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1[[quoteright:350:[[Film/{{Gladiator}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rs_28275_gladiator_1800_1405946351.jpg]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:[[MemeticMutation ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?]]]]
3
4->''"Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?"''
5-->-- '''Captain Oveur''', ''{{Film/Airplane}}''
6
7A particular kind of PeriodPiece set in ancient [[BibleTimes biblical]] or [[TheTimeOfLegends mythological]] times, running the gamut from HeroicFantasy to HistoricalFiction. Movies set in UsefulNotes/AncientGreece, UsefulNotes/TheRomanRepublic or UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire, or even in AncientGrome, are [[HollywoodHistory usually included]]. Alternatively, it may be used to describe FantasyCounterpartCulture equivalents in a secondary world.
8
9The subgenre of low-budget Sword And Sandal Italian films of the [[TheFifties late '50s]] and [[TheSixties early '60s]] is known as ''Peplum''. [[note]]The name comes from the ''peplos'', an Ancient Greek garment, a little like a toga, that became a mainstay of these movies' wardrobes.[[/note]] These films in particular tend to have the WorldsStrongestMan as the hero (often Hercules, but not necessarily). Much like the {{spaghetti western}}s that followed them, pepla tend to star non-Italian, Anglophonic leading actors ([[NonActorVehicle if they're actors at all]]) alongside an Italian supporting cast. If an Anglophonic lead could not be secured and they had to cast a fellow Italian, he'd take on an English pseudonym - Sergio Ciani, for example, became Alan Steel. These movies also tended to get [[MarketBasedTitle wildly different titles]] when released outside their home country, to the point where [[DolledUpInstallment entire franchises could be fashioned out of what were originally stand-alone movies]]. The term "peplum" can also refer to a second wave of Italian fantasy films that came out in TheEighties, though not all of these were SwordAndSandal movies, instead being SwordAndSorcery films [[FollowTheLeader overtly modeled]] on ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982''. Sandals or not, the '80s pepla tended to be [[DarkerAndEdgier grimmer]], [[BloodierAndGorier more violent]], and [[HotterAndSexier sleazier]] than their relatively family-friendly forebears.
10
11A classic CyclicTrope, as Hollywood has regular periods of fascination with the era, and the trope was named by an early period of such films being popular, being a staple of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood.
12
13Contrast SwordAndSorcery, on which the name is based (or vice versa). Strictly speaking, the two genres are distinguished by SwordAndSorcery having explicitly fantastic settings, typically a pseudo-Medieval European style ConstructedWorld. Conversely, Sword And Sandal at least pretends to depict real-world historical settings, usually being set during classical antiquity in the Mediterranean regions. There is often some overlap though (as seen in the more ''[[Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982 Conan]]''-inspired sword and sandal films of the '80s), especially when mythology gets involved, but it is usually existing mythology, based directly on Hellenic tradition.
14
15Some of these films may also be set in the Middle East or North Africa, but are differentiated from ArabianNightsDays by time period: that trope refers to works set in the Islamic Golden Age (during what was known as the Middle Ages in Europe), while this trope refers (within those regions, at least) to works set much earlier.
16
17Expect the landscape to resemble sand dunes and/or [[CaliforniaDoubling rural Spain]] throughout, making those sandals look more attractive.
18
19The equivalent would be {{Wuxia}} for China, and JidaiGeki for Japan, in some cases, though these [[PeriodPiece Period Pieces]] may also include elements of TheMiddleAges, or even later ages, that are absent in Sword And Sandal ones.
20
21Compare EpicMovie.
22
23----
24!!Examples:
25
26[[foldercontrol]]
27
28[[folder:Classical Mythology]]
29
30[[index]]
31[[AC:Anime & Manga]]
32* ''Anime/Ulysses31'' -- ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' and a few other classical myths... in space in the 31st century.
33
34[[AC:Comic Books]]
35* ''ComicBook/AgeOfBronze''
36* ''[[ComicBook/HerculesTheThracianWars Hercules: The Thracian Wars]]''
37
38[[AC:Films - Animation]]
39* ''WesternAnimation/{{Achilles}}'' (StopMotion short)
40* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' (Disney, 1997)
41* ''WesternAnimation/HerculesAndXenaTheAnimatedMovieTheBattleForMountOlympus'' (part of the Franchise/HercXenaverse)
42
43[[AC:Films - Live-Action]]
44* ''Film/ClashOfTheTitans1981'' - A loose adaptation of the Perseus myth, featuring StopMotion monsters from Creator/RayHarryhausen. Ultimately, it would be the last feature film he would work on.
