Peplum: The art of recreating ancient eras in movies and TV series

Author of the article: Tatiana Zhakova
Journalist, linguist, teacher of storytelling with 10 years of experience
In 2015, she created and promoted her project about Nizhny Novgorod nnstories.ru, after which she created the author's course "Storytelling: How to Tell Your Story" on its basis. More than 4,000 students have taken the course.

A linguist by training, she is very quick to master new fields. Now she is actively studying screenwriting and storytelling in films/series, about which she writes in the blog of her project.
Peplum is a genre of historical film that often uses dramatic and epic elements to tell stories about antiquity. In storytelling, the peplum can be a useful tool for creating dynamic and compelling stories that take place in other times and worlds.

Examples of peplums include Spartacus (1960), Gladiator (2000), Troy (2004), and 300 Spartans (2006). In each of these cases, the peplums present stories that take place in other times and worlds, and often illustrate epic battles, romantic stories, and dramatic conflicts.
For example, Gladiator tells the story of a general in the Roman Empire who is betrayed and sent into slavery and then forced to fight in the arena as a gladiator. The movie uses epic battles, intrigue, and a romantic story to tell a gripping tale of survival and revenge.

The peplum was popular in filmmaking in the 1950s and 1960s, and it is now making a comeback with new possibilities in the development of storytelling.

Historical films have always been popular in filmmaking, but the peplum goes beyond the standard historical genre. It allows for more epic, grandiose, and fantastical stories, with a particular emphasis on battles and action. The peplum also allows for a different perspective on history and mythology, exposing viewers to new perspectives on these topics.

As technology has advanced and filming budgets have increased, the peplum has become much more accessible to movie studios. New features such as computer graphics and visual effects allow for more realistic battle scenes, as well as recreating the architecture and culture of ancient civilizations with incredible accuracy.

The peplum also has great potential in a serialized format, allowing for more in-depth and detailed exploration of historical periods and mythological plots. Some of the most popular TV series of recent years, such as Rome and Spartacus, have been specifically in the peplum genre.

Peplum also allows for new remakes and reimaginings of old stories and myths. For example, in 2010, the movie "Pet Cemetery" directed by Kevin Costner, based on the novel by Stephen King, was released. This movie was a kind of reimagining of the story of "Gladiator" set in a more modern setting.


Overall, peplums can be a useful tool for storytelling that allows you to create dynamic and compelling stories that take place in other times and worlds. They can be particularly appealing to those interested in history, as well as those looking for something epic and dramatic.