All language subtitles for Holy.Marvels.with.Dennis.Quaid.S02E03.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

[mysterious music]

- Tonight, tales of
vengeance so powerful,

they've endured for centuries.

- It's a very old concept.

Life for life, eye for
eye, tooth for tooth.

- From a band of loyal warriors.

- The Ronin plot their
revenge for almost two years.

- They cut off his head, they
bring it back to Ako domain,

and they place it on the
grave of their deceased lord.

- To an ancient
king's brutal code.

- It's not the officials

who actually carry
out the punishment,

it's the wronged family.

- To a doll, strong enough
to take out a rival.

- One day, Theophilus
is rendered paralyzed.

None of his limbs will move.

- In a dream, he sees
that someone has used

a cursed doll against him
and hidden it in the sea.

- Now, the remarkable
stories of acts

committed in the
name of revenge.

[dramatic music]

The phrase "an eye for an eye"

is famous worldwide as a
standard of retaliation.

But where the saying comes
from might surprise you.

- It's a very old concept.

In the Jewish Torah

and the Old Testament
of the Christian Bible,

it says, "Thou shalt give
life for life, eye for eye,

tooth for tooth, hand
for hand, foot for foot,

a burn for a burn, a
wound for a wound."

- It's in the Book of Exodus
along with the 10 Commandments,

which means that
people have been

saying this phrase
for millennia.

And for the longest time,

people thought that the Bible
is the origin of this phrase.

- [Dennis] A discovery
in 1901 upends that idea.

- A French expedition
is digging in Susa,

the ancient capital city of
Elam, in what is now Iran,

when Egyptologist,
Gustav Jequier

and archeologist,
Jacques de Morgan

unearthed fragments of
a 7'5" tall stone pillar

with carvings all over it.

- Unfortunately, the pillar
is broken into three pieces.

But they can see on the top part

is a carved depiction
of King Hammurabi,

who was the sixth ruler of
the first Babylonian dynasty,

which dates back to
the 18th century BC.

And next to him is
an image of Shamash,

the Babylonian god of justice.

- [Dennis] The broken
pieces are shipped

to the Louvre Museum,
where they're reassembled.

- When the pillar
is reconstructed,

it reveals over 4,000 lines

of cuneiform text
etched into it.

A priest named Jean-Vincent
Scheil translates it,

and what he finds is amazing.

- It appears to
be a code of laws,

which, if they date all
the way back to Hammurabi,

would be some of the
oldest laws ever written.

- [Dennis] Soon, the pillar
and the text carved upon it

get a name.

Hammurabi's Code.

- According to the
story of Hammurabi,

in 1760 BC, Hammurabi unites
all of southern Mesopotamia

into one empire.

It's probably the first time

that a single ruler ruled
over so many individuals.

And when you have so many
people that you're ruling over,

it's important that you have
a set of laws to govern them.

So Hammurabi wants to
have all of his laws

set down in one place.

He has them carved
into this giant pillar

and then placed in the
town square for all to see.

- The lines on the pillar start

by citing Hammurabi's
right to govern.

It then states
Hammurabi's intentions

behind creating this code,

saying that he wants to
have a righteous kingdom,

where the strong
can't harm the weak

and any wicked evildoers
will be punished.

- After that come 282 laws,

which detail consequences
for all sorts of infractions,

from incest, marital infidelity,
and cheating customers,

to stealing,
kidnapping, and murder.

- Most of these laws are
written in if/then format.

For example, if a son
strikes his father,

then his hands will be hewn off.

- [Dennis] But one particular
rule gets the most attention:

rule 196.

- As Scheil is
translating along,

he reads a law that states,

"If a man put out the
eye of another man,

his eye shall be put out."

A few lines later,
rule 200 says,

"If a man knocks out
the teeth of his equal,

his teeth shall be knocked out."

- To Scheil, who's a priest,
this must be a huge deal.

This is pretty much exactly

what it says in the
Bible's Book of Exodus.

"An eye for an eye" and
"a tooth for a tooth,"

are both written into
this ancient text.

- [Dennis] And there
are other similarities.

- They both have laws
against adultery, stealing,

coveting one's spouse or
property, bearing false witness,

and of course, murder.

- But the pillar's date suggests

that it's older than the Bible.

This upends centuries
of teachings

about the Old Testament

and the source of
all these laws.

[compelling music]

- [Dennis] While we may never
know which truly came first,

we do know how Hammurabi's
Code was enforced.

