All language subtitles for The Greeks Series 1 1of3 Cavemen to Kings 1080p

NARRATOR: THEY
ROSE FROM NOTHING.

AND CHANGED EVERYTHING.

EDITH HALL: THE ANCIENT GREEKS
CHANGED THE WORLD IN ABOUT

1,000 YEARS FLAT.

BETTANY HUGHES: THIS WAS A
TIME AND A PLACE WHEN THERE

WAS A COLLISION OF IDEAS AND
INSPIRATION THAT RESULTED IN A

TRULY EXTRAORDINARY CULTURE.

NARRATOR: BUT OF ALL THE
MANY GREAT CIVILIZATIONS

IN THE ANCIENT WORLD,
WHAT MADE THIS ONE SO SPECIAL?

ERIC CLINE: PEOPLE TALK
ABOUT THE GREATNESS OF GREECE.

WHY THEM, WHY THERE?

THAT'S THE QUESTION.

NARRATOR: AND WHY ARE WE,
MILLENNIA LATER,

SO INTIMATELY LINKED
TO THE RADICAL REVOLUTION

THAT TOOK PLACE HERE?

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS:
ANCIENT GREECE AND OUR

MODERN SOCIETY ARE CONNECTED.

WE CANNOT POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND
OUR SOCIETY IF WE DO NOT

UNDERSTAND HOW IT WAS
BORN AND HOW IT DEVELOPED.

NARRATOR: IT'S A STORY
FOR THE AGES AND FOR TODAY.

OF ATTAINING GREATNESS
AND LOSING IT.

NEIL DE GRASSE TYSON: HOW
LONG DID ANCIENT GREECE LAST,

WAS IT FOREVER?

NO, IT WAS FLEETING.

ANGELIKI KOTTARIDI: IT WAS
THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL

NEW ERA OF CIVILIZATION.

NARRATOR: "THE GREEKS."

RIGHT NOW ON THIS
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SPECIAL.

♪[NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
THEME MUSIC PLAYS].♪

NARRATOR: IT'S BEEN
NEARLY 2,500 YEARS SINCE

WORKERS PUT THE
FINISHING TOUCHES ON

THE WESTERN WORLD'S
MOST ICONIC STRUCTURE.

100,000 TONS OF
THE FINEST MARBLE.

MORE THAN 70,000
INDIVIDUAL SEGMENTS.

EXQUISITE SCULPTURES ALL
CAME TOGETHER IN MAJESTIC

SYMMETRY ON THIS HIGH ROCKY
OUTCROP TO PROCLAIM THE

SUPREMACY OF ATHENS,
A CIVILIZATION AT ITS PEAK.

SUPREMACY OF ATHENS,
A CIVILIZATION AT ITS PEAK.

NEIL DE GRASSE TYSON: TO STAND
THERE I GOT A LITTLE CHILL,

Y'KNOW, THE HAIRS STOOD
UP ON THE BACK OF MY NECK.

I WOULD SAY ALMOST A
SPIRITUAL MOMENT FOR ME.

BETTANY HUGHES: THESE
BEAUTIFUL STATUES AND

MONUMENTS DECLARE TO THE
WORLD THAT THEY HAVE ACHIEVED

EXTRAORDINARY LEVELS
OF CIVILIZATION.

NARRATOR: TWO AND
HALF MILLENNIA LATER,

WORKERS ARE RACING TO
RESCUE THE PARTHENON FROM

THE RAVAGES OF TIME.

CENTURIES OF WARS,
EARTHQUAKES, LOOTING,

PLUNDERING, HAVE
TAKEN THEIR TOLL.

YET, IT STILL STANDS,

A PROUD REMINDER
OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT.

ONE THAT CONTINUES TO INSPIRE,

EVEN THROUGH THE
MOST TRYING OF TIMES.

NOT JUST IN GREECE,

BUT WHEREVER PEOPLE
STRIVE FOR DEMOCRACY.

WHEN NAVIGATING THE PRESENT,

THE ANSWERS OFTEN
LIE IN THE PAST.

THE GREEK WRITER HERODOTUS,
THE WORLD'S FIRST HISTORIAN,

TAUGHT US THAT.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS: THERE
IS A GREAT DEAL OF CONTINUITY

FROM ANCIENT GREECE
TO MODERN SOCIETY.

THEY ARE PART OF THE
SAME CULTURAL CONTINUUM.

NARRATOR: THE PEOPLE WHO
RAISED THESE COLUMNS CERTAINLY

HAD THEIR
SHARE OF CHALLENGES:

TYRANNY AND FAMINE,

ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL
COLLAPSE, ENDLESS WARS,

AN ABYSMAL HUMAN
RIGHTS RECORD.

YET SOMEHOW THEY INVENTED
EVERYTHING FROM SCIENCE AND

PHILOSOPHY TO DRAMA
AND DEMOCRACY.

GREECE, NOT EGYPT,
NOT PERSIA, NOT ROME,

BECAME THE CORNERSTONE
OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION.

THE QUESTION IS, HOW?

EDITH HALL: IF WE DON'T
ASK THEM HOW THEY DID IT AND

WHY THEY DID IT, THEN WE
ARE NOT EVEN ATTEMPTING TO

UNDERSTAND THE
WORLD AS A WHOLE.

NARRATOR: IT TURNS OUT THE
GREEKS THEMSELVES WERE SEEKING

TO UNDERSTAND THEIR
EXTRAORDINARY RISE LONG

BEFORE WE WERE.

GREEK MYTHS TELL US THEY
WERE BORN OUT OF CHAOS,

QUITE LITERALLY, "CHAOS"
BEING THE GREEK WORD FOR

CHASM OR VOID.

FROM THE VOID AT THE DAWN OF
THE UNIVERSE AROSE GODS LIKE:

FROM THE VOID AT THE DAWN OF
THE UNIVERSE AROSE GODS LIKE:

TARTARUS, THE UNDERWORLD;

AND EROS, LOVE.

THROUGH A VIOLENT SUCCESSION
OF INFANTICIDE AND PATRICIDE,

JEALOUSY, DECEIT AND REVENGE,
THIS FIRST GENERATION OF

DIVINITIES, GAVE RISE
TO THE GODS OF OLYMPUS:

ZEUS, POSEIDON, HADES,
ATHENA AND ALL THE OTHERS.

AND ULTIMATELY, THAT
GOD-FORSAKEN MORTAL SPECIES,

HUMANS, TO TOIL AWAY ON EARTH.

YET THE MYTHS ALSO TELL
OF ONE FIGURE WHO TOOK PITY

ON US HUMANS, RESCUED US
FROM OBLIVION AND PAID

THE PRICE FOR IT.

THE GREEK PLAYWRIGHT AESCHYLUS
WROTE OF THIS HERO'S TRAVAILS

AT THE HEIGHT OF
GREECE'S GOLDEN AGE MORE THAN

2,500 YEARS AGO.

HIS NAME WAS PROMETHEUS.

THE PLAY: PROMETHEUS BOUND.

TONIGHT, NEARLY 6,000 PEOPLE
FILE INTO A THEATER AS OLD AS

DRAMA ITSELF, THE EPIDAURUS,
TO EXPERIENCE IT JUST AS THEIR

ANCESTORS WOULD HAVE.

[SPEAKING GREEK].

TASOS NOUSIAS PLAYS
THE LEADING ROLE.

TASOS NOUSIAS: PROMETHEUS
IS A TITAN, HE IS A GOD.

ZEUS HAD DECIDED TO
ERADICATE MANKIND.

PROMETHEUS IS THE ONE WHO
STANDS UP FOR THE PEOPLE.

