to hear from you.

–Steven Martin

Jantanee Martin | Olives trees at the Acropolis

In search of the Polis | Parthenon | Athens, Greece


Acknowledgment | Prof. Donald Kagan | Yale Lectures

My research has been greatly influenced by the works of Prof. Donald Kagan (1932-2021), having reviewed his books and lectures prior to visiting archaeological sites in Greece.

Donald Kagan | Introduction to Ancient Greek History | Recorded in Fall 2007