The Ancient Worlds (2004)

Historian Bettany Hughes gives her personal take on the diverse cultures of the ancient world in this 2010 documentary series on More 4. The series begins with an examination of Alexandria, the city founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC to become the world’s first global centre of culture. The programme explores Alexandria’s role as a powerhouse of science and learning, and focuses on the female mathematician, astronomer and philosopher Hypatia, the subject of the feature film Agora, starring Rachel Weisz.

Alexandria The Greatest City
Three cities dominated the ancient world: Athens, Rome and a third, now almost forgotten. It lies hidden beneath the waters of the Mediterranean and a sprawling modern metropolis. Alexandria was a city built on a dream; a place with a very modern mindset, where - as with the worldwide web - one man had a vision that all knowledge on earth could be stored in one place. Bettany Hughes goes in search of this lost civilisation, revealing the story of a city founded out of the desert by Alexander the Great in 331 BC to become the world's first global centre of culture, into which wealth and knowledge poured from across the world. Until its decline in the fourth and fifth Centuries AD, Alexandria became a crucible of learning; Hughes uncovers the incredible discoveries and the technical achievements of this culture. The film's cast of characters reads like a list of the greatest figures of ancient times: political figures like Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, and intellectuals including female mathematician, astronomer and philosopher Hypatia, Euclid, Archimedes, Eratosthenes and Ptolemy. At last, after 1,500 years squashed under a modern metropolis, new clues are emerging from the earth to the real nature of this grand experiment in human civilisation.

Engineering Ancient Egypt
Through their superlative buildings, the legacy of the Egyptian empire continues to enthrall people to this day. Yet these incredible structures were made over 4,000 years ago. Historian Bettany Hughes explores what drove the people of this ancient civilisation to build on such a massive scale. The story is told through the reigns of two pharaohs - Khufu and Ramesses II. Separated by 1,200 years, they both ruled during periods of incredible architectural ambition. Under Khufu, the Great Pyramid of Giza was constructed; while under Ramesses II the temples of Abu Simbel came into being. But what drove this ambition? This documentary attempts to get into the hearts and minds of these early Egyptians in their unstoppable pursuit of immortality via great feats of engineering.

The Minoans
In this fascinating feature-length documentary historian Bettany Hughes continues her history of the Ancient World with a visit to Crete to recount one of the greatest archaeological discoveries ever made. The story of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth is perhaps the most compelling of all Greek myths. Just over 100 years ago, English archaeologist Arthur Evans went to the 'Minotaur's Island' to explore the roots of this myth and discovered instead a sophisticated Bronze Age civilisation that had been lost to history for thousands of years. He called them The Minoans, and the riches of their culture astonished the world, prompting Evans to proclaim them the first civilisation of the Western World. But was this view unduly romantic? In the past decade, new archaeological discoveries have added fascinating layers of complexity to the picture originally painted by Evans.

Helen of Troy
She is 'the face that launched a thousand ships'; the woman blamed for the Trojan War - a conflict that caused countless deaths - but who was the real Helen of Troy? Bettany Hughes travels across the eastern Mediterranean to disentangle myth from reality and find the truth about the most beautiful woman on earth. Helen's story is a dark and very human drama, interweaving pleasure and pain, sex and violence, love and hate: a tale that started with a messy love affair and ended with a bloody and disastrous conflict. Hughes argues that many images of the mythic Helen, from Hollywood movies to romantic paintings, have got her all wrong: Helen was the original sex goddess. And the film reveals just how a pre-historic princess in Bronze Age Greece - a real Helen - would have looked. The feature-length documentary takes in some of the most beautiful scenery of the ancient world, from the magnificent citadel at Mycenae and the spectacular shrine to Helen in Sparta, to the archaeological site in modern Turkey that will be forever linked with the war fought in Helen's name: Troy.

