All language subtitles for The Greeks Series 1 2of3 The Good Strife 1080p

NARRATOR: THEY BROUGHT
US DEMOCRACY, EPIC POETRY,

SCIENCE, AND
THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT.

AND YET, MENTION
GREECE THESE DAYS AND

YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO THINK
ATM LINES, GOVERNMENT BAILOUTS,

AND ECONOMIC COLLAPSE.

BETTANY HUGHES: THEY ARE IN AN
IMPOSSIBLE ECONOMIC SITUATION,

BUT I THINK THE
GREEKS DRAW INSPIRATION

FROM THEIR OWN PAST.

NARRATOR: 3,000 YEARS AGO,

GREECE, AND MUCH OF
THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD

FOR THAT MATTER,

FACED HARDSHIPS UNLIKE
ANYTHING HUMANS HAD BEFORE.

WAR AND FAMINE, ECONOMIC
AND ENVIRONMENTAL MELTDOWNS,

MASS MIGRATIONS.

IT WAS THE WORST
COLLAPSE IN HUMAN HISTORY.

THE SOPHISTICATED
GREEK CIVILIZATIONS OF

THE BRONZE AGE,
FIRST THE MINOANS,

THEN THE MYCENAEANS,
FADED INTO MEMORY.

BETTANY HUGHES: YOU HAVE
THESE AMAZING CIVILIZATIONS

IN THE GREEK BRONZE AGE,

INCREDIBLE EXAMPLES
OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT

AND SOMEONE OR SOMETHING
BRINGS THAT ALL CRASHING DOWN.

NARRATOR: AND YET, SOMEHOW,
THE GREEKS WHO EMERGED FROM

THIS DARK AGE WOULD BE
THE FIRST TO WRITE IN VERSE,

POSIT A THEORY OF NATURE,
AND VOTE IN AN ELECTION.

JOSIAH OBER: IMAGINE THAT
THERE WAS NEVER A COLLAPSE,

IT'S VERY UNLIKELY THAT
WE WOULD HAVE WHAT WE THINK OF

AS GREEK CIVILIZATION.

NARRATOR: THROUGH ONE OF
HISTORY'S DARKEST CHAPTERS,

INDIVIDUALS
STRIVING TO BE BETTER,

WOULD BAND TOGETHER,
BUILD A NEW SOCIETY

AND ULTIMATELY
CHANGE THE WORLD.

JOHN CAMP: YOU ARE SUPPOSED
TO TRY TO BE THE BEST YOU CAN.

NARRATOR: FROM STRIFE
ROSE THE FOUNDATIONS OF

WESTERN CIVILIZATION, RIGHT
NOW ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S

"THE GREEKS".

♪[NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
THEME MUSIC PLAYS]. ♪

NARRATOR: IN
GREECE THESE DAYS,

THE SIGNS OF
STRIFE ARE INESCAPABLE.

CITIZENS ARE OUTRAGED OVER
THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CRISIS.

[EXPLOSION]

IT'S ESPECIALLY DEMORALIZING
IN A COUNTRY WHERE REMINDERS

OF CIVILIZATION'S FORMER
GLORIES ARE EVERYWHERE.

MANY ARE FINDING CREATIVE
WAYS TO EXPRESS THEIR CONCERNS.

IN ATHENS, GRAFFITI
BLANKETS PRACTICALLY

EVERY WALL IN THE CITY.

DIMITRI: IT'S A KIND
OF JUNGLE AT THE MOMENT.

ALL THIS CONFUSION
TAKING PLACE IN GREECE.

IT'S A WAY OUT, A WAY FOR
EACH PERSON TO SHOW THEIR ANGER.

OF COURSE, THROUGH THIS,
BEAUTIFUL THINGS EMERGE.

NARRATOR: ONE ATHENIAN
ARTIST IN PARTICULAR SEEMS

TO BE DRAWING ON THE
ANCIENTS FOR INSPIRATION,

INVOKING THEIR WISDOM
TO PROTEST EVERYTHING FROM

CORRUPTION TO
AUSTERITY TO GREED.

