Top-rated
Sat, Dec 11, 2010
A stadium for 50,000. An architectural marvel 2000 years old. Here, stars were made. Lives were ended. Rome's glory was revealed but so was its ugly heart. From the archaeological evidence, and an eyewitness account we reconstruct when the Colosseum first opened its doors through beast fights, executions, and a legendary duel. It was glorious, brutal, ingenious, spectacular; terrifying. The Colosseum was Rome.
Top-rated
Sat, Dec 11, 2010
He was demonized by ancient sources and portrayed throughout history as a cruel madman, but was Emperor Caligula really insane or just the product of a mad world? He inherited a vast empire, unimaginable wealth and the love of his people, but Caligula's reign descended into paranoia, depravity and full-blown insanity. Dramatic re-enactments and expert testimony from a forensic psychologist ask whether there could be a medical explanation behind this terrifying mind.
Mon, Dec 13, 2010
When Jesus was supposedly crucified 2,000 years ago, it is said that a Roman guard thrust a spear into his side to see if he was still alive. Based on that story/myth, a central tenet of Christian faith was conceived: Jesus had died, then risen from the dead. From that moment the spear that supposedly pierced him became a powerful holy relic. What happened to the spear thereafter is a heady mix of myth, half truth and fact. To confuse matters further, today there are three spears claiming to be the Holy Spear. This legend of the Holy Spear follows two investigators attempting to discover if any of the 3 spears could have been present at the crucifixion. Scrutinizing each spear and closely analysing the stories and legends behind them, the film reveals astonishing clues as to their provenance.
Top-rated
Nov 2010
For centuries, Rome governed hundreds of thousands of people in an empire that covered as much as 2 million square miles. In an age when most travel was done on foot, how was this possible? Digging deep into the lives of two emperors who presided over one of the most successful periods in Roman history, NGC explores how the empire owed its longevity to its ambition, innovation and genius for administration. See how Rome endured for centuries as one of the greatest bureaucracies on earth.
Top-rated
Nov 2010
Over centuries, the Romans transformed a swamp on the banks of the Tiber into a settlement, then a city of brick, and ultimately the gleaming marble core of the ancient world's greatest empire. Journey through massive Roman tunnels and trace the city's architectural and engineering evolution, including tombs, temples, monuments and aqueducts. See how the Romans converted an uninhabitable region into the home of some of the most impressive monumental architecture the world has ever seen.