Myths and History of Greece and Rome

The frst chapter of our story introduces Gaia, the Earth and Ouranos, the Sky. We hear the Greek creation myth and meet the Titans and some hideous monsters!

The fun really starts here! Zeus and his brothers and sisters fight against Kronos and the Titans over who will rule the heavens and the Earth. Only one side can come out on top. Which one will it be?

It is the turn of Carthage to get a good sacking and this time the perpetrators are so efficient that they had the whole concept named after them! Worse than that, the ancient city is lost to the Empire as it is occupied by the barbarians.

Abbritus was bad. This was so so much worse.

And so we reach the beginning of the end. The signs have been there since the death of Theodosius the Great but now everyone can see them, including a certain very famous barbarian king!

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Barbarian generals and emperors battle for control of the Empire while other barbarians annex large parts of it. The countdown towards the fall of Rome gathers pace.

Christianity and the Roman Empire are inextricably linked. Before Constantine, though, the relationship had been a bit rocky.In this chapter we look at the early interactions between the Empire and the Christians.

The three surviving sons of Constantine the Great take over stewardship of the Roman Empire. Only one of them shows any semblance of being a chip off the old block!

Constantine the Great is one of the few people in history who genuinely changed the world. His achievements are many and varied but he also had a dark side!

And so Rome falls. The inevitability is clear but the shock is still remarkable. On the other hand life continues as normal.

Everyone knows about 1066 and all that. The Normans' other conquests are less famous but equally important. Just ask Alexius Comnenus!

The great Macedonian Dynasty comes to an end. The Empire begins its final spiral into nothingness.

A huge welcome to Elias Belhaddad who will take us through the rise of a new force.  The world will never be the same again!

This week we meet the rest of the children of Kronos and a couple of the other Olympians. Look out for the story of Poseidon's persuasive dolphin and the tale of poor Persephone.

Basil II takes control of his empire, finally dispatching the pesky Bardases! And then he plans... a lot.

The Eastern Empire is healthy and flourishing but the Western Empire is gone. It's time to reflect on the reasons why.

The Tetrarchy was a lovely idea. It worked so very well when Diocletian was in charge. When he was gone, though, self interest trumped duty. Civil wars ensued: lots of them.

"Don't waste time wondering what a good man is: be one." Marcus Aurelius's thoughts on how to live virtuously have stood the test of time.

The Empire is still on the rise despite the meddling of two men called Bardas!

The fact that the Roman Empire used to contain a city called Rome quickly becomes a distant memory. Constantinople has its own problems. Stability is provided by an old man who proves that age is no barrier to imperial success.