Empires – The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization

This is my favorite documentary of all time (so far.  Watch this space for updates, as I see a lot of them).  It’s narrated by Liam Neeson which is kind of a kick in the head, although I should have guessed that Ethan Frome would have liked it.  It’s really not about ancient Greece as much as ancient Athens and how Athens came to be so important to the modern world that our culture seems to be in large part a continuation of Athenian ideas and ideals…well, the secular humanists among us, anyway.

While looking for quotes and information about this video I came upon the Amazon.com reviews of the DVD

which are as delightful to read as the DVD is to watch.  Bring popcorn.  It’s a kick to see people complaining about everything on the DVD (inexpensive production techniques, “ponderous narration”, technical flaws) including the choice of inclusions.  The best complaint (and there are so many to choose from) is that the show overlooked the contributions of the Spartans, although another reviewer pointed out several: “Besides the oppressive social structure, the mandatory buggery, the racism / elitism, the eugenics program, the enslavement of its neighbors for centuries, the employment of women as baby machines, and its defeat of Athens, followed by its defeat at the hands of its neighbor, there’s little to know about Sparta.” 

Genius!