The companion volume to The Ancient World on the Victorian and Edwardian Stage (though published first), this book tells the story of the Ancient World screen epic from the silent cinema successes of Intolerance and The King of Kings to the 1990’s revival with Gladiator and its successors in cinema (Troy, Alexander) and on television (Rome). The book examines the cultural, social, economic and technological circumstances that dictated the rise and decline of each successive cycle of ancient world epics. It also lays bare the contemporary messages being delivered in the guise of costume drama and it links the genre back to 19th century theatre and painting. Unlike other books on the subject, it is specifically a historian’s and not a cultural studies’ take on the subject.