Ancient History on The Small Screen: The Series of The Last Quarter of the 20th Century

Abstract

The presence of Antiquity on the big screen dates back to the very beginnings of the film medium, but on the small screen it would have to wait a little longer. After some television precedents in different countries, the 1970s saw the premiere of one of the most important series in the history of television: I, Claudius, whose trascendence has had a subsequent influence that is evident in series close to it, but also with echoes in our 21st century. This paper proposes a journey from those precedents and that 1976 series to the turn of century and millennium in order to recognise a good group of series that have bequeathed an image of Antiquity to very diverse audiences around the world.