1 00:00:02,750 --> 00:00:03,830 The Odyssey. 2 00:00:03,870 --> 00:00:06,629 It is the ultimate adventure story. 3 00:00:06,669 --> 00:00:09,910 A warrior king in a desperate race to get home 4 00:00:09,910 --> 00:00:12,230 before he loses the woman he loves 5 00:00:12,269 --> 00:00:14,669 and the nation he rules. 6 00:00:15,429 --> 00:00:17,870 In his way are savage beasts, 7 00:00:17,950 --> 00:00:21,309 hurricane winds, giant cannibals, 8 00:00:22,589 --> 00:00:25,150 and he'll have to outsmart them all. 9 00:00:26,190 --> 00:00:31,109 Modern research is revealing some surprising truths behind this epic myth. 10 00:00:32,269 --> 00:00:35,990 This the real story of Odysseus. 11 00:00:45,829 --> 00:00:48,630 Ten terrified sailors are trapped 12 00:00:48,670 --> 00:00:52,630 inside the lair of a one-eyed man-eating cyclops. 13 00:00:55,030 --> 00:00:58,789 Two of their companions have been devoured before their eyes. 14 00:00:59,910 --> 00:01:03,149 Each fears he will be the next to die. 15 00:01:06,629 --> 00:01:08,230 The men need a miracle. 16 00:01:08,310 --> 00:01:11,430 And they look desperately to their leader to deliver one. 17 00:01:12,909 --> 00:01:15,549 His name is Odysseus. 18 00:01:18,870 --> 00:01:24,390 Odysseus never stops thinking, he never lets go, 19 00:01:24,430 --> 00:01:26,430 he refuses to believe that anything can defeat him, 20 00:01:26,430 --> 00:01:28,989 that's a fundamental part of his character. 21 00:01:29,030 --> 00:01:32,189 He's the sneaky guy who'll do what it takes to beat you. 22 00:01:32,269 --> 00:01:35,070 Odysseus is a thinking man's hero. 23 00:01:35,189 --> 00:01:39,629 A leader who relies on his intellect rather than his strength. 24 00:01:40,189 --> 00:01:45,750 And he will need all of his uncommon wit to escape the cyclops alive. 25 00:01:47,269 --> 00:01:51,990 The cool thing about Odysseus is that, unlike other heroes, 26 00:01:52,230 --> 00:01:55,750 Odysseus is thoroughly mortal. 27 00:01:55,750 --> 00:01:57,750 He is man. 28 00:01:57,990 --> 00:02:00,790 We connect with him in a special way because of that. 29 00:02:00,870 --> 00:02:05,070 There was a popularity he had among the ancients because of that. 30 00:02:09,590 --> 00:02:12,909 The story of Odysseus, called the Odyssey, 31 00:02:12,909 --> 00:02:17,189 was written by a Greek poet named Homer in the 8th century BC. 32 00:02:17,870 --> 00:02:21,509 The story of the Odyssey, I think, we can all embrace 33 00:02:21,509 --> 00:02:26,710 because it's about a person faced with a lot of frustrations and obstacles. 34 00:02:27,189 --> 00:02:32,390 Odysseus' journey home from war is a timeless tale of perseverance. 35 00:02:33,310 --> 00:02:38,789 It is also a story that symbolises the dawn of a new era in ancient Greece. 36 00:02:39,069 --> 00:02:42,390 I think the Odyssey, in a way, is a bit like a James Bond novel. 37 00:02:42,430 --> 00:02:44,710 If you think about what Ian Fleming wrote, 38 00:02:44,750 --> 00:02:47,950 he always put his hero into real-life places. 39 00:02:47,990 --> 00:02:50,349 I think that's what Homer was doing. 40 00:02:51,750 --> 00:02:53,509 In a time when Greek sailors 41 00:02:53,550 --> 00:02:56,909 were exploring far-off lands across the Mediterranean, 42 00:02:56,950 --> 00:03:00,590 Odysseus represented the modern adventurer. 43 00:03:00,670 --> 00:03:05,590 There are a lot of stories that are reflected in the Odyssey 44 00:03:05,629 --> 00:03:10,189 of this expansion of the Greeks, 45 00:03:10,229 --> 00:03:14,390 where the Greeks are beginning to colonize and reports are coming back 46 00:03:14,390 --> 00:03:18,950 about various monsters, or various things... sailor tales. 47 00:03:25,750 --> 00:03:28,830 The story of Odysseus begins on Ithaca, 48 00:03:28,830 --> 00:03:31,590 the mythical Greek island he rules. 49 00:03:33,870 --> 00:03:38,189 He was a happy and successful king. 50 00:03:38,230 --> 00:03:43,310 He had a wife whom he was very fond of, she was very fond of him, 51 00:03:43,349 --> 00:03:45,150 they had a young son. 52 00:03:46,909 --> 00:03:50,870 In the myth, Ithaca is an oasis of peace 53 00:03:50,909 --> 00:03:53,909 surrounded by a sea of enemies. 54 00:03:54,110 --> 00:03:57,909 Sparta and Troy, the regional superpowers, 55 00:03:57,909 --> 00:04:01,030 have been bitter rivals for years. 56 00:04:01,110 --> 00:04:05,870 Now a sexual affair involving the most beautiful woman on Earth 57 00:04:05,870 --> 00:04:08,069 will bring them to war. 58 00:04:10,030 --> 00:04:15,550 Helen, the Queen of Sparta, has run off with the Prince of Troy. 59 00:04:16,550 --> 00:04:21,149 Sparta pressures Ithaca to join the fight to bring her back home. 60 00:04:21,790 --> 00:04:25,389 Bound by honour, Odysseus enlists. 61 00:04:26,709 --> 00:04:30,110 He heads off to battle knowing that this may be the last time 62 00:04:30,149 --> 00:04:34,110 he ever sees his family or his kingdom. 63 00:04:41,709 --> 00:04:45,150 Odysseus leads a fleet of twelve ships to Troy 64 00:04:45,230 --> 00:04:49,069 where he soon finds himself on the front lines of war. 65 00:04:49,069 --> 00:04:52,150 The battle for Helen rages for a decade 66 00:04:53,310 --> 00:04:55,590 until the Greek forces hit a wall... 67 00:04:56,350 --> 00:04:57,590 literally. 68 00:05:01,430 --> 00:05:05,550 The wall around Troy is so massive, so impenetrable, 69 00:05:05,590 --> 00:05:08,670 the Greeks believe it was built by gods. 70 00:05:08,910 --> 00:05:11,590 In antiquity people thought it had been built 71 00:05:11,629 --> 00:05:16,590 by some kind of divine intervention on behalf of the Trojans. 72 00:05:20,110 --> 00:05:24,670 With a war on the line, Odysseus devises an ingenious strategy 73 00:05:24,750 --> 00:05:26,990 to get inside the wall. 74 00:05:30,790 --> 00:05:34,470 He says, "We should build a hollow wooden horse 75 00:05:34,470 --> 00:05:36,990 "which we will leave on the beach. 76 00:05:36,990 --> 00:05:39,829 "We will pretend that we've given up, 77 00:05:39,829 --> 00:05:44,670 "that we've decided the Trojans are too much for us and we've gone home. " 78 00:05:47,990 --> 00:05:51,389 "Inside the horse is going to be our best heroes, 79 00:05:51,430 --> 00:05:53,389 "myself included," Odysseus of course, 80 00:05:53,430 --> 00:05:58,189 "and the Trojans are gonna drag this horse inside 81 00:05:58,230 --> 00:06:00,949 "because they're gonna think it's a parting gift for the gods. " 82 00:06:04,790 --> 00:06:08,230 When dawn breaks, the Trojans are stunned. 83 00:06:08,269 --> 00:06:13,310 The Greeks are gone and there is a gigantic horse outside their walls. 