All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens Origins s02e10 Alien Brotherhoods And Codes.eng

NARRATOR:
Ancient mystery schools

connected to
otherworldly beings,

hidden orders

initiated through
sacred rites and symbols...

...and secret societies

bound by oaths
to an alien brotherhood.

For nearly two decades,

Ancient Aliens
has traveled the globe

exploring towering
megalithic structures,

mysterious artifacts

and stories
of otherworldly beings

in a quest for evidence
that might reveal the truth

of our extraterrestrial origins.

Not all stories of brotherhoods
and secret codes

are found in ancient times.

We have a lot of this today.

NARRATOR:
Now we take a look back

through
the Ancient Aliens archives

to the show's very origins

to examine the evidence
that we are not alone,

we have never been alone.

In the ancient world,
we have many examples

of secret societies
or brotherhoods

in which secret
or sacred teachings

were shared,
and it is often said

that these secret teachings
were brought by

-otherworldly beings.
-WILLIAM HENRY: Right,

like the ancient Egyptian
mystery schools,

where select initiates learned

the wisdom of the gods.

The ancient Greek
mathematician Pythagoras

was taught
at one of these schools.

Yeah, which is interesting,

because a lot
of ancient architecture

contains mathematical patterns

as if there's some kind of

secret knowledge
encoded in them.

We talked about this
in a 2013 episode

of Ancient Aliens
called "The Power of Three."

NARRATOR:
Newgrange, Ireland.

The walls of this
5,000-year-old passage tomb

are decorated
with mysterious designs

made up of
three connected spirals.

Yunnan Province, China.

Three 1,100-year-old
Buddhist temples

known as the Three Pagodas

form a triangle thought
to protect the population

from natural disasters.

Ancient Greece.

According to myth,
the destiny of gods and men

is controlled
by all-powerful beings

known as the Three Fates.

Various cultures
across the world

have long shared a belief
that the number three

represents something sacred,
mystical, even divine.

All human beings
understand numbers,

all of us live
in a physical universe

where things
come in different numbers...

...and so, different cultures
will highlight different numbers

as particularly important,
ritualize them

and make them
culturally important.

We see widespread use
of the number three

in European traditions.

But also, we see it
in selected traditions

around the world, too.

These number traditions
can become

very, very powerful
and connect cultures together.

NARRATOR:
The unique reverence for the number three

dates back thousands of years

and can still be found today

in art, architecture,

mythology, literature,

science and religion.

But why?

What is it about this number
that has continued

to hold such significance
for mankind?

If you think of our lives,

we have a past,
a present and a future.

Our story falls neatly
into three.

Throughout folklore
and mythology,

we find the number three.

Something about three
is trying to get our attention,

trying to tell us something.

MICHAEL CARTER:
The number three

comes up many, many times

in Judeo-Christian scriptures.

Jonah is in the belly
of the whale for three days.

In Genesis,
the waters are separated

from the earth after three days.

In the New Testament, Jesus
in the tomb for three days.

There's just a special
significance there.

KATHLEEN McGOWAN:
We see the number three in sacred texts.

And why is that?
Is there something within us

that is hardwired to understand

that three is a sacred number,
and where does this come from?

NARRATOR:
The Giza Plateau, Egypt.

Three great pyramids
line the desert

just outside of Cairo.

Constructed more than
4,000 years ago,

this unique trio of monuments
is arguably

the most recognizable
in all the world.

The pyramids also employ
the most magnificent use

of triangles in architecture.

JEFFREY MISHLOVE:
You had in ancient Egypt what we might think of

as a Masonic tradition.

There were the builders
themselves

who embodied
the knowledge of geometry,

the knowledge of toolmaking,

and how to put
buildings together,

and especially
how to create buildings,

uh, that were themselves
the vehicles

for initiating, or inducing,
higher consciousness.

ROBERT SCHOCH:
The Giza pyramids are very interesting

in that you have
three major pyramids.

Their sides are triangles.

Think of the triangle,

the simplest,
most perfect geometric form.

NICK POPE:
The ancients were certainly intrigued

by geometry,
indeed sacred geometry.

And certainly, a triangle

is one of those basic
archetypal shapes

that perhaps is hardwired
into the human consciousness,

and this may, uh,
find, uh, expression

in monuments
such as the pyramids.

MARIE JONES:
You've got that progress towards perfection

towards the top of the triangle.

It's a very upward directed,
higher directed shape,

and I think we kind of get that
on a subconscious level.

MISHLOVE: So, there is a sense
in which the-the number three

in the form of the triangle,

in the form of the apex
of the pyramid,

represents a portal,

a gateway, into another realm.

You might say
it's a realm of the gods.

NARRATOR:
Do the three pyramids of Giza

really represent some sort of
portal to a divine realm?

Perhaps more clues
about the sacred nature

of the triangle can be found
by examining the work

of one of the most celebrated
mathematicians of all time.

Samos, Greece.

Sixth century BC.

Greek mathematician
and philosopher Pythagoras

introduces his famous theorem:

A squared plus B squared
equals C squared.

The formula explains
the mathematical relationship

between the three sides
of right triangles,

and some believe
it was originally based

on the design
of the Egyptian pyramids.

MISHLOVE:
Pythagoras lived 2,500 years ago.

It is said that he studied

with the great teachers
of Egypt,

and he brought the wisdom
of Egypt back to Greece.

That, in effect, was the birth
of Greek philosophy.

RICHARD RADER: For Pythagoras
and for a lot of ancient philosophers,

mathematics was a kind
of more precise description

of the supernatural.

They're coming to terms
with man's place on this Earth,

and one of the ways you do that
is by measurements,

and measurements
have to develop,

and when they develop,

they develop
more complex mathematics.

And Pythagoras is one of
the very early philosophers

to develop this stuff.

Pythagoras taught
that everything

in the universe
has a three-part structure.

And every problem
in the universe

can be reduced diagrammatically
to a triangle.

To Pythagoras and his followers,

the triangle
represented ascension,

and the triangle itself
and the number three

was the key
to all the hidden mysteries.

CHILDRESS:
In Carnac, France, there are thousands

of megalithic standing stones
that are over 6,000 years old,

and many of them are

in the form of a right triangle,

or a Pythagorean triangle.

And they were built
many thousands of years

before Pythagoras.

These same
geometric relationships

of the right triangle
have also been found

at Avebury and-and Stonehenge.

And you have to ask yourself:

Does the Pythagorean triangle
represent

some kind of special
extraterrestrial geometry?

A geometry of threes?

TSOUKALOS:
The bottom line is that "A squared plus B squared

equals C squared"
applies to the entire universe.

And so, for Pythagoras
to come up with this,

of course, is extraordinary,
but he was not the first.

PHILIP COPPENS:
So, we know that Pythagoras

got this information
from ancient Egypt.

And the ancient Egyptians
themselves say

that this was knowledge
from the gods.

So, what we have
is a situation whereby

the ancient Egyptians
got this information

from a nonhuman intelligence,
from an extraterrestrial source,

preserved it in secret
for thousands of years.

