Ancient Greece: Greatest Show On Earth

Ancient Greece: Greatest Show On Earth: Kings

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Ancient Greece: Greatest Show On Earth

Kings

Season 1 | Episode 2 | FOXTEL Arts | April 8, 2016

Ancient history

Drama

Classification: Mature

Classicist Michael Scott looks at the prevalence of theatre throughout Greece as Athens began to decline during the fourth century BC, and how it conceived a new kind of comedy that is still popular today.

Overview

Classicist Michael Scott looks at the prevalence of theatre throughout Greece as Athens began to decline during the fourth century BC, and how it conceived a new kind of comedy that is still popular today.

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More from this series

Dr Michael Scott explores the role played by the Romans in the preservation of Greek drama, discovering how they adapted it to their own ends. Plus, he reveals how the empire served as a vital link between modern drama and the plays of the ancient Greeks. With contributions by professors Matthew Leigh, Tim Whitmarsh and Gesine Manuwald.

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Dr Michael Scott explores the role played by the Romans in the preservation of Greek drama, discovering how they adapted it to their own ends. Plus, he reveals how the empire served as a vital link between modern drama and the plays of the ancient Greeks. With contributions by professors Matthew Leigh, Tim Whitmarsh and Gesine Manuwald.

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Dr Michael Scott uses the latest 3D-scanning technology to reveal the historical secrets of ancient Athens. He tells the story of how it created the world's first democracy. He begins his journey on the Acropolis where, in the late 6th century BC, the people of Athens overthrew a tyrant and set up the world's first democracy. There, he investigates a mysterious, asymmetrical temple called the Erechtheion that sits in the shadow of the world-famous Parthenon, and reveals it to be one of the most important buildings of Ancient Athens.

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Dr Alice Roberts travels back to the Viking Age and visits excavations that are revealing a different side to these seafaring pirates from Scandinavia. She looks for signs of the earliest Viking settlers in the Outer Hebrides, and in Orkney - where Viking dominance outlasted anywhere else in Britain - she visits the excavation of a Viking chief's citadel and finds evidence of their way of life. There's an extraordinary collection of silver and gold that demonstrates the furthest reaches of the Vikings' trading empire, and excavations in York - famously the capital of Viking England. This episode also includes a fresh look at some of Britain's most celebrated Viking finds, such as the fantastic Lewis Chessmen, which are currently the subject of major new research. Alternative title: Digging for Britain's Secrets.

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Dr Alice Roberts travels back to the Viking Age and visits excavations that are revealing a different side to these seafaring pirates from Scandinavia. She looks for signs of the earliest Viking settlers in the Outer Hebrides, and in Orkney - where Viking dominance outlasted anywhere else in Britain - she visits the excavation of a Viking chief's citadel and finds evidence of their way of life. There's an extraordinary collection of silver and gold that demonstrates the furthest reaches of the Vikings' trading empire, and excavations in York - famously the capital of Viking England. This episode also includes a fresh look at some of Britain's most celebrated Viking finds, such as the fantastic Lewis Chessmen, which are currently the subject of major new research. Alternative title: Digging for Britain's Secrets.

The first episode concentrates on Roman Britannia, where finds include the thickening mystery of 97 baby skeletons found by the Thames, a newly discovered town in rural Devon that turns history on its head, and a Roman cult figure buried for 1700 years beneath a fort. Alternative title: Digging for Britain's Secrets.

Digging for Britain: Britannia

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Dr Alice Roberts goes in search of the Tudor age, a time that saw momentous changes across all aspects of British life. She visits excavations at Shakespeare's first theatre in London's Shoreditch and also joins a team sifting through Shakespeare's rubbish at his last home in Stratford-Upon-Avon. In a remote corner of Wales, Alice meets a team of archaeologists uncovering the brutal realities of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries, a conflict that would change the very fabric of Britain. On the muddy banks of the Thames, she discovers the rich history of a forgotten royal palace, which was home to the Tudor kings and queens. And she learns about a mysterious Tudor shipwreck which dates from this age of exploration and trade. Alternative title: Digging for Britain's Secrets.

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Professor Alice Roberts explores the year's most exciting archaeological finds in the north of Britain. A team discovers clues to Scotland's first kingdoms, metal detectorists unearth a hoard of Viking treasure, and a new housing development reveals a graveyard of Iron Age warriors. Alternative title: Digging for Britain's Secrets.

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The Anglo-Saxons - they divided our land and heralded the arrival of the Dark Ages. But were they really just barbarians? Dr Alice Roberts visits the royal seat of power at Bamburgh, Northumbria and sees how the skeletons tell tales of violent death, but also of tenderness. There's a remarkable community project in a shopping centre in Sittingbourne where people are curating the grave goods of their own ancestors. And there are treasures that make her wonder just how dark the Dark Ages really were. Alternative title: Digging for Britain's Secrets.

Digging for Britain: The Anglo-Saxons

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The Anglo-Saxons - they divided our land and heralded the arrival of the Dark Ages. But were they really just barbarians? Dr Alice Roberts visits the royal seat of power at Bamburgh, Northumbria and sees how the skeletons tell tales of violent death, but also of tenderness. There's a remarkable community project in a shopping centre in Sittingbourne where people are curating the grave goods of their own ancestors. And there are treasures that make her wonder just how dark the Dark Ages really were. Alternative title: Digging for Britain's Secrets.

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