About Ancient Fiction
Who we are
Ancient Fiction is a review website that aims to rank the historical accuracy of fictional films, games, and literature set in the ancient world. We are run by a volunteer group of Classics students from the University of Warwick. Below is a list of our contributors.
Edward Summers (UG) |
George Roffe (UG) |
Matthew Jenkins (UG) |
Joshua Opara (UG) |
Hana Lawrie (UG) |
Daniel Treherne (UG) |
About Ancient Fiction
We want this website to allow people to find modern works of fiction they might enjoy, as well as being able to learn a bit more about them from people that have studied Classics. Each work has a review written by one of us, and a rating for accuracy and entertainment value. Below you can find the criteria we used when rating.
FILM/TV |
Accuracy 5- Perfectly accurate, remains true to historical fact in plot, set, costume etc, no or very little mistakes or inaccuracies 4- Good historical accuracy, largely true to historical fact, any anachronisms are intentional or serve a purpose 3 - Fairly historically accurate, creates a solid understanding of the historical period/events in question but with inaccuracies or missing details 2- Some historical accuracy, gives an idea of true historical events, several inaccuracies or mistakes 1 - Not at all historically accurate, very loosely based in reality, multiple inaccuracies/anachronisms |
Entertainment 5- Excellent quality, great script and acting, highly enjoyable and entertaining, would rewatch and recommend to others 4- Very good quality, good script and acting, enjoyable and entertaining, would recommend to others 3- Good quality, solid script and decent acting, easy to watch and understand, fairly enjoyable 2- Okay quality, alright script and acting, somewhat complicated or boring, little entertainment value 1- Poor quality, bad script and acting, no enjoyment or education, too boring or over complicated, would not re-watch |
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GAMES |
Accuracy 5- Highly detailed historical elements, that rarely, if at all, deviate from the source material. 4- Mostly grounded in primary and secondary material. Deviation allowed from accuracy when in relevance to gameplay. 3- Has a good balance of historical accurate and fictionalised elements. Characters are relatively accurate to the source material, but may deviate for entertainment values. 2- Limited relevance to historical records/evidence. Historical figures may have fictionalised aspects but retain some historical accuracy. 1- No relevance to historical records/evidence. Historical figures/setting may be entirely fictionalised.
Enjoyment 5- Excellent game of highest quality. High replayability, with well developed mechanics to supplement quality gameplay. Minimal faults. 4- Well made game. Draws the player in, and rich in gameplay. May leave some things to be desire however this by no means decreases satisfaction. 3- Reasonably satisfying to play. Gameplay has some problems, however these can be overlooked to an extent. 2- Gameplay functions, but provides little satisfaction. The game is of moderate quality, however more would be expected for higher tiers. 1- Gameplay barely functions. Unengaging, and low quality. |
LITERATURE |
Accuracy 5- Highly detailed historical elements, that rarely, if at all, deviate from the source material. 4- Mostly grounded in primary and secondary material. Deviation allowed from accuracy when in relevance to narrative. 3- Has a good balance of historical accurate and fictionalised elements. Characters are relatively accurate to the source material but may deviate for entertainment values. 2- Limited relevance to historical records/evidence. Historical figures may have fictionalised aspects but retain some historical accuracy. 1- No relevance to historical records/evidence. Historical figures/setting may be entirely fictionalised. Enjoyment 5- Excellent book of highest quality. High readability, with well-developed characters to supplement a quality narrative. Minimal faults. 4- A decent book. Draws the reader in, and rich in prose. May leave some things to be desire however this by no means decreases satisfaction. 3- Reasonably satisfying to read. Writing has some problems; however these can be overlooked to an extent. 2- The book is somewhat readable, but provides little satisfaction. The text is of moderate quality, however, more would be expected for higher tiers. 1- Book is poorly written. Unengaging, and low quality. |