HIS MURALS ARE WIDELY
RECOGNIZED NOT ONLY IN GREECE,

BUT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD,
EVEN IF THE ARTIST HIMSELF

PREFERS TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS.

HE'S KNOWN ONLY AS INO.

TODAY, ON A PROMINENT
BUILDING IN ATHENS' BUSTLING

PORT OF PIRAEUS, HE'S
STARTING ON A NEW MURAL,

ONE THAT HE HOPES
WILL INSPIRE FELLOW GREEKS

AND INCITE
CHANGE IN HIS COUNTRY.

INO: MANY PEOPLE, THEY WANT
EVERYTHING READY IN THE DISH.

THEY WANT THINGS,
BUT THEY DON'T TRY,

SO TO HAVE A CHANGE,
YOU MUST TRY.

FOR ME THAT IS
WHAT KEEPS YOU ALIVE.

YOU'RE POOR IF
YOU HAVE EVERYTHING,

AND IF YOU DON'T
FIGHT FOR SOMETHING.

NARRATOR: IT'S A SENTIMENT
INO COULD HAVE PULLED

STRAIGHT OUT OF
ANCIENT GREECE.

THAT STRIFE CAN BRING
OUT THE BEST IN PEOPLE

IS AN AGE-OLD NOTION.

BUT FOR THE GREEKS
IT WOULD FORM THE BASIS

OF THEIR IDENTITY.

WITHOUT STRIFE, THE ANCIENT
GREEK POET HESIOD WROTE

NEARLY 3,000 YEARS AGO,
THERE COULD BE NO GREATNESS.

SO LONG AS IT'S THE
RIGHT KIND OF STRIFE.

SO LONG AS IT'S THE
RIGHT KIND OF STRIFE.

FOR ONE FOSTERS EVIL, WAR
AND BATTLE: HER NO MAN LOVES;

THE SECOND, SET IN
THE ROOTS OF THE EARTH,

SHE IS FAR KINDER TO MEN.

SHE STIRS UP EVEN
THE LAZY TO TOIL;

FOR A MAN GROWS
EAGER TO WORK WHEN HE

CONSIDERS HIS NEIGHBOR,
A RICH MAN WHO HASTENS

TO PLOUGH AND PLANT;

NEIGHBOR VIES WITH NEIGHBOR
AS HE HURRIES AFTER WEALTH.

THIS STRIFE IS
WHOLESOME FOR MAN.

JOHN CAMP: THE VERY EARLIEST
LINES OF GREEK LITERATURE ARE

HESIOD TELLING YOU ABOUT
BAD STRIFE WHICH CREATES WAR

AND DEATH AND A GOOD
STRIFE WHICH MAKES MEN STRIVE

AGAINST EACH OTHER TO
BE THE BEST AND IT SAYS,

"POET AGAINST POET,
POTTER AGAINST POTTER."

EDITH HALL: OR A PAINTER
COMPETES WITH A PAINTER,

HE EVEN SAYS A BEGGAR CAN
COMPETE WITH ANOTHER BEGGAR.

JOSIAH OBER: HESOID SEES
THE ADVANTAGE OF HARD WORK.

HE SEES COMPETITION
AS BEING VALUABLE.

POTTER CONTENDS
AGAINST POTTER.

DOESN'T MEAN THAT PEOPLE WERE
CUTTING EACH OTHER'S THROATS.

IT MEANS THAT PEOPLE WERE
TRYING TO MAKE BETTER POTS,

IN A WORLD THAT SAW
SOME MARKET IN GOOD POTS.

NARRATOR: IT'S A WORK
ETHIC THAT MAY HAVE LIFTED

INO'S GREEK ANCESTORS OUT
OF SOME VERY DARK TIMES.

A LITTLE MORE
THAN 3,000 YEARS AGO,

HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE
ATHENS' GLORIOUS GOLDEN AGE,

GREECE AND SOCIETIES ACROSS
THE MEDITERRANEAN FACED

STRUGGLES UNLIKE
ANYTHING WE'VE EXPERIENCED

IN MODERN TIMES:
FAMINE, MASS MIGRATIONS,

A GLOBAL ECONOMIC COLLAPSE.