- We have a few
historical records

of the code being carried out.

For instance, there's a case
where a man named Rish Nabiyum

is involved in the theft
of a cow and a calf.

The owner of the
animals presses charges,

and the court determines
that Rish Nabiyum

must either return
the stolen animals

or hand over his
wife to their owner.

- There's another example,
a really serious case,

in the town of Nippur, where
three men are found guilty

of murdering a priest's
son named Lu-Enana,

and this of course,
is punished by death.

- What's interesting about
this is it's not the officials

who actually carry
out the punishment,

it's the wronged family.

So Lu-Enana's family would get

to kill the murderer themselves,

which takes the idea of
a life for a life justice

to a much more personal
level of revenge.

- Hammurabi's Code is
an incredibly important

cultural innovation
because before this time,

any laws are largely tribal

and could change depending
on what territory you're in.

Having a set of
established consistent laws

and punishments across the land

really is a
revolutionary concept.

- [Dennis] It's
a notion borrowed

by many other civilizations
around the world.

- The ancient Greeks
also used some

of Hammurabi's
Code in their laws

and the Romans
enact Lex Talionis,

or the Law of Retribution

Hammurabi's influence is felt

all the way to
modern day America.

We've based our entire society

on the idea of having a
structured and fair rule of law.

- Hammurabi is even
immortalized in a marble frieze

on the south wall of the
US Supreme Court chamber

alongside Moses.

It's a pretty outstanding
tribute to give

to these two holy law givers,

both of whom continue
to play a part

in modern justice to this day.

- Nearly 2,500 years after

Hammurabi sets his
code in stone,

there's another created by a
different group, the Samurai.

[dramatic music]

- Most Westerners view Samurai
as what we see in movies.

They are fierce warriors,
clad in intricate armor,

wielding a katana sword,

and fighting to the death
for justice and honor.

There's definitely some
truth to this image,

but it's not the whole truth.

- [Dennis] The first Samurai
emerge in the 10th century

as part of a warrior
class called Bushi.

- At this time,
Japan has an emperor,

but much of the
power is dispersed

to various lords who
control large regions.

There are violent
rivalries over territory,

between prominent families,

and Bushi are hired by nobles

to be their bodyguards
against marauders.

- In 1192, a victor
emerges in the clan wars,

Minamoto no Yoritomo.

Backed by the might of his
most elite squad of Bushi,

he effectively takes
control of Japan,

usurping the power
of the emperor.

Minamoto becomes
Japan's first Shogun,

or Supreme Military Commander.

- At this time, the term
Samurai comes into use

to describe these elite
warriors that serve the Shogun.

- [Dennis] As the power
of the Shogunate grows,

so do the ranks of the Samurai.

- Now, not everyone
can become Samurai.

It's a hereditary title,
a kind of nobility.

You're born into
the Samurai caste.

Boys begin training around
age 10 in multiple disciplines

including martial arts,
military strategy, and religion.

- Samurai beliefs actually
combine multiple religions.

Lessons in Confucianism

emphasize piety,
loyalty, duty, and honor.

The Zen Buddhist
concept of reincarnation

helps the Samurai in
overcoming a fear of death.

- From Shintoism, they
learn about these spirits

called Kami, which
inhabit things like rocks

and rivers and trees,

and the Samurai even
believe that the Kami

inhabit their own swords,

making their swords
sacred objects.

- [Dennis] All of
these beliefs combine

to form a sacred way of life.

A code known as Bushido.

- Bushido translates to
"The Way of the Warrior"

and it's kind of a
ethical code of conduct.

It's a set of seven principles

that guides every aspect
of the life of Samurai.

It's almost like that of
the Bible or the Quran.

- [Dennis] The code
is so important

that Samurai follow
it at any cost,

even if it means
breaking the law.

- The Bushido code
is often associated

with honor, discipline,
and selflessness.

But beneath its surface
lies a brutal violent core.

- Bushido is
certainly spiritual,

but it's also full of rules

surrounding the
idea of vengeance.

There are specific responses
dictated to certain offenses,

and they're very
clearly laid out.

- For example, if Samurai
is insulted or offended,

there is a tradition
called kiri-sute gomen,

which means authorization
to cut and leave.

- If at any time,
a Samurai's honor

is compromised by someone
while they're out and about,

this would of course
be a major offense,

honor being the single most
important principle of Bushido.