45* ''Film/ClashOfTheTitans2010'' - A remake of the above
46* ''Film/ColossusAndTheHeadhunters''. The "Colossus" of the title is actually the recurring Italian character Film/{{Maciste}}, who didn't have much name recognition in the United States, and whose name was considered too hard to pronounce, prompting the MarketBasedTitle, though in the English dub, his name is still Maciste, with "Colossus" as simply a nickname. When it appeared later on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', his name was misheard as "My Cheesesteak".
47** ''Film/AtlasInTheLandOfTheCyclops'': Despite the MarketBasedTitle, both the original Italian release and its English dub are about Maciste, and there is no character named Atlas. Our hero gets roped into protecting the last descendant of Odysseus from the Cyclops, who is still mad about what happened in ''Literature/TheOdyssey''.
48* ''Film/GoliathAndTheDragon'': Again, despite the MarketBasedTitle, this movie (known in its native Italy as ''La Vendetta di Ercole'', or ''The Revenge of Hercules'') is actually about Hercules, although even in the dub, he's not supposed to be the same Goliath as in the Bible, but a guy named Emilius that everybody ''calls'' Goliath because he's so big. The change was made so that it could be [[DolledUpInstallment marketed as a sequel]] to the earlier ''Film/GoliathAndTheBarbarians'', but it probably would have been easier to leave him as Hercules.
49* ''Film/SamsonAndHisMightyChallenge'' (a 1965 Italian film also starring Hercules, but Samson's in there too). Later {{Gag Dub}}bed as ''Film/HerculesReturns''.
50* ''[[Film/HelenOfTroy Helen of Troy (1956)]]''
51* ''Film/{{Hercules 1958}}'' and sequels. The first one, starring Steve Reeves, is the [[TropeNamer first movie to be called]] a "sword and sandal" one, and is said to have kicked off the Italian ''peplum'' wave. A few of the Reeves films - including the original - would later appear on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', which got a lot of mileage out of this kind of movie.
52* ''Film/{{Hercules 1983}}'', starring Lou Ferrigno. Followed by a sequel in 1985.
53* ''Film/{{Hercules 2014}}'', starring Wrestling/DwayneJohnson, based on ''Hercules: The Thracian Wars''.
54* ''Film/HerculesAndTheCaptiveWomen'' (also known as "Hercules And The Conquest Of Atlantis"). Introduced British bodybuilder Reg Park as Hercules, who travels to a proto-[[ANaziByAnyOtherName fascistic]] {{Atlantis}} to prevent the prophesied destruction of all Greece. Was also featured on ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''.
55** ''Film/HerculesInTheHauntedWorld'' (or ''Hercules in the Centre of the Earth'') - Another with Reg Park as Herc. Director Creator/MarioBava, best known for his very stylized horror movies, brings kind of a DarkFantasy tone to this movie, with a very vivid depiction of [[FireAndBrimstoneHell the Underworld]]. Creator/ChristopherLee, another horror icon, plays the villain.
56** ''Hercules, Prisoner of Evil'' was marketed as the third in the Reg Park-as-Hercules trilogy, but is actually another DolledUpInstallment, as its original Italian title translates better to ''Ursus, Terror of the Kirghiz''. As you can guess from that title, Reg's character wasn't originally supposed to be Hercules (and isn't even really the hero of the movie; it's mainly about his younger brother), and it's set in Central Asia (specifically, what is now Kirghizstan) during the time of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Mongolica Pax Mongolica]]. The American distributor figured that the setting would be exotic enough that most viewers wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
57** ''Hercules the Avenger''. Hercules (Park again) travels to the Underworld, mostly via StockFootage from ''Captive Women'' and ''Haunted World'', to save his son Xanthus, whose mind has been stolen by the wicked earth goddess Gaia. Meanwhile, a fellow demigod - Gaia's son Anteus, a rival for the title of WorldsStrongestMan, but only when he's touching the ground - has assumed Hercules' name back in the land of the living and is terrorizing the people of Syracuse.