And Pythagoras
is really the first one

to take it outside of Egypt

and basically begin to speak
to the world about what it is,

what the ancient Egyptians knew
about this divine information.

NARRATOR: Did Pythagoras really
get his knowledge of geometry

and its profound connection
to the universe

from an otherworldly source?

Pythagorean triangle may contain

wisdom that we still
haven't understood

in terms of how
physical, terrestrial geometry

connects to
extraterrestrial domains

that may coexist with our own.

NARRATOR: Did extraterrestrial
visitors provide early humans

with advanced
mathematical information?

Information encoded
into temples, monuments

and other sacred architecture?

Could that explain
the repeating patterns

of numbers and shapes
found across the world?

And if so,
was this esoteric knowledge

preserved by secret brotherhoods
through the ages?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and believe further evidence
can be found

in a mysterious manuscript

said to hold
the secrets of alchemy.

NARRATOR:
Cambridge University, England.

Here, in the library
of this 800-year-old institution

are the research papers
of Sir Isaac Newton.

One of the most influential
scientists of the 17th century,

Newton introduced
what became the basis

of all modern physics:

the three laws of motion.

MICHAEL DENNIN:
One of the things I think we often forget

about people like Newton,

he was also
very much into alchemy,

and he was very much
a mystic himself.

In mystical circles
and in alchemy,

three is considered
a powerful number.

So, it was natural for people

to try and write things
in threes

and break it down into threes,

and use that principle
to communicate information.

TOK THOMPSON: Alchemy was a
hope of early magicians, or chemists.

The idea was that maybe
if they could just figure out

how to combine
different materials together,

they could wind up
with something precious.

There was a long-standing
interest in it,

and a lot of the sort of
early scientific developments

and even ideas of chemistry, uh,
came from this practice.

NARRATOR:
Included among Newton's writings on philosophy,

astronomy and mathematics

is a cryptic translation
of an ancient document

that has fascinated
alchemists for centuries...

...an Emerald Tablet.

Carved on green crystal,

the tablet is believed to be
one of several that contained

not only information
on the practice of alchemy

but the secrets of the universe.

But although
it is referenced by Newton

and written about
in numerous other ancient texts,

the existence
of the so-called Emerald Tablets

is largely thought to be a myth.

SCHOCH:
The Emerald Tablet, or tablets,

contained perhaps the most
fundamental ancient wisdom.

The ancient wisdom
of transmutation...

...the secrets of longevity...

...the secrets of the cosmos.

And there are
many different legends

about this tablet or tablets.

Some people say
that they were, uh,

found in the Great Pyramid
thousands of years ago.

ANDREW COLLINS:
The so-called Emerald Tablets

had the secrets of alchemy.

And alchemy itself wasn't
just about the transmutation

of base matter
into a pure state, into gold...

...but it was about
the knowledge

of the secrets of the universe.

About how we ourselves
could transform our self

and become at one
with the universe as a whole.

The Emerald Tablets
have a very interesting phrase:

"Three is the great mystery
come from the great one."

It says that three
is the great mystery

that unifies the universe.

It says that power, wisdom,
awareness all arises

from this interplay of three.

COPPENS: What we're being confronted
with in the Emerald Tablets

is basically this notion
that if we take two substances,

we can make
a third substance out of this.

Three as such is always
the power of transformation.

It is the end result
for the alchemist,

basically saying,
"I took certain things

and I created something new,"

and that is represented
by the third element.

The information
was written down,

which basically detailed

that if anybody were
to possess this knowledge,

he would become a master
of life, a master over death.

An almost supernatural being
who could do anything at will.

NARRATOR:
Were early scientists like Isaac Newton

seeking
extraterrestrial knowledge?

And was that knowledge based,
in part,

on a unique power
inherent in the number three?

Perhaps answers can be found
by taking a closer look

at the man many believe

to be the author
of the Emerald Tablets,

Hermes Trismegistus.

RADER:
Starting in the fourth century BC,

a character develops
called Hermes Trismegistus.

And his name just means
"Hermes Thrice Great."

So, Hermes Trismegistus is
the Hellenistic Egyptian version

of the Greek Hermes,

and he's associated
with the Egyptian god Thoth.

And so,
for that reason primarily,

he becomes associated with

the magical practices
of theurgy,

which is doing
the works of the gods,

influencing the world.

MISHLOVE:
At some point, as the Greeks moved into Egypt

and the Romans moved into Egypt,

there was an endeavor
to correlate

the Egyptian traditions with
the Greek and Roman traditions.

And so, you had this connection
between Thoth and Hermes.

And the idea in both cases is,
this is the deity

that is the messenger,

or the link,
between our human realm

and the higher realm
of the gods.

SCHOCH:
According to some legends,

he was a reincarnation of Thoth,

the ancient scribe of Egypt,
the scribe of the gods.

He was an individual
who brought knowledge,

who brought wisdom.

He was considered thrice-great.

Three times great.

Hermes descended from the sky

in what was considered to be

a flying ship.

And we have the exact same story
in ancient Egypt with Thoth

also having descended
from the sky.

And his whole premise
was to teach the people

in scientific disciplines.

NARRATOR:
Was Hermes Trismegistus

really the reincarnation
of the Egyptian god Thoth?

And if so,
did he serve as a messenger

between man and the gods,

as the ancient Greeks believed?

Or might he have been,

as ancient astronaut theorists
contend,

an extraterrestrial being?

One who brought mankind
the knowledge of the universe

in the form of Emerald Tablets?

WILCOCK: The Emerald Tablets
are a fascinating body of knowledge.

It gives rise to the idea
that many different systems-

whether we're dealing
with physics systems

or systems of consciousness,

systems of philosophy,
systems of religion-

will always be underlined

by this prevalence
of the number three.

CHILDRESS:
So, you have to ask yourself:

Is the Emerald Tablet

some kind of
extraterrestrial knowledge

that's been handed down to us?

So, maybe the key to immortality

is written in the Emerald Tablet
in a code of threes.

NARRATOR:
Did extraterrestrial messengers

really give mankind
the secrets of the universe,

as ancient astronaut theorists
suggest?

And if so,
was this sacred knowledge

deliberately hidden
from the public,

shared only with a select few?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

in the legend of a great king

initiated into the mysteries
of the magi.

One of the most compelling
examples of the sharing

of cosmic secrets
is the story of King Antiochus,

who ruled the Middle East
nearly 2,000 years ago.

He was a member
of a secret society,

and he had incredibly
advanced knowledge of astronomy.

Yeah, and it's said
that he studied with the magi,

who were these priests
who supposedly

could predict the future
and had special powers.

TSOUKALOS: Right, and there's
even a stone carving that shows him

shaking hands
with the so-called gods.

I mean, it's as if we have
a permanent record of him

making contact
with otherworldly beings.

NARRATOR:
Southeastern Turkey.

7,000 feet high
atop a barren mountain

called Nemrut Dag lie the ruins

of the lost kingdom
of Commagene.

Here, in 62 BC,

a mysterious royal sanctuary
was built

by King Antiochus I.