84 00:06:13,550 --> 00:06:15,310 So goes the myth, 85 00:06:16,069 --> 00:06:18,990 but what is the link to reality? 86 00:06:25,590 --> 00:06:29,350 Scholars long believed Troy was an imaginary city, 87 00:06:29,389 --> 00:06:32,030 and the Trojan War only a legend. 88 00:06:32,710 --> 00:06:34,870 But in the late 19th century, 89 00:06:34,910 --> 00:06:39,389 a five-acre field in Western Turkey yielded something startling. 90 00:06:41,670 --> 00:06:44,629 An ancient city with a massive wall. 91 00:06:45,990 --> 00:06:49,110 And the remains of a large palace. 92 00:06:49,870 --> 00:06:53,470 Two key features of Homer's Troy. 93 00:06:55,590 --> 00:06:59,269 The structures had been burned just like the mythical city. 94 00:06:59,910 --> 00:07:02,269 The site is close to the coast 95 00:07:02,310 --> 00:07:06,189 in the region where experts believe Troy would have been. 96 00:07:06,310 --> 00:07:10,230 And its terrain is similar to the landscape Homer describes. 97 00:07:11,790 --> 00:07:13,509 But there's more. 98 00:07:13,509 --> 00:07:18,550 Among the ruins archaeologists found evidence of war. 99 00:07:20,470 --> 00:07:26,790 We have found a number of arrowheads and spearheads at Troy. 100 00:07:27,110 --> 00:07:31,870 We've also found an unburied skeleton inside the city of Troy. 101 00:07:31,910 --> 00:07:36,189 That's a dead giveaway usually of a war because ancient people 102 00:07:36,230 --> 00:07:40,150 had a horror of leaving bodies unburied within the city walls. 103 00:07:40,189 --> 00:07:43,750 They wouldn't do so unless they were 104 00:07:43,750 --> 00:07:46,910 in very extreme circumstances. 105 00:07:49,110 --> 00:07:51,990 Did the Trojan War really happen? 106 00:07:53,069 --> 00:07:56,710 Is there also some truth behind the story of Odysseus? 107 00:07:57,829 --> 00:08:01,509 Our search for clues leads back to the myth. 108 00:08:08,829 --> 00:08:12,430 Odysseus and his men are huddled inside the wooden horse 109 00:08:12,470 --> 00:08:15,550 as it rolls through the gates and into Troy. 110 00:08:16,670 --> 00:08:19,990 The Trojans have mistaken it for a peace offering. 111 00:08:21,030 --> 00:08:23,509 The horse was a symbol of Troy. 112 00:08:23,550 --> 00:08:26,389 The Trojans are known as great horse breeders. 113 00:08:26,430 --> 00:08:29,910 The countryside outside Troy was to ancient horse breeding 114 00:08:29,949 --> 00:08:32,430 what Kentucky is to modern horse breeding. 115 00:08:32,470 --> 00:08:34,069 So by leaving a Trojan horse 116 00:08:34,110 --> 00:08:37,070 it seemed as if this was an homage to the Trojans, 117 00:08:37,110 --> 00:08:39,830 a symbol of what Troy was all about. 118 00:08:45,070 --> 00:08:47,269 The Trojans fall for the stratagem, 119 00:08:47,269 --> 00:08:48,950 they celebrate because the war's over, 120 00:08:48,950 --> 00:08:52,950 at the end of a long party much wine and much eating has been done, 121 00:08:52,990 --> 00:08:56,149 everybody is basically passed out in the city of Troy. 122 00:09:02,830 --> 00:09:04,830 As the Trojans sleep, 123 00:09:06,629 --> 00:09:10,389 Odysseus and his elite forces emerge from the horse. 124 00:09:12,029 --> 00:09:14,789 There's a wonderful description in our sources 125 00:09:14,830 --> 00:09:18,029 of the Trojans lying innocently, 126 00:09:18,029 --> 00:09:21,149 sleeping, dreaming, relaxing, 127 00:09:21,149 --> 00:09:24,990 and the Greeks going through the city like a mist, 128 00:09:24,990 --> 00:09:27,590 creeping through the dark alleyways. 129 00:09:29,669 --> 00:09:33,350 In the dead of night, the Greeks strike. 130 00:09:35,230 --> 00:09:37,470 The Trojans are caught off guard 131 00:09:38,909 --> 00:09:42,509 and the city of Troy burns. 132 00:09:48,190 --> 00:09:51,629 Odysseus' unusual strategy has succeeded. 133 00:09:52,430 --> 00:09:55,550 His Trojan horse has won the war 134 00:09:55,550 --> 00:09:59,509 and he emerges as the hero of the day. 135 00:09:59,950 --> 00:10:04,669 Many of the heroes from that period in Greek history and mythology 136 00:10:04,669 --> 00:10:07,830 were celebrated because they were great warriors, 137 00:10:07,870 --> 00:10:11,310 they were very strong, good with the bow... 138 00:10:11,350 --> 00:10:13,149 Odysseus was different. 139 00:10:13,149 --> 00:10:14,990 He was a hero who was celebrated 140 00:10:15,029 --> 00:10:19,350 because he was crafty, he was intelligent. 141 00:10:19,870 --> 00:10:22,509 Odysseus is at his best when he's under pressure. 142 00:10:22,550 --> 00:10:25,710 He, any number of times, gets into places 143 00:10:25,750 --> 00:10:28,029 where no human being should be able to escape. 144 00:10:28,070 --> 00:10:31,190 He faces certain death at all kinds of different turns, 145 00:10:31,230 --> 00:10:33,470 and he always seems to find a way through. 146 00:10:33,509 --> 00:10:35,149 He's like an ancient MacGyver. 147 00:10:39,990 --> 00:10:42,470 Odysseus has survived 10 years 148 00:10:42,470 --> 00:10:45,990 on the front lines of a brutal conflict. 149 00:10:46,029 --> 00:10:48,750 He is anxious to get home to Ithaca. 150 00:10:49,070 --> 00:10:53,950 But the Trojan War was nothing compared with what still lies ahead. 151 00:10:54,909 --> 00:10:57,070 A menagerie of monsters, 152 00:10:57,110 --> 00:10:58,830 and mayhem. 153 00:11:00,430 --> 00:11:03,629 The Odyssey is just beginning. 154 00:11:12,710 --> 00:11:16,870 In Homer's Odyssey, the Trojan was has ended. 155 00:11:18,110 --> 00:11:20,830 Now the journey home begins. 156 00:11:21,870 --> 00:11:27,789 Odysseus' island of Ithaca is 565 nautical miles from Troy. 157 00:11:28,789 --> 00:11:33,190 In ancient times, that was a journey of a few weeks. 158 00:11:33,269 --> 00:11:36,710 When Odysseus left Troy he wanted to get home 159 00:11:36,750 --> 00:11:39,669 but I don't think in any way he's expecting 160 00:11:39,669 --> 00:11:42,509 that it's gonna take him 10 years to get home. 161 00:11:44,070 --> 00:11:47,269 I think he thought that he might stop along the way 162 00:11:47,269 --> 00:11:51,629 to go on some raids, maybe to show off some of his success. 163 00:11:51,669 --> 00:11:53,789 In a matter of a month or two 164 00:11:53,789 --> 00:11:56,509 he had every reason to think he would be home in Ithaca. 165 00:11:57,190 --> 00:12:00,830 Odysseus sets out for Ithaca with a fleet of 12 ships 166 00:12:00,870 --> 00:12:04,990 and a crew of 600 war-weary sailors. 