empire, 30 b.c.-476 a.d

Jonathan and his friends are called to Rome by the emperor in the winter of 80 A.D. to find the new Prometheus believed to have brought an epidemic to the city, but Jonathan, obsessed with reuniting his parents, makes some unwise--and life-threatening--choices.

Flavia and her friends pursue tutor Aristo from Corinth to Athens when he escapes after being accused of committing a brutal attack on Flavia's father.

Eleven-year-old Marcus Cornelius Primus, having been recruited as a gladiator, learns what it takes to be an elite warrior and sets out to escape from gladiator school in order to right the wrongs that have been done to his family, without knowing he is carrying a secret that could lead to his freedom and the fall of the Empire.

Text and photographs provide insight into the lasting influence of ancient Roman culture on the modern world.

In Rome in the year 79 A.D., a group of children from very different backgrounds work together to discover who beheaded a pet dog -- and why.

An illustrated survey of the history and culture of ancient Roman civilization.