Colossal statues were created
of lions and eagles,

and Persian and Greek gods,

as well as two massive
sculptures of the king himself.

ADRIAN GILBERT:
Now, what Antiochus was trying to do

was to produce a synthesis,

a new version
of the old religions.

And what he basically did
was to take the Persian gods

and put them into Greek dress.

So, you've got
a synthesis happening

of the Persian gods
with their Greek equivalents.

DONALD SANDERS: The reason he built
a colossal statue of himself among the gods

was, I guess,
a presumption on his part

that he would
indeed ascend to heaven

and eventually be among them.

NARRATOR:
The conical peak was the highest point

in the kingdom
of King Antiochus.

Measuring 150 feet high
and 500 feet wide,

it is man-made with countless
small limestone rocks

and was said to be the location
of the king's royal tomb.

Researchers believe the memorial

was originally built
as two large plazas.

The one on the east side
was used to celebrate

the birthday of King Antiochus.

The one on the west side

was used to commemorate
the day in 62 BC

when Antiochus became
the leader of a secret society.

GILBERT:
I think it's meant to symbolize Mount Olympus,

the home of the gods...

...'cause you've got the gods
seated round it

and then you've got
a peak above them.

I think this is
all very symbolic.

It's a stage for carrying out

certain rituals
and performances.

SANDERS:
And he also shows himself in the relief stelae

shaking hands to all the gods,
as if the gods

recognize him
as one of their own

and are welcoming him
into heaven.

NARRATOR:
Mysteriously, both the site and the kingdom

were abandoned
in the first century AD.

And so far, the king's
legendary burial chamber

has never been found.

But another question
still remains.

Just why did King Antiochus

build this mysterious and
massive monumental sanctuary?

According to researchers,
evidence found at Nemrut Dag

suggests the king had
a profound interest in

and understanding of
star sciences.

One example of the advanced
knowledge of astronomy

that they had
is actually the lion horoscope,

which gives us
a very precise date.

We know that the position
of the stars on the lion's body,

um, fits with the positions
of stars of Leo

given in a book of Eratosthenes,

who was a Greek astronomer
from Alexandria

who wrote a book
about the stars.

NARRATOR:
The arrangement of stars on the lion horoscope

represented
the constellation of Leo

as seen in the sky
in July 62 BC,

a configuration
that wouldn't be visible again

for 25,000 years.

Further evidence
of the exceptional knowledge

of the stars was found
in a nearby shaft

that Antiochus built
into the mountain.

GILBERT:
The shaft runs into the mountainside there,

uh, at an angle of 35 degrees
to the horizontal,

and it's about 150 meters long,

and there's nothing
at the bottom.

NARRATOR: Computer analysis
reveals that on two days of the year,

the Sun's rays would illuminate
the bottom of the shaft...

...once when in line
with the constellation of Leo

and once when in line
with Orion.

GILBERT:
Now, that is a very interesting point in the sky

because it's the path
where the Sun

crosses over the Milky Way,
our galaxy,

and that, to the ancient world,
was known as a gate of heaven.

And there were two of these,
one where they cross

in the north and the other
where they cross in the south.

There were two gates to heaven.

So, we can understand that

that gateway would be
where the soul of the king

is going back
to heaven through heaven's gate.

NARRATOR:
Given the fact that neither Antiochus's tomb

or remains have been found,

is it possible that the king
actually journeyed to the stars

through a heavenly gate,

as ancient astronaut theorists
contend?

During his life,
researchers believe

Antiochus studied
with a priestly sect

of eastern astrologers
called the magi,

who were thought
to be able to predict

and even manipulate events

based on their knowledge
of the stars.

The magi were renowned priests
from the far Near East

who had advanced
astronomical knowledge.

And it's well-known
that most of the astronomers

from the Near East,

specifically ancient Iraq-
Sumer-

recorded series of events
happening in the heavens

over hundreds
of thousands of years.

This information was kept
on stone tablets,

held very sacredly and only
passed down to the high priests.

NARRATOR: According to the Gospel
of Matthew in the New Testament,

it was three of these magi
who followed celestial signs

and stars to the birthplace
of Jesus in Bethlehem.

A coincidence?

MARTELL:
What's interesting about this story

is that the Star of Bethlehem

wasn't used
as a navigation point.

It is clearly stated
as it guided the wise men

to the place of Christ.

A star cannot guide someone.

It can only be used
as a navigation point.

So, this brings up the idea
that the star

was possibly a UFO.

Today, we think that the magi
were magicians,

and that is actually why
we have the word "magic" today.

But when I hear
about magical powers,

that raises a flag,

because magic as such
does not exist.

So, were these magi, in fact,
in possession of some type

of an extraterrestrial
technology?

Because according
to the ancient texts,

it was the initiates
of each culture

who were in touch
with extraterrestrials,

and it was the initiates

who later became priests,
or magi.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that
Antiochus was, in fact, a magi,

one who learned
celestial knowledge

from extraterrestrial sources?

If so, might the monumental
sanctuary at Nemrut Dag

have been built as a place
to contact star travelers?

The answer may have been found
among the ruins of Nemrut Dag.

The head of Antiochus
is placed on the statue

which is appropriate
for Mercury, and that's because

Mercury is the planet
of initiation for priests,

and he's one himself,
so he models it on himself.

And people think
this is him being boastful

sitting among the gods.
It's not.

It's actually a code to say
that he's one of the priests.

NARRATOR:
Eventually annexed by the Romans

in the first century AD,

King Antiochus and his court

became scattered
throughout the region.

But what became
of their hidden knowledge?

Perhaps it was safeguarded
in secrecy,

only to resurface
centuries later

through a secret order
known as the Knights Templar.

According to Hebrew tradition,

King Solomon was given
a special signet ring

by the archangel Michael which
had a mysterious symbol on it,

which seemed like
some kind of ancient code.

TSOUKALOS:
Right, and it is this ring

that allowed King Solomon
to build his temple.

And later, the Knights Templar
allegedly rediscovered

that ring, and guess what,

it apparently gave them
special powers.

Yeah, and according
to that legend,

the symbol on that ring
was a keyhole shape,

which is fascinating,
because the Templars built

a lot of their churches
in the shape of a keyhole.

We discussed this
in a 2020 episode

of Ancient Aliens called
"The Galactic Keyhole."

NARRATOR:
Jerusalem.

The tenth century BC.

King Solomon
of the United Kingdom of Israel

begins construction
on a great temple

to house
the Ark of the Covenant.

According to the Hebrew Bible,

this sacred chest was built
to carry the stone tablets

on which the Ten Commandments
were written...

...and also facilitated
direct communication with God.

There's an ancient legend,

recorded in, of all places,
the Talmud...

...wherein which it is said
that there were specific needs

for building Solomon's Temple

that no human being
could provide.

HENRY:
In the story, Solomon prays to God,

and instantly,
the archangel Michael manifests,

as if out of thin air.

And Michael says
that he's going to give Solomon

a power that has never before
been seen on Earth

and never again shall be.

