Meet the Romans: Citizens of the Empire

Professor Mary Beard takes a look beyond the stories of emperors, armies and gore in ancient Rome, a city at the heart of a vast and dominating empire -- in order to meet the everyday people at the heart of the empire. The program draws a portrait of the first global metropolis as seen through the eyes of an ordinary Roman living during the period. In each episode, Beard travels through the land to visit sites like the Colosseum and the excavations at Monte Testaccio. Beard takes viewers on a tour of Rome, from the bottom up.