Bettany Hughes

It is a book that originated thousands of years ago in the Middle East. The subject of intensive scholarship and interpretation, the Bible and its rich narratives have shaped politics, culture, and the human experience through the ages. Seven people from different walks of life offer their perspectives on what history's best selling book says about spiritual life and relationships with others.

A two-part special that re-tells the staggering expansion, domination, and ultimate collapse of one of history’s greatest and most cautionary civilizations. Rome is a young and aggressive republic fighting for survival in the dog-eat-dog world of the Ancient Mediterranean but driven by an ambitious leadership with plans to expand. Waging war on its neighbors brings vast wealth, power, and land without limits. Under its emperors, the Roman Empire dominates the Western world, before an intricate web of events, absolute unchecked power, and new fearsome invaders bring it crashing down after a thousand years of gore and glory. Utilizes dramatic live action sequences, archive, and special effects to bring to life the crucial players in Rome’s history. Featuring commentary with leading experts and world-renowned scholars.

National Geographic's landmark event series, The Greeks, brings together historians, archaeologists, actors, athletes, scientists and artists to launch a groundbreaking exploration into the ancient Greeks' journey - not just to better understand their past, but to discover how their legacy illuminates our present, and will shape our future. The story of the Greeks is the story of us.

Bettany Hughes relives eight pivotal days that defined the Roman Empire and made it the world's first superpower.

Bettany Hughes sets out on an epic journey across continents and back in time to trace the hidden and often controversial history of women in religion

The historian explores the land that inspired her passion for the past by embarking upon a 900-mile journey along the river Nile and examining how it shaped ancient Egypt.

Ancient Impossible, the new H2 series, picks up where HISTORY’s long running Ancient Discoveries left off. In this next generation of storytelling, Ancient Impossible reveals how many of today’s technological achievements were actually developed centuries ago. Colossal monuments, impossible feats of engineering and technologies so precise they defy reinvention–the ancient world was far more advanced than we ever imagined. We’ll travel through history to reveal a radically different picture of the past, with innovations so far ahead of their time, they’re still in use today. New science uncovers a lost world more like our own than we ever suspected, and reveals how modern technology has its blueprint in the ancient world.

Bettany Hughes take viewers on armchair travels to explore household-name treasures and new finds from across the world.

This six-part series tells the story of the birth and flourishing of civilisation in the Middle East and its huge influence on the West. From the foundation of science, monotheism, commerce, justice, civil rights and artistic expression - look Eastward. The series contends that history that starts from an ancient Greek perspective distorts the true path of civilisation. For crucial phases in world history, the political, economic and cultural centre was the Middle East.

Historian Bettany Hughes has embarked on an epic, personal journey. Inspired by Homer's The Odyssey, she will sail the unpredictable Mediterranean seas, tracing Odysseus's long journey home. Her mission: to experience what the Greek hero experienced and to uncover truths behind the myths and legends, all while enjoying the delights of ancient Greece today. Follow her 1,700-mile adventure as it takes her to over a dozen islands and 22 historic sites and puts her through two hair-raising storms and even an earthquake.

Historian Bettany Hughes retraces the lives of three great thinkers whose ideas shaped the modern world - Karl Marx, Frederick Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud.

The Ancient World is presented by historian Bettany Hughes which gives us a personal take on the ancient world cultures in this documentary series aired on Channel 4 network and takes us on a journey all over the ancient world from Egypt to Greece.

The rise and fall of one of the most extreme civilisations the world has ever witnessed – one founded on discipline, sacrifice and frugality, centred on the collective, whose goal was to create the perfect state and the perfect warrior.

Exploring life in Pompeii during the final days of the doomed city.

Historian Bettany Hughes travels to India, Greece and China on the trail of three giants of ancient philosophy - Buddha, Socrates and Confucius.

A forensic dig into history's most enduring mysteries. In Voices of the Dead, Professor Bettany Hughes leads a forensic investigation into some of the most enduring mysteries of the ancient world and brings viewers face-to-face with the extraordinary people of the past she unearths along the way.

Bettany Hughes is on a mission to understand the secret behind the success of the Nabataeans. The glorious tombs of their cities, like Hegra in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, are proof of a rich kingdom.

World-class historian Bettany Hughes journeys across modern-day Türkiye to uncover the origins of civilisation itself. With exclusive access to newly discovered sites and artifacts - including the world’s first square room, the oldest known swords, and the first life-sized human sculptures - she explores the birth of agriculture, religion, trade, urban life, myths, and empire. From Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe to Ephesus, Cappadocia, Istanbul, and the snowy Caucasus mountains, this cinematic journey reveals how ancient Anatolia became a crossroads of human history - and helped shape the world we know today.

Renowned historian and Wanderlust contributing editor Bettany Hughes is back on our screens with Seven Wonders of The Ancient World – and the series will make use of augmented reality (AR), allowing viewers to explore the lost sites.

