Bettany Hughes

For close to three thousand years, Helen of Troy has been both the embodiment of absolute female beauty and a reminder of the terrible power that beauty can wield. Because of her double marriage to the Greek king Menelaus and the Trojan prince Paris, Helen was held responsible for an enduring enmity between East and West. But who was she? Helen exists in many guises: a matriarch from the Age of Heroes; the focus of a cult that conflated Helen the...

Chronicles the rise and fall of the civilization of ancient Sparta, considering socio-economic, political and military aspects and influence on later Western culture. Key battles (Thermopylae, Sphakteria, Syracuse) and individuals (Leonidas, Lysander, Lycurgus, Agesilaos) are examined. Includes location footage and battle re-enactments.