167 00:12:05,070 --> 00:12:08,470 It is an impressive fleet by ancient standards, 168 00:12:08,509 --> 00:12:10,990 but could it have been real? 169 00:12:17,990 --> 00:12:19,830 1988, 170 00:12:20,269 --> 00:12:23,590 two scuba divers stumble upon an unusual shipwreck 171 00:12:23,629 --> 00:12:26,310 off the coast of Southern Sicily. 172 00:12:28,350 --> 00:12:33,509 The ship stretches nearly 60 feet long, and 22 feet wide, 173 00:12:33,550 --> 00:12:38,070 making it the biggest ancient vessel of its kind ever discovered. 174 00:12:38,830 --> 00:12:41,550 But exactly how old is it? 175 00:12:42,990 --> 00:12:45,830 To find out, scientists analyse 176 00:12:45,870 --> 00:12:49,509 the tree rings in wooden planks recovered by the divers. 177 00:12:49,550 --> 00:12:51,830 The results are stunning. 178 00:12:52,070 --> 00:12:55,789 The ship dates back to approximately 500 BC, 179 00:12:55,830 --> 00:12:58,909 within two centuries of the Odyssey. 180 00:12:59,830 --> 00:13:02,110 It's an exciting revelation. 181 00:13:02,870 --> 00:13:05,269 This could be exactly the type of ship 182 00:13:05,310 --> 00:13:07,830 Homer imagined for Odysseus. 183 00:13:11,870 --> 00:13:17,509 2008, the entire ship is finally pulled from the Mediterranean Sea 184 00:13:18,230 --> 00:13:20,590 and dried up in Portsmouth, England, 185 00:13:20,629 --> 00:13:23,029 to be studied piece by piece. 186 00:13:24,269 --> 00:13:28,550 Here experts are able to compare the remains with Homer's description 187 00:13:28,590 --> 00:13:31,190 of how Odysseus' ships were built. 188 00:13:31,430 --> 00:13:32,870 The result... 189 00:13:33,110 --> 00:13:35,110 it's a perfect match. 190 00:13:37,909 --> 00:13:42,310 The interesting thing about this ship, as opposed to North European ships, 191 00:13:42,350 --> 00:13:44,310 is that it was made with mortise-and-tenon 192 00:13:44,350 --> 00:13:46,029 and it was held together with rope. 193 00:13:46,149 --> 00:13:50,430 This is the same method of ship building described in the Odyssey. 194 00:13:50,509 --> 00:13:55,550 Now, after two and a half millennia, at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, 195 00:13:55,590 --> 00:13:58,710 this ship is giving scholars an unprecedented glimpse 196 00:13:58,710 --> 00:14:00,990 into the world of Odysseus. 197 00:14:00,990 --> 00:14:03,389 This is not a primitive vessel. 198 00:14:03,389 --> 00:14:06,029 This is quite a sophisticated piece of technology. 199 00:14:06,029 --> 00:14:08,590 Odysseus' journey could well have taken place. 200 00:14:08,629 --> 00:14:11,149 And what's exciting about this is that we've got 201 00:14:11,190 --> 00:14:12,870 a ship that could well have been 202 00:14:12,870 --> 00:14:15,830 comparable to the ships that he would have been on. 203 00:14:19,389 --> 00:14:20,990 The myth continues. 204 00:14:21,230 --> 00:14:24,629 Odysseus is headed for home at last. 205 00:14:25,389 --> 00:14:29,710 His faithful wife Penelope, and his now 10 year-old son Telemachus, 206 00:14:29,750 --> 00:14:32,470 are eagerly awaiting his return. 207 00:14:32,509 --> 00:14:37,230 But in his absence, his palace has been overrun by lecherous men 208 00:14:37,470 --> 00:14:41,909 who are out to steal his wife and his throne. 209 00:14:45,230 --> 00:14:47,269 Odysseus has been gone a while. 210 00:14:47,269 --> 00:14:50,870 Penelope of course is faithful but she's surrounded by suitors 211 00:14:50,909 --> 00:14:53,269 and they want to marry Penelope. 212 00:14:53,350 --> 00:14:55,350 And in marrying Penelope, of course, 213 00:14:55,389 --> 00:14:57,269 they want to have the power that goes with it 214 00:14:57,310 --> 00:14:59,149 and take over Odysseus' dominion. 215 00:14:59,190 --> 00:15:01,870 So it's not a good situation. 216 00:15:02,750 --> 00:15:05,670 If Odysseus doesn't make it home soon 217 00:15:05,670 --> 00:15:08,909 all that he fought for will be lost. 218 00:15:14,789 --> 00:15:17,670 Odysseus' first stop after leaving Troy 219 00:15:17,710 --> 00:15:20,070 is the coastal city of Ismarus. 220 00:15:21,310 --> 00:15:25,909 There he will seek vengeance against an old enemy. 221 00:15:25,950 --> 00:15:30,269 These were a group of people who had been allied with the Trojans, 222 00:15:30,310 --> 00:15:32,470 they'd helped the Trojans against the Greeks, 223 00:15:32,509 --> 00:15:36,230 and Odysseus wants to now exact revenge on him. 224 00:15:37,870 --> 00:15:40,950 Ismarus may have been one of the settings in the Odyssey 225 00:15:40,990 --> 00:15:43,470 that was based on a real location. 226 00:15:44,389 --> 00:15:46,590 In ancient times it was said to be home 227 00:15:46,629 --> 00:15:49,950 to the fiercest warriors in the known world. 228 00:15:50,950 --> 00:15:52,909 They're absolutely terrific fighters 229 00:15:52,950 --> 00:15:56,750 and their particular specialty was unconventional warfare. 230 00:15:56,750 --> 00:16:00,149 Great guerrillas and insurgents of the ancient world. 231 00:16:00,230 --> 00:16:02,950 But that doesn't deter Odysseus. 232 00:16:02,950 --> 00:16:08,110 In the myth, he and his men come ashore braced for battle. 233 00:16:08,110 --> 00:16:10,629 They clobber the city, steal all the treasure, 234 00:16:10,670 --> 00:16:12,029 and they're on their way home. 235 00:16:12,070 --> 00:16:13,430 Of course, they make a mistake. 236 00:16:13,470 --> 00:16:15,789 They drink a little too much, they eat a little too much, 237 00:16:15,830 --> 00:16:18,029 and they pass out on the beach. 238 00:16:19,230 --> 00:16:21,990 Their victory party is premature. 239 00:16:28,629 --> 00:16:30,310 Early the next morning 240 00:16:30,389 --> 00:16:33,750 the natives ambush the men while they sleep. 241 00:16:37,950 --> 00:16:42,350 Within minutes, 72 sailors are massacred. 242 00:16:42,750 --> 00:16:45,590 The rest barely make it out alive. 243 00:16:46,990 --> 00:16:50,870 It is a hard lesson about underestimating the enemy. 244 00:16:50,909 --> 00:16:56,509 And the first in a series of deadly mistakes by Odysseus and his crew. 245 00:16:58,870 --> 00:17:03,230 He does get away with the better part of his force but he loses a lot 246 00:17:03,269 --> 00:17:04,950 and learns a very painful lesson 247 00:17:04,950 --> 00:17:07,390 about keeping everybody on their toes at all times. 248 00:17:07,430 --> 00:17:09,910 This is going to be a very dangerous journey. 249 00:17:11,990 --> 00:17:15,230 There is a theme in Homer that we might simply describe 250 00:17:15,230 --> 00:17:18,110 as "always be prepared, never let your guard down. " 251 00:17:18,110 --> 00:17:23,710 Again and again we see people who have a little taste of victory 252 00:17:23,750 --> 00:17:25,390 and they immediately party. 