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A Historian Goes to the Movies: Ancient Rome
- Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
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Publisher's summary
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?
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. 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.
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. Some films you may already be a fan of; other films you might have only heard of in passing. 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.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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Story
The Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome traces the breathtaking history from the empire’s foundation by Augustus to its Golden Age in the 2nd century CE through a series of ever-worsening crises until its ultimate disintegration. Taught by acclaimed Professor Gregory S. Aldrete of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, these 24 captivating lectures offer you the chance to experience this story like never before, incorporating the latest historical insights that challenge our previous notions of Rome’s decline.
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Gregory S. Aldrete is a treasure
- By Laurel Tucker on 02-04-19
By: Gregory S. Aldrete, and others
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The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
- By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert Garland
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
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Tantalizing time trip
- By Mark on 08-21-13
By: Robert Garland, and others
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England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest
- By: Jennifer Paxton, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Jennifer Paxton
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
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England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest takes you through the mists of time to the rugged landscape of the British Isles. Over the course of 24 sweeping lectures, Professor Jennifer Paxton of The Catholic University of America surveys the forging of a great nation from a series of warring kingdoms and migrating peoples. From Germanic tribes to Viking invasions to Irish missionaries, she brings to life an underexamined time and place.
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Wonderful
- By Anonymous User on 12-10-22
By: Jennifer Paxton, and others
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The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis
- By: Louis Markos, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Louis Markos
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
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What can we still learn from C.S. Lewis? Find out in these 12 insightful lectures that cover the author's spiritual autobiography, novels, and his scholarly writings that reflect on pain and grief, love and friendship, prophecy and miracles, and education and mythology.
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Basically a collection of sermons
- By Richard on 11-20-13
By: Louis Markos, and others
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History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach
- By: The Great Courses, Gregory S. Aldrete
- Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Original Recording
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Military history often highlights successes and suggests a sense of inevitability about victory, but there is so much that can be gleaned from considering failures. Study these crucibles of history to gain a better understanding of why a civilization took - or didn't take - a particular path.
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Martial Chaos
- By Cynthia on 08-16-16
By: The Great Courses, and others
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The Rise of Rome
- By: The Great Courses, Gregory S. Aldrete
- Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
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The Roman Republic is one of the most breathtaking civilizations in world history. Between roughly 500 BCE to the turn of the millennium, a modest city-state developed an innovative system of government and expanded into far-flung territories across Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East. This powerful civilization inspired America's founding fathers, gifted us a blueprint for amazing engineering innovations, left a vital trove of myths, and has inspired the human imagination for 2,000 years.
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Very good, but doesn't stand out
- By Christopher on 02-08-18
By: The Great Courses, and others
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The Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome
- By: Gregory S. Aldrete, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Original Recording
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The Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome traces the breathtaking history from the empire’s foundation by Augustus to its Golden Age in the 2nd century CE through a series of ever-worsening crises until its ultimate disintegration. Taught by acclaimed Professor Gregory S. Aldrete of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, these 24 captivating lectures offer you the chance to experience this story like never before, incorporating the latest historical insights that challenge our previous notions of Rome’s decline.
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Gregory S. Aldrete is a treasure
- By Laurel Tucker on 02-04-19
By: Gregory S. Aldrete, and others
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The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
- By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert Garland
- Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.
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Tantalizing time trip
- By Mark on 08-21-13
By: Robert Garland, and others
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England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest
- By: Jennifer Paxton, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Jennifer Paxton
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest takes you through the mists of time to the rugged landscape of the British Isles. Over the course of 24 sweeping lectures, Professor Jennifer Paxton of The Catholic University of America surveys the forging of a great nation from a series of warring kingdoms and migrating peoples. From Germanic tribes to Viking invasions to Irish missionaries, she brings to life an underexamined time and place.
