Coupon Code: RAPOPBACK2SCHOOL9

We explore questions and topics from my areas of expertise (as well as topics that the students requests).  Join us as we delve into a new and exciting subject each week! 

This hit class has been running for more than 2 years. Some favorite prior topics are listed below for reference.

Upcoming topics (updated monthly; please note: class topics may be added pursuant to student requests and interests):

Week of August 19, 2024: Livia - first empress of Rome.  Was a woman responsible for founding the Roman Empire? We discuss historical fact, archaeological inference, and all other evidence available from the fall of the Roman republic and birth of the Roman Empire.

Week of August 26, 2024: Ultimate mythology showdown! Everybody's favorite format returns! Learners will debate as we consider a hypothetical head-to-head battle between two top Roman Gods/Goddesses. A learning experience disguised as a winner-takes-all cage match!

Week of September 2, 2024: Egypt's latest Archaeological finds.  We are constantly digging the Egyptian desert.  Let's examine the latest dig sites and archaeological finds - with an archaeologist!

Week of September 9, 2024: Hittites - the greatest enemy of the ancient Egyptians.  Let's take a critical approach to our primary topic by examining one of the other major Mediterranean powerhouses.  Who were they and what drove them? Why challenge Egypt? And who else saw them as major adversaries?

Week of September 16, 2024: Sextus Pompeius. Son of Pompey the Great, a colleague then enemy of Julius Caesar. Sextus becomes one of the most feared Pirates of the Mediterranean! Can Augustus and his navy defeat him??


Students will meet once a week for a live lesson.

It is not required to have taken any of the previous classes to participate. Students may join the class during any week, because each week we will be exploring a completely different topic from Ancient Greece, it is not required to have participated in any previous class in order to join in the current week's discussion. 

1:  We will be learning about Romulus and Remus and the kings that ruled Rome before the Republic. 

2: Roman architecture. How to build the Pantheon

3:  Ancient Roman weapons of war. Engineering wins battles

4: Popcorn time!! Ancient movie night. Clash of the Titans 1981!

5: Prophecies, Oracles, and Apollo as the god of prophecy.

6: Ultimate Mythology SHOWDOWN! Zeus vs Odin in a winner take all battle to see who has the greatest powers and the wisdom to wield them properly. Come prepared to support one of the gods with your facts, mythological info, and ideas. This will be an awesome showdown between the King of the Greek Gods and the King of the Norse Gods. Bring it on!

7: Ultimate Showdown: Carthage VS Rome! Hannibal, elephants, and sea and land battles. Let's get to know the Punic Wars!

8: This week we will be doing another Ultimate Mythology Showdown! It's Apollo vs Thor in a battle to see who can come out on top- Apollo and his bow and power of prophecy or Thor and his hammer? This will be an interesting match-up. Please come prepared to support your favorite mythological god and bring references from myth to help him win.  Who will win??!!!

9:  Ancient Egyptian Warfare

10: The Female pharaoh Hatshepsut

11: Loki vs Hades

12: Daily Life in Ancient Rome. How did you grocery shop, go to school, what toys would you play with? What kind of house would you live in and how would your usual day pass? Were there restaurants and kids food? How would you travel around the city and what entertainment can you find?

13: Modern vs Ancient. Can the human technology of today stand up to the might of the Ancient Roman Gods? Let's discuss figure out would would win in this showdown.

14: Mythic Monsters, heroes, and how to defeat them. Let's learn about the Kraken, the Hydra, Medusa, and more.

15: Ghost stories from Rome

16: Ancient Egyptian heroes and quests from myth.

17: Introduction to Hindu mythology and culture. Who are the gods and what role did they have in the ancient world and still play in the modern?

18: The Sea Peoples. Who were these mysterious, warlike people? Where did they come from and what was their goal in attacking the ancient Mediterranean? What were the effects of their attacks? Let's solve one of the mysteries of history

19: Egypt vs Rome. Mythologically speaking. Sun god vs Sun god: Horus vs Roman Apollo. It's an Ultimate Mythology Showdown! Who will win?

20: Cerberus!

21: Odysseus and his epic journey home

22: Ultimate mythology S27howdown! Egyptian Goddess Isis VS Greek god Zeus

23: Roman Christmas! Saturnalia

24: Roman Egypt

25: Daily Life in Ancient Rome

26: Mystery of the Sea Peoples

27: Ancient Inventions

28: Let's go to Giza! We will go inside the pyramids and learn the mythology surrounding these monumental structures

29: Ultimate Mythology Showdown! Greek Athena VS Roman Mars. War god versus war goddess- who will win??

30: Ultimate History Showdown! Nero vs Caligula- who was more outrageous?

31: Pharaoh for a day. What is it like to be the pharaoh? What are your duties? How do the kings live everyday in ancient Egypt?

32: Underground Rome. Spooky and mysterious. We are going into the catacombs, the ancient tunnels, and under the Colosseum. 

33: Boudicca and her revolt against Rome

34: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and the lost city of Amarna

35: Ultimate Mythology Showdown!

36: Livia. First Empress of Rome. Even Augustus was scared of her...

37: Ancient Egyptian Warfare 

38: Hatsheptsut

39: Archaeology time! Tut. His tomb, its discovery, and how to analyze and ancient find

40:  The Year of the Four Emperors. Political craziness!!

41: Ramesses the Great. Why is he so great? 

42: Ultimate Mythology SHOWDOWN! Egyptian goddess Sekhmet- the Lady of Dread VS Ares Greek god of War. Who will win??

43: Spartacus!! Gladiators vs the Roman Army- who will win??!!

44: Hercules and why Hera hates him soooo much

45: Got your tickets? Then head over to the Circus Maximus in Rome for Chariot racing! What are the rules? How does the Circus Maximus function? Who do you cheer for????

46: Cicero versus Mark Anthony in  the ultimate Roman senate showdown!

47: Next in the ‘Ancient Murder Mystery’ series - the murder of Ramses III

48: The Mystery of Augustus’ Lost Legion - how is it possible to lose an entire legion?

49: Let’s get to know (and party with) the Etruscans

50: Next in the ‘Bad Emperors’ series - focus on Elagabalus

51: Next in the ‘Ancient Murder Mystery’ series - the murder of King Tut

52: Another strong historical female figure - Fulvia (a powerful woman in ancient Rome)

53: The ancient mythology behind the Zodiac

54: The Catiline Conspiracy! Fun and intrigue in ancient Rome

55: Time for heroes! This week we will examine the story of Jason, the Argonauts, and his wife Medea and the drama this all created. Such a complex and interesting ancient hero. What does this tell us about the lives of the ancients and their beliefs. Do you think Jason was actually a hero?

56:   The discovery of Tut's tomb. We will go on an excavation with Howard Carter and learn how he found Tut's elusive tomb and the "wonderful things" he found in it. We'll examine the original find photographs of the site and learn how it has been maintained and whether we can still visit it today. We will also learn about the interesting life of his financial sponsor, Lord Carnarvon. Did this lord succumb to the Pharaoh's curse? Finally, we will look at Tut-mania that swept over the USA and the UK after the 1922 discovery. Egypt is fashionable again.