Part I The ancient world as serial television drama

When Samsung introduced its new curved television screen in 2014, I was struck not by the technology but by its official television advert. Rather than using science fiction or another ultra-modern environment to showcase this innovative new gadget, the advertisement featured a father and son in their pyjamas in the middle of a gladiatorial arena. All the tropes of screen antiquity were represented in the 30-second clip: the crowds, the arena, the evil emperor and of course the gladiators with their swords and sandals that defined the genre. What this advert encapsulated for me was not only that the audience’s interest in antiquity was alive and well, but also that there was an intrinsic connection between fictional antiquity and the (no longer so) small screen.

Less than a decade earlier, the television series Rome (2005–8) managed to capture massive audiences in the UK and the US, just as its famous predecessor I, Claudius (1976) had been a cultural icon in the 1970s. Throughout television history, high-profile shows like these have appropriated classical sources to attract sophisticated and mature audiences – often through boundary-pushing portrayals of sex and violence. Yet, other shows, like the successful Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995–99) and its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess (1995–2001), have achieved a cult following by happily mixing various ancient myths and settings with very contemporary ideas and language in order to create a more family-oriented entertainment. All these programmes are part of a tradition of representing the ancient world on television, which, as this book hopes to show, is just as fascinating as its history on the big screen. Although it is very much indebted to its cinematic predecessors, TV antiquity has from the outset tried to develop its very own style and language. In this way, it also added a new dimension to representations of antiquity in popular culture. Yet, for a long time, antiquity in television has remained in the shadow of its more spectacular cousin. This might have been due to its strong association with the large-screen epic form. A number of books have explored representations of antiquity in Hollywood cinema and beyond, e.g. Elley, 1984; Wyke, 1997; Solomon, 2001; Richards, 2008; Blanshard and Shahabudin, 2011. Several recent publications have focused on popular contemporary television shows like HBO–BBC’s Rome (2005–8) and STARZ Spartacus (2010–13), such as Cyrino, 2008 and 2015, while others mention select television programmes in works that focus primarily on the large screen (Solomon, 2001; Richards, 2008) or the ancient world in popular culture more broadly (Joshel et al., 2001). However, though much has been written about the ancient world on the large screen and some recent small-screen successes, a systematic and more substantial examination of the portrayal of antiquity on television is so far lacking. In addition, as most of these works have been written by classicists, the focus has naturally been on the reception of the ancient world, rather than on television history and culture. This book aims to address this gap in the literature in two ways. First, by offering a systematic overview of the genre throughout television history, and second by connecting the representations of antiquity to a wider discussion of developments in television aesthetics and style. Here, I will demonstrate why the genre is relevant not only to those interested in representations of the ancient world but also to scholars of television history and aesthetics more broadly.