The legacy of ancient Greek civilization is all around us. The Greeks were the one to form the view that "Man" is at the centre of the universe, that religion is not a matter for professionals and that it holds no exclusive, sacred truth, that philosophy (a Greek invention) and science (e.g., atoms) are the key to the understanding of the universe. The Greeks also invented democracy, the theatre, and the science of history. The basic premises of our political culture ("politics" as a human sphere was a Greek invention too) accompany us today. Classical Greece was also the basis for modern European education and it would be difficult to understand the mind-set of modern leaders without it. The course will offer an introduction to the history and culture of ancient Greece: the world of the Iliad and the Odyssey; Greek religion and mythology; the era of the city states; ancient Sparta; Archaic Athens; the Greek-Persian wars; Athenian democracy