58* The Steve Reeves version of ''Hercules'' may have jumpstarted the ''peplum'' boom, but it was itself inspired by the 1954 movie ''Ulysses'', an adaptation of ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' starring Creator/KirkDouglas.
59* ''Film/{{Hundra}}'' - based on the myth of the Amazons
60* ''{{Film/Immortals}}''
61* ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts'' - another one with Creator/RayHarryhausen effects, this one tells the first half of the Jason myth (because the second half is a total downer). Hercules is also in this movie, but in a supporting role.
62* ''Film/TheLegendOfHercules''
63* ''Film/TheLovesOfHercules'' - starring Creator/MickeyHargitay as Hercules and his real-life wife Creator/JayneMansfield as the loves ([[ActingForTwo yes, plural]]). One of the HotterAndSexier entries into the genre. Was also featured on ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''.
64* ''Film/{{Minotaur}}''
65* ''Film/MySonTheHero''
66* ''Film/SinbadAndTheEyeOfTheTiger'' - Another Harryhausen movie. Mainly an ArabianNightsDays story, but with elements of this genre, with Sinbad traveling to a still-Classical Greece to recruit the alchemist Melanthius for his journey. The movie takes a lot of its fantasy elements from Greek myths as well, most specifically the concept of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperborea Hyperborea]].
67* ''Film/{{Troy}}''
68
69[[AC: Literature]]
70* ''Literature/TheAeneid'' by Virgil
71* ''Literature/TheIliad'' and ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' by Homer.
72* ''Literature/TheKingMustDie'' by Creator/MaryRenault
73* ''Literature/TheSorcererOfTheWildeeps'', which seems heavily inspired by ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh'' and involves fantastic versions of ancient UsefulNotes/{{Africa}} and AncientRome.
74* The novel ''Literature/WarGod'' by Creator/TimMarquitz is a DeconstructiveParody of this genre. The antiheroes intend to rig a tournament about this by upping the violence and murder to make their FakeUltimateHero look good so they can clean up when he crashes and burns.
75* Creator/ClarkAshtonSmith's "Poseidonis" cycle of short stories, set in a not-completely-sunken {{Atlantis}}.
76* Creator/DavidGemmell's Literature/TheTroySaga is a {{Demythification}} imagining of UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar
77
78[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
79* ''Series/{{Atlantis}}''
80* ''[[Film/HelenOfTroy Helen of Troy (2003)]]''
81* ''Series/{{Hercules}}''
82* ''[[Series/TheStoryteller The Storyteller: Greek Myths]]''
83* ''Franchise/HercXenaverse'':
84** ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys''
85** ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess''
86** ''Series/YoungHercules''
87* ''Series/JasonAndTheArgonauts''
88* ''[[Series/LOdissea L'Odissea]]'' ("The Odyssey") - The Italian-German-Yugoslav co-production starring Bekim Fehmiu, Irene Papas and a young Barbara Bach.
89* ''Series/TroyFallOfACity''
90* ''The Sons of Hercules'' was a TV series that aired re-packaged, unrelated movies in this genre [[DolledUpInstallment as if they were part of a single franchise]], their respective muscular heroes all, as the title suggests, sons of Hercules, even though two of these movies, as listed below, had heroes who already ''were'' Hercules. They included such exciting titles as:
91** ''Mole Men Vs. The Son of Hercules'' (actually ''Film/{{Maciste}}, The Strongest Man in the World'')
92** ''Triumph of the Son of Hercules'' (''Triumph of Maciste'')
93** ''Fire Monsters Against the Son of Hercules'' (''Maciste vs. The Monsters'', actually more of a HollywoodPrehistory-type movie)
94** ''Venus Against The Son of Hercules'' (''Mars, God of War'')
95** ''Ulysses Against the Son of Hercules'' (''Ulysses Against Hercules'')
96** ''Medusa Against the Son of Hercules'' (''Perseus the Invincible''. Mostly notable for its above-average creature effects by Creator/CarloRambaldi, who would go on to work on ''Film/{{Alien}}'', ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', and others)
97** ''Son of Hercules in the Land of Fire'' (''Ursus in the Land of Fire'')
98** ''Tyrant of Lydia Against the Son of Hercules'' (''Goliath and the Rebel Slave'')
99** ''Messalina Against the Son of Hercules'' (''The Last Gladiator'')
100** ''The Beast of Babylon Against The Son of Hercules'' (''Hero of Babylon'')
101** ''Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules'' (''Maciste, Gladiator of Sparta'')
102** ''Son of Hercules in the Land of Darkness'' (''Hercules the Invincible'')
103** ''Devil of the Desert Against the Son of Hercules'' (''Soraya, Queen of the Desert'', actually more of an ArabianNightsDays movie)
104
105[[AC:Tabletop Games]]
106* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''' Fifth Edition book ''Mythic Odysseys of Theros'' provides rules and setting notes for playing in a Classical Myth-inspired world.
