Peter Krentz “The Battle Itself” – Marathon2500 Lecture #2
Professor Peter Krentz, W.R. Grey Professor of Classics and History, Davidson College, delivered on October 12, 2010 in front of a live audience at Georgetown University and around the world to the Reading Odyssey’s remote lecture network, the Marathon2500 Lecture #2: “The Battle Itself.”
He asked how did the city-state of Athens defeat the invaders from Persia, the first world empire, on the plain of Marathon in 490 BCE? Beginning his analysis with the Athenians’ first formal contact with the Persians in 507 BCE, Krentz weaves together ancient evidence with travelers’ descriptions, archaeological discoveries, geological surveys, and the experiences of modern reenactors and soldiers to tell his story.
About Marathon2500
With the support of several of the world’s best Hellenic scholars and sports historians, Marathon2500 commemorated the 2,500-year anniversary of the Battle of Marathon with nine lectures between September 2010 and September 2011 on the cultural, intellectual and athletic legacy of the battle. Delivered before live audiences, webcast online and archived for listening on demand, Marathon2500 was a program of the Reading Odyssey chaired by Professor Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Chair of Greek Culture at Cambridge University. To multiply the impact around the world, the Reading Odyssey worked with libraries, community centers, universities, colleges, high schools, museums and sports organizations to create satellite listening centers (see more about the remote lecture network here).
Marathon2500 Podcast Library
Professor Paul Cartledge and the Reading Odyssey have preserved the Marathon2500 lecture series in podcast format for readers, students and scholars.
To access the whole library, click here: http://www.marathon2500.org/podcasts