253 00:17:26,190 --> 00:17:28,829 And their enemy is leaner and meaner 254 00:17:28,870 --> 00:17:31,829 and hunger for victory, takes advantage of it. 255 00:17:31,870 --> 00:17:34,870 It is a cycle we see again and again in the history of ancient, 256 00:17:34,910 --> 00:17:37,589 and we might say in the history of modern, warfare as well. 257 00:17:38,190 --> 00:17:41,670 Odysseus and his men are shell-shocked. 258 00:17:41,710 --> 00:17:44,829 They stay at sea for the next two weeks. 259 00:17:44,870 --> 00:17:47,110 But not by choice. 260 00:17:47,190 --> 00:17:50,910 The fleet encounters another devastating obstacle. 261 00:17:51,870 --> 00:17:53,349 A hurricane. 262 00:17:54,390 --> 00:17:57,470 The storm blows them off the map and from here 263 00:17:57,509 --> 00:17:59,309 until the very end of his adventures 264 00:17:59,349 --> 00:18:03,349 Odysseus is kind of in Never-Neverland. 265 00:18:03,910 --> 00:18:07,990 The hurricane carries the fleet all the way to North Africa. 266 00:18:08,750 --> 00:18:12,069 There, on an exotic island just off the coast, 267 00:18:12,069 --> 00:18:17,789 Odysseus and his men unwittingly step into a mythological drug den. 268 00:18:20,390 --> 00:18:24,350 The natives here warmly welcome them with an offering of lotus, 269 00:18:24,430 --> 00:18:29,309 a sweet-tasting flower with mind-altering properties. 270 00:18:32,589 --> 00:18:37,630 Odysseus is suspicious and he's right to be weary in the situation 271 00:18:37,670 --> 00:18:41,549 because what happens when his men eat the lotus is that 272 00:18:41,589 --> 00:18:45,750 is a kind of drug and they become very happy and forgetful 273 00:18:45,789 --> 00:18:49,190 of what they're trying to do, which is to get home. 274 00:18:51,910 --> 00:18:55,190 They want to stay in the land of the lotus eaters forever. 275 00:18:57,390 --> 00:19:00,630 Some experts think the lotus-eaters were meant to symbolise 276 00:19:00,670 --> 00:19:05,390 a real scourge of ancient Greece: drug abuse. 277 00:19:05,430 --> 00:19:07,069 Greeks knew the poppy. 278 00:19:07,110 --> 00:19:10,150 There are many Mycenaean seals and objects 279 00:19:10,190 --> 00:19:13,670 in which you clearly see the poppy, so they knew about opium, 280 00:19:13,710 --> 00:19:15,390 and therefore hashish. 281 00:19:15,390 --> 00:19:19,110 The point being, human beings like intoxication. 282 00:19:19,190 --> 00:19:24,789 Within the Odyssey, its function is to show 283 00:19:24,829 --> 00:19:28,269 how people can get lost on their way home. 284 00:19:28,309 --> 00:19:31,269 And that's very human. 285 00:19:33,230 --> 00:19:38,069 Once again, the crew has been sidetracked by self-indulgence. 286 00:19:38,150 --> 00:19:42,350 It will become a running theme throughout the Odyssey. 287 00:19:42,390 --> 00:19:46,350 But their leader, Odysseus, stays sober. 288 00:19:46,589 --> 00:19:48,430 He has just one goal - 289 00:19:48,430 --> 00:19:52,710 to return home to Ithaca where his wife and son are waiting. 290 00:19:53,069 --> 00:19:55,710 He just says, "Come on! Come on, you knuckleheads. 291 00:19:55,710 --> 00:19:57,990 "Let's get back in the boat. " And off they go. 292 00:19:58,029 --> 00:20:04,150 It's this incredibly short episode and yet it's been written about so much, 293 00:20:04,190 --> 00:20:07,430 and I think the reason is because everybody knows that experience. 294 00:20:07,509 --> 00:20:11,110 Everybody is tired. Everybody's been through too much. 295 00:20:11,150 --> 00:20:14,390 What could be more attractive that to eat, drink, smoke, 296 00:20:14,430 --> 00:20:18,269 ingest something that will just let you forget. 297 00:20:18,670 --> 00:20:21,069 The journey home has begun again 298 00:20:21,110 --> 00:20:25,110 but the crew's curiosity may yet be its death. 299 00:20:28,269 --> 00:20:32,470 When the fleet comes across another island teeming with wild game 300 00:20:32,509 --> 00:20:34,950 it seems like a dream come true. 301 00:20:34,990 --> 00:20:39,029 But it's about to become hell on earth. 302 00:20:39,069 --> 00:20:42,110 Odysseus and his men have stumbled upon the land 303 00:20:42,150 --> 00:20:44,990 of a giant man-eating cyclops, 304 00:20:45,029 --> 00:20:47,630 and it's almost dinner time. 305 00:20:53,789 --> 00:20:58,069 The mythical hero Odysseus is trying to get back to his wife and son 306 00:20:58,110 --> 00:21:00,710 after a decade at war. 307 00:21:01,150 --> 00:21:04,350 But this is not the trip home he envisioned. 308 00:21:05,069 --> 00:21:07,029 After several weeks at sea 309 00:21:07,110 --> 00:21:10,710 he has lost 72 of his men in an ambush 310 00:21:10,750 --> 00:21:15,910 and confronted hurricane winds that pushed him far off-course. 311 00:21:17,470 --> 00:21:20,509 Now, an unknown island offers a chance 312 00:21:20,509 --> 00:21:23,910 to replenish both supplies and morale... 313 00:21:24,350 --> 00:21:26,230 or so it seems. 314 00:21:27,870 --> 00:21:31,069 There are a number of reasons why Odysseus would have to put to shore, 315 00:21:31,110 --> 00:21:32,910 one they'd been out at sea for a while 316 00:21:32,950 --> 00:21:38,350 and you need to put ashore for supplies and provisions. 317 00:21:38,390 --> 00:21:40,910 But the other thing that you have to remember about Odysseus 318 00:21:40,950 --> 00:21:43,549 is he is just fundamentally curious. 319 00:21:43,589 --> 00:21:46,190 Sometimes too curious for his own good. 320 00:21:46,230 --> 00:21:50,870 He wants to know, he is intrigued by knowledge 321 00:21:50,910 --> 00:21:54,390 and so sometimes he pushes it a little bit too far. 322 00:21:54,430 --> 00:21:57,150 And there's such an insight into the Greek character here. 323 00:21:57,150 --> 00:22:01,069 This is a period of vast Greek expansion and colonization. 324 00:22:01,110 --> 00:22:06,069 The Greeks themselves, in Homer's day, wanted to go out into the world 325 00:22:06,110 --> 00:22:11,910 for many solid, economic reasons but also because they were simply curious. 326 00:22:15,430 --> 00:22:20,230 Odysseus selects his 12 best men to explore the island with him. 327 00:22:20,269 --> 00:22:24,670 Just before he sets off, he grabs one last item, 328 00:22:24,710 --> 00:22:27,230 a goat skin full of wine. 329 00:22:27,309 --> 00:22:30,230 It will prove to be a life-saver. 330 00:22:30,269 --> 00:22:35,269 Priority number one for the explorers is to find something to eat. 331 00:22:37,390 --> 00:22:40,630 Just offshore, the men hit the jackpot. 332 00:22:42,950 --> 00:22:46,350 They come across a cave filled with food. 333 00:22:47,990 --> 00:22:51,750 Only one thing is missing, the cave's owner. 