107
108[[AC:Theatre]]
109* ''Theatre/{{Medea}}''
110* ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream''
111* ''Theatre/OedipusTheKing''
112* ''Theatre/TheOresteia''
113* ''Theatre/PericlesPrinceOfTyre''
114* ''Theatre/TimonOfAthens''
115* ''Theatre/TroilusAndCressida''
116
117[[AC:Video Games]]
118* ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology''
119* ''VideoGame/{{Apotheon}}''
120* ''VideoGame/TheBattleOfOlympus''
121* ''VideoGame/ATotalWarSagaTroy''
122* ''VideoGame/GloryOfHeracles''
123** ''VideoGame/GloryOfHeraclesIII''
124** ''VideoGame/GloryOfHeraclesIV''
125** ''VideoGame/GloryOfHeraclesDS''
126* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''
127** ''VideoGame/GodOfWarI''
128** ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII''
129** ''VideoGame/GodOfWarChainsOfOlympus''
130** ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII''
131** ''VideoGame/GodOfWarGhostOfSparta''
132** ''VideoGame/GodOfWarAscension''
133* ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}''
134* ''VideoGame/LittleMedusa''
135* ''VideoGame/OedipusInMyInventory''
136* ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheArgonauts''
137* ''VideoGame/TitanQuest''
138* ''VideoGame/WarriorsLegendsOfTroy''
139
140[[AC:Webcomics]]
141* ''Webcomic/RumorsOfWar''
142
143[[AC:Western Animation]]
144* [[/index]]Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' with the [[ShowWithinAShow fictional movie]] ''The Voyages of Loinclothiclese'', which seems to be mostly modeled on ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts'' with a little bit of ''Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad'' thrown in for good measure.[[index]]
145* ''WesternAnimation/HerculesTheAnimatedSeries'' (Disney)
146* ''WesternAnimation/MythicWarriorsGuardiansOfTheLegend''
147* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', the in-universe actor Troy [=McClure=] once starred in such a film, titled ''The Erotic Adventures of Hercules', a softcore romp probably inspired by the above-listed ''Film/TheLovesOfHercules''.
148[[/folder]]
149
150[[folder:Biblical Epics]]
151
152[[AC:Films]]
153* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt''
154* ''WesternAnimation/JosephKingOfDreams''
155* ''Film/{{Barabbas}}''
156* ''Film/TheBible1966''
157* ''TheBigFisherman'' - tangential
158* ''Film/DemetriusAndTheGladiators'' - a sequel to ''The Robe''
159* ''Film/ExodusGodsAndKings''
160* ''Film/HailCaesar'' is not an example in and of itself, being set in 1950s Los Angeles, but its plot revolves around [[ShowWithinAShow the filming of]] a Biblical epic called ''Hail Caesar!: A Tale of the Christ''. It seems to be mainly about a pair of Roman soldiers (Creator/GeorgeClooney and Creator/ClancyBrown), present at the Crucifixion, who are so moved that they convert to Christianity.
161* ''Film/TheFourthWiseMan''
162* ''Film/TheGreatestStoryEverTold''
163* ''Film/KingDavid''
164* ''Film/KingOfKings''
165* ''Film/{{Maciste}} in King Solomon's Mines'' - a fusion of the Biblical Epic and ancient Africa. Reg Park, of ''Film/HerculesAndTheCaptiveWomen'' fame, stars as Maciste.
166* ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'' - an AffectionateParody of the genre.
