The Great Courses are hit or miss, not because of the quality of the information, but because of the listenability of the professors involved. I thought THE HISTORY OF ANCIENT ROME was loaded with interesting information, but the professor seemed constantly pressed for time. Constant repetition of phrases like "we don't have time to go into that" or "that's a topic for another course" became monotonous.

This is a decent overview of Ancient Rome, particularly those interested in the military history of the civilization. Topics were skated over quickly, but if something interested me I could note it and dig deeper on my own. For the most part, the materials in chronological order, but there were a few lectures at the end where he went into broad overviews of a handful of culturally significant aspects of roman life. Each of these were in a single lecture - women, the Coliseum, Paganism, Christianity - before returning to the last handful of emperors.

All in all, this hasn't been my favorite. I could listen to the individual lectures, but nothing inspired me. And I'm deeply interested in ancient Rome, so I don't think it was the subject matter so much as it was the dismissive delivery. Definitely not my favorite. ( )

An excellent lecture series on the History of Ancient Rome. I could do without the canned applause at the beginning and ending of each lecture. That gets surprisingly annoying. ( )

After laboring to get through this long course, I went to The Great Courses website to try and figure out from the reviews how to pick a better history course for me. What stuck from the reviews was "Kings, battles and dates." And it's so true if you love kings, battles and dates, and are already familiar with, or not need the greater context, Garrett is your man. Should you want a lecturer with more energy and presence, and/or a bit of culture, art, society and context to round out the kings, battles and dates then I'd recommend [[Kenneth W. Harl]] and [[Jeremy McInerney]]. ( )

(48 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)
Course No. 340

Taught by Garrett G. Fagan
The Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D., McMaster University

Course Lecture Titles


1. Introduction
2. The Sources
3. Pre-Roman Italy and the Etruscans
4. The Foundation of Rome
5. The Kings of Rome
6. Regal Society
7. The Beginnings of the Republic
8. The Struggle of the Orders
9. Roman Expansion in Italy
10. The Roman Confederation in Italy
11. The International Scene on the Eve of Roman Expansion
12. Carthage and the First Punic War
13. The Second Punic (or Hannibalic) War
14. Rome in the Eastern Mediterranean
15. Explaining the Rise of the Roman Empire
16. "The Captured Conqueror"—Rome and Hellenism
17. Governing the Roman Republic, Part I—Senate and Magistrates
18. Governing the Roman Republic, Part II—Popular Assemblies and Provincial Administration
19. The Pressures of Empire
20. The Gracchi Brothers
21. Marius and Sulla
22. "The Royal Rule of Sulla"
23. Sulla's Reforms Undone
24. Pompey and Crassus
25. The First Triumvirate
26. Pompey and Caesar
27. "The Domination of Caesar"
28. Social and Cultural Life in the Late Republic
29. Antony and Octavian
30. The Second Triumvirate
31. Octavian Emerges Supreme
32. The New Order of Augustus
33. The Imperial Succession
34. The Julio-Claudian Dynasty
35. The Emperor in the Roman World
36. The Third-Century Crisis
37. The Shape of Roman Society
38. Roman Slavery
39. The Family
40. Women in Roman Society
41. An Empire of Cities
42. Public Entertainment, Part I—The Roman Baths and Chariot Racing
43. Public Entertainment, Part II—Gladiatorial Games
44. Roman Paganism
45. The Rise of Christianity
46. The Restoration of Order
47. Constantine and the Late Empire
48. Thoughts on the "Fall" of the Roman Empire