WITHOUT HIM, MANKIND
WOULD BE LOST.

EDITH HALL: SO HE ACTUALLY
STEALS FIRE FROM OLYMPUS.

HUMANS HAVEN'T GOT IT, THEY
ARE STILL LIVING IN HORRIBLE

CAVES, THEY'VE GOT NO
HEAT, THEY'VE GOT NO LIGHT,

THEY CAN'T MAKE ANYTHING
NEW, THEY CAN'T COOK.

AND HE GIVES THEM FIRE, AND
OF COURSE THAT IS THE PRECISE,

INFLAMMATORY MOMENT WHEN
THE HUMAN RACE TAKES OFF,

AND THEY START
INVENTING EVERYTHING.

NARRATOR: WITH FIRE, THE
REBELLIOUS PROMETHEUS ENDOWS

MORTALS WITH ALL THE
ELEMENTS OF CIVILIZATION.

THERE WAS FARMING.

PROMETHEUS: THEY HAD NO SIGN
OF WINTER, OR FLOWERY SPRING,

PROMETHEUS: THEY HAD NO SIGN
OF WINTER, OR FLOWERY SPRING,

THE RISINGS AND
SETTINGS OF THE STARS.

NARRATOR: SCIENCE.

PROMETHEUS: YES, AND NUMBERS,
THE BASIS OF SCIENCE,

I INVENTED FOR THEM.

NARRATOR: LANGUAGE.

PROMETHEUS: AND THE
COMBINING OF LETTERS,

MOTHER OF THE MUSES' ARTS,

WITH WHICH TO HOLD
ALL THINGS IN MEMORY.

NARRATOR: LITERATURE,
PHILOSOPHY, DEMOCRACY, DRAMA.

WHEN THIS PLAY FIRST DEBUTED,
THEY WERE ALL JUST MAKING

THEIR GRAND ENTRANCES
ONTO THE WORLD STAGE.

EDITH HALL: PROMETHEUS OF
COURSE SUFFERS TERRIBLY AND

ZEUS ATTACHES HIM TO A
MOUNTAIN AND HE HAS AN EAGLE

TO CHEW AT HIS
LIVER IN POSTERITY.

BUT INSIDE EVERY ANCIENT
GREEK HEAD WAS THE IDEA THAT

IF SOMEBODY WAS TRYING
TO DEPRIVE YOU OF SOMETHING

THAT WOULD HELP YOU,
YOU COULD GO GET IT,

SO THAT IS THIS REBELLIOUS

SPIRIT OF THE ANCIENT
GREEKS INCARNATE IN AN

ANCIENT TITAN GOD.

BETTANY HUGHES: WHAT THE
AUTHOR AESCHYLUS IS TELLING US

IS THAT HUMANS SHOULD USE
THEIR WITS AND THEIR WISDOM

AND THEIR WILL TO TRY TO
MAKE THEIR OWN LIVES BETTER.

NARRATOR: OF COURSE,
THIS PLAY CAME AT THE PEAK OF

GREECE'S GOLDEN AGE.

BY THEN, EVEN THE ANCIENTS
KNEW THAT THEIR MANY

ACHIEVEMENTS WEREN'T
SIMPLY GIFTS FROM THE GODS;

THEY WERE HARD EARNED
OVER GENERATIONS.

THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THEIR
DRAMATIC RISE LIES BEYOND THE

MYTHS AND BEGINS MANY
THOUSANDS OF YEARS EARLIER,

WHEN, AS
PROMETHEUS TELLS US...

PROMETHEUS: THEY HAD NO
KNOWLEDGE OF HOUSES BUILT OF

BRICKS, NOR HOW
TO WORK IN WOOD,

BUT LIVED UNDERGROUND
LIKE SWARMING ANTS

IN SUNLESS CAVES.

BILL PARKINSON:
CLASSICAL GREECE DIDN'T JUST

COME OUT OF NOWHERE.

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO
UNDERSTAND WHERE THE GREECE OF

ATHENS, THE GREECE OF
THE ACROPOLIS CAME FROM,

YOU NEED TO LOOK WAY
BACK IN THE PAST.

YOU NEED TO LOOK SEVERAL
THOUSAND YEARS BACK IN THE

PAST AT PLACES LIKE THIS.

NARRATOR: THIS IS ALEPOTRYPA
CAVE ON SOUTHERN GREECE'S

MANI PENINSULA, A CAVE
USED BY SOME OF THE EARLIEST

FARMERS IN EUROPE.

ANASTASIA PAPATHANASIOU:
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT SITE.

IT IS THE RICHEST CAVE IN
GREECE AND ONE OF THE

RICHEST IN EUROPE.

RICHEST IN EUROPE.

GATEWAY TO HADES,

THE GREEK UNDERWORLD,
AND IT'S EASY TO SEE WHY.

IN VARIOUS POCKETS ALL
AROUND THIS NEARLY

1,000-FOOT LONG CAVERN,
SCIENTISTS HAVE EXHUMED

MORE THAN 150 BODIES.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS
ANASTASIA PAPATHANASIOU AND

BILL PARKINSON
CONTINUE TO FIND MORE.

BILL PARKINSON: FROM
8,000 YEARS AGO UNTIL ABOUT

5,000 YEARS AGO,
AGRICULTURAL VILLAGERS,

FARMERS, SOME OF THE
FIRST FARMERS IN EUROPE

BURIED THEIR DEAD IN HERE.

THEY CARRIED OUT RITUAL
ACTIVITIES HERE AND THESE ARE

THE PEOPLE WHO EVENTUALLY
LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR

WHAT BECAME CLASSICAL GREECE.

NARRATOR: COMPARED TO OTHER
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS IT SEEMS

THE PEOPLE HERE IN
GREECE NEVER HAD IT EASY.

THE CAVE PROVIDES A
WINDOW INTO A KEY PERIOD IN

HUMAN HISTORY, THE NEOLITHIC.

WHEN BY AROUND
10,000 YEARS AGO,

HUMANS FIRST STARTED TO
GIVE UP HUNTING AND GATHERING,

AND BEGAN SETTLING DOWN.

ANASTASIA PAPATHANASIOU: IT IS
THE FIRST TIME PERIOD IN HUMAN

LIFE THAT THE PEOPLE, THEY
START LIVING IN A WAY LIKE US.

THEY ARE AGRICULTURALISTS.

THEY BASE THEIR DIET MOSTLY
ON GRAINS LIKE US TODAY.

NARRATOR: DEPENDING ON WHERE
YOU LIVED AND WHAT RESOURCES

YOU HAD ACCESS TO, SOME
SOCIETIES DURING THE NEOLITHIC

WERE MUCH MORE PRIMED FOR
GREATNESS THAN OTHERS.

THE EGYPTIANS
HAD THEIR NILE,

ITS PREDICTABLE
FLOODS BECAME

THE LIFEBLOOD OF
THE FERTILE CRESCENT,

AS DID THE TIGRIS AND
EUPHRATES TO THE NORTH.

HERE FERTILE PLAINS
FED BOOMING POPULATIONS,

ALLOWING EXPANSIVE
MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATIONS

TO FLOURISH.

FURTHER EAST, INDIAN
CIVILIZATIONS THRIVED IN

THE VALLEY CARVED
BY THE INDUS RIVER.

WHILE THE YELLOW RIVER GAVE
RISE TO THE FIRST CHINESE

SETTLEMENTS AND DYNASTIES.

IN SOUTHERN GREECE, PEOPLE
WEREN'T QUITE SO FORTUNATE.

THERE WAS NO MIGHTY RIVER,
NO NUTRIENT-RICH SOIL.