167* ''Film/{{Noah}}''
168* ''Film/ThePassionOfTheChrist''
169* ''Peter and Paul''
170* ''Film/{{Risen}}''
171* ''Film/TheRobe''
172* ''Film/Salome1953''
173* ''Film/{{Samson and Delilah|1949}}''
174* ''Film/SodomAndGomorrah''
175* ''Film/{{The Ten Commandments|1923}}'' (1923)
176* ''Film/{{The Ten Commandments|1956}}'' (1956)
177* ''Film/TheProdigal'' (1955) - An adaptation of the parable of the Prodigal Son. The message was somewhat undercut by its marketing, which prominently featured the image of Creator/LanaTurner sexily draped across the idol of Astarte and making [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing a pretty convincing case for being a heathen]].
178* ''Film/WhollyMoses'' - another genre parody.
179
180[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
181* ''Series/MosesTheLawgiver''
182* ''Series/JesusOfNazareth''
183* ''A.D''
184* ''[[Series/TheBible2013 The Bible]]''
185** ''Series/ADTheBibleContinues''
186* ''Series/OfKingsAndProphets''
187
188[[AC:Theater]]
189* ''Music/JesusChristSuperstar'' - a RockOpera.
190* ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat''
191
192[[AC:Western Animation]]
193* ''WesternAnimation/TestamentTheBibleInAnimation''
194* ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'', but only in the episodes that reenact Biblical events, and huge liberties are taken, such as, you know, making David a talking asparagus and things like that.
195
196[[AC: Other]]
197* ''Film/{{Stargate}}'', oddly enough, is a remake of Exodus {{in space}} with AncientAstronauts.
198
199[[/folder]]
200
201[[folder:Ancient West Asia / Egypt / Middle East (non-Biblical)]]
202
203[[AC:Comic Books]]
204* ''ComicBook/{{Papyrus}}''
205
206[[AC:Films]]
207* ''Film/GodsOfEgypt'' - albeit with nominal ScienceFiction elements through AncientAstronauts.
208* ''Film/{{Pharaoh}}''
209* ''Film/TheScorpionKing'' series, a SpinOff from ''Film/TheMummyTrilogy'', the first two films of which have prologues and scenes set in Ancient Egypt.
210
211[[AC:Literature]]
212* ''Literature/DeathComesAsTheEnd''
213* ''Literature/TheEgyptian''
214* ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh'', one of the oldest surviving pieces of writing.
215
216[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
217* ''Series/TheCleopatras''
218* ''Series/{{Tut}}''
219
220[[AC:Theatre]]
221* ''Theatre/AntonyAndCleopatra''
222
223[[AC:Video Games]]
224* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins''
225* ''VideoGame/SphinxAndTheCursedMummy''
226
227[[AC:Western Animation]]
228* ''WesternAnimation/{{Papyrus}}''
229[[/folder]]
230
231[[folder:Ancient Greece]]
232
233[[AC:Comic Books]]
234* ''ComicBook/DeArgonautjes''
235* ''ComicBook/{{Three}}''
236
237[[AC:Films]]
238* ''Film/ThreeHundred''
239** ''Film/ThreeHundredRiseOfAnEmpire''
240* ''Film/The300Spartans''
241* ''Film/{{Alexander}}''
242* ''Film/AlexanderTheGreat1956''
243* ''Film/TheColossusOfRhodes'', the first film directed by Sergio Leone.
244
245[[AC:Literature]]
246* ''Literature/GatesOfFire''
247* ''Literature/GodsAndWarriors''
248* ''Literature/OverTheWineDarkSea''
249* ''Hashire! Melos'' (Run, Melos!) - A short story by author Osamu Dazaki, based on an ancient Greek legend recorded by Hyginus. It's become a staple of Japanese media and adapted to anime, dorama, etc.
250
251[[AC:Video Games]]
252* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey''
253* ''VideoGame/AncientWarsSparta''
254
255[[/folder]]
256
257[[folder:Ancient Rome]]
258
259[[AC:Comic Books]]
260* ''ComicBook/{{Alix}}'' -- The hero is a Gallo-Roman.
261* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' -- Mostly AffectionateParody of the genre, focuses on Gaulish heroes in a romanized world with Julius Caesar as regular antagonist/archenemy.