THE MYCENAEAN EMPIRE, WHOSE
EXTRAVAGANT PALACES IN MYCENAE

AND PYLOS WOULD INSPIRE
THE LIKES OF "THE ILIAD"

AND "THE ODYSSEY",
WAS BROUGHT TO ITS KNEES.

ERIC CLINE: OVER A
PERIOD OVER 200 YEARS,

YOU GO FROM THE HEIGHT
OF CIVILIZATION TO ALMOST

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

EVERYTHING THAT THEY
HAD KNOWN IN THE BRONZE AGE

SUDDENLY COLLAPSES.

NARRATOR: ARCHAEOLOGISTS
CALL THIS PERIOD,

FROM 1200 DOWN TO 800 BC,
THE GREEK DARK AGE,

SINCE SO FEW HALLMARKS OF
CIVILIZATION HAVE BEEN FOUND.

AND YET, EVEN IF PEOPLE
MAY HAVE BEEN BUILDING AND

WRITING LESS DURING THIS TIME,
SCHOLARS ARE BEGINNING TO

RECOGNIZE THAT CULTURE
DIDN'T VANISH COMPLETELY.

BETTANY HUGHES: THERE IS
NO TIME WHEN THE LIGHT OF

CIVILIZATION AND SOCIETY
IS COMPLETELY EXTINGUISHED.

CIVILIZATION AND SOCIETY
IS COMPLETELY EXTINGUISHED.

NARRATOR: KINGS AND
PALACES WERE GONE,

BUT THE COMMONERS WERE STILL
THERE TO PICK UP THE PIECES.

GREG NAGY: THINK OF IT
AS A PYRAMID WHERE THE

ENTIRE SOCIETY IS DEFINED,
LET'S SAY, BY THE PINNACLE,

SO WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT
THE TOP OF THE PYRAMID IS

LOPPED OFF, BUT EVERYTHING
UNDERNEATH IS THERE.

EDITH HALL: WE DO KNOW THAT
THE BASIC GREEK WAY OF LIFE,

THESE SMALL CRAFTSMAN,
THESE PEASANT FARMERS,

THESE SEA GOING TRADERS,
STAYED BASICALLY THE SAME.

NARRATOR: ONLY NOW FOR
THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY AND

IN TRUE HESIODIC FASHION,
THE FRUITS OF THEIR HARD WORK,

SKILLS AND TALENTS
DIDN'T GO TO A SELECT

FEW ELITE AT THE TOP.

THE WORKERS THEMSELVES WOULD
HAVE A SHOT AT THE GOOD LIFE.

♪ ♪

JOHN HALE: OUT OF THIS COMES
ONE OF THE MOST DISTINCTIVE

GREEK POSSESSIONS THAT WE
HAVE STILL TO DEFINE THE WEST,

THE CULT OF THE INDIVIDUAL.

IT IS THE SUPREME
OPPORTUNITY GIVEN TO EACH

OF US AS INDIVIDUALS
TO MAKE OUR OWN IDENTITY,

MAKE OUR OWN WORLD,
MAKE OUR OWN LIFE.

BETTANY HUGHES: I THINK THE
GREEKS KEEP HOLD OF THIS IDEA

THAT THEY ARE SOMEHOW SPECIAL,
THAT THEY HAVE POTENTIAL.

EVEN IF TIMES ARE HARD THEY
HAVE A KIND OF PLUCKINESS AND

A GRIT AND REALLY THEY
ARE CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR

CHANGE THAT ALLOW THE
GLORIES OF GREECE THEN TO

EMERGE A HUNDRED
OR SO YEARS LATER.

♪ ♪

[AUDIENCE APPLAUSE]

NARRATOR: THE EARLIEST
EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THIS

TIMELESS GREEK IDENTITY
ENDURED THROUGH THE DARK AGE

COMES FROM A SMALL POEM,

INSCRIBED IN A
MOST UNLIKELY PLACE:

THE SIDE OF AN ANCIENT WINE
POT CALLED THE CUP OF NESTOR.