HERE, AS AN ANCIENT
SAYING GOES,

THE GODS THREW DOWN
A PILE OF ROCKS.

BILL PARKINSON: PARTS OF
GREECE ARE EXTREMELY ROCKY.

Y'KNOW, YOU BASICALLY
HAVE MOUNTAINS AND SEA,

THERE'S VERY
LITTLE ARABLE LAND,

THERE AREN'T MANY FLAT SPACES.

IT'S KIND OF HARD AS A
FARMER TO EKE OUT A LIVING

IN THAT ENVIRONMENT.

NARRATOR: JUST OUTSIDE
OF ALEPOTRYPA CAVE,

NEW FINDS TELL A DARK TALE
ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT LIFE HERE

IN THE NEOLITHIC WAS.

BILL PARKINSON: HOW WE DOING?

NARRATOR: PARKINSON AND
HIS TEAM HAVE UNCOVERED THE

SKELETON OF AN INFANT
AND A YOUNG COUPLE IN

A TENDER EMBRACE.

BILL PARKINSON:
WE'VE GOT AT LEAST TWO,

PROBABLY THREE
INDIVIDUALS, RIGHT,

BECAUSE WE'VE GOT
FRAGMENTS OF A FIFTH LEG.

NARRATOR:
WITH RESOURCES SCARCE,

IT SEEMS COMPETITION
WAS FIERCE.

NEARLY A THIRD OF THE
PEOPLE DISCOVERED HERE SUFFERED

BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA,
LIKELY THE RESULT OF

TRIBAL WARS OVER
RESOURCES OR TERRITORY.

AVERAGE LIFE SPAN
WAS JUST 29 YEARS.

ANASTASIA PAPATHANASIOU: THEY
HAD LOTS OF PHYSICAL STRESS.

THEIR DIET WASN'T OPTIMAL.

THEY HAVE A LOW CONTENT OF
IRON AND ANIMAL PROTEIN.

WE HAVE HIGH
INFANT MORTALITY.

NARRATOR: TAKEN TOGETHER,
THE SKELETONS REVEAL A BLEAK

PICTURE FOR THESE
EARLY GREEKS.

BY THE TIME THE CAVE COLLAPSED
AROUND 5,000 YEARS AGO,

THE NEARBY SETTLEMENTS
WERE COLLAPSING ALONG WITH IT.

THE GREEKS MAY HAVE
BECOME NOTHING MORE THAN A

HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE,
WERE IT NOT FOR ONE OBVIOUS,

ALBEIT FORBIDDING, ADVANTAGE.

BETTANY HUGHES: THERE IS AN
INTERESTING THING ABOUT GREECE

IS THAT WHEREVER YOU ARE
YOU ARE NEVER MORE THAN

50 MILES AWAY FROM THE SEA,
SO THE SEA YOU CAN ALMOST SEE

AND HEAR IT, IT IS
PART OF YOUR EXPERIENCE.

NARRATOR: WITH ITS
INLETS AND ISLANDS,

GREECE HAS ONE OF THE
HIGHEST PROPORTIONS OF

COASTLINE TO
LAND AREA ON EARTH.

AND WITH SUCH
LIMITED RESOURCES,

THE SEA BECAME A LIFELINE.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS: HAVING
TO SURVIVE IN A VERY DIFFICULT

ENVIRONMENT MADE
PEOPLE STRONGER.

IT MADE PEOPLE TOUGH,
IT MADE PEOPLE DEFIANT.

IT MADE PEOPLE
TURN TO THE SEA.

EDITH HALL: THE GREEKS WERE
ACTUALLY FORCED BY THEIR OWN

TERRAIN INTO BECOMING
BRILLIANT NAVIGATORS VERY,

VERY EARLY ON.

NARRATOR: SOME OF THE EARLIEST
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

OF THEIR VOYAGES DATES TO
MORE THAN 10,000 YEARS AGO.

OF THEIR VOYAGES DATES TO
MORE THAN 10,000 YEARS AGO.

VOLCANIC ISLAND OF MILOS
TURNED UP ON MAINLAND GREECE.

MILOS IS JUST ONE IN A
CIRCULAR CLUSTER OF ISLANDS

IN THE AEGEAN SEA

APTLY NAMED, THE CYCLADES.

DEBORAH CARLSON: THESE ISLANDS
ON A VERY PRACTICAL LEVEL MADE

IT POSSIBLE FOR THE FIRST
SEAFARERS TO NAVIGATE AROUND

THE AEGEAN TO BASICALLY ISLAND
HOP THE SAME WAY TOURISTS

DO TODAY AND THAT PLAYED A
REALLY PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE

DEVELOPMENT OF GREECE.

BILL PARKINSON: ONE OF
THE KEY THINGS THAT HAPPENS

IS THE DEVELOPMENT
OF A NEW KIND OF BOAT,

IT'S CALLED A LONG BOAT,

AND THIS LETS YOU
MOVE WAY MORE STUFF,

YOU CAN GO WAY FURTHER.

NARRATOR:
IN ADDITION TO OBSIDIAN,

LONGBOATS ALLOWED
EARLY MARINERS HERE TO

HAUL RESOURCES LIKE
SILVER, COPPER, LEAD,

AND MARBLE AROUND THE AEGEAN.

BY 3200 BC, PEOPLE HAD
SETTLED THE ISLANDS AND A

NEW CULTURE WAS BORN.

THE CYCLADIC PEOPLE,
AS THEY'VE COME TO BE KNOWN,

WOULD PUT THEIR MINERAL
RESOURCES TO EXQUISITE USE,

CARVING INTRICATE MARBLE
STATUES AND FIGURINES,

SOME OF THEM LIFE SIZE.

BILL PARKINSON: SOME
PEOPLE THINK THEY'RE DEITIES.

THEY MIGHT BE GODS,
THEY MIGHT BE REPRESENTATIONS

OF GODDESSES.

WE KNOW THAT THEY HAVE SOME
SORT OF A RITUAL CONNOTATION

AND THAT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE
ALMOST ALL FROM BURIALS.

NARRATOR: WHATEVER THE
INTENT, THEIR MINIMALIST,

ABSTRACT FEATURES WOULD
ECHO THROUGH THE AGES,

INSPIRING THE LIKES OF
PICASSO AND MODIGLIANI.

BUT BEYOND THEIR ART, THE
CYCLADIC PEOPLE MAY HAVE LEFT

AN EVEN MORE INDELIBLE LEGACY
ON THE CREATION OF GREECE.

THEIR ISLANDS BECAME A
CROSSROADS OF GOODS, IDEAS,

AND CULTURES BRIDGING THE
ENTIRE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN.

BILL PARKINSON: THEY'RE
LIVING ON THESE ISLANDS,

THEY RELY ON THE SEA,
THEY KNOW THE SEA.

AND BECAUSE OF THE SEAFARING
SKILLS THAT THEY DEVELOPED,

THEY'RE ALL OF THE SUDDEN
PLUGGED INTO THIS HUGE NETWORK

THAT'S LINKING ALL OF THE
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN TOGETHER

AND THAT'S ABOUT TO
BECOME HUGELY IMPORTANT.

NARRATOR: ESPECIALLY
AROUND 5,000 YEARS AGO

WHEN THE STONE
AGE GAVE WAY TO THE BRONZE,

AND THE WORLD'S
FIRST GLOBAL ECONOMY.

TODAY IT'S OIL THAT
MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND.

BUT BACK THEN THE
ECONOMY WAS DRIVEN BY AN

BUT BACK THEN THE
ECONOMY WAS DRIVEN BY AN

HEATED TO A BLISTERING
1100 DEGREES CELSIUS.

