Ancients Behaving Badly
This documentary explores some of the psychological behaviors regarding the world's most infamous celebrities in the ancient world, while utilizing modern scientific techniques to explain their actions.
- 2009-2009
- 1 season
- History Channel
- Documentary
This documentary explores some of the psychological behaviors regarding the world's most infamous celebrities in the ancient world, while utilizing modern scientific techniques to explain their actions.
Season 1 Episode Guide
8 Episodes 2009
Episode 1
Caligula
Fri, Nov 6, 2009 44 mins
Caligula. He ruled the Roman Empire for less than four years, but in that time, he proclaimed himself as a living god and committed some of the worst crimes imaginable. What molded him into the bloodthirsty tyrant the world remembers him as?
Episode 2
Attila the Hun
Fri, Nov 13, 2009 45 mins
Attila the Hun is a man whose very name is a byword for savagery and violence. This ferocious warrior led the Germanic warriors against the Romans and ultimately was responsible for its downfall. How did he become such a figure of fear and fascination?
Episode 3
Julius Caesar
Fri, Nov 20, 2009 44 mins
The ruler whose ego was as big as his empire declares himself dictator of Rome for life--turning his allies to enemies in the process. Julius Caesar never became emperor, and he ruled Rome only few years. Yet he changed history and is by far the most famous Roman. However, his path could have turned in many directions.
Episode 4
Alexander the Great
Sat, Dec 19, 2009 44 mins
The king of Macedonia considered himself a god; his admirers called him a military genius; his enemies considered him the devil. He used weapons of mass destruction of his day to defeat his enemies. What drove his quest for world domination and led him to massacre tens of thousands, including women and children and members of his own family?
Episode 5
Nero
Sat, Dec 19, 2009 44 mins
Nero was the most depraved emperor of Rome. He set Christians on fire to use as candles, murdered his mother and both of his wives and committed unspeakable atrocities. But are any of these horror stories true? And what circumstances shaped him into the wicked ruler history remembers him as?
Episode 6
Hannibal
Sat, Dec 19, 2009 44 mins
Carthaginian general Hannibal is well known as the man who nearly killed the Roman Empire in its infancy, and for his daring military campaign, in which he led a herd of war elephants over the Alps. What psychological factors led to him becoming such a figure of fascination and legend?
Episode 7
Genghis Khan
Sat, Dec 19, 2009 44 mins
This Mongol destroyer set in motion the conquest of a quarter of the world's population with a body count in the millions.
Episode 8
Cleopatra
Wed, Dec 30, 2009 44 mins
The infamous Queen of Egypt, known for her legendary powers of seduction, would stop at nothing, even murdering her entire family, to get her own way. Driven by power and ambition, her life was dominated by a heady cocktail of sex and murder.