334 00:22:52,269 --> 00:22:55,549 When they get into the cave, Odysseus' see wonderful stores of food 335 00:22:55,549 --> 00:22:58,750 and they're ready to steal it and take off and get out of danger. 336 00:22:58,789 --> 00:23:00,950 Odysseus though is very curious. 337 00:23:00,990 --> 00:23:02,589 He wants to stick around. 338 00:23:02,630 --> 00:23:05,870 He thinks that the person that lives there should owe him a gift. 339 00:23:05,870 --> 00:23:08,670 And this is traditional in ancient Greek society. 340 00:23:08,710 --> 00:23:12,029 That a person who arrives as a stranger on someone else's shores 341 00:23:12,069 --> 00:23:13,870 is owed a gift. 342 00:23:14,029 --> 00:23:19,269 When a stranger shows up in your town you take him in, 343 00:23:19,269 --> 00:23:21,910 you give him a place to rest, you give him food, 344 00:23:21,910 --> 00:23:23,710 you treat him kindly. 345 00:23:24,789 --> 00:23:30,789 Inside the cave, Odysseus and his men help themselves to a long awaited feast. 346 00:23:31,950 --> 00:23:36,870 As the Sun sets, the man of the house finally returns, 347 00:23:36,910 --> 00:23:41,150 but he is not what the sailors were expecting. 348 00:23:41,670 --> 00:23:43,950 He is a giant cyclops. 349 00:23:44,630 --> 00:23:48,589 A ravenous beast with the strength of 20 men 350 00:23:48,630 --> 00:23:52,269 and one massive eye in the middle of his face. 351 00:23:52,390 --> 00:23:57,750 The sight of him sends Odysseus and his men cowering into a dark corner. 352 00:24:01,470 --> 00:24:06,670 The cyclops lights his nightly fire and the men are exposed. 353 00:24:11,829 --> 00:24:13,710 When the cyclops arrives home 354 00:24:13,750 --> 00:24:16,549 he sees that these men have come in to steal his food. 355 00:24:16,589 --> 00:24:20,710 He is angry. And then Odysseus steps up and kind of beats his chest 356 00:24:20,750 --> 00:24:24,950 and says, "Hello, we've just arrived from faraway lands. Where's our gift?" 357 00:24:24,990 --> 00:24:26,910 And he's being a little bit rude too. 358 00:24:26,950 --> 00:24:30,069 So you can kind of see how the cyclops is a little bit miffed. 359 00:24:30,069 --> 00:24:32,509 This has all just gone terribly wrong. 360 00:24:35,309 --> 00:24:39,190 In the blink of an eye the cyclops lunges forward, 361 00:24:39,230 --> 00:24:43,309 grabs two of the sailors and devours them. 362 00:24:46,910 --> 00:24:49,630 He leaves not a morsel behind. 363 00:24:49,670 --> 00:24:51,670 Not even the bones. 364 00:24:51,710 --> 00:24:56,029 When the Greeks see the cyclops eat two of their fellow Greeks 365 00:24:56,069 --> 00:24:58,230 they're shocked, they're frightened. 366 00:24:58,269 --> 00:25:03,390 Cannibalism in ancient Greece was an incredibly barbarous act. 367 00:25:04,309 --> 00:25:07,549 For them a mark of a civilised person 368 00:25:07,549 --> 00:25:11,230 was actually the way they ate and drank. 369 00:25:12,390 --> 00:25:16,509 The men are terrified, they're also frustrated with Odysseus 370 00:25:16,549 --> 00:25:19,829 for leading them into this ungodly mess 371 00:25:19,870 --> 00:25:24,390 and they decide, "Well. While he's asleep, let's kill him. " 372 00:25:24,430 --> 00:25:28,309 But Odysseus, fortunately, is the smartest guy in the bunch, 373 00:25:28,350 --> 00:25:30,350 and he says, "We can't kill him. " 374 00:25:31,350 --> 00:25:33,990 Odysseus has a problem, 375 00:25:34,069 --> 00:25:37,990 if the sailors, if Odysseus, kill the cyclops now 376 00:25:38,029 --> 00:25:39,590 they'll be trapped within the cave 377 00:25:39,630 --> 00:25:43,350 because they're not strong enough to move the stone on their own. 378 00:25:43,670 --> 00:25:47,069 On the other hand, if the men don't kill the cyclops 379 00:25:47,110 --> 00:25:49,230 they will surely die. 380 00:25:51,029 --> 00:25:53,509 It is a hopeless situation. 381 00:25:53,590 --> 00:25:57,309 But Odysseus has overcome too much to give up now. 382 00:25:57,350 --> 00:26:00,390 If he can't use his strength to beat this monster, 383 00:26:00,430 --> 00:26:02,590 he'll use his intelligence. 384 00:26:02,670 --> 00:26:06,910 He never gives up hope, even though his men in the cyclops' cave 385 00:26:06,950 --> 00:26:12,910 feel it's over, Odysseus is always scheming, planning, thinking. 386 00:26:17,230 --> 00:26:22,190 The giant cyclops is one of mythology's most memorable monsters. 387 00:26:22,269 --> 00:26:26,150 But could it be more than just a figment of Homer's imagination? 388 00:26:26,670 --> 00:26:31,630 Today some experts think it was inspired by a real life beast, 389 00:26:32,870 --> 00:26:35,590 and this may be the proof. 390 00:26:42,029 --> 00:26:47,230 The mythical hero Odysseus and his men are facing all but certain death 391 00:26:47,309 --> 00:26:50,829 inside the cave of a monstrous cyclops. 392 00:26:52,670 --> 00:26:54,710 Two have already been eaten 393 00:26:54,750 --> 00:26:57,430 and the beast is hungry for more. 394 00:27:01,430 --> 00:27:05,670 At sunrise the cyclops devours two more men. 395 00:27:09,309 --> 00:27:14,789 Then he heads out to graze his sheep sealing the cave behind him. 396 00:27:15,269 --> 00:27:18,309 Time is running out for Odysseus. 397 00:27:18,350 --> 00:27:21,269 The mastermind of the Trojan horse 398 00:27:21,309 --> 00:27:24,190 desperately needs a new stroke of genius... 399 00:27:24,350 --> 00:27:25,910 and fast. 400 00:27:25,990 --> 00:27:29,029 Odysseus is someone who survives on his wits, 401 00:27:29,069 --> 00:27:34,110 but what makes Odysseus different than all of the other mythic characters 402 00:27:34,150 --> 00:27:36,590 is that he thinks before he acts. 403 00:27:36,630 --> 00:27:41,230 He's likely to come up with a cunning solution rather than a direct one. 404 00:27:41,269 --> 00:27:45,950 So goes the myth, but what is the link to reality? 405 00:27:49,670 --> 00:27:54,750 The giant cyclops seems like the work of a disturbed imagination 406 00:27:54,789 --> 00:27:58,029 but it may be based on actual science. 407 00:27:59,509 --> 00:28:02,230 There are three very different facts of ancient life 408 00:28:02,269 --> 00:28:05,110 that could have inspired Homer's monster. 409 00:28:05,150 --> 00:28:10,990 The first is a rare disease that causes foetuses to develop only one large eye. 410 00:28:11,029 --> 00:28:14,029 It's a condition called cyclopia. 411 00:28:14,069 --> 00:28:17,750 And it may have been widely known to the ancient Greeks. 412 00:28:19,230 --> 00:28:24,230 Exposure to certain sorts of alkaloid toxins that are found in some herbs 413 00:28:24,230 --> 00:28:28,430 can cause pregnant women to deliver children that have cyclopia. 