Legacy - The Origins of Civilization
Legacy - The Origins of Civilization
Legacy - The Origins of Civilization
Documentary
100
Watch TV Show
Download TV Show
Overview
What can the past teach us about the present? Come along as charismatic historian Michael Wood (The Story of India) travels the globe to trace the origins of six great civilizations: Iraq, India, China, Egypt, Central America, and Western Europe. Each journey offers surprising perspectives on questions that matter today-about the environment, the individual, society, and spirituality.
Status: Ended
First Air Date: 1991-08-13
Runtime: Unknown
Director: Unknown
Writer: Unknown
Top Cast
Michael Wood
Michael Wood
Episodes - Season 1
Iraq - The Cradle of Civilization
Iraq - The Cradle of Civilization
Episode 1
In places like Uruk and Eridu in modern-day Iraq, humans founded the first cities nearly 6,000 years ago. They left us literature, astronomy, and mathematics, as well as lessons in overpopulation and environmental stewardship.
India - Empire of the Spirit
India - Empire of the Spirit
Episode 2
Beginning 5,000 years ago, the "Land of the Seven Rivers" cultivated a tradition of nonviolence, renunciation of the material world, and a focus on humans' inner life. Today, these ideas survive in tension with the vestiges of Western colonialism.
China - The Mandate of Heaven
China - The Mandate of Heaven
Episode 3
With great thinkers such as Confucius and Lao-Tzu, the Chinese conceived a civilization reflecting cosmic harmony, sustained by civic and social virtue, ancient ritual, and reverence for ancestors.
Egypt - The Habit of Civilization
Egypt - The Habit of Civilization
Episode 4
In the world's first great nation, the annual flooding of the Nile conferred not only fertility, but also a deep respect for social and cosmic stability, a belief in the resurrection of the dead, and the hope of eternal life.
Central America - The Burden of Time
Central America - The Burden of Time
Episode 5
Independent of great civilizations elsewhere, the Maya and Aztecs developed a violent, fatalistic culture, envisioning a cosmos that required bloody sacrifice for renewal. It placed the sovereignty of nature above all else - even human life.
The Barbarian West
The Barbarian West
Episode 6
Now adopted nearly all over the globe, the modern Western ideas of individualism, property, and purposeful history trace their roots to Christianity, Greco-Roman humanism, and Germanic social values.
Recommendations

Eek! The Cat
68
Animation
Eek! The Cat
WandaVision
82
Drama
WandaVision
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
82
Animation
Ben 10: Ultimate Alien
Sonic Underground
69
Animation
Sonic Underground
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
95
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
What's New, Scooby-Doo?
78
Animation
What's New, Scooby-Doo?
Friends
84
Comedy
Friends
Storage Wars
57
Storage Wars
Mickey Mouse
75
Animation
Comedy
Mickey Mouse
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
76
Comedy
Drama
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Hey Arnold!
80
Animation
Comedy
Hey Arnold!
The Jetsons
72
Animation
Comedy
The Jetsons
True Love
76
Drama
True Love
South Park
83
Animation
Comedy
South Park
DuckTales
76
Animation
DuckTales
Hidden Love
85
Drama
Hidden Love
Squid Game
78
Drama
Squid Game
Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears
74
Animation
Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears
Sonic Boom
74
Animation
Comedy
Sonic Boom
The Rookie
85
Drama
Comedy
The Rookie