BILL PARKINSON: WHEN YOU
MIX THAT COPPER WITH ANOTHER

ALLOY, ANOTHER KIND OF
METAL, IT BECOMES HARD.

NOW YOU CAN START TO
USE IT FOR WEAPONS,

YOU CAN START TO USE IT
FOR FUNCTIONAL TOOLS.

NARRATOR: VERSATILE
AS BRONZE WAS,

FEW HAD THE COPPER
OR TIN TO PRODUCE IT.

ERIC CLINE: THE COPPER
IS MOSTLY FROM CYPRUS,

THAT'S WHERE WE'VE GOT
THE NAME, IN FACT, KYPROS.

THE MAJORITY OF TIN IN
THE BRONZE AGE IS COMING FROM

WHAT WE WOULD CALL
AFGHANISTAN TODAY.

THAT IS A TRIP OF
THOUSANDS OF MILES.

NARRATOR: DEMAND FOR BRONZE
SPAWNED TRADING NETWORKS FROM

EGYPT AND THE MIDDLE EAST
ALL THE WAY TO ITALY,

WITH GOODS LIKE GOLD, IVORY,
AND POTTERY BEING EXCHANGED

FOR COPPER AND TIN.

MUCH LIKE TODAY,
THE MEDITERRANEAN BECAME A

SHIPPING SUPERHIGHWAY.

BETTANY HUGHES: THERE'S A
KIND OF VOGUE FOR THE IDEA OF

GLOBALIZATION BUT I TELL
YOU THAT IS NOTHING NEW.

THIS WAS A VERY
GLOBALIZED WORLD.

NARRATOR: WITH THEIR
CENTRAL LOCATION AND COMMAND

OF THE SEA,

EARLY GREEKS WOULD
HAVE BEEN WELL POSITIONED

TO PARTAKE IN THIS
BRONZE AGE TRADE.

BUT ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
OF THEIR INVOLVEMENT CAN

BE HARD TO COME BY.

MUCH OF IT LIES AT
THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.

BEVERLY GOODMAN: SO MUCH
OF OUR HISTORY IS UNDERWATER.

IF WE HAVE CHANGES
IN SEA LEVEL,

BECAUSE THERE WAS AN
EARTHQUAKE, BECAUSE OF TRADE,

THERE'S LOADS AND
LOADS OF SHIPWRECKS.

AND IF WE JUST STOP AT
THE COASTLINE EVERY TIME,

WE'RE MISSING OUT ON A LOT
OF THE INFORMATION THAT

WE NEED TO GET.

DEBORAH CARLSON: YOU HAVE
TO LOOK TO THE SEA AND

YOU HAVE TO LOOK UNDER
THE SEA TO UNDERSTAND

THE ANCIENT GREEKS.

AND WE TRY TO THAT
WITH THE EXCAVATION

OF ANCIENT SHIPWRECKS.

NARRATOR: ONE TREASURE
TROVE OF CLUES HAS BEEN

THE ULUBURUN,
ONE OF THE OLDEST,

MOST COMPLETE
SHIPWRECKS EVER DISCOVERED.

SHE WENT DOWN IN THE
EASTERN AEGEAN IN THE HEYDAY

OF THE BRONZE AGE
AROUND 3,500 YEARS AGO.

UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGISTS
AT THE INSTITUTE OF NAUTICAL

ARCHAEOLOGY IN BODRUM,
TURKEY HAVE BEEN DIVING ON

THE SITE SINCE THE 1980'S.

THE SITE SINCE THE 1980'S.

SO FAR THEY'VE RECOVERED
NEARLY 20,000 ARTIFACTS,

INCLUDING OVER A
HUNDRED AMPHORAE,

THE SHIPPING CONTAINERS
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.

AND ENOUGH COPPER AND TIN
TO YIELD 11 TONS OF BRONZE.

TUBA EKMEKCI: WE ARE
LUCKY THAT THEY SANK AND

WE FOUND THEM.

NARRATOR: TUBA EKMEKCI
DIRECTS THE RESEARCH CENTER.

TUBA EKMEKCI: IT IS LIKE A
TIME CAPSULE SHIP LOADED ON

ONE DATE AND STARTS
SAILING AND SANK.

SO EVERYTHING
BELONGS ONE DATE.

THE COPPER WAS
COMING FROM CYPRUS,

THE TIN WAS COMING
FROM AFGHANISTAN AREA.

NARRATOR: THERE WAS
AMBER FROM THE BALTIC,

EBONY AND IVORY FROM AFRICA,
AND GLASS INGOTS FROM EGYPT.

TUBA EKMEKCI: IT WAS LIKE A
UNITED NATIONS, EVERYWHERE,

THINK ABOUT THIS, ALL THESE
OBJECTS COMING FROM COMPLETELY

DIFFERENT PLACES AND GOT
TOGETHER IN ONE BOAT.

NARRATOR: IN ALL, THE SHIP
WAS CARRYING SOME 20 TONS OF

LUXURY GOODS AND RAW MATERIALS
FROM NEARLY A DOZEN DIFFERENT

ANCIENT CULTURES,
THE MOST REVEALING SNAPSHOT

WE HAVE OF
BRONZE AGE TRADE.

AND MANY BELIEVE SHE WAS
HEADED FOR THE AEGEAN ISLANDS.

ERIC CLINE: ONE OF THE
QUESTIONS THAT WE ASK IS OF

COURSE WHAT WOULD THE
REST OF THE WORLD POSSIBLY

WANT FROM
GREECE AT THIS TIME?

NARRATOR: TRADE FUELED THE
MOST POWERFUL BRONZE AGE

CIVILIZATIONS, AND THE EARLY
GREEKS WOULD HAVE NEEDED TO

BRING SOMETHING TO THE TABLE.

THE FIRST CLUES ABOUT WHAT
THEY OFFERED CAME FROM ONE OF

THE LARGEST ISLANDS IN
THE MEDITERRANEAN, CRETE,

WHERE BY AROUND 2000 BC,
A NEW DOMINANT CULTURE HAD

OVERTAKEN THE PEOPLE
OF THE CYCLADES.

THOUGH THEY LEFT BEHIND
SOME OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY

PALACES IN ANTIQUITY,

WHO THEY WERE,
WHERE THEY CAME FROM,

AND WHAT LANGUAGE THEY
SPOKE ARE STILL A MYSTERY.

EVEN THE NAME MODERN DAY
ARCHAEOLOGISTS ASCRIBED TO

THEM COMES FROM
GREEK MYTHOLOGY,

THEM COMES FROM
GREEK MYTHOLOGY,

THE MINOANS FROM MINOS,
THE INFAMOUS KING OF CRETE.

DURING HIS REIGN, KING MINOS
EXACTED A GRUESOME TAX ON

PRISONERS AND INNOCENTS
ALIKE, CASTING THEM INTO A

TREACHEROUS LABYRINTH IN
THE DEPTHS OF HIS PALACE.

THERE, THEY'D FACE
A FRIGHTENING BEAST,

THE HALF MAN,
HALF BULL, MINOTAUR,

WHICH WOULD DEVOUR THEM WHOLE.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL
EVIDENCE, HOWEVER,

IS PAINTING A VERY
DIFFERENT PICTURE OF THE

PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE.

MARIA VLAZAKI: THE
MINOANS DEVELOPED THE FIRST

GREAT EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION.

THEY CAME INTO CONTACT EARLY
ON WITH THE GREAT PALACES OF

EGYPT AND MESOPOTAMIA AND THEY
IN TURN FOUNDED GREAT PALACES.