414 00:28:29,150 --> 00:28:32,590 This is very interesting because some of those herbs that happen to 415 00:28:32,630 --> 00:28:35,430 have these dangerous compounds happen to be ones 416 00:28:35,470 --> 00:28:39,509 that ancient Greek medical men prescribed to their patients. 417 00:28:41,590 --> 00:28:43,910 Cyclopia results when these toxins 418 00:28:43,950 --> 00:28:47,069 prevent the brain from developing properly. 419 00:28:47,110 --> 00:28:50,470 As a result, instead of having two separate eye sockets 420 00:28:50,509 --> 00:28:52,390 you get one big one. 421 00:28:52,390 --> 00:28:54,630 You have a cyclops birth. 422 00:28:54,670 --> 00:28:57,630 And this could have served as a kind of inspiration for legends 423 00:28:57,630 --> 00:29:00,630 about these one-eyed creatures that roamed the earth. 424 00:29:00,630 --> 00:29:03,670 But it's also possible that Homer's cyclops 425 00:29:03,710 --> 00:29:06,350 was inspired by something much bigger... 426 00:29:07,549 --> 00:29:08,910 a volcano. 427 00:29:10,430 --> 00:29:15,230 In the myth, Odysseus describes the cyclops as a man-mountain 428 00:29:15,230 --> 00:29:18,350 rearing head and shoulders over the world. 429 00:29:19,230 --> 00:29:21,350 It's very possible that the ancient Greeks, 430 00:29:21,390 --> 00:29:23,990 looking at erupting volcanoes like Mount Etna, 431 00:29:23,990 --> 00:29:28,150 might have looked at that huge angry red eye of the volcano 432 00:29:28,150 --> 00:29:30,750 as it erupted hot rocks and lava, 433 00:29:30,789 --> 00:29:33,910 and they might have pictured a sort of monstrous man-mountain 434 00:29:33,950 --> 00:29:38,430 with a single eye that was angrily raging at mankind. 435 00:29:42,829 --> 00:29:48,029 But there is one more potential real world inspiration for the cyclops, 436 00:29:48,069 --> 00:29:52,230 fossils dug up by ancient archaeologists. 437 00:29:52,269 --> 00:29:56,150 The ancient Greeks were all extremely interested in the natural world 438 00:29:56,150 --> 00:29:58,630 and they collected lots of specimens of everything. 439 00:29:58,670 --> 00:30:03,710 And of course they did find samples of fossils out in the wild as well. 440 00:30:03,750 --> 00:30:05,789 Now, if you look at the skull of an elephant, 441 00:30:05,829 --> 00:30:09,029 it's a pretty impressive thing because there is a huge opening 442 00:30:09,069 --> 00:30:10,870 right in the middle of the forehead. 443 00:30:10,910 --> 00:30:14,789 The actual eye openings look relatively small in comparison 444 00:30:14,829 --> 00:30:16,750 and are shunted off to the side. 445 00:30:16,750 --> 00:30:21,150 So if you didn't know what it was, you might very easily imagine 446 00:30:21,190 --> 00:30:26,710 that this was the skull of some sort of gigantic one-eyed creature. 447 00:30:35,390 --> 00:30:37,509 The Odyssey continues. 448 00:30:37,590 --> 00:30:42,549 Odysseus and his men are hostages in the cave of the cyclops. 449 00:30:43,549 --> 00:30:47,950 Unless something changes fast they will all be eaten. 450 00:30:50,750 --> 00:30:53,350 But Odysseus remains focused. 451 00:30:53,390 --> 00:30:57,110 There's a Greek fear that surrounds the entire episode, 452 00:30:57,110 --> 00:31:00,190 and the men around him tend to fall apart under this fear, 453 00:31:00,230 --> 00:31:01,470 Odysseus never does. 454 00:31:01,509 --> 00:31:04,670 He realises, in a very cold, calculating, rational way, 455 00:31:04,710 --> 00:31:06,789 that these emotions will only get in the way, 456 00:31:06,789 --> 00:31:09,950 and will only get in the way of his escape and his solution to the problem. 457 00:31:09,990 --> 00:31:13,590 He focuses always on the problem and only on the problem. 458 00:31:15,150 --> 00:31:17,990 While the cyclops is out tending his sheep, 459 00:31:18,029 --> 00:31:21,990 Odysseus spots the massive wooden club he left behind, 460 00:31:21,990 --> 00:31:23,670 and gets an idea. 461 00:31:24,350 --> 00:31:28,630 With the help of his men he shaves the narrow end to a fine point, 462 00:31:28,630 --> 00:31:32,789 hardens it over a flame, and waits. 463 00:31:36,630 --> 00:31:40,150 As night falls, the cyclops returns. 464 00:31:41,750 --> 00:31:46,309 He snatches two more sailors and eats them alive. 465 00:31:49,630 --> 00:31:51,309 As the dust settles, 466 00:31:51,350 --> 00:31:55,630 Odysseus steps forward with the wine he brought from his ship. 467 00:31:56,470 --> 00:31:58,630 He offers it to the cyclops. 468 00:32:00,950 --> 00:32:02,750 The beast downs one bowl, 469 00:32:03,590 --> 00:32:04,670 then another, 470 00:32:05,430 --> 00:32:06,750 and a third. 471 00:32:07,509 --> 00:32:10,430 Instantly, he begins to teeter. 472 00:32:11,350 --> 00:32:15,950 Some people might think, when they hear that the cyclops has 473 00:32:15,990 --> 00:32:19,110 a couple of glasses of wine and then passes out on the floor, 474 00:32:19,150 --> 00:32:21,350 that he must have been a real light weight, 475 00:32:21,350 --> 00:32:23,590 he didn't have any tolerance for alcohol. 476 00:32:23,590 --> 00:32:28,470 The truth is that ancient wine was a lot stronger and harsher 477 00:32:28,470 --> 00:32:30,509 than wine is today. 478 00:32:31,590 --> 00:32:34,269 In antiquity there was very strong wine, 479 00:32:34,269 --> 00:32:35,950 we might even call it fortified wine, 480 00:32:35,990 --> 00:32:37,990 that had a very high alcohol content, 481 00:32:37,990 --> 00:32:40,309 and typically what one would do is measure it out 482 00:32:40,309 --> 00:32:43,509 and then dilute it with water to be an appropriate drink at a dinner. 483 00:32:43,549 --> 00:32:46,910 The wine that Odysseus gives to the cyclops 484 00:32:46,950 --> 00:32:49,430 is an entirely undiluted form. 485 00:32:50,190 --> 00:32:52,950 As the drunken giant stumbles around the cave 486 00:32:52,990 --> 00:32:57,789 he asks Odysseus his name and gets a clever answer. 487 00:32:57,830 --> 00:33:01,069 Odysseus says, "Oh! Well, my name is Nobody. " 488 00:33:01,110 --> 00:33:04,309 At that point there's no way that any of us can quite realise 489 00:33:04,309 --> 00:33:06,230 how this will fit into the plan, 490 00:33:06,230 --> 00:33:09,430 but it's been part of Odysseus' plan all along. 491 00:33:09,950 --> 00:33:14,710 With that, the cyclops crashes to the floor and passes out. 492 00:33:16,590 --> 00:33:19,150 Odysseus springs into action. 493 00:33:19,190 --> 00:33:23,430 With the help of his men, he lifts the buried stake, 494 00:33:24,190 --> 00:33:30,069 charges forward, and plunges it into the eye of the beast. 