In this case, to restore honor,

they're allowed to strike
the person down with a sword,

even potentially kill them.

- Bushido is such
serious business

that if a Samurai
himself breaks the code,

for example, by
dishonoring his master,

he may be obliged
to end his own life.

- Typically, this is done
by disemboweling oneself

with a short sword.

It's an act known as seppuku.

This demonstrates
his genuine remorse

and he regains his honor
by slicing his abdomen,

which is the part of the body

the Samurai believe
contains the soul.

- [Dennis] There are
countless stories

of this type of revenge
in feudal Japan,

the most iconic is the
tale of the 47 Ronin.

- This is a true story

that the Japanese have been
telling since the 1700s.

It's been told in countless
modern books, movies,

and television shows.

- It starts in 1701,
as Asano Naganori,

the leader of a small
fiefdom called Ako,

prepares his people for the
arrival of an imperial envoy.

The strict Japanese social codes

mandate that the VIPs
must be given a reception

befitting their high status.

- A veteran official
named Kira Yoshinaka

is supposed to show Asano
the proper protocol.

Unfortunately, Lord
Asano doesn't realize

that he is supposed to start
by giving Kira a bribe.

And when he fails to do
so, Kira insults him.

Enraged because his
honor has been offended,

Asano pulls out a a dagger
and slashes at Kira's face.

The injuries turn
out to be minor,

but what Asano has done is
really a shocking offense.

He has assaulted an
official of the Shogun

in the Shogun's palace.

- As punishment, Asano's
family loses their land

and he is ordered to take
his own life by seppuku.

This puts Asano's loyal Samurai

into a pretty
complicated position.

They're now branded
Ronin, or leaderless,

and they have to make
an impossible choice.

- Here's the problem.

To adhere to their
end of the code,

the Ronin must avenge Asano's
death by killing Kira,

but to do so is a
grievous crime,

tantamount to treason to
kill an imperial official.

So what do they do?

Do they avenge their
fallen master's death,

or do they just let it go by?

- [Dennis] The Ronin
choose to follow the code,

but decide revenge is a
dish best served cold.

- The Ronin plot their
revenge for almost two years.

And when the time comes,

they boldly storm into
Kira's home, defeat his men,

and find him cowering
in a hidden room.

- They cut off his head, they
bring it back to Ako domain,

and they ceremoniously place it

on the grave of
their deceased Lord.

They've broken the law but
they've upheld their honor.

- With the Bushido
code satisfied,

the Ronin are ready
to face their fate.

They surrender to the emperor,
who sentences them to death.

But their loyalty to Bushido

and to their master
Asano impresses him.

So he offers them the option
of suicide by seppuku.

This allows them to
die as honorable men,

which is the greatest
achievement they could hope for.

- [Sami] 46 of the
Ronin performed seppuku.

It's said that the
47th Ronin is pardoned

because of his very young age.

- So the end result of this
enlightened spiritual code

is that 46 out of 47
people end up dead.

But even though it
sounds rough to us,

it's important to remember,
this sense of honor and duty

must be upheld at all costs.

- Any story about violent
revenge gets popular,

but in Japan, this
one really speaks to

the soul and culture
of the Japanese people.

This is why this becomes

one of the most beloved
tales in Japan.

- [Dennis] One that
continues to inspire them

during the Second World War.

- Bushido looms large
in World War II.

Japanese authorities
know that this gives them

an edge over Allied Forces,

and they weaponized this
concept of dying for justice

just as the 47 Ronin
did long before.

- The Japanese perform
Banzai missions,

where they charge enemy lines,

some armed with
antique Samurai swords,

and overpower the Allied lines

with the sheer number of
human bodies hurling at them.

In naval battles,
Japanese pilots

purposely crashed their
planes into Allied ships.

These kamikaze pilots
managed to sink

at least 47 Allied vessels
and damage over 300 more.

- Both of these are
suicide missions,

but they're seen as honorable
and desirable ways to die.

They're an extension of
the same eye for an eye

or life for life justice
from the Samurai period.

- The Bible features many tales
of retribution doled out by God,

like the 10 Plagues of
Egypt, or Noah's Ark.

But in one famous story
from the book of Judges,

vengeance is served not by God,

but by a powerful man.

- The Israelites
become a monarchy

with the anointing of
King Saul around 1000 BC,

but before that, they go
through over a dozen leaders

that aren't kings.

They're called The Judges.

