Nero is accused of having "fiddled while Rome burned" and remembered for executing his mother and burning Christians alive. History has sided against him on all counts, but could there be another side to ancient Rome's notorious emperor? National Geographic reveals how Nero rebuilt a city devoured by fire, revolutionizing Western architecture and forever changing the face of Rome.
In 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted, killing 2,000 people. This documentary asks what happened next as experts explore Ancient Rome's crisis management.
The Bolshoi’s grandiose epic Spartacus recounts the story of a Roman slave’s fight for freedom. With its famous Khachaturian score, since the 1960s it has been considered one of the greatest ballets in the Bolshoi repertoire. The choreography by Yuri Grigorovich fills the Bolshoi stage with dynamic scenes of tension and conflict, and gives full expression to the virility and strength for which Russia’s male dancers are renowned.
Expert interviews, dramatic reconstructions and location shooting bring to life the iconic legend of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra in this historical documentary.
Up to one million gladiators are thought to have died in arenas across the Roman Empire. And, although fascination with gladiators has been high, the details of their lives and deaths remain fragmentary. Now, with the discovery of an ancient Roman burial site containing 80 skeletons thought to be gladiator warriors, National Geographic recreates the world of the Roman arena and how six gladiators lived, fought and died.
The Romans occupy Britannia and Hadrian's Wall divides the land, built to keep back the warrior tribes of Caledonia, and something far more dangerous; savage wolf-like creatures which roam the lowlands.
Terry Jones' Barbarians is a 4-part TV documentary series first broadcast on BBC 2 in 2006. It was written and presented by Terry Jones, and it challenges the received Roman and Roman Catholic notion of the barbarian. Professor Barry Cunliffe of the University of Oxford acted as consultant for the series.
Come back with us to Ancient Greece, 2,500 Years ago to the original Olympic Games. The ancient Games, like our modern Olympics, included champions and cheaters, glory and scandals, bitter rivalries and contests of strength, speed and savage combat. Set in 448 BC when the pounding of horse's hooves and the brutal hand-to-hand combat could be heard and seen by the crowds that filled the Olympic stadium. This one-hour special event follows the glory and corruption of the arc of a single, five-day Olympiad. The competitions include chariot racing, running, jumping, discus, javelin and two man-to-man combat finals-boxing and pankration, a form of extreme fighting in which death was not uncommon. With the help of sports historians and great athletes such as George Chuvalo and Olympic medallists Donovan Bailey and Angela Schneider, viewers travel back to a very different life-in a very different world.
For almost two thousand years, the story of Jesus’ final days has been celebrated by Christians the world over. From Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, through to his eventual crucifixion six days later, the key moments have been immortalized in countless films, pieces of music, and works of art. But in recent years, some historians have begun to question inconsistencies in the Gospels’ version of events. They believe that the Gospels could hide a very different story; one that casts the historical Jesus in an entirely new light. Based on a new interpretation of contemporary historical events in Rome, "Last Days of Jesus" peels back thousands of years of tradition, to explore a new political context to the events in Jerusalem. "Last Days of Jesus" explores how dramatic political events in Rome could have played a crucial role in shaping Jesus’ destiny, and examines an extraordinary political alliance that altered the course of history.
What life was like in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii moments before it was devastated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79.
In order to buy a horse, a man wanders in the bazaars of Thessaly. His journey will take him further than he imagines, as old prophets, forgotten witches and vampire princes will find himself on his way.
Documentary released to coincide with the British Museum's exhibition dedicated to the man who ruled the Roman Empire from 117 to 138 AD. The programme explores the life, achievements, passions and legacy of the emperor who was both soldier and poet and responsible for that most famous construction - Hadrian's Wall. The documentary was produced in conjunction with the exhibition Hadrian: Empire and Conflict at the British Museum 24 July - 26 October 2008.
Hocus, Fracas, Rumpus and Arena set out to cheer on their uncle, Rome's top gladiator, on a fateful day that will change their lives forever.
In order to persuade the Emperor to spare his village, the mighty Ursus is forced to fight the greatest gladiator in Rome in the Roman Arena.
Rome, 2000 years ago was the world's first ancient megacity. In a world where few towns had more than ten thousand inhabitants, more than a million people lived in Rome. How did they manage without all the technologies of our modern cities? How did they bring in enough food to sustain the population? How did they house them? How did they maintain law and order? How did they make this city work?
The Colosseum is often depicted as a bloody stadium of gladiators with violence and murder! Is it all in the Colosseum? In fact, the 'Colosseum' in Roman times was a thorough political stage in which the emperor was able to show off the power of the emperor and to meet and communicate directly with the citizens. The emperor was a political space that was not an original one that gained the support of the Roman people and the people were actively exchanging their demands. The fact that even the Roman emperor, who was a symbol of absolute power, did politics through communication with the Roman people would be a valuable lesson for us to live in modern society beyond 2000 years.
Pompeii 79AD, mere days before the Vesuvian eruption. Glaucus and Jone are in love with each other. Arbaces, the Egyptian High Priest, is determined to conquer Jone. Glaucus purchases Nydia, the blind and long-suffering slave. Nydia falls in love with Glaucus and asks Arbaces for his help. He gives her a potion to make Glaucus fall in love with her-- In fact, a poison which will cause violent insanity.