And he produces for him
a golden ring

with a signet seal.

LAYNE LITTLE:
This is known as the secret Seal of Solomon,

and it is a magical sign...

...which has that interesting
shape like a keyhole.

COLLINS:
This ring was used

to command a legion of 72 jinn.

These are fire spirits,
uh, in Arabian tradition.

And once they were
under his control,

he used them to build monuments,

including
Solomon's Temple itself.

NARRATOR:
According to the Talmud,

these otherworldly beings
that Solomon was able

to rule with his divine
keyhole-shaped seal

were led by a jinn
named Ashmedai.

In constructing
Solomon's Temple,

Ashmedai not only oversaw
the building of the tabernacle

to hold the Ark of the Covenant

but also a number
of underground hidden chambers.

TZADOK:
Ashmedai brought with him an army

of his followers, who built
those places of the temple

which no human being was allowed
to even know existed.

So, these legends come down
to us to this day

that this temple of Solomon,

the parts
that were subterranean,

were not built by human hands

and, therefore, secret
to this day to the human eye.

CHILDRESS:
They built all kinds of tunnels and chambers.

And you have to wonder
if it might have something to do

with this high technology
that they put

into some very safe place
for keeping the Ark.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that the technology Solomon was given

to build his temple was hidden
somewhere beneath it?

Solomon's Temple was destroyed

by the Babylonian king
Nebuchadnezzar II in 587 BC.

But nearly 1,700 years later,
the site where it stood-

known today as Temple Mount-
was excavated

by a group of warrior monks

called The Order
of Solomon's Temple,

also known
as the Knights Templar.

And many believe that
they did not leave empty-handed.

(horse neighing)

The Knights Templars
got a commission from the pope

to actually do excavations
at Solomon's Temple.

And the story there goes

that the Templars
actually discovered

a secret chamber
beneath the temple.

NARRATOR:
While it remains unknown

just what the Knights Templar
may have uncovered,

researchers note

that they would go on to display
incredible building prowess,

much like that of the jinn
that legend credits

with building Solomon's Temple.

The Knights Templars had very
advanced knowledge of geometry,

mathematics,

architecture
and of working with stone.

Some of the early constructions

include the gothic cathedrals
of Europe,

and they show
remarkable technology.

The way they worked with stone,

the hidden geometry,
the mathematics,

and the sort of
spiritual dimensions

that these elements create
are quite remarkable.

NARRATOR:
Curiously, nearly every Templar church

was built in the shape of a
keyhole when viewed from above.

But perhaps
most notable of all is

that at a former
Templar stronghold in France

called Rennes-Le-Ch�teau,

there is a statue of Ashmedai,

the king of the jinn that helped
Solomon to build his temple.

TZADOK:
Rumor has it

that the Templar Knights
endeavored to communicate

with Ashmedai, the king
of the shedim, the jinn,

who built the temple
to serve Solomon.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the Knights Templar came

into possession of secret,
otherworldly knowledge?

Knowledge tracing not only back

to the time of the building
of Solomon's Temple

but even to the time of
the ancient pyramid builders?

Might this explain their drive

to construct structures
encoded with hidden meanings?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and they suggest that even after
the Templar brotherhood fell,

their Masonic tradition endured,

shaping the very foundations
of the United States.

Not all stories of brotherhoods
and secret codes

are found in ancient times.

We have a lot of this

-in the founding
of the United States. -HENRY: Right.

And many of the Founding Fathers
were Freemasons,

and many of the Masonic symbols

-come from ancient Greece
and Egypt. -CHILDRESS: Yeah.

And you have to wonder if some
of this ancient cosmic wisdom

wasn't involved in the formation
of the United States.

NARRATOR:
Fredericksburg, Virginia. 1752.

20-year-old George Washington
is initiated

into a secret society,
the Freemasons.

Among his fellow members
are many other Founding Fathers,

like Benjamin Franklin,
John Hancock and Paul Revere.

But what is Freemasonry?

What role did it play in the
founding of the United States?

And what meanings lie behind
their many mysterious symbols?

AKRAM ELIAS:
There are a lot of theories

about the true origins
of Freemasonry.

What we know for a fact is

that definitely
with the Age of the Renaissance,

this is when people decided

to start studying
ancient civilizations

and see was there any knowledge

in those civilizations
that was lost.

NARRATOR:
According to experts, the Freemasons believe

in the idea
of acquiring knowledge

through largely scientific
as well as spiritual means.

In the Age of Enlightenment,

this included examining
the possibility

of extraterrestrial life.

ELIAS:
Freemasonry was like a main vehicle,

if you want, that brought
these ideas and principles

of the Enlightenment
into the new world.

KOLTKO-RIVERA:
You had the most prominent citizens

of the community
becoming Freemasons

and then associating
with one another.

They would be discussing
the major issues of the day

and certainly the speculations
about the plurality of worlds.

NARRATOR:
Could the growing belief in the possibility

of extraterrestrial life

have influenced the Founding
Fathers' vision for America?

In terms of
the Declaration of Independence,

there were 56 signers.

Of those,
nine were definitely Freemasons.

Concerning the signers
of the Constitution,

there were 39 signers.

13 of them, a clear third,
were Freemasons.

NARRATOR:
But does the influence of Freemasonry

explain why Masonic values
are woven into the principles

behind America's
most important documents?

And could this also explain

how and why Masonic symbols
can be found on

much of the nation's monuments
and architecture?

ELIAS:
In the design of Washington,

the language of symbols
is very important,

and that's where we see
connections with Freemasonry.

The original universal symbol
of Freemasonry

is the square and compass.

The compass is the main tool
of the individual.

You are at the point,
and the idea in Freemasonry

is that
the individual is sovereign.

You draw a circle
using the compasses around you.

If you go beyond the perimeter,

that's when you start going
into knowledge and light.

The square is considered
a symbol of wisdom.

And the letter "G" stands for

the grand architect
of the universe.

KOLTKO-RIVERA:
The same people who were involved

in the development
of Freemasonry

were very interested in Egypt.

They were inspired by the idea
of ancient wisdom.

NARRATOR:
Other Masonic symbols found in Washington, D.C.,

are eerily similar
to the icons of ancient Egypt:

the Sphinx,
the obelisk, the pyramid

and the All-Seeing Eye.

CHILDRESS:
If you were to pull out a dollar bill right now

and look at it, you would see
that on one side is a depiction

of the Great Pyramid of Egypt

with an All-Seeing Eye
at its apex.

This is the Great Seal of
the United States, and it's a...

it's an awesome,
mystical symbol of...

of the eye of God watching us,

and also,

how ancient civilizations
were divine in nature,

and that the Founding Fathers
were to recreate that

here in the United States.

ELIAS:
The idea is

we need a source of light

in order to help us
become enlightened.

We cannot do it alone.

Now, that,
to the Founding Fathers,

is whatever is out there
that is keeping an eye.

And there is a belief

that this experiment
did not just happen.

It was necessary

to help the human condition
make a major leap.

It's like the alignment
of the stars.