These people basically step
in during times of crisis

to enforce the laws,
guide the people,

or hand out God's justice
to opposing forces.

- While most of The Judges
aren't household names today,

there's one that
most definitely is.

Samson.

- [Dennis] Samson's story
begins with a miracle.

- Samson's mother
had been unable

to conceive to this point.

Even before he was born,

the Lord let his parents
know he was gonna be special.

Samson is gonna be different
than the traditional Nazarite.

He is going to be someone
who is favored by God.

- God demands that Samson
follow certain strict rules,

like avoiding strong
drink and certain foods,

and he must never cut his hair.

In return, God bestows upon him

the gift of superhuman strength.

He shows off this gift one day
when he's attacked by a lion.

He tears the animal apart
with his bare hands.

When Samson grows up, he
plans to marry a woman

in the neighboring
town of Timnah.

But there's one
problem with that.

He's an Israelite and
she's a Philistine.

- The two groups
are dire enemies.

The Philistines had oppressed
the Israelites for decades.

God doesn't take
too kindly to this,

and so the Philistines are
enemies of God as well.

- [Kavitha] To spite
Samson, the Philistines

give his wife to another man,

and this sparks a revenge war.

Samson burns their crops and
the Philistines burn his wife.

- And then God gives Samson
even greater strength

so he can hand out even
more deadly justice.

Samson slaughters
1,000 Philistines

using only the
jawbone of a donkey.

- [Dennis] This is the last
straw for the Philistines.

They're determined to
strike back at Samson

once and for all.

- The angry Philistines
enlist a woman

named Delilah to seduce Samson.

She tricks him into
sharing the secret

behind his super strength.

It's his long hair.

- [Dennis] Upholding
the vow he made to God

in order to keep his strength,

Samson has never cut his hair.

- Delilah convinces
Samson to take a nap,

and while he's napping,
his hair's cut off.

He loses all the strength
that he had formally had.

- Now, the Philistines are
finally able to capture Samson.

They drag him to the temple
of their deity, Dagon.

Samson prays to God

to allow him one final
act of retribution.

- God gives Samson
his strength back

just long enough for
him to position himself

between two pillars in
the middle of the temple.

Samson knocks them over

and the entire
structure crashes down,

killing Samson and the
thousands of Philistines

that are inside.

When the dust settles, Samson's
family recovers his body

and buries him near the
tomb of his father, Manoah.

Samson dies a hero, having
dealt a major defeat

to the enemy of the
Israelites and God.

- [Dennis] Although
many scholars

interpret this revenge
story as a metaphor,

recent evidence Samson
might have existed.

- In 2012, archeologists
from Tel Aviv University

excavate an ancient house
in Tel Beit Shemesh, Israel

near Timnah.

Remember, Timnah is where part
of the Bible story happens.

It's where Samson's
would-be wife lived.

The team uncovers a
circular stone seal

with an image carved on it
of a man fighting a lion.

- The seal itself was discovered

at a point in the
excavation level

which correlates with the
time Samson was alive.

If we're interpreting
the seal correctly

and it is a depiction
of the Samson story,

the seal itself then becomes

something of a secondary source

that helps corroborate
the story of Samson.

- This is pretty compelling.

You have a secondary
source outside of the Bible

that shows the same event,

so it is confirmation that
there was a story going around

about a guy who defeated a lion,

in the alleged time of Samson,

in the area where Samson lived.

- [Dennis] But what about
the temple Samson demolished

with his bare hands?

- Many scholars believe
that whatever is left

of the Philistine
temple of Dagon

is now underneath a
mosque in Gaza city.

In the 3,000+ years
since it stood,

that patch of land
has been the site

of a Roman temple of
Byzantine Christian Church

and ultimately, the
Great Omari Mosque.

- That site has never
been fully excavated,

and unfortunately, it's heavily
damaged in December 2023

by an airstrike during conflict
between Hamas and Israel.

So if there's any remaining
evidence from Samson's time,

we may not find out
for quite a while.

- [Dennis] However, there
is a Philistine temple

built around the same time

that has been examined
by archeologists.

- In the mid 1970s,
Israeli archeologist,

Amihai Mazar of
Hebrew University,

uncovers one in Tell
Qasile north of Tel Aviv.

What's notable
here is its design.

The structure was supported

by two central wooden
pillars about six feet apart.

That's arm's reach of a large
man standing between them,

someone like Samson.

- [Dennis] Unfortunately,
there is no clear proof

at this site,

so experts turn their
attention to another location.