NARRATOR: THE EGYPTIANS HAD A
BIG HEAD START ON THE MINOANS,

HAVING BUILT THEIR
GREAT PYRAMIDS AND SPHINX

SOME 500 YEARS EARLIER.

BUT BY 2000 BC, AS GOODS
AND PEOPLE WERE MOVING AROUND

THE MEDITERRANEAN, INSPIRED
MINOANS BEGAN RAISING MAJESTIC

STRUCTURES OF THEIR OWN.

PALACES LIKE THIS ONE AT
KNOSSOS, THE ANCIENT CAPITAL,

WERE ASTONISHINGLY ADVANCED,
COMPLETE WITH PAVED STREETS,

THE FIRST IN EUROPE, FLUSH
TOILETS AND A SEWER SYSTEM.

BETTANY HUGHES: THIS IS A
VERY EARLY CIVILIZATION AND

YET IF YOU WALK
THROUGH THE PALACES THAT

THE MINOANS CREATED,

YOU'RE PASSING THROUGH THE
MOST EXQUISITE ARTIFACTS AND

ARCHITECTURE THAT YOU
WOULD STILL BE PUSHED TO

TRY FIND AROUND YOU
IN THE MODERN WORLD.

THEY CREATED BUILDINGS
THAT HAD ANTI EARTHQUAKE

ENGINEERING, BEAUTIFUL FINE
TEACUPS THAT ARE AS FINE AS

THE KIND OF GREATEST
CHINESE PORCELAIN,

AMAZING GOLD JEWELRY AND
EARRINGS AND NECKLACES.

SO THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY
SOPHISTICATED CULTURE.

NARRATOR: AND WITH THE
MINOAN'S COMMAND OF THE SEA,

THIS CULTURE
DIDN'T STAY ON CRETE.

THE MINOANS TOOK OVER MANY
OF THE NEARBY CYCLADIC ISLANDS,

INCLUDING SANTORINI.

TODAY, OF COURSE,

THE ISLAND IS A
MAJOR TOURIST DESTINATION.

BACK THEN IT WAS A
STRATEGIC TRADING POST THAT

GAVE THE MINOANS ACCESS
TO POWERFUL NEIGHBORS.

GAVE THE MINOANS ACCESS
TO POWERFUL NEIGHBORS.

BUT TO PLAY IN THE BIG
LEAGUES WITH THE LIKES OF THE

HITTITE EMPIRE IN
MESOPOTAMIA OR THE EGYPTIANS,

THE MINOANS WOULD HAVE
TO OFFER MORE THAN FANCY

POTS AND JEWELRY.

ERIC CLINE: IF YOU LOOK
TO THE EGYPT AND THE EASTERN

MEDITERRANEAN WHAT DO YOU
FIND THAT IS FROM GREECE?

WELL, YOU FIND A LOT
OF THEIR POTTERY.

NARRATOR: AND
INSIDE THE POTTERY?

ERIC CLINE: PROBABLY
SOME OF IT IS PERFUME,

WINE IS CERTAINLY NOT
OUT OF THE QUESTION.

NARRATOR: AND ONE OTHER
COMMODITY THAT TO THIS DAY

SPEAKS TO GREEK INGENUITY
AND RESOURCEFULNESS.

ABOUT AN HOUR'S
DRIVE FROM KNOSSOS,

STELIOS KALIOURIS'
FAMILY HAS BEEN CULTIVATING

OLIVE TREES
FOR GENERATIONS.

OLIVE OIL PRACTICALLY
FLOWS THROUGH PEOPLE'S

VEINS ON CRETE.

IT'S USED IN SOAPS,
MEDICINES, FOR STORING FOODS,

EVEN CHRISTENING BABIES.

AND IT WAS EVERY
BIT AS DESIRABLE BACK IN

THE BRONZE AGE.

ACCORDING TO ANCIENT TEXTS,

THERE WERE THREE
BASIC ELEMENTS IN LIFE.

MARIA VLAZAKI: FOOD, CLOTHES
AND YOU PERFUMED OLIVE OIL.

YEAH, IT IS REAL.

THEY WRITE LIKE THAT.

IT WAS THE MEDICINE TO
MAKE THEIR LIFE BETTER AND

TO LIVE LONGER.

NARRATOR: BUT STARTING
AND TENDING OLIVE GROVES

ISN'T NEARLY AS EASY AS
STELIOS MAKES IT LOOK.

EDITH HALL: IT'S AN INCREDIBLE
AMOUNT OF PHYSICAL LABOR AND

IT TAKES MANY YEARS
TO SETTLE IN BEFORE YOU GET

A REALLY GOOD CROP.

SO WHAT THIS REQUIRED OF
THE ANCIENT GREEKS WAS,

WAS CONSIDERABLE PLANNING.

YOU MIGHT NEVER
SEE A DECENT CROP.

IT WOULD BE YOUR
GRANDSON WHO DID BEFORE IT

STARTED TAKING ANY PROFIT.

NARRATOR: ONLY AN
INNOVATIVE, RESOURCEFUL,

AND PATIENT PEOPLE WERE
ABLE TO UNLOCK THE OLIVE'S

POTENTIAL AND
REAP THE REWARDS.

EDITH HALL: THE OLIVE IS
FUNDAMENTAL TO THE ANCIENT

GREEK AND INDEED THE
MODERN GREEK IDENTITY.

IT'S ALSO GOOD
FOR TRADING WITH.

NARRATOR: DEMAND FOR
MINOAN OLIVE OIL WAS SO HIGH,

ONCE IT BEGAN FLOWING, IT
BANKROLLED THEIR CIVILIZATION.

EDITH HALL: SO THE OLIVE
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER TELLS YOU

A VERY GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE
GREEK PERSONALITY AND INTELLECT.

NARRATOR: AND THANKS TO
ANOTHER GREAT MINOAN CREATION,

WE GET A VIVID DEPICTION OF
WHAT MINOAN LIFE WAS LIKE.

BETTANY HUGHES: AMAZING
FRESCOS DESCRIBING THEIR WORLD

AND THEIR IDEAS ABOUT
BOTH CULTURE AND ABOUT

THE GODS AROUND THEM.

NARRATOR: THE FRESCOES
DEPICTED A WORLD OF PLENTY,

WITH STRONG, YOUTHFUL
HEROES, BOUNTIFUL WILDLIFE,

LUSH LANDSCAPES AND
VIVID ILLUSTRATIONS OF HOW

THE MINOANS INTERACTED
WITH AND TAMED THE SEA.

MARIA VLAZAKI: WHEN CIVILIZATION
IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT,

THEY DO MORE THINGS,

NOT JUST TO EAT AND
TO PUT CLOTHES ON THEM.

MINOANS DEVELOPED
A NICE LIFE,

A WAY TO LIVE
BETTER THAN BEFORE.

NEIL DE GRASSE TYSON:
SUCCESSFUL CIVILIZATIONS ARE

THE ONES THAT MANAGE TO
BESTOW UPON ITS CITIZENRY THE

LUXURY OF TIME THAT ENABLED
THEM TO THINK ABOUT THINGS

OTHER THAN THEIR OWN SURVIVAL.

NARRATOR: MINOAN FRESCOES
BECAME THE ENVY OF THE

MEDITERRANEAN WORLD.

THEIR REMNANTS HAVE BEEN
FOUND AS FAR AWAY AS EGYPT,

ISRAEL AND TURKEY.

ERIC CLINE: WE DON'T' KNOW
THAT THEY ARE ACTUALLY MADE BY

PEOPLE FROM CRETE OR
IF THEY ARE LOCALS THAT ARE

TRAINED IN THAT STYLE.

YOU REALLY CAN'T TELL.