Providence was there
watching and interacting.

NARRATOR:
Why did this group of 18th century men,

who set out to build a nation

based on principles
of logic and reason,

attach such importance
to pre-Christian symbols

and ancient mysticism?

And who, or what,

did they believe
was watching over them?

God... or something else?

According to
ancient astronaut theorists,

the answer can be found

in an 1866 lithograph
of George Washington

that resides
in the Library of Congress.

CHILDRESS:
There's a famous painting

of George Washington
as a Freemason.

And over his right shoulder
is an unusual scene

of Jacob's ladder
ascending to heaven

and what seems to be

some kind of spaceship
there in the sky.

NARRATOR:
In the biblical story of Jacob from Genesis 28,

Jacob witnesses angels ascending

and descending
a ladder from heaven.

But in this painting,

the ladder comes not from heaven

but out of a dark, round object
emitting multicolored lights.

Although Jacob's ladder is
a popular symbol of Freemasonry,

is it possible
that this image is attempting

to depict something else?

Something of
an extraterrestrial origin?

TSOUKALOS:
According to the ancient astronaut ideas,

Jacob's ladder was nothing else
but a ramp or a device

with which to reach
the realm of the gods.

And the gods
were extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR:
The square and compass.

The All-Seeing Eye.

Jacob's ladder.

What do all these symbols reveal
about the true origins

of the United States of America?

Ancient astronaut theorists
don't only point

to the presence
of Masonic symbols

and pre-Christian influences
as evidence

of the Founding Fathers'
extraterrestrial connections.

They also find proof in the fact

that even the very layout
of Washington, D.C.,

points to the stars.

You know,
if you're looking for evidence

that Freemasonry
inspired the Founding Fathers,

all you have to do is look

-at the layout
of our nation's capital. -HENRY: Right.

Because when you look
at Washington, D.C.,

from above, all you see

are Masonic codes and symbols.

And we're not talking
about finding images

in the clouds or something.

This is 100% intentional.

Oh, absolutely.
And let's not forget

that the Washington Monument
is a giant,

Egyptian-inspired obelisk

that stands
in the heart of the city.

NARRATOR:
Alexandria, Virginia. 1791.

In a full Masonic ceremony on
the edge of the Potomac River,

George Washington
lays the first cornerstone

marking the southern boundary

for what will become
the District of Columbia.

ELIAS:
What happens in the laying of the cornerstone?

And Washington scattered corn.

You pour wine and pour oil.

Now, corn stands for prosperity,

oil stands for peace,

and wine stands for happiness.

STEVEN C. BULLOCK:
You have Masons chanting

in response to it.

You have an oration afterwards,

in which artillery is fired
during...

during the-the oration.

So it's an extraordinary
kind of ceremony.

NARRATOR:
According to scholars,

the nation's capital
has been steeped

in ancient symbolism
since its inception.

And ancient astronaut
theorists point

to the city's tallest structure,
the Washington Monument,

as proof that
the American capital was built

with a deliberate eye
to the stars.

Although construction began
in 1848,

nearly 50 years
after George Washington's death,

the Freemasons built
the Egyptian-style monument

so that the constellation
Pleiades would be visible

directly over the giant obelisk.

DERRICK PITTS:
The Pleiades is a group of seven bright stars.

For the Egyptians,
they would use these stars

as a way to figure out
all sorts of, uh,

judgments that needed to be made
in many different things.

TSOUKALOS:
I find it fascinating that in the ancient world

in places of great power

and great influence,
they built monuments

aligned with the Pleiades.

So the fact that we find
the Washington Monument

also aligning with the Pleiades,

is that coincidence?

NARRATOR:
In a city largely built to evoke ancient cities

like Athens and Rome,

is the dominant
architectural structure

based on an icon
of ancient Egypt?

It is the largest obelisk
in the world, 555 feet high.

It draws the eye,
and it draws the eye up.

We have to ask,

what did the Founding Fathers
want us to see?

HENRY: The idea of the obelisk
is that it's frozen sunlight.

They believe that the energy

of the god Ra
literally came through

that antenna.

The same concept is shown here
in Washington, D.C.,

with the obelisk sitting
in the center of Washington,

or near the center
of Washington,

bringing that energy in
from the stars

and radiating it outward
into the sacred precinct.

ELIAS:
They have a reflecting pool.

Why? To reflect the obelisk.

Washington's Monument
points to the heavens.

With the reflecting pool,
it points below.

There is a direct correlation

between what happens here below
and what's happening up there.

NARRATOR:
For ancient astronaut theorists,

it's not just the placement
of the Washington Monument

and the Capitol building
that point to the stars

but the layout
of the entire city,

which harkens back
to ancient places,

like Egypt, Greece and Rome.

KOLTKO-RIVERA:
Washington, D.C., is laid out

perfectly straight lines,

radiating from different
little hubs around the city.

They converge on places
like the Capitol building,

the White House.

It is a revelation of clarity

that highlights the cornerstones
of American democracy.

HENRY:
Washington, D.C., was conceived

from the very beginning
as a sacred space.

In fact, it is a ten-by-ten
square-mile diamond matrix

into which
the Founding Fathers believed

they could pour all
their enlightenment teachings

and bring them to life
within its capitols

and its other buildings.

NARRATOR:
Another Freemason, Pierre-Charles L'Enfant,

was selected by
President Washington

to create a layout of the city

within the ten-mile diamond
of the District of Columbia.

He began by aligning
the corners of the square

with the four
cardinal directions-

north, south, east and west.

ELIAS:
It is not by coincidence.

There is a scientific,
rational way

of developing the city
of Washington

with geometric shapes-

circles, rectangles, triangles,

and this is to emphasize
that this new form of government

was not going
to rely on religion...

...but we're going to rely on
reason and scientific discovery.

And the design
of the city reflects that.

And there is absolutely
no other capital city

in the world
that was designed like this.

There is no question
that the main triangle

at the heart of the city
was very key

and connecting the Capitol to...

to the White House and then
to the Washington Monument.

NARRATOR:
Some historians believe that the triangle found

in the center
of Washington, D.C.,

represents the Masonic symbol
of the square and compass,

symbolizing
the Founding Fathers' search

for enlightenment from above.

But ancient astronaut theorists

claim that beyond
this triangle lies

an even more significant
geometric shape,

the shape of a pentagram.

The interesting thing
about Jefferson's influence

on the design
of Washington, D.C.,

was the star.

With rows emanating
in all directions from the star

that seemed to be
a mirror of the heavens,

because Jefferson did believe
that the heavens were inhabited,

and he wanted Washington, D.C.,
not just to be the capital

of the United States of America
but the capital of the universe.

NARRATOR:
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson

were both expert
surveyors and mapmakers,

and were hands-on in the layout
and design of the new capital.

BIRNES:
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson,

who was an architect
that built Monticello,

laid out Washington, D.C.,

with the expectation
that somehow,

if there were extraterrestrials,

they would see
the image of the star

at the center of the city
and know this was a sign

that we respected
extraterrestrial life.

