Fun with History

I found a great TV show on Amazon Prime: The Ascent of Civilization. It's a British(?) show, so it doesn't have a lot of episodes. Six of them over two seasons, actually. Like Sherlock, with less murders. But all six are really interesting and fun. Even my wife was watching them with me, and that is not a statement I ever expected to make about history documentaries.

The first season has three episodes, as does the second. The first three episodes are about the Greeks, the Romans, and the Vikings. The second set are the Carthaginians, the Germanics, and the Arabs. We started the last episode tonight but haven't finished it. I've watched the other five, though.

We start with the Greeks, who gave us democracy, philosophy, theater, literature, and early science. All noteworthy things to have, definitely. Greek culture is the foundation of Western civilization, there's no question about that. But the Greeks weren't perfect, either. The city-states squabbled amongst each other constantly, coming together only when the Persians invaded; that, and their shared language and religious beliefs, were all that they had in common. They thought of themselves as Athenians, Sparthans, Thebans, Corinthians, etc. before they thought of each other as Greeks.

The Romans, on the other hand, gave us engineering, republican government, the legal system, and a shared culture and language that still resonates to this day. The Greeks were the foundation, but the Roman Empire was the skyscraper. It still looms over Western civilization like nothing else before or since, with the exception of Christianity, with which the later Empire is closely connected. They stole liberally from the Greeks, even their gods, and synthesized the whole into a phenomenal culture. And the Roman legions were the greatest fighting force ever assembled; pound for pound, they had no equal.

The Vikings, on the other hand, didn't have a lengthy part in the historical record; they showed up out of the blue in the late eighth century and started rampaging and pillaging. But they gave us more than just cool stories and operas; they also established trading centers and traveled extensively, exploring more territory than even the Romans did. And, they were the first Europeans to find North America. I still want to go to L'Anse aux Meadows at some point to see the Viking settlement there.

So, that was the first season. It was fascinating, and the wide scenery shots were incredible. That's what first got my wife's attention; she loves mountains and islands and such, and Greece has plenty of both.

I'll finish watching the last episode before I talk about the second season; there's lots of good stuff there as well.