Infuriated by belittlements, Queen Cleopatra makes a deal with Julius Caesar: if the Egyptians build a palace larger than Caesar's palace in Rome in three months, he must acknowledge that Egypt was the greatest of nations. To perform this task, Cleopatra hires the architect Numerobis, on pain of death and much to the dismay of Pyradonis, Cleoptara's customary architect. He and his secretary Papyris discuss the druid Getafix (Panoramix in the original French), whose potion empowers its drinkers; and Numerobis goes in search of him.
Pharaoh Rameses I of Egypt has ordered the death of all firstborn Hebrew males after hearing the prophecy of the Deliverer, but a Hebrew woman named Yoshebel saves her infant son by setting him adrift in a basket on the Nile. Bithiah, the Pharaoh's daughter, who had recently lost her husband and the hope of ever having children of her own, finds the basket and decides to adopt the boy even though her servant, Memnet, recognizes the child is Hebrew and protests.
A nobleman Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston) is falsely accused of an assassination attempt by his boyhood friend Messala (Toby Kebbell). He survives years of slavery under the Romans and attempts to get revenge.
After the Battle of Pharsalus where Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) has defeated Pompey, Pompey flees to Egypt, hoping to enlist the support of the young Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII (Richard O'Sullivan) and his sister Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor). The Romans hold, and the armies of Mithridates arrive on Egyptian soil. The following day, Caesar passes judgment. He sentences Ptolemy's lord chamberlain to death for arranging an assassination attempt on Cleopatra. Cleopatra is crowned Queen of Egypt. She dreams of ruling the world with Caesar. When their son Caesarion is born, Caesar accepts him publicly, which becomes the talk of Rome and the Senate.
Julius Caesar lands in Britain, where a small village still holds out bravely against the Roman legions. But the situation becomes critical and the villagers have not got long to live; that's when Jolitorax, one of the villagers seeks volunteers to go seek help from his second-cousin Asterix the Gaul and bring back a barrel of "magic potion" from the Breton village of the indomitable heroes.
In 1200 BC ancient Greece, King Amphitryon of Tiryns invades Argos. Amphitryon eventually fights rival King Galenus in personal combat, killing Galenus and seizing his kingdom. Queen Alcmene is disgusted by her husband's thirst for power and warmongering. She prays to Hera for guidance and Hera, wife of Zeus, tells her that she will allow Zeus to impregnate Alcemene with the savior of her people, a demi-god son to be named Hercules. The only other witness to this is Chiron, the queen's loyal adviser. Amphitryon names his new "son" Alcides, though Alcmene secretly acknowledges his true name as Hercules.
In the 1st century BC, the Roman Republic has slid into corruption, its menial work done by armies of slaves. One of these, a proud and gifted man named Spartacus, is so uncooperative in his servitude that he is sentenced to fight as a gladiator. He is trained at a school run by the unctuous Roman businessman Lentulus Batiatus, who instructs Spartacus's trainer Marcellus to bully the slave mercilessly and break his spirit. Amid the abuse, Spartacus forms a quiet relationship with a serving woman named Varinia, whom he refuses to rape when she is sent to "entertain" him in his cell.
The plot begins with the portrayal of the Massacre of the Innocents in the Nativity. The remainder of the movie portrays the annunciation (conception) and birth of Jesus Christ to explain why King Herod the Great (Ciarán Hinds) ordered the murder.
Clavius, a powerful Roman Centurion, is charged by Pontius Pilate to investigate the rumors of a risen Jewish messiah and to locate the missing body of Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth) in order to quell an imminent uprising in Jerusalem during the first 40 days following Christ's resurrection.
King Acrisius of Argos (Donald Houston) imprisons his daughter Danaë (Vida Taylor), jealous of her beauty. When the god Zeus (Laurence Olivier) impregnates her, Acrisius sends his daughter and his newborn grandson Perseus to sea in a wooden coffin. In retribution, Zeus kills Acrisius and orders Poseidon (Jack Gwillim) to release the last of the Titans, a gigantic sea monster called the Kraken, to destroy Argos. Meanwhile, Danaë and Perseus safely float to the island of Seriphos, where Perseus grows to adulthood.
In 391 AD, Alexandria is part of the Roman Empire, and Greek philosopher Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) is a teacher at the Platonic school, where future leaders are educated. Hypatia is the daughter of Theon (Michael Lonsdale), the director of the Musaeum of Alexandria. Hypatia, her father's slave, Davus (Max Minghella), and two of her pupils, Orestes (Oscar Isaac) and Synesius (Rupert Evans), are immersed in the changing political and social landscape. She rejects Orestes's love (she offers him her bloody menstrual towel, to show him that love has its drawbacks, while studying has none): she prefers to devote herself to science. Davus assists Hypatia in her classes and is interested in science, and is also secretly in love with her.
Fifteen years after defeating Lord Humungus, Max Rockatansky crosses the Australian desert in a camel-drawn wagon when he is attacked by a pilot named Jedediah and his son in a Transavia PL-12 Airtruk, stealing his wagon and belongings. Continuing on foot, Max follows their trail to the seedy community of Bartertown. While refused entry at first, Max is brought before the founder and ruler of Bartertown, the ruthless Aunty Entity. She offers to resupply his vehicle and equipment if he completes a task for her.
In the year AD 140, twenty years after the Ninth Legion disappeared in the north of Britain, Marcus Flavius Aquila, a young Roman centurion, arrives in Britain to serve at his first post as a garrison commander. Marcus's father disappeared with the eagle standard of the ill-fated legion, and Marcus hopes to redeem his family's honour by bravely serving in Britain. Shortly afterwards, only Marcus's alertness and decisiveness save the garrison from being overrun by Celtic tribesmen. He is decorated for his bravery but honourably discharged due to a severe leg injury.