IT'S EARLY IN
THE 8TH CENTURY BC.

A GROUP OF GREEK TRADERS,
HAVING SAILED FROM RHODES OFF

THE WESTERN COAST OF TURKEY,
WHERE THE POT ORIGINATED TO

THE ISLAND OF ISCHIA OFF OF
ITALY WHERE IT WAS DISCOVERED,

ARE KICKING BACK.

EDITH HALL: ONCE THEY
GET TO THEIR DESTINATION

TO SELL THE POT,
PRESUMABLY, GUESS WHAT?

THEY'RE GREEKS; THEY DECIDE
TO HAVE A DRINKING PARTY.

AND THERE ARE THREE MEN
WHO ARE HAVING A COMPETITION

IN MAKING A POEM,
WITTY ONE LINERS.

NARRATOR: THEY PASS
THE POT BETWEEN THEM,

EACH ONE SCRIBBLING A VERSE
IN THEIR OWN HANDWRITING.

EACH ONE SCRIBBLING A VERSE
IN THEIR OWN HANDWRITING.

WHOEVER DRINKS FROM THIS
CUP ON HIM STRAIGHT AWAY

WILL COME DESIRE FOR
APHRODITE OF THE LOVELY CROWN.

NARRATOR: IN OTHER WORDS.

EDITH HALL: IF YOU DRINK WINE
OUT OF THIS CUP YOU WILL BEGIN

TO FEEL EXTREMELY SEXY
INDEED AND WANT TO FIND A WOMAN

AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE
GODDESS OF LOVE APHRODITE.

NARRATOR: THEY ARE JUST
THREE LINES OF VERSE,

BUT THEY REVEAL A LOT
ABOUT THE GREEKS

WHO LIVED DURING
THIS MYSTERIOUS TIME.

THE CUP WAS FOUND ON A
REMOTE ISLAND HUNDREDS OF MILES

FROM GREECE, SO WE
KNOW THAT LIKE THEIR MINOAN

AND MYCENAEAN ANCESTORS,
THEY CONTINUED TO BE SEAFARING.

THE WRITING ITSELF IS NEW,
NOT THE HIEROGLYPHIC SCRIPT OF

THEIR MYCENAEAN PREDECESSORS,
BUT INNOVATIVE LETTERS

ADAPTED FROM THE
PHOENICIANS, GREEK,

THE EARLIEST
EXAMPLE EVER FOUND.

JOHN HALE: THE VERY FIRST
USE OF LETTERS WE HAVE,

THE OLDEST ONE THAT
WE'VE DISCOVERED FOR GREECE,

IS AN EXPRESSION OF
PERSONAL FEELING, A PERSONALITY.

WELL, THAT IS NOT WHAT
PHOENICIANS USED LETTERS FOR,

THAT IS NOT WHAT PEOPLE
IN THE NEAR EAST OR

EGYPT USED WRITING FOR.

WRITING IN
THOSE WORLDS BELONGED

TO THE AUTHORITY STRUCTURE.

TO KINGS, TO PRIESTS.

NARRATOR: THE SUGGESTION OF
A GAME IMPLIES COMPETITIVENESS.

THEY'RE GETTING
DRUNK AND CRACKING JOKES

SO IT SEEMS THEY KNOW
HOW TO HAVE A GOOD TIME.

EDITH HALL: THEY ARE LAUGHING
AT SEX, THEY ARE WITTY,

THEY ARE VERBAL, THEY
ARE ALREADY COMPLETELY GREEK

JUST AS THEY WERE
500 YEARS BEFORE IN MYCENAE.

NARRATOR: THEY'D GONE
THROUGH THE WORST COLLAPSE

IN HUMAN HISTORY, BUT WITHIN
ONLY A FEW HUNDRED YEARS,

ABSENT THE CENTRALIZED POWER
OF KINGS AND BUREAUCRACY,

GREEKS WERE FORGING A NEW
SOCIAL ORDER FOR THEMSELVES,

REBUILDING THEIR CIVILIZATION
FROM THE BOTTOM UP.

