Introduces young readers to some of the most fascinating ancient civilizations in the world's history and the legacies they left behind, from the intriguing world of pharaohs in Ancient Egypt, to the arts of Greece and Rome, to the amazing culture of the Mayans.

"Ancient Worlds is a tour through history's most influential civilizations between 3000 BCE and 750 CE, capturing moments that reveal the culture and technology that made them great. From Sumer, the world's earliest civilization, to the heyday of the Mayan Empire, the tour crosses every continent, taking in developments in urban planning, art and architecture, religion, warfare, trade, and cultural exchange. Discover how deep knowledge of the Sun,...

Using superb 3D graphics, this program highlights China's architectural achievements including The Great Wall of China, the terracotta army of the First Chinese Emperor, a Chinese village from seven thousand years ago and Beijing's Forbidden City.

Can you list the key public buildings of an ancient Greek city? How did they combine beautiful and functional forms with deep ideological meanings? What made drama (including comedy) the public art par excellence?

Spartan society was harsh and peculiar, yet many observers at the time and since have found "the Spartan way" strangely compelling. After all, they won the war against Athens, and their victory moved Plato to re-imagine Athenian society in "The Republic". What were the main features of this system, and why did the Spartans embrace it?

Since 1839, scholars have been associating the Carolingians with a "renaissance." Why? What is Carolingian culture's distinctive contribution to the West, and how does it set them apart from their Muslim and Byzantine contemporaries?

As with ancient Israel or 1st-century Palestine, no one could have predicted that 7th-century Arabia would become the cradle of a world-changing new religion. Yet new as it was in many ways, Islam had important ties to Greece and Rome as well as the scriptural traditions of the West.

The word "church" (ekklesia) occurs only twice in only one of the Gospels (Matthew). Yet Paul, whose letters predate the Gospels, uses the word routinely. This intriguing fact is your gateway to the fascinating history of early Christianity.

The years from 900 onward saw an explosion of vernacular (i.e. non-Latin) writings. Why did people begin creating formal written works in their native tongues? Does knowing this literature bring us closer to the people of medieval Europe?