495 00:33:38,950 --> 00:33:41,630 Hearing the screams of the cyclops inside of his cave, 496 00:33:41,670 --> 00:33:43,750 the other cyclopses come around 497 00:33:43,789 --> 00:33:45,870 and ask him, "What's going on inside of there? 498 00:33:45,870 --> 00:33:48,430 "We hear you scream. Something horrible must be happening. " 499 00:33:48,430 --> 00:33:51,910 The cyclops at that point then answers, "Nobody is hurting me. 500 00:33:51,950 --> 00:33:54,150 "Nobody is harming me. " 501 00:33:54,190 --> 00:33:57,269 And the neighbour cyclopses then scratch their heads and say, 502 00:33:57,269 --> 00:34:00,350 "Well, I guess nobody's hurting him. We might as well get back to bed. " 503 00:34:01,269 --> 00:34:06,750 So this trick that Odysseus has put in place earlier on in the story 504 00:34:06,789 --> 00:34:10,510 by not giving his real name but saying his name was "Nobody", 505 00:34:10,550 --> 00:34:12,869 we now see it comes to fruition. 506 00:34:15,230 --> 00:34:19,750 The wounded cyclops opens the doorway in a blind rage. 507 00:34:20,869 --> 00:34:24,510 Odysseus sees his opening and makes his move. 508 00:34:24,949 --> 00:34:27,309 The cyclops is sitting in front of the door 509 00:34:27,349 --> 00:34:31,909 and Odysseus doesn't let them try to creep out. 510 00:34:31,949 --> 00:34:33,269 He knows the cyclops will get them, 511 00:34:33,309 --> 00:34:34,710 and he doesn't let them ride the sheep out, 512 00:34:34,750 --> 00:34:36,909 'cos he knows he's gonna be clever enough for that. 513 00:34:36,949 --> 00:34:39,470 He ties them beneath the sheep. 514 00:34:39,750 --> 00:34:42,909 As dawn breaks the sheep head out to pasture 515 00:34:42,949 --> 00:34:47,590 with Odysseus and his men clinging to their underbellies. 516 00:34:47,630 --> 00:34:51,309 The cyclops is not entirely a fool. 517 00:34:51,349 --> 00:34:54,710 He knows that the Greeks might be trying to escape from his cave, 518 00:34:54,750 --> 00:34:59,110 but as the sheep pass by he feels each one on top. 519 00:34:59,150 --> 00:35:03,190 But the Greeks are underneath and he doesn't feel them. 520 00:35:04,190 --> 00:35:08,110 Odysseus' escape from the cyclops' cave is the perfect example 521 00:35:08,150 --> 00:35:10,389 of brain over brawl. 522 00:35:10,949 --> 00:35:13,630 That's Jack and the Beans, that's David and Goliath, 523 00:35:13,630 --> 00:35:17,750 it is the sneaky little guy defeating the big, dumb guy. 524 00:35:18,670 --> 00:35:22,030 This much, much bigger obstacles that we face, 525 00:35:22,070 --> 00:35:25,309 this brain of ours can overcome them. 526 00:35:25,309 --> 00:35:31,349 It's this fundamental story that is absolutely core to humanity. 527 00:35:33,349 --> 00:35:36,150 Odysseus is a master of deception. 528 00:35:36,190 --> 00:35:39,510 But he hasn't yet mastered his own pride. 529 00:35:40,710 --> 00:35:43,190 As the ship sails away from the coast 530 00:35:43,230 --> 00:35:47,110 he can't resist revealing his own true identity. 531 00:35:49,470 --> 00:35:53,829 It's a mistake that will haunt him for years to come. 532 00:35:53,869 --> 00:35:57,429 The cyclops is standing there cursing him. 533 00:35:57,429 --> 00:36:03,349 Suddenly Odysseus, almost inexplicably, turns and says, 534 00:36:04,030 --> 00:36:08,949 "You want to know who I am? I am Odysseus, son of La�rtes. " 535 00:36:08,990 --> 00:36:12,710 Now, to us that seems like a really stupid move, 536 00:36:12,789 --> 00:36:16,389 but the most important thing for a Greek hero was 537 00:36:16,429 --> 00:36:18,750 something called "kleos", fame. 538 00:36:18,750 --> 00:36:23,190 So it was your fame, your reputation that really mattered. 539 00:36:23,190 --> 00:36:26,309 So one thing that Odysseus is doing at that moment 540 00:36:26,349 --> 00:36:30,309 is making sure that he gets credit for what happened. 541 00:36:30,550 --> 00:36:33,429 The cyclops is blinded and beaten, 542 00:36:34,829 --> 00:36:37,710 but he has one last hope for revenge... 543 00:36:39,070 --> 00:36:40,750 his powerful father. 544 00:36:41,710 --> 00:36:46,550 It turns out that the cyclops is a son of the sea-god Poseidon. 545 00:36:47,869 --> 00:36:52,150 And he intends to make Odysseus pay with his life. 546 00:36:55,829 --> 00:36:58,750 Mythology's greatest mortal, Odysseus, 547 00:36:58,750 --> 00:37:02,190 has been lost at sea for more than two months. 548 00:37:04,950 --> 00:37:08,590 He's desperate to get home to his kingdom and his family, 549 00:37:09,429 --> 00:37:11,990 but he's not even close. 550 00:37:13,670 --> 00:37:17,190 All the other heroes that are still alive 551 00:37:17,230 --> 00:37:20,990 from the Greek force at Troy have made it home. 552 00:37:21,030 --> 00:37:24,070 Only one is not home yet, and that's Odysseus. 553 00:37:24,070 --> 00:37:27,670 He's literally the last hero on the sea. 554 00:37:35,389 --> 00:37:40,990 From the outset, Odysseus' return voyage has not gone according to plan. 555 00:37:41,030 --> 00:37:44,030 He has come face to face with a lethal army, 556 00:37:44,070 --> 00:37:46,349 and a blood-thirsty cyclops, 557 00:37:46,389 --> 00:37:51,070 and been driven hundreds of miles off-course by hurricane winds. 558 00:37:51,070 --> 00:37:55,349 Threats like this would crush the spirits of most men, 559 00:37:55,349 --> 00:37:58,110 but Odysseus isn't most men. 560 00:37:59,269 --> 00:38:02,789 One of the things that I think makes Odysseus such an appealing character 561 00:38:02,829 --> 00:38:04,909 is that every challenge that comes along 562 00:38:04,950 --> 00:38:09,429 he treats as just an obstacle to be overcome. 563 00:38:10,950 --> 00:38:16,110 Now Odysseus must confront his most terrifying obstacle yet, 564 00:38:16,750 --> 00:38:20,230 the cyclops he just blinded and escaped from 565 00:38:20,269 --> 00:38:24,190 is the son of one of mythology's most powerful gods. 566 00:38:24,829 --> 00:38:29,030 The master of the seas, Poseidon. 567 00:38:30,630 --> 00:38:34,349 The cyclops asks his father, the god Poseidon, 568 00:38:34,349 --> 00:38:36,269 to take vengeance on Odysseus. 569 00:38:36,309 --> 00:38:40,869 To kill him, or if not, to make the rest of his trip a living hell. 570 00:38:40,909 --> 00:38:43,909 By attacking the son of a god, 571 00:38:43,909 --> 00:38:46,869 by attacking the cyclops who's the son of Poseidon, 572 00:38:46,869 --> 00:38:51,550 he makes a double mistake - one is he angers a god, 573 00:38:51,550 --> 00:38:54,789 but the second is he angers the god of the sea. 574 00:38:54,789 --> 00:38:56,909 He's sailing home! 575 00:38:59,909 --> 00:39:03,389 Odysseus now faces two daunting challenges - 576 00:39:03,429 --> 00:39:06,470 survive the wrath of Poseidon, 577 00:39:06,510 --> 00:39:10,429 and get home before another man steals his wife. 578 00:39:15,909 --> 00:39:19,750 As the days and weeks pass, the suitors courting Penelope 579 00:39:19,750 --> 00:39:22,110 grow more and more brazen. 