This six part series on three videodiscs explores the influence on ancient culture on our lives today. Host, Michael Wood visits the ancient cities and great ports of India and China, the deserts of Egypt and Iraq, the Mexico of the Inca, Aztec and Mayan peoples, the Greek and Roman monuments of Europe and the jungles of Central America searching for the living legacies of these once great civilizations. The series traces how the institutions that arose with urban civilization 5,000 years ago, such as organized religion, bureaucratic government and international trade are still affecting the political and cultural mindset of many parts of the world today.

English subtitles.

Disc 1. Iraq : the cradle of civilization -- India : the empire of the spirit -- Disc 2. China : the mandate of heaven -- Egypt : the habit of civilization -- Disc 3. Central America : the burden of time -- The barbarian West.