262* ''ComicBook/TheEaglesOfRome''
263* ''ComicBook/{{Murena}}''
264
265[[AC:Films - Animation]]
266* ''Franchise/{{Asterix}}''
267** ''WesternAnimation/AsterixTheGaul''
268** ''WesternAnimation/AsterixAndCleopatra''
269** ''WesternAnimation/TheTwelveTasksOfAsterix''
270** ''WesternAnimation/AsterixVersusCaesar''
271** ''WesternAnimation/AsterixInBritain''
272** ''WesternAnimation/AsterixAndTheBigFight''
273** ''WesternAnimation/AsterixConquersAmerica''
274** ''WesternAnimation/AsterixAndTheVikings''
275** ''WesternAnimation/TheMansionsOfTheGods''
276** ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfTheMagicPotion''
277
278[[AC:Films - Live-Action]]
279* ''Film/{{Agora}}''
280* ''Film/AndroclesAndTheLion''
281* ''Asterix''
282** ''Film/AsterixAndObelixTakeOnCaesar''
283** ''Film/AsterixAndObelixMissionCleopatra''
284** ''Film/AsterixAtTheOlympicGames''
285** ''Film/AsterixAndObelixGodSaveBritannia''
286** ''Film/AsterixAndObelixTheMiddleKingdom'' (crossed with {{Wuxia}})
287* ''DerivativeWorks/BenHur''
288** ''Film/BenHur1907''
289** ''Film/BenHur1925''
290** ''Film/BenHur1959''
291** ''Film/BenHur2016''
292* ''Film/BrennusEnemyOfRome''
293* ''Film/{{Cabiria}}'' (Italy 1914), one of the first major film epics, set during the Second Punic War. Featuring the BreakoutCharacter Film/{{Maciste}}, who went on to be the hero of 25 movies between 1915 and 1927, always played by Bartolomeo Pagano, and was revived for a further 28 movies in the 1960s, played by a number of actors. Not all of Maciste's movies fit into this genre, however; many of them transplant the character to other settings and time periods, [[NegativeContinuity rarely with any explanation]].
294** ''Film/HerculesAgainstTheMoonMen''. Despite its English-language title, this is another Maciste movie. The distributor figured that [[MarketBasedTitle Hercules had more name recognition than Maciste in the Anglophonic world]]. Would later turn up on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''. The movie is set in an ambiguous AncientGrome (with aspects of Mesopotamia and Egypt thrown in) and pits our hero (whatever his name is) against rock-like FantasyAliens.
295** ''Film/ColossusAndTheHeadhunters'' - Another Maciste movie, and another ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' entry.
296** A few other Maciste movies were edited into ''The Sons of Hercules'' TV series - see above under the Classical Mythology header.
297* ''Film/CaesarAndCleopatra''
298* ''Film/CarryOnCleo'' -- a parody of this trope, specifically Shakespeare's historical tragedies and the Creator/ElizabethTaylor ''Cleopatra'' film.
299* ''Film/{{Centurion}}''
300* ''Film/Cleopatra1934''
301* ''Film/{{Cleopatra}}''
302* ''Film/DeuxHeuresMoinsLeQuartAvantJesusChrist'' (a French parody of the genre)
303* ''Film/TheEagle2011''
304* ''Film/TheFallOfTheRomanEmpire''
305* ''Film/GoliathAndTheBarbarians'' (originally titled ''Il Terrore di Barbari'', literally ''The Terror of the Barbarians''), loosely based on the Lombard invasion of Italy in 568 CE. It tells the story of a musclebound hero named Emiliano (Creator/SteveReeves), who must repel the invaders. In the English language release by Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures, Emiliano was renamed to the more "Roman" and less Italian-sounding Emilius, but mostly called by the nickname "Goliath" (though he's not meant to be the Biblical Goliath). Although it was originally a standalone movie, AIP tried to make a franchise out of it by [[DolledUpInstallment redubbing other peplum movies]] to be about Goliath/Emilius - namely ''Film/GoliathAndTheDragon'' (originally a Hercules movie, though one without Reeves) and ''Film/GoliathAndTheVampires'' (a Film/{{Maciste}} movie).
