Why did the roman empire suffer under a depressingly long line of rulers, which at least spent parts of their reign in mental derangement? Did the praetorian guard really guarantee the safety of the emperor, or didn't they also liked to see themselves as emperor makers and killers? And why did Spartacus not succeed in freeing the slaves from the oppression of the roman system, though he had abundance of military talent? In an entertaining and irreverent way Michael Sommer presents fifteen life images from the ancient world - from mad emperors and mighty praetorians, to the uprising of Spartacus and other figures of ancient history.