Unearthing the glittering, golden treasures of the pharaohs.

Bettany Hughes searches out the real truth about the birth of democracy in ancient Athens 2500 years ago

Join us as we tell the tales of history's most iconic female fighters, from the legendary Amazons of Central Asia to the gladiators of the Roman Empire to the all-female fighting force of West Africa.

The professor, seasoned adventurer, author and historian - alongside local experts and academics - guides viewers through her curated selection of the treasures of India.

Seven Ages of Britain is a 2003 British documentary television series. The seven part series was shown by Channel 4 between 15 November and 20 December 2003.

Bettany Hughes goes in search of this lost civilisation, revealing the story of a city founded out of the desert by Alexander the Great in 331 BC to become the world's first global centre of culture. The documentary also looks at the role of astronomer and philosopher Hypatia, and incorporates stunning footage from the feature film 'Agora'.

Follow the close analysis of an ancient fight master's manuscript depicting combat techniques and devices used over 500 years ago.

The history of still life painting with oil paints

Best known for the myth of the Minotaur, Crete gave birth to Europe's first civilization. Yet little is known about those who inhabited the island. But now, with fresh archeological evidence, light is finally being shed on this ancient culture.

Professor Bettany Hughes takes viewers on a journey of discovery as she investigates 10 of the greatest and most intriguing Egyptian mummies - and the secrets that lie beneath the bandages. Having remained in their tombs for thousands of years, wrapped, embalmed and buried with treasure, each mummy tells the story of the criminals, priests, children and pharaohs of Ancient Egypt.

David Suchet, TV's Poirot, has spent more of his life acting out the plots and dramas created by Agatha Christie than anyone else in the world. Suchet is embarking on a journey to learn more about the woman who created Poirot and whose books remain outsold only by Shakespeare and the Bible. Suchet's journey takes him to the places Christie lived, the landscapes that inspired her and to meetings with people who knew the woman behind the fame and those inspired by her extraordinary legacy. He explores the close links between Christie's extraordinary life and her work and discovers what it was about the woman from a small seaside town that allowed her to become the best-selling murder mystery writer in history.

British historian Bettany Hughes tours the eastern Mediterranean in search of facts behind the legends of "the face that launched a thousand ships," exploring the ways Greeks made love and war circa 1300 B.C.

A documentary movie covering the 700-year reign in Spain and Portugal of the Moors. It focus on Andlucia and specifically Fes, Granada and Cordoba.

In 1914, the suffragette Mary Richardson attacked the Rokeby Venus at the National Gallery in London. But why did this painting fire such outrage? Professor Bettany Hughes embarks on a voyage of discovery to reveal the truth behind the Venus depicted in the painting, proving that this mythological figure is so much more than just an excuse for sensual nudity and chocolate-box romance. Because Venus Uncovered is the remarkable story of one of antiquity's most potent forces. And more than that - hers is the story of human desire, and how desire transforms who we are and how we behave.

The mysterious lost city of Atlantis has captured imaginations for centuries. But does new evidence prove that the legendary story is true? Historian Bettany Hughes unravels one of the most intriguing mysteries of all time, as she presents a series of geological, archaeological, and historical clues to show that the legend of Atlantis was inspired by real historical events.

Professor Bettany Hughes investigates the story of Bacchus, god of wine, revelry, theatre and excess, travelling to Georgia, Jordan, Greece and Britain to discover his origins and his presence in the modern world, and explore how 'losing oneself' plays a vital role in the development of civilisation. Bettany begins in Georgia where she discovers evidence of the world's oldest wine production, and the role it may have played in building communities. In Athens she reveals Bacchus's pivotal role in a society where his ecstatic worship was embraced by all classes, and most importantly women. On Cyprus she uncovers startling parallels between Bacchus and Christ. Finally, Bettany follows the god's modern embrace in Nietzsche's philosophy, experimental theatre and the hedonistic hippie movement to conclude that, while this god of ecstasy is worthy of contemporary reconsideration, it is vital to heed the warning of the ancients - "MEDEN AGAN" - nothing in excess.

In this fascinating documentary, historian Bettany Hughes travels to the seven wonders of the Buddhist world.Her journey begins at the Mahabodhi Temple in India, where Buddhism was born; here Hughes examines the foundations of the belief system - the three jewels.At Nepal's Boudhanath Stupa, she looks deeper into the concept of dharma - the teaching of Buddha, and at the Temple of the Tooth in Sri Lanka, Bettany explores karma, the idea that our intentional acts will be mirrored in the future.At Wat Pho Temple in Thailand, Hughes explores samsara, the endless cycle of birth and death that Buddhists seek to end by achieving enlightenment, before travelling to Angkor Wat in Cambodia to learn more about the practice of meditation.In Hong Kong, Hughes visits the Giant Buddha and looks more closely at Zen, before arriving at the final wonder, the Hsi Lai temple in Los Angeles, to discover more about the ultimate goal for all Buddhists - nirvana.