AncientWorldsisaboutpeopleandplaces,politicsandeconomics,artandwar,tradeandtechnology,butaboveallit’sthestoryofthepainfulbirthanddifficultgrowthofaradicalideafirsttriedandtestedsomesixthousandyearsago,andwhichwearestillstrugglingwithtoday;civilisation.Civilisationhasnotcomeeasily;it’ssomethingwe’vehadtofighthardtoachieve,andevenhardertomaintain,andthegreatestthreatstoithavecomefromourowntalentsfordestruction.Butwhenwe’vemanagedtogetitright,thebenefitshavebeenenormous.Whenwetalkabouttheancientworldwetendtothinkofrareandexoticartefactsorthemonumentalremainsofepicarchitecture;butthesearejusttheemptyshellsthatgotleftbehindwhenthetideofhistoryturned!Thelivingcreatures,thecivilisations,thatonceinhabitedtheseshellswererarelyifeverstaticorstately;theyweredynamic,chaotic,andalwaysthreateningtospinoutofcontrol,becausecivilisationisbasedonanimprobableidea;thatstrangerscanliveandworktogetherindenseurbansettings,forgingnewallegiancesthatreplacethenaturaltiesoffamily,clanortribe.It’sanideawe’restillcomingtotermswithtoday,butoneofthebestwaystounderstandthechallengesthatareinvolvedistolookathowourancestorstackledthemthefirsttimearound.FromancientIraqtoImperialRome,AncientWorldsexamineshowourancestorsstruggledwiththeleversofreligionandpolitics,artandculture,waranddiplomacy,technologyandtradeinordertokeepthecomplexmachineryoftheircivilisationsturningover.Theirinsightsandblind-spots,theirbreakthroughsanddeadends,theirtriumphsanddisastersarethemilestonesonthelongandwindingroadthatleadsdirectlyfromtheirancienttoourmodernworld.

——纪录片《古代世界》由【Richard Miles,Simon Russell Beale,Julie Berry】等主演，免费在线观看，更多精彩内容尽在美剧天堂。