Released only last month, Those About To Die is Prime Video’s series about a side of ancient Rome that’s never before told. As my esteemed colleague Kayleigh Dray wrote, this show “promises to take us rocketing backwards through time to the days of Emperor Vespasian. Stuffed to the gills with famous faces and leather tunics, it navigates the corrupt world of the spectacle-driven gladiatorial competition.” Blood, sport, corruption, politics and Iwan Rheon from Game Of Thrones… are you not entertained?

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Focusing mainly on the fortunes of Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus Pullo (the late, great Ray Stevenson), two Roman soldiers of the thirteenth legion who’ve spent eight years away from home fighting for Caesar. Upon their return to Rome, their fortunes diverge somewhat, but as they pass in and out of each other’s lives, they are there to bear witness to – and occasionally influence – some of the key events of the time, including Caesar’s civil war and subsequent assassination, the rise of Octavian and the demise of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Polly Walker steals every scene she’s in as Atia of the Julii, and if you want to see where she perfected the ‘manipulative, conniving matriarch’ role prior to starring in Bridgerton, this is the place. Tragically cancelled after two seasons, it’s up there among the best shows that HBO has produced. Thirteen!

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More power struggles, but this time around we watch the chaos unfold from a woman’s perspective. Perhaps the OG evil stepmother, Livia Drusilla (Kasia Smutniak, Dolittle) becomes Rome’s first empress after being exiled (her father and husband/cousin backed the wrong team during the civil war). Upon returning to Rome, she aims to seek vengeance, reclaim everything that’s been stolen from her, ditch the husband, marry the emperor (Matthew McNulty, The Jetty) and secure the succession for her son (Tiberius) from a previous marriage. Should be plain sailing, right?

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“A thoroughly modern comedy in an ancient setting,” says the synopsis. Shows and films set in and around ancient Rome tend to focus on soldiers, gladiators and palace intrigue. But if you’re not a general, an emperor or the leader of a popular slave revolt, how is history to remember you? Marcus (Tom Rosenthal, Friday Night Dinner), Grumio (Ryan Sampson, Brassic) and their flatmate Stylax (Joel Fry, Our Flag Means Death) are here to show us what it’s like when you’re trying to “get laid, hold down jobs and climb the social ladder” in ancient Rome. 

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What have the Romans ever done for us? 

This 1979 comedy classic from the Monty Python team follows Brian of Nazareth, a man born on the same day as Jesus and in the neighbouring stable, who is fated to be mistaken for the Messiah for the rest of his days. Brian grows weary of the Roman occupation of Judea, throws in his lot with the People’s Front of Judea, masters the imperative verb form and is crucified for his efforts. On its release, it was banned in several countries, including Ireland and Italy, as it was said to be blasphemous. “So funny that it was banned in Norway,” read the Swedish marketing for the film.

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“Spartacus depicts extreme sensuality, brutality and language that some viewers may find objectionable,” says the disclaimer at the start of the first episode, so it seems fair to suggest that this one isn’t going to appeal to everyone. Not to be confused with Stanley Kubrick’s 1960 film of the same name, this one covers several of the same beats (Thracian slave endures many horrors at gladiator training school and ends up leading a revolt against the Roman republic) but it’s a different kettle of fish entirely. Think 300-esque stylised blood-spatter violence, gore, nudity and some wonderful turns of phrase (usually courtesy of John Hannah’s excellent Batiatus).

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We’re in AD 117 for this one, a time when the Roman empire had reached its peak and spanned three continents. And yet, somewhere north of Hadrian’s Wall, a small detachment of Roman soldiers is ambushed by Picts. A sole survivor, Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender, Twelve Years A Slave), escapes and summons the legendary ninth legion, led by General Virilus (Dominic West, The Wire), who have orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the earth. But the Romans are fighting in unfamiliar territory, and a mute she-wolf tracker (Olga Kuryelenko, Oblivion) is the last thing they’re expecting. It’s directed by Neil Marshall, who created 00s horror classic The Descent (and also directed a couple of key Game Of Thrones episodes).

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Treachery! Murder! Debauchery! The Succession of its day starts with Augustus, the emperor of Rome, searching for an heir (not straightforward) and we spend the next several decades enjoying near-endless double-crosses, corruption, backstabbings, poisonings, adultery and death. “The story of murder and madness told by an idiot” is how Guardian TV critic Nancy Banks-Smith described it at the time. And it is very much of its time: the sets are clunky, the costumes are a bit shabby and the music is jarring, but the acting is wonderful – it stars Derek Jacobi as Claudius alongside a distinguished cast that includes Siân Phillips as Livia, Brian Blessed as Augustus, John Hurt as Caligula and Patrick Stewart as Sejanus – and it remains surprisingly intense and hugely watchable to this day.

Watch I, Claudius on iPlayer