Bettany Hughes chronicles the rise and fall of one of the most extreme civilisations the world has ever seen, one founded on discipline, sacrifice and frugality where the onus was on the collective and the goal was to create the perfect state and the perfect warrior. Hughes reveals the secrets and complexities of everyday Spartan life; homosexuality was compulsory, money was outlawed, equality was enforced, weak boys were put to death and women enjoyed a level of social and sexual freedom that was unheard of in the ancient world. It was a nation of fearsome fighters where a glorious death was treasured. This is aptly demonstrated by the kamikaze last stand at Thermopylae, where King Leonidas and his warriors fought with swords, hands and teeth to fend off the Persians. But there was bitter rivalry between Sparta and Athens, two cities with totally opposed views of the 'good life'. When war finally came, it raged for decades and split the Greek world until, in a brutal and bloody climax, Sparta finally emerged victorious as the most powerful city-state in Greece. But under King Agesilaus, the dreams of the Spartan utopia come crashing down. By setting out to create a perfect society protected by perfect warriors, Sparta made an enemy of change. A collapsing birth rate, too few warriors, rebellious slaves and outdated attitudes to weaponry and warfare combined to sow the seeds of Sparta's destruction, until eventually the once great warrior state was reduced to being a destination for Roman tourists who came to view bizarre sado-masochistic rituals.

Athens the Truth about Democracy
If contemporary views of ancient Athens, Greece emphasize the peaceful and harmonious nature of that polis's democratic system, historian Bettany Hughes begs to differ. Hughes asserts that the West's establishment of Athens as the platonic ideal of democracy is hugely ironic, for that classical society in fact employed rules, regulations and traditions deemed unthinkable, even barbaric, in our modern age - from the widespread practice of black magic; to the view of women as demonic, fourth or fifth-class citizens forced to wear public veils; to the proliferation of slavery. Most incredibly, Athens relied on inner bloodshed, tumult and strife to perpetuate its existence and strength, declaring war every two years or so. Such practices were commonplace, even as the community soared to new intellectual heights and created wondrous sociopolitical ideals for itself that it strove to live up to and that would later form the basis of contemporary political thought.

When the Moors Ruled in Europe
Bettany Hughes traces the story of the mysterious and misunderstood Moors, the Islamic society that ruled in Spain for 700 years, but whose legacy was virtually erased from Western history. In 711 AD, a tribe of newly converted Muslims from North Africa crossed the straits of Gibraltar and invaded Spain. Known as The Moors, they went on to build a rich and powerful society. Its capital, Cordoba, was the largest and most civilised city in Europe, with hospitals, libraries and a public infrastructure light year ahead of anything in England at the time. Amongst the many things that were introduced to Europe by Muslims at this time were: a huge body of classical Greek texts that had been lost to the rest of Europe for centuries (kick-starting the Renaissance); mathematics and the numbers we use today; advanced astronomy and medical practices; fine dining; the concept of romantic love; paper; deodorant; and even erection creams. This wasn't the rigid, fundamentalist Islam of some people's imaginations, but a progressive, sensuous and intellectually curious culture. But when the society collapsed, Spain was fanatically re-Christianised; almost every trace of seven centuries of Islamic rule was ruthlessly removed. It is only now, six centuries later, that The Moors' influences on European life and culture are finally beginning to be fully understood.

* The French Revolution: Tearing Up History (2014)

A journey through the dramatic and destructive years of the French Revolution, telling its history in a way not seen before - through the extraordinary story of its art. Our guide through this turbulent decade is the constantly surprising Dr Richard Clay, an art historian who has spent his life decoding the symbols of power and authority.

* Untold History of the United States (2012)

There is a classified America we were never meant to see. From Academy Award-winning writer/director Oliver Stone, this ten-part documentary series looks back at human events that at the time went under reported, but that crucially shaped America's unique and complex history over the 20th Century. From the atomic bombing of Japan to the Cold War and the fall of Communism, this in-depth, surprising, and totally riveting series demands to be watched again and again.

The first three episodes of the series premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 6, 2012, The series premiered on Showtime in November 2012.

Episode 1: World War Two
The first chapter explores the birth of the American Empire by focusing on Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Through examination of key decisions during World War Two, discover unsung heroes such as American Henry Wallace and explore the demonization of the Soviets.

Episode 2: Roosevelt, Truman and Wallace
Highlights from the historical upset of Harry Truman replacing Henry Wallace as Roosevelt's Vice President during his fourth term; this dramatic shift in leadership propelled the U.S. towards empire building. Exploration of the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and the beginnings of the Cold War. The relationships between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill are an integral part of post-war Europe's division at the Yalta conference.

Episode 3: The Bomb
The strategies behind the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan are explored as well as the new mythology that emerged from the war. The bombing haunted the Soviets and mistrust towards the Allies grew quickly. The consequences of beginning a process that could end life on the planet are examined.