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Wonderful
- By Anonymous User on 12-10-22
By: Jennifer Paxton, and others
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The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis
- By: Louis Markos, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Louis Markos
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
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What can we still learn from C.S. Lewis? Find out in these 12 insightful lectures that cover the author's spiritual autobiography, novels, and his scholarly writings that reflect on pain and grief, love and friendship, prophecy and miracles, and education and mythology.
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Basically a collection of sermons
- By Richard on 11-20-13
By: Louis Markos, and others
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The Iliad of Homer
- By: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
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For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
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Vandiver never disappoints
- By Machteacher on 07-23-13
By: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
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How to View and Appreciate Great Movies
- By: Eric Williams, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Eric Williams
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
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Sit down with renowned professional filmmaker, author, and award-winning professor Eric R. Williams to unpack the elements of more than 250 “great” movies to gain insights and secrets that will change the way you view films. You’ll discover how from the moment you sit down, great filmmakers control every sensation the movie experience evokes: tremors or tears, goosebumps or giggles, and why it is that we invite them to do this.
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very informative
- By Greg Bensch on 01-18-21
By: Eric Williams, and others
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Rise of the Novel
- Exploring History’s Greatest Early Works
- By: Leo Damrosch, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Leo Damrosch
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
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Thousands of novels are published around the world every year. There are so many readily available, it would take multiple lifetimes for a single person to even read a fraction of them. But it hasn’t always been that way. While humans have always been storytellers, the novel as we recognize it today is a relatively new art form in the timeline of human culture. Of all the ways we tell stories, why has the novel become such a perennial favorite? How did the novel go from a narrative experiment with a low-brow reputation to a cultural touchstone and focal point of modern literature?
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the more I read the further behind I get
- By Bruce on 02-08-22
By: Leo Damrosch, and others
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How Horror Works in Books and Film
- By: Shannon Scott, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Shannon Scott
- Length: 3 hrs and 40 mins
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Why are we scared of ghosts, zombies, vampires, demons, and monsters, when we know they are not real? Why do dark attics give us the creeps? How do writers and directors know exactly what anxieties to tap into, so that we break out in goosebumps, cover our eyes, and cringe? Shannon Scott invites you into the spooky, creepy, and sometimes surprising world of the horror genre to examine how popular scary movies and books manipulate our collective and individual fears—not only to frighten us, but also to address taboo subjects, and to reflect and comment on the state of our society.
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A social study about horror literature and media.
- By The Cimmerian on 11-07-22
By: Shannon Scott, and others
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The Real History of Pirates
- By: Professor Manushag N. Powell, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Professor Manushag N. Powell
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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There’s an apocryphal story that Alexander the Great once captured a notorious pirate named Diomedes. The great conqueror decided to interview the doomed pirate, asking him what he thought gave him the right to seize the property of other people. The pirate responded by asking the emperor what he thought gave him the right to take property that doesn’t belong to him, including entire countries. The story goes that Alexander thought the pirate very clever, granting him freedom instead of execution.
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Not an intro, but some interesting perspective
- By N. D. Hemingway on 06-21-21
By: Professor Manushag N. Powell, and others
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The Ethics of Aristotle
- By: The Great Courses, Father Joseph Koterski S.J.
- Narrated by: Father Joseph Koterski S.J.
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
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In this 12-lecture meditation on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, you'll uncover the clarity and ethical wisdom of one of humanity's greatest minds. Father Koterski shows how and why this great philosopher can help you deepen and improve your own thinking on questions of morality and leading the best life. The aim of these lectures is to provide you with a clear and thoughtful introduction to Aristotle as a moral philosopher.
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Father Joseph is awesome!
- By DeeDeen on 04-08-17
By: The Great Courses, and others
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The Great Trials of World History and the Lessons They Teach Us
- By: Douglas O. Linder, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Douglas O. Linder JD
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
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No understanding of the past is complete without an understanding of the legal battles and struggles that have done so much to shape it. Inside a survey of world history's greatest trials are the key insights to critical issues we still talk about today, including freedom of speech, the death penalty, religious freedom, and the meaning of equality. Join Professor Linder for these 24 lectures that investigate important legal cases from around the world and across the centuries.
