A Historian Goes to the Movies: Ancient Rome

Offered By: The Great Courses Plus

Course Description

Overview

The glory of ancient Rome meets the grandeur of modern Hollywood in these 12 lectures that examine the historical accuracy of Ben-Hur, Gladiator, and other classic sword-and-sandal epics.

Syllabus

By This Professor
01: Quo Vadis Kick-Starts the Sword-and-Sandal Genre
02: Ben-Hur: The Greatest Chariot Race
03: Spartacus: Kubrick’s Controversial Epic
04: Cleopatra: Spectacle Gone Wild
05: The Fall of the Roman Empire and Ancient Epics
06: I, Claudius: The BBC Makes an Anti-Epic
07: Life of Brian: The Roman World’s a Funny Place
08: Gladiator: The Historical Epic Revived
09: Rome: HBO’s Gritty Take on Ancient History
10: Centurion and The Eagle: The Legions in Britain
11: Scipione l’africano and Fellini Satyricon
12: Bread and Circuses in Sci-Fi Films

Taught by

Gregory S. Aldrete, Ph.D.

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