BUT DEFINITELY EITHER THE
ARTISTS THEMSELVES ARE BEING

SENT AROUND OR MAYBE PEOPLE
FROM THE NEAR EAST THAT WENT

TO CRETE LEARNED HOW TO
PAINT IN THAT STYLE AND

THEN COME BACK.

NARRATOR:
HOWEVER IT HAPPENED,

THIS KIND OF EXCHANGE
REPRESENTS A CRUCIAL MOMENT

FOR THE WORLD.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS: SO WHEN
YOU TRAVEL TO OTHER PLACES,

YOU DON'T JUST
BRING BACK PRODUCTS.

YOU BRING BACK ALSO IDEAS.

BILL PARKINSON: INTERACTION
IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL FOR

INNOVATION, WHEN CULTURES
COME INTO CONTACT AND ARE

EXCHANGING INFORMATION,
THAT CREATES NEW INFORMATION.

IT SORT OF BUILDS ON ITSELF.

NARRATOR: IT'S CLEAR THE
MINOANS WERE KEY PLAYERS IN

THIS GLOBALIZED IDEA TRADE,
BUT THEIR ROLE IN GREECE'S

RISE DIDN'T LAST LONG.

BEGINNING IN
AROUND 1600 BC,

RIGHT AT THE HEIGHT
OF THEIR CIVILIZATION,

LIFE BEGAN TO CRUMBLE.

FOR YEARS, THE LEADING
THEORY FOR THE MINOAN'S

COLLAPSE WAS THAT THEY
WERE BROUGHT DOWN BY A

MASSIVE VOLCANIC
ERUPTION ON SANTORINI.

THE ERUPTION LEFT BEHIND
THE FAMILIAR CRATER BAY WE

SEE HERE TODAY; IT WAS
EVEN OFFERED UP AS PROOF

FOR THE MYTH OF ATLANTIS.

BUT MORE RECENT EVIDENCE
REVEALS THE VOLCANO DID NOT

WIPE OUT THE
MINOANS COMPLETELY.

WIPE OUT THE
MINOANS COMPLETELY.

THRIVING FOR ANOTHER 100
YEARS AFTER SANTORINI EXPLODED.

THE MORE LIKELY CULPRIT
IS LESS CATACLYSMIC PERHAPS,

BUT MORE INSIDIOUS.

LONG BEFORE SANTORINI
BLEW HER TOP,

A FRESCO DISCOVERED HERE AT
AKROTIRI SUGGESTS THE MINOANS

MAY HAVE SUFFERED A
MORE VIOLENT FATE.

THE FRESCO DEPICTS
AN INVASION,

WITH THE MINOANS FALLING
VICTIM TO SOME OF THE ANCIENT

WORLD'S FIERCEST WARRIORS.

DONNING THEIR TRADEMARK
BOAR TUSK HELMETS,

THESE WERE THE MYCENAEANS,
THE NEXT PEOPLE TO CARRY THE

TORCH OF GREEK CIVILIZATION.

THEIR KINGDOMS, CENTERED HERE
AT MYCENAE ON MAINLAND GREECE,

ARE THE STUFF OF LEGEND.

HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER, THEY
WOULD BE FOREVER IMMORTALIZED

IN PAINTINGS AND
IN EPIC POEMS LIKE

THE ILIAD AND THE ODYSSEY,

NOT TO MENTION
COUNTLESS HOLLYWOOD REVIVALS.

IT WAS ALL INSPIRED BY THIS
MYCENAEAN AGE OF HEROES.

THERE WAS HELEN OF TROY.

WOMAN: "BEWARE THE
GREEKS BEARING GIFTS."

NARRATOR: AND AGAMEMNON.

MAN: "I WILL KILL THEE."

"SO SHALL WE ALL BROTHER."

NARRATOR:
AND WHO COULD FORGET:

MAN: "THE
INVULNERABLE ACHILLES."

BETTANY HUGHES: THIS WAS
KIND OF ONE OF THE FIRST DRAFTS

ON GREEKNESS AND
THEY WERE EXTRAORDINARY,

THEY LIVED
EXTRAORDINARY, EXCITING,

SUMPTUOUS LIVES AND I'M SURE
THAT THE LATER GREEKS HEARD

STORIES ABOUT THEM AND WERE
CONSTANTLY TRYING TO LIVE UP

TO THAT WHICH HAD GONE
BEFORE TO THIS AGE OF HEROES.

NARRATOR: BUT LONG BEFORE
THE MYCENAEANS BECAME LEGEND,

THEY FIRST HAD TO
OUST THE MINOANS.

IT'S NOT CLEAR
HOW THEY DID IT,

WHETHER THROUGH A SERIES
OF BRUTAL INVASIONS OR

JUST A GRADUAL TAKEOVER
AND ASSIMILATION.

BUT ONE THING IS CLEAR
THROUGHOUT GREEK HISTORY:

THE CULTURE ALWAYS
SEEMS TO CARRY THROUGH.

KIM SHELTON: EARLY ON YOU
CAN SEE THAT THE MYCENAEANS

ARE REALLY IN AWE
OF WHAT THE MINOANS HAVE,

AND IN SOME CASES I WOULD
SAY THEY EVEN IMITATE THEM.

AND IN SOME CASES I WOULD
SAY THEY EVEN IMITATE THEM.

WILL DECORATE THEIR HOUSES,
THEIR PALACES IF YOU WANT WITH

WALL PAINTINGS AND FRESCOES
INSPIRED FROM THE MINOANS OR

THEY WILL IMPORT MINOAN
LUXURY ITEMS AS SIGNS OF

THEIR CONNECTION WITH
THE MORE SOPHISTICATED AND

POWERFUL CULTURE.

NARRATOR: AND THE MYCENAEANS
DIDN'T LIMIT THESE CULTURAL

APPROPRIATIONS
TO THE MINOANS.

THEIR BEEHIVE SHAPED
BURIAL MOUNDS AT MYCENAE,

FOR EXAMPLE, RESEMBLE
UNDERGROUND TOMBS FROM EGYPT.

MYCENAE'S FAMED LION'S
GATE MIMICS THE SCULPTED

LIONS FLANKING THE ANCIENT
HITTITE CAPITAL AT HATTUSA.

KIM SHELTON: THE MYCENAEANS
WERE ALWAYS GOOD AT COMBINING

THE THINGS THAT THEY LIKED.

THEY WERE ABLE TO BE INSPIRED
AND EVEN TAKE ELEMENTS FROM

OTHER CULTURES, BUT
COMBINE THEM WITH THEIR OWN.

NARRATOR: BUT WHEN
IT CAME TO THE MINOANS,

THE MYCENAEANS DID
MORE THAN JUST BORROW.

MYCENAEAN KINGS TOOK
OVER MINOAN PALACES,

INCLUDING KNOSSOS.

THEY DOMINATED
THE MINOANS AT SEA,

COMMANDEERING
THEIR TRADE ROUTES.

BEFORE LONG, THE MINOANS
FADED INTO HISTORY,

WHILE THE
MYCENAEANS FLOURISHED,

EXPANDING THEIR CIVILIZATION
AROUND THE AEGEAN.

AND THE WAY THEY HELD
THIS VAST NETWORK OF STATES

TOGETHER WAS WITH ONE FINAL
MINOAN APPROPRIATION, WRITING.

MINOANS WROTE IN A SCRIPT
ARCHAEOLOGISTS CALL "LINEAR A."

TEXTS HAVE BEEN FOUND ALL
OVER PALACES LIKE KNOSSOS BUT

UNFORTUNATELY NOT ENOUGH
TO DECIPHER WHAT THEY SAY.