NARRATOR:
Did the design and placement

of the Washington Monument,

Capitol Hill
and the National Mall

really reflect
the Founding Fathers' belief

in extraterrestrial forces?

Perhaps the answer can be found
by a close examination

of the Capitol building itself

and the strange connection

to other worlds
that can be found inside.

NARRATOR:
Washington, D.C. 1791.

Jenkins Hill.

Pierre L'Enfant
declares this location

"a pedestal waiting
for a monument."

For the next two years,

he works closely
with George Washington

and Thomas Jefferson,
designing the building

that will sit at the top
of this hill

and house
the United States Congress.

On September 18, 1793,

the day of the autumn equinox,

Washington lays the cornerstone
for the Capitol building

and Jenkins Hill
officially becomes Capitol Hill,

the heart of the new democracy.

The concept of the ancient

and sacred hill was
deeply in the minds

of the Founding Fathers.

In Boston, we have high hills
that were important.

We have Monticello
being built on a hill.

We have Capitol Hill.

So the Founding Fathers clearly
understood the importance

of the Temple Mount concept.

NARRATOR:
But was the design and placement

of the Capitol building
directly influenced

by Washington and Jefferson's
reported contact

with alien beings?

Ancient astronaut theorists
point to evidence

in the form of the statue

that still sits atop
the Capitol dome,

placed there after
the current dome was completed

in 1866.

HENRY: The Freedom Statue
is a 19-and-a-half-foot-tall statue

of a goddess who actually
is morphing into an eagle.

This is very important
in ancient alien theory

because the ancient gods
were portrayed as eagle-headed.

So it looks like Freedom
is being referenced here

as a star being.

NARRATOR:
Inside the dome,

directly in line
with the Freedom Statue,

is an empty tomb
that had been designed

to hold the remains
of George Washington.

One floor above it
is the crypt...

...then the Capitol Rotunda,

and soaring 180 feet above that
is a painting of Washington,

looking very much
like an ancient god.

PITTS:
If one goes to the Capitol Rotunda

and looks at the artwork
on the ceiling,

you see what's called
the Apotheosis of Washington.

It's an enormous painting

that depicts Washington
in a very interesting setting.

HENRY:
The painting was completed

by Constantino Brumidi in 1865.

The word "apotheosis"
is a Greek word

that means to deify, to raise
from a man to a god man.

PITTS: You see him depicted
as you would see a god depicted.

He sits in a...
a setting of clouds

with what look like angels
immediately surrounding him,

uh, with a big rainbow that runs
right underneath his feet.

When we're in the Rotunda,
the dome of the U.S. Capitol,

we are literally
in a vortex of energy.

Domes are places
where Heaven and Earth meet.

They literally are considered
to be portals

or gateways to the stars.

NARRATOR:
There is another depiction of Washington

that specifically represents him
as a divine figure.

Congress authorized
an incredible statue

of George Washington
by Greenough,

in which he's depicted
as Zeus, or Jupiter.

HENRY:
The statue had several key features

that identified him
as a man of peace

and a conductor
of Heaven and Earth.

His sword is offered
to the viewer of the statue,

indicating he's here in peace.

And then,
on the sides of the statue,

you have a very important
representation of the god Apollo

riding his sun chariot,
or star chariot.

So the idea
that we get from all of this is

that Washington is
a cosmic being

who is riding
through the heavens

on his own star chariot.

NARRATOR:
Could the symbols, monuments

and alignments found
throughout Washington, D.C.,

be evidence
that the Founding Fathers

actually believed
that otherworldly beings

were instrumental
if the new American experiment

in government were
to survive and prosper?

Was their interest in the stars

and their belief
in the possibility

that intelligent life exists
elsewhere in the universe

based on knowledge passed down

through secret societies
and brotherhoods?

Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest

that not only is this the case

but there is also
compelling evidence

that initiation into this
ancient, otherworldly tradition

continued well into
the space age.

When you're talking
about societies

with special knowledge,

it doesn't get
much more exclusive

than the men and women
who have traveled into space.

And what's interesting is that

NASA has very strong connections
to Freemasonry.

Oh, absolutely.
In fact, many of the people

in the early days of NASA

were Freemasons,

and it's also interesting
to note

that the Project Apollo insignia

seemed to have been encoded with
connections to ancient Egypt.

CHILDRESS:
Yeah. I mean,

the belt stars of Orion
are featured

right in the center of it,

which is where the Egyptian god
Osiris came from.

We discussed this in
a 2012 episode of Ancient Aliens

called "The NASA Connection."

NARRATOR:
July 20, 1969.

ALDRIN:
Contact light. Okay, engine stop.

CAPCOM:
We copy you down, Eagle.

ARMSTRONG:
Tranquility Base here.

The Eagle has landed.

NARRATOR:
American astronauts Neil Armstrong

and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin

become the first humans
to land on the Moon.

ARMSTRONG:
That's one small step for man,

one giant leap for mankind.

ALDRIN:
We aliens

who happened to...

...go down the ladder
on July 20, 1969,

were certainly part
of a magnificent race

that was able
to all of a sudden appear

in the Garden of Eden.

Landing on the Moon happened
because of courage.

We had the courage. We were
willing to take the risk.

We had a president
who was behind us

and said, "You're gonna do it."

DAVID MORRISON: I look at those
people from the Apollo era as heroes-

not just the astronauts
that went

but the 100,000 people
on the ground

that made it possible.

They worked on an exact plan.

They knew
where they wanted to go.

They developed the technology.

And, by golly,
they pulled it off.

It was
a tremendous accomplishment,

perhaps the greatest scientific
technical accomplishment

in human history.

ARMSTRONG:
Houston, this is Tranquility. How do you read?

CAPCOM:
Tranquility Base, this is Houston.

Loud and clear. How us?

NARRATOR:
For more than two and a half hours,

Armstrong and Aldrin stood
on the surface of the Moon.

Video transmissions
showed the two astronauts

collecting rock samples,

taking photographs,

and planting an American flag
in the lunar soil.

But what might these men
have done away from the camera?

Could there have been another,
perhaps top secret mission,

as ancient astronaut theorists
believe?

CHILDRESS:
When Apollo 11

first landed on the Moon,

there were certain sites
that they were to look at.

And even as they orbited
the Moon,

there were certain areas
of the Moon

that they were to examine
carefully and photograph.

And you have to ask yourself

if NASA already had certain
parts of the Moon picked out.

And the reason
they had picked out these areas

was because there was artificial
structures on the Moon

and they knew it.

NARRATOR:
According to NASA records,

the area of the Moon
called the Sea of Tranquility

was chosen
for the first lunar landing

based on its flat surface.

But some researchers suggest

this site was chosen
because, on that date,

its coordinates lined up
directly under Orion's Belt.

The way they picked the landing
sites was that they first chose

the specific date, the specific
latitude and longitude,

the specific time
that they would land.

And then you have to work
your way back from that

to create what's called
the launch window.

The person who picked
all of the Apollo landing dates

and landing times,

including the mission
for Apollo 11,

was a man named Farouk El-Baz.

