General ancient history

Detail of the Alexander Mosaic showing Alexander the Great charging into battle on horseback, wearing armour and staring towards the Persian forces.

General ancient history

Alexander the Great's empire crumbled into chaos after his death. How did it fall apart so quickly?

Detail of an ancient Roman mosaic showing the Persian king Darius III in a chariot, surrounded by armed soldiers during the Battle of Issus.

Roman

Ancient Rome's founding fathers: the extraordinary stories of the city's first kings

Later artistic depiction of Alexander the Great wearing a plumed helmet and blue cloak, presented as a youthful military conqueror.

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Was Alexander the Great addicted to sex? The truth about the conqueror's love life. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Episode 6Zenobia: The queen who challenged the Roman empire. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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The ancient Mesopotamians were freakishly ahead of their time – and here are 8 reasons why. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Have we got ancient women's sexuality all wrong?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Detail of the Alexander Mosaic showing Alexander the Great charging into battle on horseback, wearing armour and staring towards the Persian forces.

General ancient history

Alexander the Great died aged just 32 – but where had he been planning to conquer next?

Cepheus, Odysseus and Eurylochus stand on a sandy ridge in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, wearing crested helmets, armour and cloaks, with swords at their sides. Odysseus stands prominently in the centre, with a military encampment visible behind the three warriors.

Ancient Greece

What is 'Zeus's Law'? The ancient moral code of The Odyssey explained

A large group of Mycenaean warriors marches through a misty pine forest in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. Armoured soldiers wearing bronze helmets and cloaks advance with swords, spears and shields, led by commanders at the front.

Ancient Greece

Who are those giant soldiers in The Odyssey? The Laestrygonians explained

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How Christianity conquered the Roman empire. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Overhead view of a human skeleton buried in a seated position within a circular pit at an archaeological excavation in Dijon, France.

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These Iron Age bodies were all buried in the same bizarre way. What does it mean?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Roman mosaic depicting elegantly dressed figures surrounded by luxury goods, including shells, chests, vessels and other valuable objects, suggesting trade, wealth and domestic consumption.

Roman

The ancient Romans thrived on consumerism. Here's what was on their shopping lists

After 20 years away, Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca. In one of the Odyssey's most dramatic scenes, he reveals his identity by stringing his great bow before turning it on the suitors who have overrun his household, bringing his long journey to a violent and decisive end | Credit: Getty Images

General ancient history

Is the Odyssey the first historical novel? How Homer recreated a world of gods and monsters

This ancient Greek vase depicts one of the most famous episodes in The Odyssey: Odysseus and his men blinding the Cyclops Polyphemus after becoming trapped in his cave | Credit: Getty Images

Ancient Greece

How the Odyssey's Cyclops became the ancient Greeks' worst nightmare

The fall of Troy marks the end of the decade-long war described in Homer's Iliad, but it is only the beginning of The Odyssey | Credit: Getty Images

Ancient Greece

Did the Trojan War really happen? Here's why even Odyssey experts can't agree

Matt Damon appears as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. The bearded warrior stands in a coastal encampment dressed in dark armour, with rows of tents, soldiers and moored longships stretching into the background.

Ancient Greece

Is The Odyssey based on a true story? The movie's historical accuracy explained

Robert Pattinson as Antinous in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, seated in Odysseus’s palace wearing dark armour with ornate gold detailing. He clasps his hands together and looks intently to one side, surrounded by other figures in the dimly lit hall.

Ancient Greece

Was Antinous a real person? The history behind The Odyssey character explained

Tom Holland as Telemachus sits in a dimly lit hall in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. Wearing bronze armour and a cloak, the prince stares pensively into the distance, surrounded by blurred figures in the background.

Ancient Greece

Was Telemachus a real person? The history behind The Odyssey character explained

Anne Hathaway as Penelope in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. The queen looks ahead with a calm, resolute expression, wearing a dark blue gown and an intricate gold necklace.

Ancient Greece

Was Penelope a real person? The history behind The Odyssey character explained

Matt Damon portrays Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. The battle-worn king stares anxiously into the distance, his face lit by firelight as cloaked figures stand behind him in the mist.

Ancient Greece

Was Odysseus a real person? The hero of the The Odyssey explained

A collage of ancient Greek art and mythology. Several marble busts of classical figures—gods and goddesses—appear across the composition, their pale stone faces arranged in overlapping layers. In the foreground, a silver coin shows Athena in profile wearing a crested helmet. At the centre, a colourful painted scene depicts Poseidon holding a trident and riding two hippocamps through stylised waves. To the right, a metallic statue of Hermes stands in a dynamic pose, identifiable by his winged helmet and caduceus. The background blends ocean imagery with classical sculpture, creating a dense, myth‑themed visual montage.

Ancient Greece

Greek gods and goddesses: 15 of the most important deities of ancient Greece

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How Rome really conquered Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Close-up of archaeologists using hand tools and brushes to excavate a deposit of animal bones, soil and flat stones around Structure 10 at the Ness of Brodgar.

Stone Age

An ancient mystery is hiding under one of Scotland's major archaeological sites – and it's about to be dug up

Ancient Roman mosaic depicting a tragic theatrical mask with exaggerated features and flowing curls, surrounded by decorative foliage, from the House of the Faun in Pompeii.

Roman

Did the ancient Romans of Pompeii know they were destined for doom?

Archaeologist Phil Harding standing before the towering stones of Stonehenge under a cloudy sky, with one of the monument’s iconic megaliths rising behind him.

Stone Age

Archaeologists find ancient clues that may unlock a major Stonehenge mystery

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Alexander the Great: life of the week. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Renaissance portrait of Sir Thomas More seated in dark robes trimmed with fur, wearing a gold chain of office and black cap against a green draped background.

Tudor

He was the Tudor who created Utopia – but his insults were shockingly filthy

Ancient Roman fresco showing the mythological death of Pentheus, surrounded and attacked by maenads in flowing garments amid a dramatic, chaotic scene.

Roman

Archaeologists and historians still haven't solved Pompeii's biggest mystery. Here's why

A four‑panel collage of scenes and artworks from Pompeii. The top left shows a stone‑paved street lined with ruined Roman buildings under a bright sky. The top right shows a fragment of a building interior with surviving frescoes beneath a wooden roof. The bottom left shows a still‑life fresco of food, vessels, and folded cloth. The bottom right shows a detailed mythological fresco with multiple human figures in classical style.

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On the edge of catastrophe: life in Pompeii as Vesuvius was about to erupt. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This engraving depicts the battle of Zama in 202 BC, the decisive clash of the Second Punic War. Led by Scipio Africanus, Roman forces defeated Hannibal’s Carthaginian army, ending Carthage’s challenge to Roman power and marking Rome’s emergence as the dominant force in the western Mediterranean.

General ancient history

2,200 years ago Rome got caught in the Thucydides Trap. The result transformed the ancient world

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