Episode 4: The Cold War - 1945-1950
The equation changes: specific month-by-month causes of the Cold War emerge and it is not entirely clear who started it. Highlights include Churchill's Iron Curtain speech, the civil war in Greece and the Red Scare that prompts the rise of Joseph McCarthy, the House Un-American Activities Committee and the FBI.

Episode 5: The 50s - Eisenhower, the Bomb and the Third World
Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles replace Truman. Stalin dies but relations with the Soviet Union turn colder. The H-bomb and the doctrine of nuclear annihilation are explored, as are the Korean War and U.S. rearmament. McCarthyism grows and so does the ruthlessness of U.S. policy towards the Third World. Eisenhower emerges as a game changer.

Episode 6: JFK - To The Brink
John F. Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs, on the brink of total war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the early Vietnam War. Kennedy's attempts at peace with Khrushchev. Examining Kennedy's assassination.

Episode 7: Johnson, Nixon and Vietnam: Reversal of Fortune
Cataclysm in Vietnam as the war reaches a turning point—there's no going back. The betrayal by Richard Nixon. Nixon's involvement in Watergate comes to light.

Episode 8: Reagan, Gorbachev  &  Third World - Revival of Fortune
Carter's dreams of change give way to Ronald Reagan. Gorbachev redeems Reagan and fresh opportunities for peace arise. The debate over Reagan's legacy.

Episode 9: Bush  &  Clinton - Squandered Peace - New World Order
George W. Bush's doctrine of endless war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the continued cannibalization of the U.S. economy. Squandered chances given by the end of the Cold War. A new USA, the National Security Fortress.

Episode 10: Bush  &  Obama: Age of Terror
The meaning of events up to today. Obama and the destiny of the American Empire.

* Alexander's Lost World (2014)

This series follows photojournalist and director David Adams on an epic journey into one of the most dangerous places on earth uncovering the history buried here. Inaccessible, ravaged by war, filmmakers have not dared journey into its realm until now. Amidst the small mountain towns and ruins of rural Afghanistan is the land of the mighty River Oxus. This was the final frontier of Alexander the Greats vast Empire. Using innovative 3D graphics, the programme creates sights from the Ancient Worlds that have remained unseen for millennia. For the first time on TV, ruins have been rebuilt; the course of the River Oxus has been shown; and long forgotten cities and fortresses are brought to life.

Episode 1:
Exploration on an ancient sea

Episode 2:
"The Mother Of All Cities"

David Adams goes on a hunt for the Oxus civilisation and uses Ancient Greek accounts to search for the lost city of Bactra in Afghanistan.

Episode 3:
"Alexandria On The Oxus"

Did Alexander really build sixteen cities in Afghanistan and Central Asia or was he the destroyer of a far more ancient civilization? Adams goes in search of the most alluring of them all — Alexandria on the Oxus.

Episode 4:
"City Of Moon Lady"

David Adams travels through Afghanistan, braving the harsh desert environment, to find the site of the ancient city of Ai-Khanoum.

* Days That Shook the World: The Complete Series (2003-2006)

Fascinating and dramatic, these are the events that changed the way we view the world. From the tragedies of humanity to the triumphs of science, these are our historic landmarks. Witness the liberation of Nelson Mandela, the assassination of Martin Luther King, the attack on Pearl Harbor, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the moon landing, the fall of the Berlin wall and many other seismic events through dramatic reconstruction, eyewitness accounts and riveting archival footage.