580 00:39:22,550 --> 00:39:25,510 The locals realise that here is 581 00:39:25,510 --> 00:39:30,230 this wonderfully beautiful, capable woman, Penelope, and she's all alone. 582 00:39:30,269 --> 00:39:32,909 She also happens to be sitting atop a store of great wealth 583 00:39:32,909 --> 00:39:36,950 so there are many people who would try to vie for her affections. 584 00:39:37,070 --> 00:39:42,269 But Penelope still clings to the hope that her husband is on his way home. 585 00:39:43,470 --> 00:39:46,110 She still believes that Odysseus is coming home, 586 00:39:46,150 --> 00:39:49,950 and she is willing to do everything in her power 587 00:39:49,950 --> 00:39:55,789 to make sure that his throne is still available for him when he returns. 588 00:40:01,470 --> 00:40:04,909 A few days after surviving the giant cyclops, 589 00:40:04,950 --> 00:40:08,789 Odysseus encounters someone who can help him get home. 590 00:40:10,550 --> 00:40:12,230 On the island of Aeolia, 591 00:40:12,269 --> 00:40:14,750 he meets a king name Aeolus. 592 00:40:15,990 --> 00:40:18,429 King Aeolus has a special power. 593 00:40:18,429 --> 00:40:20,550 He has control over the winds. 594 00:40:20,590 --> 00:40:24,710 He's able to regulate and control which way the winds blow. 595 00:40:24,909 --> 00:40:28,470 King Aeolus secretly gives Odysseus a present, 596 00:40:28,909 --> 00:40:33,349 a bag containing all the winds that could blow him off-course. 597 00:40:33,349 --> 00:40:36,110 As long as that bag remains closed 598 00:40:36,150 --> 00:40:39,750 he'll have smooth sailing all the way back to Ithaca. 599 00:40:40,269 --> 00:40:45,030 This is an enormously important gift for ancient travellers. 600 00:40:45,030 --> 00:40:48,950 It's the equivalent of him giving Odysseus a fleet of jet planes. 601 00:40:48,990 --> 00:40:51,909 The winds are the motive power of ancient shipping, 602 00:40:51,950 --> 00:40:55,590 so this is a very great gift because the winds can bring you home. 603 00:40:58,670 --> 00:41:02,630 For nine days and nights, the Greeks sail straight for Ithaca 604 00:41:02,630 --> 00:41:05,030 aided by favourable winds. 605 00:41:05,950 --> 00:41:09,550 Finally Odysseus is on his way home. 606 00:41:11,269 --> 00:41:13,470 He stays awake the whole way 607 00:41:13,510 --> 00:41:15,750 working his ship round the clock. 608 00:41:18,230 --> 00:41:22,309 On the tenth day Ithaca appears on the horizon. 609 00:41:23,670 --> 00:41:27,909 But in the last mile, fatigue finally overcomes the hero. 610 00:41:27,950 --> 00:41:32,510 As Odysseus dozes, his crew seizes the chance to find out 611 00:41:32,510 --> 00:41:35,030 what's in the mysterious bag. 612 00:41:35,869 --> 00:41:40,789 His men immediately decide "there's gold, there's silver, there's treasures, 613 00:41:40,789 --> 00:41:43,309 "and Odysseus doesn't want to share it with us. " 614 00:41:43,349 --> 00:41:44,750 They want it for themselves, 615 00:41:44,750 --> 00:41:48,710 so curiosity tinged with a bit of greed leads to their undoing. 616 00:41:49,309 --> 00:41:52,150 With the shores of Ithaca in plain sight, 617 00:41:52,190 --> 00:41:54,269 they open the bag 618 00:41:54,269 --> 00:41:59,070 and the Poseidon curse is unleashed with a vengeance. 619 00:42:04,789 --> 00:42:10,389 In seconds, Odysseus' hopes of getting home are destroyed. 620 00:42:12,150 --> 00:42:15,750 The winds immediately drive his fleet back to Aeolia. 621 00:42:20,630 --> 00:42:25,230 But this time he won't get any help from the King. 622 00:42:25,630 --> 00:42:29,990 Odysseus says to Aeolus, "Can you help us again?" 623 00:42:30,030 --> 00:42:34,630 And Aeolus says, "No. You are clearly cursed by the gods. 624 00:42:34,710 --> 00:42:39,190 "It could not have been easier for you to get home, given what I gave you. 625 00:42:39,510 --> 00:42:42,789 "If you didn't get home, some god has it out for you 626 00:42:42,829 --> 00:42:45,030 "and I am not messing with that. " 627 00:42:45,150 --> 00:42:46,510 "Go on your way. " 628 00:42:46,789 --> 00:42:50,230 It's another painful setback for Odysseus, 629 00:42:50,230 --> 00:42:54,710 but he wastes no time worrying about what might have been. 630 00:42:54,710 --> 00:42:57,630 He may be knocked down just as much as all the rest of us, 631 00:42:57,670 --> 00:42:59,630 and even harder than all the rest of us, 632 00:42:59,670 --> 00:43:02,909 but he always can get back up, he can always find a way. 633 00:43:06,269 --> 00:43:10,429 Odysseus' ability to persevere is put to the test again 634 00:43:10,550 --> 00:43:13,550 just days after he leaves Aeolia. 635 00:43:14,309 --> 00:43:16,869 His fleet pulls into a mysterious harbour 636 00:43:16,869 --> 00:43:21,590 and gets attacked out of nowhere by a race of giant cannibals. 637 00:43:27,070 --> 00:43:31,150 In a matter of minutes, Odysseus loses hundreds of men 638 00:43:31,150 --> 00:43:33,990 and all but one of his ships. 639 00:43:35,470 --> 00:43:37,829 The waves run red with blood. 640 00:43:38,990 --> 00:43:44,150 Once again, the Poseidon curse is devastating in its cruelty. 641 00:43:48,429 --> 00:43:50,389 When Odysseus left Troy 642 00:43:50,429 --> 00:43:54,630 he did not think this was going to be an epic journey home. 643 00:43:55,869 --> 00:44:00,309 I don't think he could ever had imagined the kind of journey 644 00:44:00,309 --> 00:44:03,750 and the kind of troubles and adventures that he'd find along the way. 645 00:44:05,030 --> 00:44:08,789 For Odysseus the adventures are just beginning. 646 00:44:08,829 --> 00:44:13,470 The rest of his journey home will present challenges more daunting 647 00:44:13,510 --> 00:44:16,150 than any man has ever faced. 648 00:44:17,150 --> 00:44:19,829 When the story of Odysseus continues 649 00:44:20,429 --> 00:44:23,070 our mortal hero is a marked man. 650 00:44:25,269 --> 00:44:28,070 Poseidon has put a bounty on his head. 651 00:44:29,909 --> 00:44:33,990 Each day his crew and his chances will diminish 652 00:44:34,030 --> 00:44:37,909 until Odysseus finds himself alone. 653 00:44:38,710 --> 00:44:41,750 One man against all odds. 654 00:44:41,789 --> 00:44:46,590 One goal: get home before it's too late.