306* ''Film/{{Gladiator}}''
307* ''Film/JuliusCaesar1953''
308* ''Film/JuliusCaesar1970''
309* ''Film/KingArthur2004''
310* ''Film/TheLastLegion''
311* ''Film/{{Pompeii}}''
312* ''Film/TheSilverChalice''
313* ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'' -- subverts just about all of the standard conventions of movies with a Roman setting. The [[CrucifiedHeroShot crucifixion]] scene especially was very controversial.
314* ''Film/TheSevenMagnificentGladiators'', which, at the title suggests, is TheMagnificentSevenSamurai but set in Roman times. It stars Creator/LouFerrigno and Creator/SybilDanning[[note]]This was Sybil Danning's second film with this plot, the first being the scifi movie ''Film/BattleBeyondTheStars''[[/note]]. Part of the peplum revival of the 1980s which followed the success of ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982''.
315
316[[AC:Literature]]
317* ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'' -- set roughly at the time when UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire evolved into the Byzantine empire.
318* ''Literature/BenHur'' -- Also counts as sort of a Biblical Epic.
319* ''Literature/CodexAlera'': Though technically it doesn't take place in the Roman Empire, the setting is essentially built around a displaced Roman legion, and thus closely hews to ancient Rome.
320* ''Literature/TheEagleOfTheNinth''
321* ''Emperor''
322* ''Fabiola''
323* ''Literature/IClaudius''
324* ''Literature/{{Imperium}}''
325* ''The Last Days of Pompeii''
326* ''Literature/MarcusDidiusFalco'' -- A series of HistoricalDetectiveFiction novels centering on a PrivateDetective during the reign of Vespasian.
327* ''Literature/MastersOfRome''
328* ''Literature/QuoVadis''
329* ''Literature/RomaSubRosa'' -- Another HistoricalDetectiveFiction series, this time set in the late Republic.
330* ''Literature/{{SPQR}}'' -- Yet another HistoricalDetectiveFiction series, also set in the late Republic.
331
332[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
333* ''Series/{{Barbarians}}''
334* ''Series/{{Britannia}}''
335* ''Series/TheCaesars''
336* ''Series/IClaudius''
337* ''Series/{{Masada}}''
338* ''Series/RomanEmpire''
339* ''Series/{{Rome}}''
340* ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand''
341
342[[AC:Theater]]
343* ''Theatre/AndroclesAndTheLion'', an early Deconstruction
344* ''Theatre/{{Coriolanus}}''
345* ''Theatre/{{Cymbeline}}''
346* ''Theatre/AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum'' -- An AffectionateParody of this genre.
347* ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar''
348* ''Theatre/TitusAndronicus''
349
350[[AC:Video Games]]
351* ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresI'' -- It starts in the Stone Age, but one of the main goals in any scenario is to upgrade your civilization to this trope. The Expansion, ''The Rise Of Rome'', also fully fits here.
352* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'' -- The protagonist is Egyptian, but it still takes place towards the end of both Ptolemaic era Egypt and the Roman Republic.
353* ''Videogame/CenturionDefenderOfRome''
354* ''VideoGame/CircusMaximus'' -- the first (and most likely only) racing game that exclusively utilizes chariots
355* ''VideoGame/ColosseumRoadToFreedom''
356* ''VideoGame/EmpireEarth'', similar to ''Age of Empires''
357* ''VideoGame/ExpeditionsRome''
358* ''VideoGame/GladiatorBegins''
359* ''VideoGame/GladiatorSwordOfVengeance''
360* ''VideoGame/{{Gladius}}''
361* ''VideoGame/{{Imperivm}}''
362* ''VideoGame/{{Praetorians}}''
363* ''VideoGame/RomeTotalWar'' and ''VideoGame/TotalWarRomeII''
364* ''VideoGame/RyseSonOfRome''
365* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfRome'' -- basically ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' [-IN ANCIENT ROME!-]
366* ''VideoGame/SpartanTotalWarrior'' -- play as a Spartan fighting Romans.
367* ''Swords And Sandals'' A flash game series where you play as a gladiator.
368
369[[AC:Western Animation]]
370* ''WesternAnimation/ShakespeareTheAnimatedTales'' -- The ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar'' episode only.
371[[/folder]]
372[[/index]]

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