Ancient History Lives

Caligula was one of the first rulers of the Roman Empire, and yet numbers among the most famous. His family history is mired in political scandals, tragedy, and murderous plots to forward the agendas of shadowy cabals that sought to oppose the nation in its early infancy. The full story of his life begins long before his birth, and his legacy continues long after his sensational murder at the hands of those closest to him.

Throughout the annals of history, there have been few men as reviled as Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger. To this day he is associated with murder, betrayal, violence, and infamy, so much so that in modern English his name provides the root for the words "brute" and "brutal", as it does in several other Romance languages. Indeed Brutus' reputation was so infamous that when Dante composed his timeless Divine Comedy, he relegated Brutus to the very nethermost depths of hell.

Spartacus is the world’s most famous slave, and one of the most notorious figures of Ancient Rome. A slave enamored of freedom and willing to fight and die for it, he became especially popular in the years following the Enlightenment, after which he was widely viewed as a poignant champion of liberty in the 18th and 19th centuries. As a result, he became a symbol during struggles like the French Revolution, the American Revolution, the American Civil War, and the struggle for emancipation.

In the wake of the Roman Empire’s collapse, Italy found itself fractured. Among the Italians of the Middle Ages, the most famous - and controversial - man who sought to unify Italy was, somewhat fittingly, a Roman. Cola di Rienzo was a man whose life and actions have reverberated down the centuries, as his charismatic, yet unsuccessful dictatorship has spawned legends and comparisons with movements of later ages. His attempt to bring the greatness of Roman antiquity into the reality of the 14th century, the city’s lowest point, is inspiring on its face.

Suetonius’ account of the life of Nero does not shy away from the emperor’s alleged barbarism. In this biography from The Twelve Caesars, the Roman historian recounts numerous examples of Nero’s narcissism, perversion, and cruelty. It is from this account that we get the legend that Nero “fiddled as Rome burned.” When the heirless emperor ended his own life, it marked he fall of the Julio-Claudian empire and led to rejoicing in the streets.

In this biography, Plutarch states that Tiberius Gracchus was known more for his virtue than for his achievements. Tiberius’ virtue, and thus his legacy, lies in his actions as a reformer. Himself a plebeian leader, he sought to aid the poor by giving them some of the land belonging to wealthy landowners. These reforms shook the Roman world and led to his assassination, making Tiberius a martyr for working-class people and the politicians who fight for their rights.

When the rabbis composed the Mishnah in the late second or early third century C.E., the Jerusalem Temple had been destroyed for more than a century. Why, then, do the Temple and its ritual feature so prominently in the Mishnah? Against the view that the rabbis were reacting directly to the destruction and asserting that nothing had changed, Naftali S. Cohn argues that the memory of the Temple served a political function for the rabbis in their own time.

Hannibal, called by Nepos "the greatest of generals", is most remembered today for being the man who marched a contigent of battle elephants over the Alps. But this was only one of his many victories and strategems. Listen in wonder as Hannibal manages, again and again, to repel the army no other man could repel: the ancient Romans.

Carthage was one of the great ancient civilizations, and at its peak, the wealthy Carthaginian empire dominated the Mediterranean against the likes of Greece and Rome, with commercial enterprises and influence stretching from Spain to Turkey.

Publius Valerius Publicola, the subject of Plutarch’s The Life of Publicola, is one of the most influential Roman figures to be written about in the author’s Parallel Lives series. Originally from Sabine, Publicola made his life in Rome with the intent to support the unification of Rome’s people. However, when the revolution happened, he and four others drove out Lucius Tarquinius Superbus and reformed the state. His political presence only grew, and by the time of his death, he was one of the most beloved Roman politicians in the land.

Esta abrangente obra compreende a cativante história da cidade que foi berço de grandiosos pensadores, entre os quais Sócrates e Platão, e cuja cultura exerce uma importante influência no mundo até os dias de hoje. da formação do povo grego, passando pelas características, grandes batalhas, artes, ideais religiosos e histórias das divindades e tantos outros aspectos relevantes, embarque em uma viagem arqueológica única.

