Bettany Hughes

BBC - Venus Uncovered: Ancient Goddess of Love (2017) Movies

Posted by notbanned at Nov. 16, 2017

Bettany Hughes explores Venus - goddess of love - discovering her surprising roots and modern relevance. Beginning in Cyprus, the goddess's mythical birthplace, Bettany decodes Venus's relationship to the Greek goddess Aphrodite. She meets experts who reveal the mysterious and obscure ways this ancient goddess was imagined and worshipped, and visits the sites where the real women and men of the Bronze Age adored her as 'greater than a god'. Bettany looks into the goddess's own love life to see that - even for her - tangling with another was often bittersweet.

Details

BBC - Bacchus Uncovered: Ancient God of Ecstasy (2018) Movies

Posted by notbanned at April 13, 2018

Professor Bettany Hughes investigates the story of Bacchus, god of wine, revelry, theatre and excess, travelling to Georgia, Jordan, Greece and Britain to discover his origins and his presence in the modern world, and explore how 'losing oneself' plays a vital role in the development of civilisation. Bettany begins in Georgia where she discovers evidence of the world's oldest wine production, and the role it may have played in building communities. In Athens she reveals Bacchus's pivotal role in a society where his ecstatic worship was embraced by all classes, and most importantly women. On Cyprus she uncovers startling parallels between Bacchus and Christ.

Details

BBC - Roman Voices: Learning Zone (2013) Movies

Posted by notbanned at Dec. 26, 2013

Historian Bettany Hughes explores what made Britain so attractive to the ancient Romans that they made it a province of their great empire. Bettany visits the Roman fort at Vindolanda, the sacred baths at Aquae Sulis and the Corinium Museum, to find out what life was like for the Roman soldiers, women and children who lived in Roman Britain. Looking at stunning artefacts, from a ring inscribed with 'mum and dad', to pieces of lead inscribed with sadistic curses and a beautiful piece of painted glass depicting gladiatorial fights, Bettany unravels how people lived at this time. We see archaeologists in action and find out what Romano-British homes of the wealthy would have looked like, and learn how their elaborate under floor heating systems - known as hypocausts - worked, and were also a daily potential hazard.

Details

Ch5. - Top Ten Treasures Egyptian Mummies (2020) Movies

Posted by notbanned at Jan. 9, 2021

Professor Bettany Hughes returns with an exciting countdown of her ten greatest Egyptian mummies - and the secrets that lie beneath the bandages. Ancient Egypt has a history like no other: nestling between the desert and the Nile, its extraordinary pyramids, soaring temples, and hidden tombs astonish and captivate. But nothing brings Egypt’s past back to life like the mummies that survive it. Wrapped, embalmed, and buried with treasure for thousands of years, each mummy tells the story of the people – the criminals, priests, children and pharaohs – who lived the history we’ve come to know.

Details

Channel 5 - Eight Days that Made Rome Part 7: Theatre of Death (2017) Movies

Posted by notbanned at Dec. 9, 2017

Bettany Hughes explores the day in 80AD when the Colosseum opened its gates for the first time. For new emperor Titus, the spectacular games and events were an opportunity to win over the people and secure his place on the imperial throne, but why did the Romans - cultured and civilised in so many ways - enjoy witnessing such brutality and bloodletting? Bettany travels across the Roman world in a bid to find answers.

Details

Ch5. - Top Ten Treasures Of Egypt (2019) Movies

Posted by notbanned at Aug. 4, 2019

Professor Bettany Hughes takes us on a beautiful, bespoke journey across this dramatic country, bringing you the definitive countdown of her Top Ten Treasures of Ancient Egypt. From blockbuster temples to the lost treasures of the pharaohs, this is a thrilling exploration of one of the world’s oldest and most mysterious civilisations. Bettany travels from the Nile Delta in the north of Egypt, to the shores of Lake Nasser in the far south, taking in stunning sites including the Great Sphinx, the Rosetta Stone, the Valley of the Kings and the Great Pyramid at Giza. Along the way she meets leading experts and egyptologists who shine a new light on our treasures - old favourites and unexpected wonders alike.

Details

BBC - Atlantis: The Evidence (2010) [repost] Movies

Posted by andr1078 at March 19, 2016

In this Timewatch special, historian Bettany Hughes unravels one of the most intriguing mysteries of all time. She presents a series of geological, archaeological and historical clues to show that the legend of Atlantis was inspired by a real historical event - the greatest natural disaster of the ancient world.

Details

BBC - Apples, Pears and Paint: How to Make a Still Life Painting (2014) Movies

Posted by notbanned at Nov. 4, 2016

A richly detailed journey through the epic history of still life painting, featuring a range of delights from the earliest existing Xenia mural paintings discovered at Pompeii to the cubist masterpieces of Picasso. Awash with rich imagery of fruit, flowers and humble domestic objects, this lively take on the story of still life encompasses the work of some of the genre's greatest artists from Caravaggio to Chardin and Cezanne. But it also captures the surprising contributions of the less well known, including asparagus enthusiast Adriaen Coorte and female flower painter in the court of Louis XVI, Anne Vallayer-Coster.

Details

Channel 5 - Top 10 Treasures of Egypt (2019) Movies

Posted by rwdfox at April 3, 2023

Bettany Hughes takes viewers on a beautiful journey across this dramatic country presenting her top 10 treasures of Egypt.

Details

PBS - Helen of Troy (2005) Movies

Posted by kimth2 at Sept. 29, 2009

Acclaimed presenter of historic documentaries, Bettany Hughes, embarks on a journey across the eastern Mediterranean to discover the truth about Helen of Troy, the woman blamed for causing the Trojan War. Following weapons experts, the two-hour film shows how the conflict in Helen's name would have been fought, unraveling the reality from the myths and putting flesh on "the face that launched a thousand ships."

Details