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Interesting material, but . . .
- By Mark on 12-29-17
By: Douglas O. Linder, and others
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A Courtly History: Romance in the 19th Century
- By: Stephanie Insley Hershinow, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Stephanie Insley Hershinow
- Length: 2 hrs and 46 mins
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The rituals and pageantry of courtship in the 19th century can seem foreign to us today. Some of us may look back and see a more romantic age, while others will see a minefield of strict rules and stuffy protocol. Either way you look at it, it was worlds away from what dating is in the 21st century. In the six lessons of A Courtly History: Romance in the 19th Century, Professor Stephanie Insley Hershinow gives you a look at the complex and ever-evolving rules of romance in 19th-century Britain. Along the way, you will see why this fascinating era keeps drawing us back to novels and Netflix.
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So much fun!
- By ArianaAZ on 03-16-24
By: Stephanie Insley Hershinow, and others
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Sleep and Folklore in Popular Culture
- By: Dr. Franziska Kohlt, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Dr. Franziska Kohlt
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
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In this eye-opening six-part series, Dr. Franziska Kohlt looks at the concept of dreams through the lens of the stories that feature them. You’ll visit the enchanted slumbering land of Sleeping Beauty and the dark and mysterious realm of The Sandman. You’ll explore the ironic dreaming devices of Slaughterhouse-Five; the trippy, fantastical world of Alice in Wonderland; and many more on the quest to deconstruct the symbolism and intent of the dreams that are part of the narrative—or even, in some cases, that are characters in the narrative.
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Lots of information, but...
- By Mariam on 10-12-22
By: Dr. Franziska Kohlt, and others
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The Middle Ages Around the World
- By: Joyce E. Salisbury, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Joyce E. Salisbury
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
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The Middle Ages was a time of major historical shifts and transformations. This amazing era reverberates with discoveries, innovations, events, and historical processes that are integral to the world we know now. In these 24 enthralling lectures, Professor Salisbury leads you on a sumptuous tour of this incredible historical epoch, making clear that the remarkable historical currents and advances of the Middle Ages unfolded not only in the West, but across the globe, from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to Asia, the Americas, and beyond.
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A Rare Disappointment from The Great Courses
- By Curtis on 08-21-22
By: Joyce E. Salisbury, and others
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Lost Art: The Stories of Missing Masterpieces
- By: Noah Charney, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Noah Charney
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
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Imagine a Museum of Lost Art. If this imaginary museum contained just the artwork we knew was lost— whether from theft, purposeful destruction, vandalism, war, or the forces of nature—it would still contain more masterpieces than those in all the world’s current museums combined. Imagine that! In Lost Art: The Stories of Missing Masterpieces, art historian Noah Charney guides you through just such an imaginary museum. In 12 fascinating lectures, you will hear the stories behind the theft and/or destruction of some of the world’s most famous pieces of art.
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Fascinating series, but flawed last lecture?
- By Nancy on 11-24-23
By: Noah Charney, and others
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Getting Your Legal House in Order
- By: Sally Hurme, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Sally Hurme
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
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The law impacts nearly every aspect of our lives, yet we seldom stop to reflect on the tools, documents, and procedures that allow our society to function. Property and contracts, insurance and credit, taxes and estate planning: These issues may be intimidating, but getting on top of your legal affairs is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your family. The good news is that a few simple concepts, a little organization, and some step-by-step planning can help you get your legal life into the best shape possible.
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Practical and Use Advice
- By Tri Le on 02-03-21
By: Sally Hurme, and others
What listeners say about A Historian Goes to the Movies: Ancient Rome
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Lenina Huxley
- 01-10-22
Entertaining and insightful
I've always wondered if the battle scene at the beginning of Gladiator was historically accurate. I now know the answer to the question after listening to this series of lectures.
