WorldsFlix

The lectures provide an invaluable look at the design and architecture of ancient cities, as well as a flesh-and-blood glimpse into the daily lives...

Cities are integral to our modern lives. Begin your tour by considering why wandering ancient humans left the forests and plains to create...

Imagine a city with no streets, no public buildings, and no common spaces. Built in layers on a small mound, the world’s first city offers an...

Nearly everyone has heard the story of the walls of Jericho, which famously came tumbling down in the book of Joshua. Look past the biblical story...

Shift your attention to one of the most marvelous cities in the ancient world. Located in the heart of Mesopotamia, Uruk exhibits many of the...

Venture east to the Indus Valley, home of one of the great unknowns among ancient civilizations. The lack of written evidence from the region means...

Enter the world of ancient Egypt during the peaceful era of the Middle Kingdom. Here in the desert, paid laborers built tombs and temples for the...

At the height of Egyptian power during the New Kingdom, skilled workers enjoyed more prosperity than ever before, and opportunities for promotion...

Deliberately created as a capital city near the center of the kingdom, Amarna served as an administrative and religious center designed to redirect...

Delve into the remarkable Minoan city of Knossos, a labyrinthine complex integrated into the natural landscape. This sophisticated example of urban...

Visit another Minoan city, which was obliterated by one of the largest volcanic eruptions in human history. The eruption destroyed much of the city...

Investigate the culture of Bronze Age Greece. After learning about the intriguing masonry at Tiryns and the impressive walls of Mycenae, you’ll...

Leap forward to classical Athens in the Golden Age of the 5th century B.C. Tour some of the city’s most well-known landmarks, including the...

Turn from the Athenian public sphere to the domestic spaces and find out what life was like for everyday citizens. See how a shoemaker or a sculptor...

Meet Hippodamus of Miletus, the father of urban planning. He used the system of orthogonal planning—including broad avenues and streets at...

Founded for defense at the start of the Peloponnesian War, the planned city of Olynthus contains the best-preserved classical houses yet excavated...

Built directly on the seacoast and a major transportation hub, Alexandria is the first massive, cosmopolitan city we know of in antiquity. Its...

While Hippodamian planning emphasized practicality, the organic layout of Pergamon emphasized theatricality, great scale, and drama—all...

Travel through Rome in the footsteps of a well-to-do citizen, from his freestanding apartment complex to the political happenings at the Forum...

Trace a day in the life of an immigrant glass blower in Rome, whose life would be considerably less fortunate thanks to xenophobia, dark and dank...

One of the most intriguing cities in the ancient world is Ostia, a “producer city” that appears to have been comprised solely of middle-...

Take an excursion to the frontiers of the Roman Empire, where a group of military veterans lived in a planned city that represented the ideal Roman...

Consider another city at the edge of the empire—an agricultural community comprised of a diverse population. Here you’ll learn about the...

Your tour of ancient cities closes with an examination of Constantinople, which bridges the gap between the era of antiquity and the Middle Ages....

What does this survey of ancient cities add up to? What lessons can we draw from antiquity? Conclude the course with a look at Venice and London to...

Arnout Hauben travels in the wake of forgotten Belgians who once made a miraculous journey.

Divulges surprising origin stories of the American alcohol, gambling, sex, and tobacco industries and the ambitiously notorious entrepreneurs who...