"Die Geschichte der Römer erstreckt sich von ca. 750 v. Chr. bis in die 'Römische Kaiserzeit“. Sie endet mit dem Untergang des Römischen Reichs ca. 400 n. Chr., als Konstantinopel sich als Gegenmacht zur Vorherrschaft Roms entwickelt. Germanen und Goten erobern die Metropole, später fallen noch die Vandalen ein. Von ihrer zerstörerischen Aktivität leitet sich der heutige Begriff "Vandalismus“ her. In den 12 Jahrhunderten des Römischen Reichs gab es eine Zeit der königlichen und eine der kaiserlichen Macht....

Stоiсiѕm is аn аnсiеnt Grееk philosophy (dеvеlореd by Zeno оf Citium аrоund 300 BC аѕ a rеfinеmеnt оf Cуniсiѕm) whiсh tеасhеѕ thе dеvеlорmеnt of ѕеlf-соntrоl аnd fоrtitudе аѕ a means оf overcoming dеѕtruсtivе еmоtiоnѕ. It dоеѕ nоt ѕееk tо еxtinguiѕh еmоtiоnѕ competely, but rаthеr seeks tо trаnѕfоrm them bу a rеѕоlutе aѕсеtiсiѕm (а vоluntаrу abstinence frоm wоrldlу pleasures), whiсh еnаblеѕ a person tо dеvеlор сlеаr judgmеnt, innеr calm and frееdоm frоm suffering (whiсh it considers thе ultimate gоаl).

“I came, I saw, I conquered,” Julius Caesar famously said. Yet his life of conquest ended with assassination at the hands of his former comrades. Roman biographer Suetonius details the rise and fall of Julius Caesar in this short biography, excerpted from The Twelve Caesars. This compelling account contains cinematic scenes from Caesar’s life, including his capture by pirates and the time he fell weeping before a statue of Alexander the Great.

Join James Crowden as he embarks on a journey to distil the ancient origins of cider, uncovering a rich culture and philosophy that has united farmer, maker and drinker for millennia. Cidermaking has been at the heart of country life for hundreds of years. But the fascinating story of how this drink came into existence and why it became so deeply rooted in the nation’s psyche has never been told.

The life story of Ramesses II is voluminously recorded and illustrated through documents and inscriptions, and it is even represented physically through his funerary goods and the well-preserved mummified remains of the man himself. But despite the resources available with which to reason about who Ramesses II was and what his impact might have been, there is also a necessary disconnection between him and those who chronicled his story.

Many ancient civilizations have influenced and inspired people in the 21st century. The Greeks and Romans continue to fascinate the West today. But of all the world’s civilizations, none have intrigued people more than the Mayans, whose culture, astronomy, language, and mysterious disappearance all continue to captivate people. In 2012 especially, there has been a renewed focus on the Mayans, whose calendar has led many to speculate the world will end on the same date the Mayan calendar ends. The focus on the “doomsday” scenario, however, has overshadowed the Mayans’ true contribution.

During one of the most turbulent periods in the history of Rome, men like Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Octavian participated in two civil wars that would spell the end of the Roman Republic and determine who would become the Roman emperor. In the middle of it all was history's most famous woman, the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra (69-30 B.C.), who famously seduced both Caesar and Antony and thereby positioned herself as one of the most influential people in a world of powerful men.

Cornelius Nepos was a Roman biographer. He was born at Hostilia, a village in Gaul close to Verona. Nepos wrote short popular biographies of Greek and Roman military commanders. His work is highly esteemed for its use of reliable sources.

Pelopidas and Epaminondas' lives are inseperable in history. One's actions would not have been possible without the other by their side. Listen as Pelopidas reclaims his homeland and challenges one of the great Alexanders of history as he seeks his own kleos, or eternal glory.