His father just happened
to be an expert

on the ancient Egyptian
stellar religion.

NARRATOR:
According to ancient Egyptian beliefs,

ceremonies performed
directly under Orion's Belt

produce a sacred alignment...

...one through which humans
could communicate with Osiris.

BARA:
To the ancient Egyptians,

that constellation actually was
a literal living embodiment

of the great god Osiris.

Sirius was
the same representation

of his wife, sister,
and consort Isis.

Together, those two
essentially ruled the skies,

and the life of
the Egyptian people themselves

was dictated by the rotation,
the movement,

and the placement
of those two celestial objects

in the heavens.

Apollo 11 had landed
at a specific date

and a specific time

where the three belt stars
of Orion were on the horizon.

At that time,
33 minutes after landing...

...Buzz Aldrin, the second man
to walk on the Moon,

a 33-degree
Scottish Rite Freemason,

was in fact performing
a ceremony

on board the lunar module
with Neil Armstrong.

What they were doing was pouring
wine into chalices,

breaking bread, and doing
what essentially is called

a communion ceremony.

Now, the interesting thing
about the communion ceremony

is that, although it's Catholic,

it actually has its origins

in a much deeper,
farther back ritual,

which was an offering
to the god Osiris himself.

So they are performing,
essentially, an offering

to Osiris himself.

So I think that's why
that they landed on the Moon

at that date and time.

COPPENS:
Certain rituals have to be performed

at certain moments in time

whereby this link
with this nonhuman intelligence

will happen.

The priestly class
of our ancestors,

either through technology
or through certain means,

really were very much the class
which sought out contact

with this nonhuman intelligence.

And they were the ones
who were trained to do this,

very much like
the scientists of today,

which we have trained to be

the people who are going
to go into outer space.

NARRATOR:
Left behind on the Moon

were scientific instruments,

an American flag,

and a small plaque commemorating
the Apollo 11 mission.

But there were
other items left as well-

a bag containing a gold replica
of an olive branch

and a silicon disk with recorded
messages of peace and goodwill

from 73 world leaders.

Why were these symbolic messages
sent up into space?

Who was NASA expecting
to meet on the Moon?

LOGAN HAWKES:
When we talk about the Apollo Moon missions,

there's some theory
that suggests

that massive cities may exist
on the dark side of the Moon,

cities that NASA was aware of...

...that the Moon missions
were all about

and that artifacts
from these ancient ruin sites

have been brought back to Earth.

Is it possible that it wasn't
Moon rocks we were picking up

and bringing back as specimens

but perhaps alien technology?

If extraterrestrials
were here on planet-

I'm sure they were here-

we should also find evidence
on the Moon.

Because the Moon is
the place for a stopover.

You have a mother spaceship.

You need some sort of refuel,

whatever this refuel is-

could be raw material,

could be stone,
could be uranium,

could be whatever is-is
in the surface of the Moon.

So it would make sense

that we find
some indications on the Moon,

technological indications,

that somebody was here.

NARRATOR:
Over the past several years,

officials
with NASA's space program

have admitted to misplacing
original recordings

of some Moon landings...

...and losing rocks collected
from the lunar surface.

Could this be, as ancient
astronaut theorists believe,

lost evidence
of possible alien contact?

BARA:
There are some people that think

that, with the Roswell crash,

that the U.S. government
established communications

with extraterrestrial beings.

And there are
other people who think

that we really don't have
any direct contact

with extraterrestrial species.

My personal belief is that,
at some point along the way,

NASA did have
a direct pipeline to the E.T.s.

NARRATOR:
But if NASA has possessed evidence

of extraterrestrial life,

as ancient astronaut theorists
believe,

what are they hiding?

NARRATOR:
Might NASA really have found evidence

of the existence
of extraterrestrial life

on the Moon?

And if so, might insiders
within the organization

know more about otherworldly
involvement with Earth

than they are willing to reveal?

Perhaps further proof
can be found

by examining
NASA's Masonic origins.

NARRATOR:
July 29, 1958.

Responding
to the successful launch

of the Soviet
space satellite Sputnik,

President Dwight Eisenhower
signs

the National Aeronautics
and Space Act,

officially establishing NASA.

MORRISON:
NASA was formed in 1958

partly out of a previously
existing government agency

called NACA...

...that just dealt
with aeronautics

and then
with the early space program

that was being developed
by the Army and the Air Force.

EDGAR MITCHELL: NASA was established
to take the United States into space

and to be a contender
in the new direction

that humanity was moving

of exploring space
and out into our solar system.

NARRATOR:
The president and Congress established NASA

as part of the Department
of Defense.

The official reason
was to prevent

the Soviets from stealing
U.S. technology.

But some believe the real motive
for this classification

was not to hide information
from the Soviets

but to hide it
from the American public.

A lot of people have the idea

that NASA's a civilian
science agency, and it's not.

It says right there in the act
of Congress that created it-

anything that they discover
is subject to classification

and being kept secret and being
kept from the American people.

The Brookings Report,

which was commissioned by NASA

right after NASA itself
was created,

essentially was commissioned
for the purpose of deciding

what NASA should do

if in fact they made some sort
of extraterrestrial contact.

If they either found artifacts
on the Moon or on Mars

or if they had direct contact
with a superior intelligence,

what they should do.

And the Brookings Report
says very specifically,

number one, don't tell anybody.

If you tell anybody,

it will shatter the fabric
of our civilization.

It will destroy us.

NARRATOR:
Some researchers believe

the evidence of NASA's
hidden agenda can be found

in the close ties
between its founding scientists

and secret societies.

These secret societies
had at their core

essentially a belief that
they were directly descended

from these great gods
of ancient Egypt-

Isis, Osiris, and Horus.

And they considered these gods

to be truly the source
of their bloodline

but also that these gods
themselves came from space.

At the very top,
you had the Freemasons.

You had James Webb,
who was the director of NASA.

You had a man
named Kenneth Kleinknecht,

who was the head
of the Mercury program,

the Apollo program,
the Gemini program.

He was a 33rd-degree
Scottish Rite Freemason.

Below them, you had the Hermetic
Order of the Golden Dawn,

or-or followers
of Aleister Crowley.

People like Jack Parsons out
at JPL were all put together,

and so they all ended up
under the very same roof

with the very same agenda
and the very same belief system.

We see this practice

of passing knowledge down
through a secret society

go back all the way to the days
of the Illuminati...

...who believed
that a select few of the elite

were smart enough,

were capable of handling
this secret knowledge

but not the population at large.

So the question remains,

has this knowledge
been passed down

through secret societies
for generations?

And this may predate

the secret societies that
we know about in modern times

all the way back
to the days of the pharaohs.

NARRATOR:
Like the ancient Egyptians,

could NASA's founding fathers
have shared the belief

that humans descended
from extraterrestrial beings?

What did the members
of these secret societies know

about space travel?

And how did the ancient past
influence their work?

Those who suspect
these NASA officials

operated a hidden agenda

point to the repeated use
of the number 33,

an extremely important symbolic
figure in secret societies.