IN PERHAPS THEIR SMARTEST
APPROPRIATION OF ALL,

THE MYCENAEANS TOOK
THE LINEAR A SYMBOLS,

ADAPTED THEM INTO A NEW
SCRIPT KNOWN AS "LINEAR B" AND

BEGAN USING IT TO JOT DOWN
WORDS IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE.

DECIPHERED IN THE MID-1950'S,

WE NOW KNOW LINEAR B
IS AN EARLY FORM OF

THE GREEK LANGUAGE.

AND SINCE LANGUAGE IS THE KEY
DEFINER OF A CIVILIZATION,

WE CAN NOW DESIGNATE
THE MYCENAEANS AS THE

FIRST TRUE GREEKS.

THOUSANDS OF YEARS LATER,
WE'RE STILL FINDING AND

READING THEIR EARLY TEXTS.

ON THE SOUTHWEST
COAST OF GREECE,

THE TOWN OF PYLOS STRADDLES
BOTH MYTH AND HISTORY.

THE TOWN OF PYLOS STRADDLES
BOTH MYTH AND HISTORY.

SON OF THE FAMED ODYSSEUS,

FIRST PUTS TO SHORE
IN SEARCH OF HIS FATHER.

ODYSSEUS HAD BEEN MIA
FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS SINCE

FIGHTING THE TROJAN WAR.

TO HELP HIM FIND HIS DAD,
THE GODDESS ATHENA SENT

TELEMACHUS TO SEEK THE
COUNSEL OF WISE KING NESTOR,

WHO SERVED WITH
ODYSSEUS IN TROY.

AND FOR THE LAST 7 DECADES,
HIGH ON A CLIFF OUTSIDE OF

MODERN DAY PYLOS,
ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE BEEN

DIGGING UP NESTOR'S PALACE.

ALONGSIDE VATS OF WINE AND
THOUSANDS OF ANCIENT CUPS,

NESTOR SEEMS TO HAVE
THROWN A GOOD PARTY,

WERE 1,000-ODD
LINEAR B TABLET FRAGMENTS.

BUT SHARI STOCKER,
LEAD EXCAVATOR HERE,

EXPLAINS THEY WERE A
FAR CRY FROM EPIC POETRY.

SHARI STOCKER:
THE LINEAR B TABLETS ARE

MOSTLY LISTS OF THINGS.

WHAT PEOPLE
BRING TO THE PALACE,

WHAT THEY OWE TO THE PALACE,

THINGS THAT ARE
DONATED TO THE GODS.

NARRATOR: OFFERINGS TO ZEUS
AND HERMES, GOODS LIKE OLIVES,

BARLEY, GOATS AND WINE,
WRITING IN THESE EARLY DAYS

WAS THE EQUIVALENT
OF CENSUS RECORDS AND

PRODUCT INVENTORIES,

SCRATCHED INTO CLAY
BY ANCIENT ACCOUNTANTS

TO ADMINISTER SOCIETY.

SHARI STOCKER: THEY WERE
NEVER MEANT TO BE PRESERVED;

THEY WERE RECORDED ON
CLAY, BUT IT WAS RAW CLAY,

SO AT THE
END OF EACH SEASON,

THEY COULD JUST
PUT THEM IN WATER AND,

YOU KNOW, REFORM THE
CLAY AND MAKE NEW TABLETS.

NARRATOR: IN FACT,

THE ONLY TABLETS
TO SURVIVE ARE THE

ONES THAT WERE DISCARDED,
ACCIDENTALLY BAKED AND

HARDENED IN BURNING
ANCIENT TRASH HEAPS,

OR WHEN A PALACE WAS
BURNT AND DESTROYED.

SHARI STOCKER: SO IT IS
PURELY HAPPENSTANCE THAT WE

HAVE THIS ARCHIVE PRESERVED.

NARRATOR: RECENTLY, ONE
SUCH PIECE OF ANCIENT TRASH

FOUND AT A SMALL TOWN
CALLED IKLAINA,

ABOUT 24 MILES NORTH OF
PYLOS, BECAME ARCHAEOLOGIST

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS' TREASURE.

[INAUDIBLE CHATTER]

IT MAY NOT LOOK LIKE MUCH
BUT THIS IS THE OLDEST

PIECE OF GREEK WRITING
EVER DISCOVERED.

THE EARLIEST WRITING
SAMPLE FROM MAINLAND EUROPE,

DATING TO
THE 15TH CENTURY BC.

LIKE ALL THE OTHER
LINEAR B TABLETS,

IT'S NOT THE WORDS THAT
HAVE EVERYONE HERE EXCITED.

ON ONE SIDE THERE'S A
MAN'S NAME, "LAT-UK-HOS,"

ON ONE SIDE THERE'S A
MAN'S NAME, "LAT-UK-HOS,"

THE OTHER SIDE CONTAINS
WHAT SEEMS TO BE A HEADING

FOR A LIST OF GOODS.

BUT THAT THE TABLET
WAS FOUND HERE AT ALL,

WAY OUT IN THE BOONIES,
IS A BIG SURPRISE.

CYNTHIA SHELMERDINE:
THIS IS SMALL AND THERE IS

ONLY ONE OF IT.

BUT IT'S THE ONLY TABLET THAT
HAS EVER BEEN FOUND AT A TOWN

SITE INSTEAD OF A PALACE
SITE ON THE GREEK MAINLAND.

NARRATOR: UNTIL NOW, WE
THOUGHT THAT WRITING WAS ONLY

USED IN MAJOR CITIES
LIKE PYLOS AND MYCENAE,

THAT NO ONE ELSE
COULD READ OR WRITE.

BUT THE IKLAINA TABLET
SHOWS OTHERWISE AND

THAT HAS BROADER IMPLICATIONS.

WITH WRITING IN
MORE COMMON USE,

THE REACH OF MYCENAEAN
KINGDOMS MAY HAVE BEEN MUCH

MORE EXTENSIVE AND ADVANCED.

RULERS WEREN'T JUST RECORDING
THE COMINGS AND GOINGS OF

GOODS AND WORKERS
AT THEIR PALACES,

WRITING HAD GIVEN THEM
CONTROL OVER A MUCH WIDER,

MORE SOPHISTICATED NETWORK,

ALLOWING THEM TO
KEEP TRACK OF COMMUNITIES

MUCH FARTHER AFIELD.

CYNTHIA SHELMERDINE: IF YOU
SEE WRITTEN ADMINISTRATION,

YOU KNOW THAT YOU
HAVE HIT THE BIG TIME.

THAT IS WHEN WE START
TO TALK ABOUT STATES

AND COMPLEX BUREAUCRACY.

NARRATOR:
FOR COSMOPOULOS' TEAM,

THIS TINY PIECE OF
CLAY OFFERS EVIDENCE OF AN

IMPORTANT TURNING POINT
FOR WESTERN CIVILIZATION:

THE BIRTH OF STATES.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS:
WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF STATES,

BUT IT WASN'T
ALWAYS LIKE THIS.

THE TRANSITION FROM A
WORLD WITHOUT STATES TO

A WORLD WHERE STATES DOMINATE
EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIFE,

IT'S ONE OF THE
MOST FASCINATING CHAPTERS

IN HUMAN HISTORY.

NARRATOR: ARCHAEOLOGY TENDS
TO FOCUS ON LARGER CITIES,

WITH TEMPLES,
MONUMENTS AND PALACES,

OVERLOOKING SMALLER
CITIES LIKE IKLAINA.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS:
IT'S LIKE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND

HOW THE UNITED STATES
WAS FORMED.

