The Great Tours: Greece and Turkey, From Athens to Istanbul

The dynamic civilizations that emerge in the Aegean; the scope of the human drama that is played out there; some of the towering figures and remarkable sites to encounter; Professor Hale's recommendations for traveling this world as the ancients did.

The Acropolis is a symbol of Athens; the path of the ancient annual procession honoring Athena; the history and meanings of the site's iconic buildings; the superlative architectural features of the Parthenon and its surprising original uses.

Treasures surrounding the Acropolis; the Theater of Dionysos, where one ponders the rituals of early dramatic festivals; the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a venue of music and recitations; the Pnyx is an ancient hilltop assembly point; the agora market.

Visiting sacred monuments of Greece's beautiful Attica region; the Amphiareion is a shrine of a prophet deity; ancient oracle and healing practices; imposing shrines to Artemis and Poseidon; Eleusis is the site of mystical religious rituals.

Peloponnese is Greece's southern half; Greece's important sanctuary to Poseidon, where ancient athletes compete to honor the god; Corinth's acropolis and agora; the great healing center of Epidauros; the best-preserved theater of the ancient world.

The citadel of Mycenae is made famous in Homer's "Iliad"; the imposing Lion Gate; the rulers of Mycenae and ancient life in the citadel; key monuments; the extraordinary shaft graves of an early dynasty; the Megaron palace; the tomb of King Atreus.