- There's an archeological
site called Tel Tzora,

the ruins of an ancient town
in the Judean foothills.

In biblical times,
it was known as Zorah

and it was Samson's birthplace.

At the top of a nearby mountain

is a site that locals say
is the tomb of Samson.

- There's another
possible location as well.

In 1334, a traveler
named Isaac Chalo

writes about a site
near Tel Beit Shemesh.

It's a Hume rock,
said to mark the tombs

of Manoah and Samson.

And today, that site is also
revered by many believers.

These landmarks haven't yet
been analyzed by archeologists,

but whenever that happens,

if one of them holds the
mortal remains of Samson,

we'll have definitive proof

that the Bible's ultimate
revenge story is real.

[mysterious music]

- While the 47 Ronin and
Samson took their revenge

through sword and might,

there are other ways
to dole out justice,

some that work without
using brute force.

- You've probably
heard of Voodoo dolls,

these small effigies
of real living people

made with cloth,
clay, wax, or leather.

They're allegedly
a supernatural way

to get revenge on someone.

The idea is that you do
something bad to the doll

and it'll happen in real life
to the person who wronged you.

- These dolls have become
famous thanks to scary books,

horror movies, and New
Orleans souvenir shops.

- In pop culture, these
dolls are depicted

as being associated with a type
of black magic called Voodoo

practiced by African
based cultures

in Haiti, Louisiana,
and the Caribbean.

- Now, there is
a Voodoo religion,

but they don't just go around

sticking pins in
dolls to get revenge.

This idea actually comes
from a misinterpretation.

- Around the 15th century
in Kongo in Africa,

European visitors report seeing

these small effigies
among the locals.

The figures are called mean
minkisi, or nkisi nkondi.

They're made of wood and
have nails driven into them,

but these dolls don't
represent individual people.

They're containers for
otherworldly spirits to inhabit.

- A local ritual specialist,
called an nganga,

drives the nail into the
figure to invoke a spirit.

It might be for good intentions,
like, to heal the sick.

It could also be to attract
a lover or repel enemies.

Someone might ask the spirit

to witness an oath
between people,

and the nail seals the contract.

A person licks a nail or wraps
one of their hairs around it

to bind themselves to it, and
then the nail is hammered in.

The implication is
that a broken contract

will be avenged by the spirits
against the transgressor.

- [Dennis] Around
the 16th century,

the enslaved bring
Voodoo with them

from Africa to the Americas.

- The minkisi remain part of

their folk traditions
and rituals.

- The misconception
that the dolls

are some kind of
deadly dark magic

is purposely started during
the Civil War in the 1860s.

People who are against
the emancipation of slaves

use stories about
creepy Voodoo rituals

to portray African Americans

as superstitious
and dangerous people

who shouldn't be trusted
with freedoms like voting

or holding a public office.

- [Dennis] Remarkably, the
idea of dangerous dolls

doesn't start here.

It dates back much further.

- In the seventh century,

a Byzantine historian
writes a book

that includes the story of
Theophilus of Alexandria,

who was the leader of the
Coptic Orthodox Church

from 384 AD.

- One day, Theophilus
is rendered paralyzed.

None of his limbs will move.

- In a dream, he sees
that someone has used

a doll against him and
hidden it in the sea.

He hires a fisherman
to cast his nets

in the place he
saw in the dream.

- The fisherman
finds a small box

sealed with lead, with
a bronze doll inside.

The doll has nails
piercing each limb.

The doll was made by a group

of non-Christian
enemies of the church

who envied Theophilus'
exalted position.

They called on the goddess
Hecate to "fetter his limbs."

It's brought to a holy place,

and as each nail is removed,
Theophilus regains use

of his corresponding limb.

He recovers completely.

- [Dennis] In ancient Egypt,

another leader isn't
quite as lucky.

- An Egyptian historical text

called the Judicial
Papyrus of Turin

describes a sensational trial
around the year 1155 BC.

One of pharaoh, Ramses
III's wives, named Tiye,

is tried for attempting
to overthrow him

and install her son
as the new ruler.

- Several other texts,
including the Rollin Papyrus

and the Lee Papyrus
lay out the details

of the assassination plot,

which is now known as
the Harem conspiracy.

And a key part of this plan
is the use of cursed dolls.

- One of Tiye's
co-conspirators, Pebekkamen,

gets a sorcerer to
craft a set of wax dolls

of the Pharaoh's guards.