Affairs of the Crown The Execution of Anne Boleyn And The Abdication of Edward VIII
Attack On Pearl Harbor
Battle For The Holy City The Six Day War
Black September And Lockerbie
Cold War Spies - 1960 U-2 incident And Spy swap of Abel, Pryor and Powers
Conspiracy to Kill - The Real Day of the Jackal And Wolf's Lair
Dinosaurs & Duplicity Discovery of the First Dinosaur And Piltdown Man
Disaster in the Sky - The Hindenburg And The Challenger Disaster
Fact or Fiction - The War of the Worlds And Hitler Diaries
Faster than Sound - Chuck Yeager And Donald Campbell
First in Flight The Wright Brothers And Apollo 11's Moon Landing
First Nuclear Reaction And Chernobyll
Grand Heist - The Theft of the Crown Jewels And The Great Train Robbery
Hiroshima
Kristallnacht And The Birth of Israel
Let Freedom Ring - The Boston Tea Party And The Independence of India
Marconi's First Transatlantic Radio Transmission And Concorde's First Transatlantic Flight
Reach For The Stars Trials of Galileo And Yuri Gagarin's Flight
Rule Of The Gun - The O K Corral And The Saint Valentines Day Massacre
Terrorism - Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln And The Oklahoma City
The Assasination Of JFK And The Resignation Of Nixon
The Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand And The Death of Hitler
The Assassination of Rev Martin Luther King and The Release of Nelson Mandela
The Battle Of Midway
The Christmas Truce
The Coronation Of Elizabeth II And The Death Of Diana
The Cost of Betrayal - The Defection of Burgess & MacLean And The Execution of the Rosenbergs
The Murder of the Romanovs & The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Road To Revolution - The Execution Of Ceausescu And The Iranian Revolution
The War to End All Wars
Tutankhamun's Tomb And Deciphering the Rosetta Stone

* Dark Ages: An Age of Light (2012)

Waldemar Januszczak challenges the prevailing wisdom that civilisation stopped after the fall of the Roman Empire and argues that the Dark Ages were actually a time of great artistic achievement, with new ideas and religions provoking new artistic adventures. He embarks on a fascinating trip across Europe, Africa and Asia, visits the world's most famous collections and discovers hidden artistic gems, all to prove that the Dark Ages were actually an 'Age of Light'.

Part 1: The Clash of the Gods
Waldemar looks at how Christianity emerged into the Roman Empire as an artistic force in the third and fourth centuries. But with no description of Jesus in the Bible, how were Christians to represent their God? He explores how Christian artists drew on images of ancient gods for inspiration and developed new forms of architecture to contain their art.

Part 2: What the Barbarians Did for Us
The 'Barbarians' are often blamed for the collapse of the Roman Empire, but in reality they were fascinating civilisations that produced magnificent art. Focusing on the Huns, Vandals and Goths, Waldemar follows each tribe's journey across Europe and discovers the incredible art they produced along the way.

Part 3: The Wonder of Islam
Along with Christianity, the Dark Ages saw the emergence of another vital religion - Islam. After emerging in the near East it spread across North Africa and into Europe, bringing its unique artistic style with it. Waldemar examines the early artistic explorations of the first Muslims, the development of their mosques and their scientific achievements.

Part 4: The Men of the North
In the final episode, Waldemar looks towards the north of Europe. The Carolingians saw themselves as successors to Rome, reflected in their art. Elsewhere, the Vikings were constructing long ships with intricate decoration and marking their territory with powerful rune stones. And on the British Isles, the Irish and Anglo-Saxons were creating unique works of manuscript illumination and remarkable jewellery.

* Rome's Lost Empire (2012)

Dan Snow attempts to use the latest satellite technology to reveal the secrets of the Roman Empire. Together with space archaeologist Sarah Parcak, Dan sets out to identify and then track down lost cities, amphitheatres and forts in an adventure that sees him travel through some of the most spectacular parts of the vast empire. Cutting-edge technology and traditional archaeology help build a better understanding of how Rome held such a large empire together for so long.

* Lost Civilizations (1995)

Never before could you get this close to 7,000 years of history. Digital effects technology and dramatizations re-create rituals and events, from the bloodletting of Maya kings and a pharaoh's last journey to the secret pleasures of a Roman empress. Original location cinematography in 25 countries takes you from Cuzco in Peru to Petra in Jordan, from ancient Mesopotamia to modern Tibet. Computer graphics restore Egypt's pyramids and the Great Wall of China.<div>

Part 1: Mesopotamia: return to Eden.

Part 2: Ancient Egypt: quest for immortality.

Part 3: Aegean: legacy of Atlantis.

Part 4: Greece: a moment of excellence.

Part 5: China: dynasties of power.

Part 6: Rome: the ultimate empire.

Part 7: The Maya: the blood of kings.

Part 8: The Inca: secrets of the ancestors.

Part 9: Africa: a history denied.

Part 10: Tibet: the end of time.