BARA: If you look at the very
first landing strip at Cape Canaveral,

where we would be landing
aircraft

and eventually bringing
the space shuttle back,

it was Runway 33.

If you look at the launch pad
at White Sands, New Mexico,

the only launch pad
is launch pad number 33.

So it seems to permeate
throughout NASA,

this number 33
over and over again.

And the fact that it's connected
to Freemasonry

makes you kind of wonder

if maybe there was some other
deeper symbolism working.

CAPCOM:
Houston, you are go for landing. Over.

ALDRIN:
700 feet, 21 down, 33 degrees.

NARRATOR:
Researchers believe the connection

to ancient Egyptian beliefs

can also be found in the emblem
of NASA's Apollo space program.

They claim that the large "A"
in the star field

stands not for
the Greek god Apollo

but for Asar,

the Egyptian god
more commonly known as Osiris.

This is indicated
by the cluster of three stars

in the center of the "A,"

which represent
the stars of Orion's Belt.

CHILDRESS:
You have to wonder if stars like Orion and Sirius

are very important to NASA,

because this is where

the ancient traditions,
including Egyptian,

have said
that the space gods came from.

This is our origins.

NARRATOR:
Similarly, researchers point out

that the symbol
on the Mercury mission patches

is nearly identical to
a major icon of ancient Egypt.

BARA:
If you look at the mission patches,

the symbol for Mercury is really
similar to the Egyptian ankh,

and it's kind of ironic

that you have
this sort of Egyptian symbolism

in what's supposed to be
a representation

of Mercury the messenger.
It's supposed to be

a Greek mythology rather
than an Egyptian mythology.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that,
like ancient astronaut theorists,

NASA scientists believe
extraterrestrials visited Earth

in the distant past?

Could their ties
to ancient brotherhoods

explain why Egyptian and Greek
motifs appear so prominently

in the agency's designs?

And if so, perhaps the use
of ancient symbols

may expose the presence
of other initiates among us.

One ancient code
that everyone is familiar with

is that of the All-Seeing Eye

because it's printed
on every dollar bill.

But that symbol dates back

-all the way to ancient Egypt.
-HENRY: Right.

And it's thought to represent
an intelligence

that is watching over us.

Some even associate it
with the biblical figures

called the Watchers,

who came down from heaven

-to Earth.
-CHILDRESS: Yeah.

And you have to ask yourself,

is the dollar bill encoded
with some kind of ancient symbol

that's about alien visitations?

NARRATOR:
The Netherlands.

March 24, 2014.

58 world leaders gather
at the World Forum in The Hague

for the third biannual
Nuclear Security Summit.

In the center of the room

is a giant spinning hologram
of a pyramid

with three smaller
upside-down pyramids inside it.

This symbol, which is also worn
as a pin by the delegates,

is the summit's official logo.

But there are some who claim
it represents something else-

the All-Seeing Eye
of the Illuminati.

Conspiracy theorists suggest

that this centuries-old
secret society

is alive and well
in the 21st century,

as evidenced by symbols
flashed by celebrities,

industry moguls,

and even heads of state.

The modern-day Illuminati

was organized
by Adam Weishaupt in Germany.

And he formulated plans

so that his group
could infiltrate

all the key powers of society-

the political sphere,
the banking sphere,

the media sphere-
back in the late 1700s.

When we're talking
about the Illuminati today,

we're talking about,

essentially, the most powerful
secret society.

(shouting)

These are the people

that pull the strings
from behind the scenes.

NARRATOR:
Is this just paranoia?

Or might the Illuminati
still be around today,

embedded in the highest levels
of society?

And if so,

what is their agenda?

Some say the answer can be found

with a much older
secret society,

which may have been
the precursor to the Illuminati,

the Knights Templar.

This band of warrior monks
was formed in 1118 AD

to protect pilgrims traveling to
Jerusalem during the Crusades.

But many claim
that their true purpose was

to find lost religious relics
hidden at the Temple Mount.

And during their time
in Jerusalem,

they rose
from relative obscurity

to being the most powerful order
of the Crusades.

So far-reaching
was their influence

that it became widely rumored
they were in league with demons.

YOUNG:
Jacques de Molay,

the leading figure in the
history of the Knights Templar,

was brought up on charges
of treason and heresy

for something
like devil worship.

Somehow worshipping
the dark side.

This was the charge brought
against not only De Molay

but the Knights Templars
in general.

NARRATOR: Is it possible the Knights
Templar really were in contact

with otherworldly entities they
encountered at the Temple Mount?

And if so, just what were
these so-called demons?

TZADOK:
We are taught that these shedim,

demons, in many ways
they're like human beings.

And in many ways
they're like the angels.

Some are evil.

Many are good.

Rumor has it
that the Templar Knights

endeavored to communicate
with these spiritual entities.

McGOWAN:
This concept of demons

is very different from the way
we think of demons today.

Essentially, what a demon was
was an otherworldly being.

A being that was not
of this earth,

potentially
an extraterrestrial being,

with the word "extraterrestrial"
meaning "not of this earth."

NARRATOR:
Could the Templars really have been influenced

by aliens
that they misinterpreted

as spiritual beings?

Some ancient astronaut theorists
say

that the Knights Templar
were in contact

with the same extraterrestrials

that were known in
biblical times as the Watchers.

And as evidence, they point

to one of the Templars'
most prominent symbols,

the same symbol that some say
was virtually present

at the Nuclear Security Summit,

the All-Seeing Eye.

This symbol,
which is sometimes just an eye

but often an eye
within a pyramid,

was used
by the ancient Egyptians,

the Knights Templar,

the Rosicrucians,

the Freemasons,

the Illuminati,

and is even incorporated

into the Great Seal
of the United States.

It is a symbol that is most
commonly interpreted to mean

that someone or something
is watching us.

The Eye of Providence symbolizes

the idea of an omniscient
intelligent universe

that is overseeing
all of the affairs

that we have here on Earth.

MARTELL:
For many, the Eye of Providence was a symbol

that God was watching over us.

But others believed that it had
a much deeper meaning

and actually extended
well beyond many other cultures.

Possibly even connected
to extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR:
Could the symbol of the All-Seeing Eye

be secretly telling us

that the Watchers
are still here on Earth,

working behind the scenes
in secret societies

and even the top levels
of government?

These secret societies represent

a truly significant through line
in human history.

I mean, from the time
of King Antiochus to Solomon,

the Freemasons, all the way up
to the Founding Fathers

to NASA,

there's been a continuous line

linking humanity
with otherworldly intelligences.

CHILDRESS:
Yeah. You know, these, uh,

secret societies
and brotherhoods

that were so popular
in ancient times

and right up to modern times
have almost disappeared.

It's like we don't really need

these ancient brotherhoods
anymore

because we've moved past
all that.

Yeah, the knowledge is
now an open secret.

But is it?

Because, clearly,

there are encoded messages
having to do with our history.

And while we seem
to recognize these codes,

the mainstream
is not yet accepting

of these so-called facts.

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