The idea is to use the dolls

to weaken and
paralyze the guards

so that they can
kill the Pharaoh.

- Ever since that papyrus
was found in the 1800s,

we know that that assassination
plot was attempted.

The perpetrators were caught,
convicted, and sentenced,

but for many centuries,

experts thought that
the dolls didn't work

and that the Pharaohs
survived the attempt

because the scrolls
describe Ramses III

actually choosing the
trial judges himself.

- [Dennis] Then in 2012,

experts take a closer
look at Ramses' body.

- A team of archeologists
and radiologists

have performed a full CT
scan of the Pharaoh's mummy,

and the results were revealing.

- Ramses's has a nearly three
inch slash to his throat

just under his larynx,

severing his trachea, esophagus,
and major blood vessels.

And interestingly, he's also
got a severed left big toe.

His wounds were sealed by
his embalmers with resin,

but the CT scan finds them.

- To scientists today,
it's definitive proof

that Ramses did not
survive the attack.

And there were
multiple attackers,

possibly one from
the front with an ax

and one in the back
with a blade.

- The cursed dolls may have
done their jobs after all,

and the last great
Warrior King of Egypt

suffered the consequences.

- We've all heard
the term "Evil Eye."

That look that causes
bad luck or an injury.

But you might be surprised at
how widespread that concept is

and how long that cold
blue stare's been around.

- The Evil Eye isn't part of
any one religious tradition.

It's feared by followers
of nearly all faiths,

including Judaism,
Islam, Buddhism,

Hinduism, and even Christianity.

- The Evil Eye is
an intense stare

that becomes a magical curse.

Imagine a death
stare, but literally.

It can bring
misfortune and calamity

to the person on
the receiving end.

The curse gets its power
from negative energy

generated by feelings
of vanity, jealousy,

or the need for revenge.

- For example, if you
are having good fortune

and happen to show it to others,

then others might become
envious of you or jealous,

and they will give
you the Evil Eye

as a manifestation of
that jealousy and envy,

and that will in turn
generate some kind of curse

or misfortune for you.

- They don't even have
to say any magic words,

it's just a look.

The Evil Eye is so easy to cast,

it can even be
done inadvertently.

And once it's cast on you,

it can bring all
types of trouble.

Sudden illness, a rash,
your cows stop giving milk,

your crops die, you
trip on the sidewalk,

your business fails,

or you might even
get injured or die.

- The Evil Eye is one of the
oldest forms of black magic.

It's so old that we really
can't trace its origins.

- Greek scholars, including
Pliny the Elder and Plato,

all have a lot to say
about the Evil Eye.

In fact, Plato writes that
his teacher, Socrates,

rebuffs praise of
his famous debates,

telling people not to
praise him too much

lest the Evil Eye cast
its gaze upon him.

- [Dennis] Could a stare
really cause so much harm?

- The Greek philosopher Plutarch

provided a kind of
scientific explanation

of how the Evil Eye could work

on the basis of
Extramission Theory,

which is the belief
that since the eyes

are so close to the brain,

then there's a kind of
transfer of mental energy

or mental waves into sight.

- Plutarch also claims
that some people

have a stronger ability to
cast the spell than others.

He describes cultures
south of the Black Sea

that are especially proficient
at wielding the Evil Eye.

- Those best at the Evil Eye
are said to be blue-eyed,

probably because blue
eyes are relatively rare

in the Mediterranean region.

- [Dennis] The Evil
Eye is believed to be

an especially powerful
tool for witches.

- Witches, often
women but not always,

are accused of
possessing the Evil Eye,

which they could cast
either intentionally

or unintentionally,

along with other
various magical curses

that could cause great
harm or even death.

- The fear of witches leads
to widespread persecution

in the 1500s and 1600s

across Europe and the
American colonies.

This becomes one of the most
highly charged times in history

when it comes to
the Evil Eye curse.

Up until this point,

there have certainly
been true believers

that feared the Evil Eye, but
it was more of a niche belief.

All of that is about to change.

[dramatic music]

- Although the first
known Evil Eye symbol

dates back to
ancient Mesopotamia,

the concept takes on a whole
new life in the 16th century.

- As witch trials begin
happening all over Europe,

we start to see all these
actual court records

that mention the Evil Eye.

This is a major
change from something

that was originally more
of a folk tale or rumor.

