History of the Ancient World by Gregory S. Aldrete

You'll examine the ancient world's greatest civilizations from the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Americas - including those of Rome, Greece, China, Persia, India, and the Maya - not in isolation but in the full context of where they came from, the cultures that flourished around them at the same time, and the civilizations that were to come from them. These 48 lectures take you on a multidisciplinary journey that ranges across not only the traditional domains of politics and war that are normally the province of history courses, but also those of religion, philosophy, architecture and the visual arts, literature, and science, and more.

Grasping the full scope of your bequest from the ancient world can't help but give you a more nuanced base from which to make decisions and choose pathways in your own life. It has given us the calendar that organizes our year and has left its mark on the games we play. It has shaped the buildings we live and work in and the art we hang on our walls. It has taught us when and how we make war or pursue peace. But all of them are essential to a well-rounded understanding of the intricate relationship between the world of ancient Rome and the world of the movies.The ancient world has cast a long shadow, influencing our customs and religious beliefs, our laws, and the form of our governments. Some films you may already be a fan of other films you might have only heard of in passing. You'll investigate portrayals of ancient Roman life on the big screen and small screen learn how to tease out fact from fiction in some of Hollywood's most stunning spectacles and deepen your appreciation for films that, when made right, can be thrilling time machines into the past.

Packed with insights into both history and filmmaking, this series immerses you in the glory and grandeur (and, sometimes, the folly) of classic and contemporary films featuring over 50 years of cinematic talent, including directors like Stanley Kubrick and Ridley Scott and actors such as Elizabeth Taylor and Russell Crowe. In these 12 lectures, an award-winning historian gives you a front-row look at the great movies that have shaped ancient Rome's role in popular culture and memory. How have films like Ben-Hur, Spartacus, Gladiator, or even a satire like Monty Python's Life of Brian created our popular perceptions of ancient Roman history? In what ways have they led us astray? And why, despite the occasional box-office flop, do movies set in ancient Rome still have the power to captivate us, and to turn each of us into theater-going history buffs?

History of the Ancient World by Gregory S. Aldrete