In a Profound Sense, the Odyssey of the West Begins Here

It was September—almost precisely 2500 years ago—and worlds hung in the balance. Despite the heroism of Leonidas of Sparta and his tiny holding force, the Persians triumphed at Thermopylae and were closing in. Athens herself lay abandoned and smoldering, the Acropolis sacked. But that September, in the narrow waters between Salamis and the mainland, the combined Greek fleet won a stunning victory, which preserved the independence of Greece and Greek culture. And in the century and a half which followed, those same Greeks laid the central foundation for Western Culture as we know it—philosophy, theater, art and architecture—systematic rationality in all guises. Join us as we explore the wonders of Ancient Greece and seek to more fully understand the enduring cultural revolution that was ancient Greece, the effects of which, in so many ways, shape our own thoughts and actions to this very day.