Customer Reviews

In Search of History - The Greek Gods (History Channel)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I expected of this documentary a good description of the gods and the history of each one, and instead I'd purchased a poorly description with no history of the birth of the gods, nor the gods themselves.

The DVD is just basics on the Greek Gods. No real detail, but an overview.

Great History DVD, the Greek Gods are well descrived, and the journey is really interesting. Recommended!

When I first showed this in my World Literature class, it skipped through-out. I changed dvd players, but no change. I returned the product and ordered a replacement. Sadly, the replacement skips in the same places. I assume the whole lot is defective, but I could be wrong. I apologize to my students beforehand for the irritation. It IS a nice overview. I just wish I could get a decent copy. A VHS copy would be nice, but it isn't listed on the History Channel's website.

Two hours' worth of info on the Ancient Greek gods!? You can't help but learn something. I didn't know the word "hygiene" came from a god's offspring. I knew one goddess burst out of Zeus' head, but I didn't know another appeared from a god's bleeding genitals.

Though informative, this is filled with cheesy reenactments. The work could have been shorter. It has a diverse group of interviewees in terms of gender and institutional location.

I thought it was a bit heterosexist. It emphasizes that Zeus seduced goddesses and mortal women. I don't recall it mentioning Ganymede and that Zeus seduced males too. Perhaps due to the cross-generational romance in male-on-male mythology, the History Channel didn't want to turn off concerned parents. Still, it seems like a bigoted de-gaying of the past that is potentially oppressive. It also doesn't give modern viewers an accurate picture of Ancient Greek life and beliefs. We see reenactments of heterosexual romance, but none of the [...] variety.

In Ancient Greece, statues and people were often nude. This work dances around that fact, but it doesn't avoid it. You see the silhouette of an athlete being crowned and it's implied that the athlete and the rewarder are nude.

You may want to see this work after showing "Clash of the Titans" to first-time viewers.