IN ORDER TO DO THAT,
YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE

HISTORY NOT ONLY OF
THE CAPITAL, WASHINGTON, DC,

AND THE RECORDS THERE,
BUT ALSO THE HISTORY OF

THE SPECIFIC STATES.

NARRATOR: THROUGH IKLAINA WE
GET A SENSE FOR HOW STATES IN

EARLY GREECE CAME TOGETHER,

AS BIGGER CITIES STARTED
TAKING OVER LESS POWERFUL ONES.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS:
THIS WAS A CITY,

THIS WAS A CITY THAT IN MANY
WAYS WAS SIMILAR TO THE CITIES

THAT WE HAVE TODAY.

FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS AN
AREA WITH GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS,

WHICH IS WHERE WE ARE STANDING
RIGHT NOW, AND THE TOWN,

THE RESIDENTIAL
QUARTERS, THE HOUSES,

THE RESIDENTIAL
QUARTERS, THE HOUSES,

NARRATOR: THERE WAS RUNNING
WATER, EXTENSIVE ROADS,

AND MASSIVE STONE WALLS,
THOUGHT BY LATER GREEKS TO

HAVE BEEN BUILT BY
THE MYTHICAL CYCLOPS.

COSMOPOULOS SUSPECTS THE
THRIVING CITY MUST HAVE BEEN

ENTICING AND THAT IT WASN'T
LONG BEFORE IT WAS OVERTAKEN

BY A MORE POWERFUL
KING BASED IN PYLOS.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS: WITH
EVERY TERRITORY THAT HE

ANNEXED, HIS STATE EXPANDED,
BECAME MORE COMPLEX.

YOU HAVE THE CENTRAL
CAPITAL, TITUK, AND THEN

A NUMBER OF DISTRICT,
SEMI-INDEPENDENT, CAPITALS.

THIS IS THE HYPOTHESIS
THAT WE ARE WORKING ON.

NARRATOR: THE MYCENAEANS
LIKELY WENT ON ABSORBING

CITIES AND TERRITORIES
ACROSS GREECE IN THIS WAY

AS THEY
EXPANDED THEIR EMPIRE.

BY AROUND 1200 BC,

THEY'D EARNED THEIR
LEGENDARY REPUTATION.

FOR THOSE AT THE
TOP, LIFE WAS GOOD.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS:
IF YOU WERE A MEMBER OF THE

UPPER CLASS, IT WOULD
HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL,

BECAUSE YOU WOULD LIVE IN A
PALATIAL RESIDENCE, A MANSION.

LIKELY YOU WOULD HAVE SLAVES.

NARRATOR: BUT
BRONZE AGE PROSPERITY HARDLY

TRICKLED DOWN.

BETTANY HUGHES: SO THIS WAS
NOT IN ANY WAY EGALITARIAN,

IT WAS ONLY A CERTAIN TINY,

TINY PERCENTAGE OF THE
GREEKS WHO ARE BENEFITING.

IT IS ALMOST SO PERFECT FOR
SO FEW IT'S BOUND TO COLLAPSE.

NARRATOR: AND COLLAPSE IT DID.

IF THERE WERE
HEADLINES IN 1200 BC,

THEY WOULD SOUND FREAKISHLY
FAMILIAR TO OURS TODAY.

ERIC CLINE: WE HAVE DROUGHT.

WE HAVE FAMINE.

WE'VE GOT EARTHQUAKES.

WE HAVE INVADERS,
WE HAVE INTERNAL REBELLIONS.

NARRATOR: THERE WERE EVEN
MYSTERY WARRIORS FROM THE SEA,

ACCORDING TO ANCIENT TEXTS.

AND SOME, OR ALL OF THESE,

BROUGHT THE MYCENAEANS
TO THEIR KNEES.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS:
CIVILIZATION IS OBLITERATED.

LITTLE BY LITTLE THE
MYCENAEAN CAPITALS ARE EITHER

ABANDONED OR SOME OF THEM
ARE DESTROYED VIOLENTLY.

BY APPROXIMATELY 1,000 BC
THE MYCENAEAN CIVILIZATION

IS A THING OF THE PAST.

NARRATOR: AND THE DEVASTATION
WASN'T CONFINED TO GREECE.

ONCE THE DOMINOES
BEGAN TO FALL,

THE GLOBALIZED BRONZE AGE
WORLD WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME.

ERIC CLINE: WE'VE
GOT A SYSTEMS COLLAPSE,

IS WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE.

OVER A PERIOD OF 200 YEARS,
YOU GO FROM THE HEIGHT OF

CIVILIZATION TO ALMOST
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

CIVILIZATION TO ALMOST
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

THE GREAT EMPIRES ARE GONE.

NO MORE HITTITES,
NO MORE ASSYRIANS,

NO MORE BABYLONIANS, EVEN
THE EGYPTIANS HAVE BEEN SO

WEAKENED THAT THEY ARE
JUST A SHADOW OF WHAT THEY

HAD ONCE BEEN.

NARRATOR: IT WAS THE WORST
COLLAPSE IN HUMAN HISTORY.

WE WEREN'T BACK TO
LIVING IN CAVES EXACTLY,

BUT CIVILIZATION
SUFFERED A TRAGIC BLOW.

THOSE GIFTS PROMETHEUS HAD
ENDOWED UPON THE GREEKS,

WRITING, SCIENCE, ART,
WERE ALL BUT EXTINGUISHED.

ERIC CLINE: SO WE
GET WHAT WE REFER TO AS THE

FIRST DARK AGES.

AND OUT OF THAT THEY
HAVE TO CLIMB BACK UP.

THEY WILL, WE ARE GOING
TO GET CLASSICAL GREECE.

WE ARE GOING TO GET ATHENS
AND SPARTA, AND DEMOCRACY.

BUT IT IS GOING
TO TAKE A WHILE.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUSE]

NARRATOR: THE OPULENT
BRONZE AGE WAS OVER,

BUT THE LIGHTS DIDN'T
GO OUT ON GREECE COMPLETELY.

WERE IT NOT FOR THESE
DARK TIMES, IN FACT,

THE GREEKS MIGHT
NEVER HAVE ACHIEVED THE

GOLDEN AGE TO COME.

MARIA VLAZAKI: WE HAVE
THE GREAT DESTRUCTIONS,

BUT IN THE UNIVERSE, ONE
CIVILIZATION STARTS ENDS AND

ANOTHER RISES FROM THE ASHES.

NARRATOR: LIKE THE
MYTHICAL GREEK PHOENIX,

OUT OF THE ASHES OF PALACES
AND KINGDOMS WOULD RISE

A NEW CIVILIZATION.

AND THIS TIME THE GODS'
GIFTS WOULDN'T BE RESERVED

FOR A SELECT FEW ELITE,

THEY'D BE
AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE.

BETTANY HUGHES:
IT IS VERY RARELY THAT THERE

IS A TOTAL DISASTER.

AS A SPECIES WE ARE VERY
GOOD AT FINDING THE BENEFIT,

OF MANAGING TO KIND OF
MAKE THINGS BETTER EVEN IF

IT CAN TAKE US QUITE A
FEW CENTURIES TO DO THAT.

NARRATOR: BORN OUT OF CHAOS,

DELIVERED FROM CAVES,
TESTED BY THE SEA,

AND FORGED IN AN AGE
OF HEROES AND BRONZE,

THESE RESTLESS, RESOURCEFUL,

INNOVATIVE PEOPLE WOULD
FINALLY BE FREE TO CARRY THE

TORCH OF PROGRESS
ON THEIR OWN.

TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM,

VISIT PBS.ORG.

"THE GREEKS"
IS AVAILABLE ON DVD.

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