This course offers a very informative and interesting look at movies about Rome and pivotal moments in Roman history. Each lecture is long enough to be detailed and thoughtful but never so long it becomes tedious or redundant.
I disagreed a bit with his conclusions on sci-fi inspired by Rome. He misses the point about Christianity in Star Trek's 'Bread and Circuses' and I think his thesis on The Matrix is a stretch, but these are quibbles.
I'm now going to have to look up the movies discussed and re-watch them with a new perspective -- one rooted in actual history.
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- Gilbert M. Stack
- 04-02-22
This Is a Good One
This is the sort of book that puts the “great” in the “Great Courses”. Aldrete looks at more than ten movies focused on Ancient Rome and uses them to teach us little bits of trivia about the ancient republic and empire. Along the way, he also tells us many interesting facts about the making of the movies. Some (most) are blockbusters like Ben Hur, but he goes to the other extreme as well looking at Monty Python’s Life of Brian. Overall, this is just a very fun book.
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2 people found this helpful
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- LJLee
- 08-05-24
Interesting
I always try to rate based on how accurate the description/stated goal is. This is literally a historian taking us through the movies and discussing the historical accuracy and societal reflections of that era. I found it fascinating.
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- Mark
- 02-02-20
A Great Audio Course
Listeners may worry that by choosing the audio format of this course they'll be missing out on some spectacular visuals. After viewing a free sample lecture from this series, I can assure you that audio is all you need. Licensing fees probably made it prohibitively expensive for The Great Courses to include clips (or even stills) in their video, so a professor speaking to the camera is pretty much all you will see.
Whichever version you choose, this is an exceptional course. Professor Aldrete clearly loves these movies and offers much more than a simple rehearsal of what filmmakers got right or wrong. What I enjoyed most were his analyses of how modern politics and social concerns have influenced cinematic depictions of Ancient Rome. He also does a fine job tracing the rise, fall and renaissance of the sword-and-sandals genre from its inception to the present. When I watch these movies again, it will be with a much deeper appreciation and understanding.
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28 people found this helpful
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- Mom-Unit
- 06-28-24
Fascinating evaluations!
The “Battlestar Galactica” theme music starting each chapter, lol! Could use an update chapter as the latest movies mentioned are “the Hunger Games”. Great reader.
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- LMIBroad
- 06-26-20
Please tell me this is the beginning of a series
Very well done. As a film buff with a degree in history, I was hooked. I hope this is the beginning of A Historian goes to the Movies: The Middle Ages, Ancient Egypt, etc.
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14 people found this helpful
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- K. R. Medina
- 06-01-22
one of the best!
I have dozens of Great Courses, but I must say this was one of my favorites.
The combination of history and escapism really made me happy.
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- Loki of Jotunheim
- 03-12-22
Enjoyable, and I don’t even like violent history
I picked this title up because it was a Great Courses series and it was included in Audible Plus’ library. However, it was not exactly my cup of tea to begin with. War and violence are not my favorite topics. I do enjoy social history and I was surprise to find how much of it I found in this lecture. You will learn just as much about how Romans lived as you will about how they fought. For a title I got for free. I am pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it.
The performance was great and the professor spoke in an engaging tone! However, he was a bit fast for me and I slowed it down so I could understand him better. I do not fault him for this, but it might make the performance a bit harder to follow for some. Just slow it down and you will enjoy it.
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- abnheel
- 11-28-23
Interesting
I like some of the perspectives from a historians view and also back story to how films were made or why certain concepts weren't done a specific way (design, cast, scenes, etc). Good course for anyone a big fan of Rome and portrayal in movies
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- Walter
- 02-04-24
great!
viable for those who want to understand the references of movies but also those who want to deepen their knowledge about the Romans. easy to understand, informative and entertaining.
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