I assume you are talking about the "peplum" movie genre. "Sword and sandal films, or pepla (singular=peplum) are a genre of adventure or fantasy films that have subjects set in Biblical or classical antiquity, often with contrived plots based very loosely on mythology or history. Most movies based on Greco-Roman history and mythology, or the surrounding cultures of the same era (Egyptians, Assyrians, Etruscans, Minoans), etc. are sword and sandal epic films. Broadly considered, this category could encompass such diverse Period films as Ben-Hur, Cleopatra, Titus, Gladiator, King Arthur or The Ten Commandments. In this sense, it is one of the oldest movie genres; the original Ben-Hur was made by Sidney Olcott in 1907; the 1914 silent film Cabiria was important in the development of the art of cinematography, and was one of the first sword-and-sandal films to make use of a massively muscled actor, Bartolomeo Pagano who appeared in least 26 sequels over the period from 1915 through 1926. More specifically, however, the sword and sandal film genre usually refers to a low-budget Italian movie on a gladiatorial, Biblical or mythological subject, often with a professional bodybuilder in the principal role; the genre occupied much of the popular segment of Italy's movie industry from 1958–1964, before the creation of the spaghetti western. Several famous Italian directors such as Mario Bava and Sergio Leone got their start in the genre as well." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_and_sandal This page contains also a list of such movies by categories: "2.1 Hercules series (1957–1965) 2.2 Maciste series (1960–1965) 2.3 Ursus series (1961–1964) 2.4 Samson series (1961–1964) 2.5 Goliath series (1960–1964) 2.6 The Sons of Hercules (TV syndication package) 2.7 Gladiator movies, 1948-1965 2.8 Steve Reeves pepla (in chronological order of production) 2.9 Other classic sword-and-sandal films (1960s) 2.10 Later sword-and-sandal films from the 1980s 2.11 The modern era" Best peplum movies: "1. Ben-Hur 1959 46049 8.4/10 2. Gladiator 1999 215553 8.3/10 3. William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar 1953 2806 7.4/10 4. 300 2006 193945 7.2/10 5. Troy - Director's Cut 2004 101379 6.8/10 6. Julius Caesar 1970 472 6.0/10" Source and further information: http://www.cinemagora.co.uk/genre-23-peplum.html "Goliath and the Sins of Babylon is one of the better peplum films I have watched recently. This is due to two reasons. The first is the cast, and the second is that it seems to have had more money thrown at it than most." Source and further information: http://www.teleport-city.com/movies/50pack/2008/02/goliath-and-sins-of-babylon-1963.html