- Now, the Evil Eye is
suddenly a mainstream fear,

popping up in legal
proceedings thousands of times

over the course of several
centuries of trials

in both Europe
and the New World.

- [Dennis] Among the most famous

takes place in Salem,
Massachusetts in 1692.

- The deputy constable
of Salem at this time,

the guy in charge of
arresting witches,

is a man named John Willard.

According to a
contemporary account,

Willard is completely on board

with arresting witches at first,

but then he changes his
tune and starts protesting

that many of the people
being charged are innocent.

After speaking out,

Willard himself is also
accused of witchcraft.

- Willard seeks advice from
his grandfather in-law,

a man named Bray Wilkins.

At some point during
a dinner together,

which was attended
by five other people,

Willard gives Bray
Wilkins a cross look.

- Wilkins falls gravely ill

with a painful and
mysterious gastric ailment.

He claims his malady started

when Willard gave him the
Evil Eye at dinner that night.

- After that, Wilkins
17-year-old grandson,

Daniel, suddenly dies,

and this is also attributed
to Willard's evil stare.

- Despite his denials,
Willard is convicted

and ultimately hanged on
Proctor's Ledge at Gallows Hill.

And as a historical footnote,

two dogs are also accused
of casting an Evil Eye

at the children of Salem.

Sadly, they too are
convicted and hanged.

- [Dennis] Over
the next centuries,

belief in the Evil
Eye doesn't waver

as even the most
pious are accused.

- In Italy in the mid 1800s,

Pope Pius IX is said
to be a jettatore,

which is a Sicilian
word for someone

who, maybe accidentally, is
casting out the Evil Eye.

Apparently people
that he blesses

end up having terrible
things happen to them.

- There's a famous story

that he blesses a
building work site

for a column dedicated
to the Madonna

in the Piazza di Spagna,

and later that day, a
worker falls to his death.

- In 1848, he
blesses Roman troops

and then they're defeated
by the Austrians.

Even after his death,

it said that every year after
his memorial mass is held,

someone who is in
attendance drops dead,

all due to the Pope's Evil Eye.

- [Dennis] Incredibly, even
a branch of the US military

tries to harness the
Evil Eye's power in 1943.

- At the height of World War II,

the US Office of Scientific
Research and Development

devises a psychological weapon
for use against the Japanese.

They call it Project Fantasia,
and it will come in the form

of a large hydrogen
filled balloon

in the shape of an Evil Eye.

It will be illuminated,

and as it floats over
Japanese territory,

people who are already
superstitiously inclined,

they'll see it.

- After about 15 minutes,
the eye would incinerate

in an intimidating
blaze of fireworks.

The thinking behind this is that

they would scare and
demoralize the locals

who maintain this strong
superstitious belief in the eye

and its power.

- It's an interesting idea,
but it's deemed impractical

and it's shelved before it
even gets off the ground.

- [Dennis] Thankfully,
there's supposedly

many means of protection
against the death stare.

- The most famous
form of protection

is an amulet known as a nazar,

and it's this round, bright
blue image of an eye

that you've probably seen
in jewelry stores around

without really realizing
where it comes from.

- There are plenty more
where that came from.

The Greeks also pull
down their lower eyelid

to ward it off in a gesture
called "katascopia,"

or you can throw the horns
or other hand gestures.

- Remember, the Evil Eye
is thought to be brought on

by an envious gaze, so
a lot of the protections

are designed to
distract that gaze.

You give it something
else to look at.

A distracting gesture or a
distracting object or accessory.

You can also utter
protective phrases.

Jewish people, for
example, say "kenahora,"

meaning "no Evil Eye."

- Some Asian and
African cultures

actually believe that
you should only eat alone

or only with trusted family

because you're most
susceptible to the Evil Eye

when your mouth is open.

- In India, carpenters leave
small holes in new buildings

so that the Evil Eye will
seep out of enclosed spaces.

Also, marriage ceremonies
sometimes involve cross-dressing

to confuse the Evil Eye.

- Ultimately, I guess
what the long history

of the Evil Eye proves is that
people really have a tendency

to stick to their
religious superstitions.

I mean, sure, maybe it's
real and maybe it's not,

but you know what?

Better to be safe than sorry.

[mysterious music]

- From Voodoo
dolls to Evil Eyes,

and even rogue Samurai,

sometimes the most
powerful form of revenge

is the one its victims
never see coming.

I'm Dennis Quaid, and thanks
for watching Holy Marvels.