* History of the World (2012)

Part 1: Survival
Starting with our earliest beginnings in Africa, Marr traces the story of our nomadic ancestors as they spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers and townspeople. He uncovers extraordinary hand-prints left in European caves nearly 30,000 years ago and shows how human ingenuity led to inventions which are still with us today. He also discovers how the first civilisations were driven to extremes to try to overcome the forces of nature, adapting and surviving against the odds, and reveals how everyday life in ancient Egypt had more in common with today's soap operas than might be imagined.

Part 2: Age of Empire
Andrew Marr tells the story of the first empires which laid the foundations for the modern world. From the Assyrians to Alexander the Great, conquerors rampaged across the Middle East and vicious wars were fought all the way from China to the Mediterranean. But this time of chaos and destruction also brought enormous progress and inspired human development. In the Middle East, the Phoenicians invented the alphabet, and one of the most powerful ideas in world history emerged: the belief in just one God. In India, the Buddha offered a radical alternative to empire building - a way of living that had no place for violence or hierarchy and was open to everyone. Great thinkers from Socrates to Confucius proposed new ideas about how to rule more wisely and live in a better society. And in Greece, democracy was born - the greatest political experiment of all. But within just a few years, its future would be under threat from invasion by an empire in the east...

Part 3: The Word and the Sword
Andrew Marr plunges into the spiritual revolutions that shook the world between 300 BC and 700 AD. This was an age that saw the bloody prince Ashoka turn to Buddhism in India, the ill-fated union of Julius Caesar and Egypt's Cleopatra, the unstoppable rise of Christianity across the Roman Empire and the dramatic spread of Islam from Spain to Central Asia. But the most potent human force on the planet came from the combination of faith and military power as both Christianity and Islam created new empires of 'the word and the sword'.

Part 4: Into the Light
Andrew Marr reaches the Middle Ages. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Europe was little more than a muddy backwater. Vikings explored and pillaged from Northern Europe to North America. But they also laid the foundations of powerful new trading states - including Russia. This was also the Golden Age of Islam, and the knowledge of ancient civilisations from India, Persia and Greece was built upon by Islamic scholars in Baghdad's House of Wisdom. By exploring the conquests of Genghis Khan, the adventures of Marco Polo and the extraordinary story of an African King - the wealthiest who ever lived - Marr finds out how Europe emerged from the so-called 'Dark Ages' and used influences from around the world to rise again with the Renaissance.

Part 5: Age of Plunder
Andrew Marr tells the story of Europe's rise from piracy to private enterprise. The explosion of global capitalism began with Christopher Columbus stumbling across America while searching for China. While Europe tore itself apart in religious wars after the Reformation, the Spanish colonised the New World and brought back 10 trillion dollars' worth of gold and silver. But it was Dutch and English buccaneer businessmen who invented the real money-maker: limited companies and the stock exchange. They battled hand-to-hand to control the world's sea trade in spices, furs and luxuries like tulips. In the 145 years from 1492 to 1637, European capitalism was born and spread across the globe.

Part 6: Revolution
Andrew Marr explores the Age of Revolution. In the 17th and 18th centuries, people across the world rose up in the name of freedom and equality against the power of the church and monarchy. In America, people fought a war to be free from British rule. In France, bloody revolution saw the king and aristocracy deposed. And in Haiti, the slaves revolted against their masters. The world was also gripped by a scientific revolution, sweeping away old dogmas and superstition. Galileo revolutionized the way we saw humanity's place in the universe, while Edward Jenner used science to help save the lives of millions.

Part 7: Age of Industry
Andrew Marr tells how Britain's Industrial Revolution created the modern world. The old agricultural order of aristocratic landowners, serfs and peasant farmers was replaced by a new world of machines, cities and industrialists. Across the world, many resisted this sweeping change. From China to America, Russia to Japan, bitter battles were fought between the modernisers and those who rejected the new way of life. In Europe, new industrial powers competed with each other to create vast empires which dominated the world. But this intense competition would lead to the industrial-scale slaughter and destruction of the First World War.

Part 8: Age of Extremes
Andrew Marr brings the story right up to date with the twentieth century. Marr suggests that humanity found itself propelled forward by our technological brilliance but limited by the consequences of our political idiocy. The decisions we make in the next 50 years, he argues, may well decide our fate. For Marr, the most interesting part of human history lies just ahead.

* Caligula (2013)

Caligula has now become known as Rome's most capricious tyrant, and the stories told about him are some of the most extraordinary told about any Roman emperor. He was said to have made his horse a consul, proclaimed himself a living God, and indulged in scandalous orgies - even with his own three sisters - and that's before you mention building vast bridges across land and sea, prostituting senators' wives and killing half the Roman elite seemingly on a whim. All that in just four short years in power before a violent and speedy assassination in a back alley of his own palace at just 28-years-old.

But how much of his story is true? Travelling across the Roman world - from Germany and Capri in the bay of Naples to the astonishing luxury of his life in imperial Rome - Mary attempts to peel away the myths. Some stories are difficult to get to the bottom of as they were written by hacks long after his death, but there is plenty of surviving evidence where the 'real' Caligula can be glimpsed. Such as in the extraordinary luxury of his private yachts outside Rome; in the designs he chose for his coins when he became Emperor; in an eye-witness account of Caligula's withering humour written in 41AD; the trial documents covering the mysterious death of his father when he was just seven-years-old; and even in a record of his imperial slaves - from the palace spy to his personal trainer.

Piecing together the evidence, Mary puts Caligula back into the context of his times to reveal an astonishing story of murder, intrigue and dynastic family power. Above all, she explains why Caligula has ended up with such a seemingly unredeemable reputation. In the process, she reveals a more intriguing portrait of not just the monster, but the man.

* Byzantium - A Tale of Three Cities (2013)

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore traces the sacred history of Istanbul. Known as the 'city of the world's desire', it's a place that has been the focus of passion for believers of three different faiths - Paganism, Christianity and Islam - and for nearly 3,000 years its streets have been the battleground for some of the fiercest political and religious conflicts in history.

Part 1: From Byzantium to Constantinople
Simon uncovers the city's ancient Greek roots, maps its transformation into the imperial capital of a Christian Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great and reveals how ecclesiastical clashes forced Eastern and Western Churches apart.

Part 2: From Constantinople to Istanbul
Simon explores modern Istanbul in search of the last desperate centuries of Christian Byzantium, in which the once glorious city was buffeted by enemies in both East and West, and yet still produced a golden artistic renaissance. This is story of the Christian crusaders who destroyed the city, and the Ottoman Muslims who restored it to life as an imperial capital after the epic siege of 1453.

Part 3: Capital of a New Empire
Simon discovers surprises in Istanbul as it rose to become the imperial capital and Islam's most powerful city. Visiting the great mosques and palaces built by the Ottoman emperors, he tells the stories behind them - of royal concubines, murderous bodyguards and sultans both the powerful and the depraved. He shows how the Christians, Muslims and Jews of the city once co-existed before the waves of nationalist rebellions brought the Ottoman empire to its knees. In the 20th century the ancient capital was once more transformed by the new secular vision of Ataturk.

* Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth (2013)

Dr. Michael Scott journeys to Athens to explore how drama first began.

Part 1: Democrats
He discovers that from the very start it was about more than just entertainment - it was a reaction to real events, it was a driving force in history and it was deeply connected to Athenian democracy. In fact, the story of theatre is the story of Athens.

Part 2: Kings
He looks at the dramatic decline of Athens and the remarkable triumph and transformation of theatre. During the 4th century BC Athens would lose its Empire, its influence and even its democracy. But theatre, that most Athenian of inventions, would thrive, spreading throughout the Greek world and beyond and giving rise to a new kind of comedy, one so popular and prevalent that it is still at the heart of our comedy today.

Part 3: Romans
He examines the vital role played by the Romans in the preservation of Greek drama and in the history of theatre. He explores how the Romans absorbed Greek theatre and adapted it to their own, very Roman, ends and looks at how this famous empire provides one of the crucial connections between our modern drama and the great plays of the ancient Greeks.

* Ancient Egypt: Life and Death in the Valley of the Kings (2013)

Part 1: Life
Joann explores how people lived during this time, from the tightly packed houses and villages of the common people, to the clothes they wore and the food they ate. She discovers the ordinary Egyptians' love of poetry and their enthusiasm for interior design, as well as what it was like working in the most famous cemetery on Earth.

Part 2: Death
This episode reveals a strange and mysterious world: the ancient Egyptian afterlife. To them life was just a dress rehearsal for the perfect afterlife they were trying to reach. Joann clambers into rarely visited tombs, explores a treasure trove of long-buried objects and examines spectacular mummies to discover just why the Egyptians spent a fortune preparing for death - and what they hoped to find when they got there.