JOHN HALE: THE IDEA THAT
YOU COULD GO AND PARLEY YOUR

WEALTH OR SKILLS INTO
A NEW SOCIAL IDENTITY,

OR YOU COULD PULL YOURSELF
UP BY YOUR BOOT STRAPS,

WHERE YOU COULD ELEVATE
YOUR RANK, THIS IS ANATHEMA,

IN THE AUTOCRATIC KINGDOMS OF
EGYPT, MESOPOTAMIA, PERSIA.

IT IS WHAT GREECE
IS ALL ABOUT.

NARRATOR: OF COURSE,
THERE WAS NO GREECE JUST YET,

NO ATHENS, NO SPARTA, JUST
DISPARATE GROUPS OF PEOPLE.

BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING
BINDING THEM TOGETHER,

BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING
BINDING THEM TOGETHER,

MOVIE CLIP: THE GOLDEN
AGE OF ADVENTURE SURGES

TO LIFE AGAIN.

NARRATOR: WE'VE ALL
HEARD THE EPIC STORIES OF

THE TROJAN WAR,
OF ACHILLES AND AGAMEMNON,

HELEN AND ODYSSEUS AND OF THE
GODS, ZEUS, POSEIDON, ATHENA,

AND THE MANY OTHERS WHO PUT
THE HEROES THROUGH THEIR PACES.

MOVIE CLIP: WHEN MEN LIKE
US AND GODS LIKE MEN,

LIVE AND LOVE VIOLENTLY.

NARRATOR: WELL THE
POST-DARK AGE GREEKS,

WOULD HAVE BEEN
WELL VERSED IN THEM TOO.

IN FACT IT MAY WELL
HAVE BEEN THESE EPIC STORIES

THAT KEPT THEM GOING
WHEN THEIR CIVILIZATION WAS

FALLING DOWN AROUND THEM.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS: WHEN
YOU GO THROUGH A PERIOD

OF DIFFICULTY, WHEN
YOU GO THROUGH A CRISIS,

YOUR INSTINCT IS TO
RETURN TO YOUR ROOTS.

ERIC CLINE: THAT'S ONE OF
THE HALLMARKS OF A SYSTEMS

COLLAPSE IS WHEN THE GROUP
AFTER THE COLLAPSE LOOKS BACK

AND TELLS STORIES
ABOUT WHAT IT WAS LIKE

BACK WHEN MEN WERE MEN, THAT,
OH THAT WAS BACK IN THE DAY.

NARRATOR: FROM THE BRONZE
AGE COLLAPSE IN ABOUT 1200 BC

AND FOR HUNDREDS OF
YEARS THROUGH THE DARK AGE,

PEOPLE PASSED THE
STORIES DOWN ORALLY,

FROM GENERATION TO
GENERATION, TOWN TO TOWN,

THROUGH WANDERING POETS,
CAPABLE OF MEMORIZING AND

RECITING HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS OF LINES OF VERSE.

UNTIL FINALLY, SOMETIME IN THE
MIDDLE OF THE 8TH CENTURY BC,

GOOD OLD HESIOD AND ANOTHER
GUY, THE GREEK POET HOMER,

USE THEIR NEW HIGH-TECH
ALPHABET TO WRITE THEM DOWN.

EDITH HALL: THE GREEKS
WERE EXTREMELY PROUD OF THREE

REALLY LONG POEMS, WHICH
THEY ALL LEARNED BY HEART

IN CHILDHOOD,
"THE ILIAD", "THE ODYSSEY",

AND HESIOD'S
"BIRTH OF THE GODS".

THESE THREE POEMS WERE
THE ABSOLUTE LYNCH PINS

OF GREEK IDENTITY.

NARRATOR:
UNFORTUNATELY FOR US,

THERE ARE NO FIRST EDITION
"ILIAD'S" OR "ODYSSEY'S"

FLOATING AROUND;
PAPYRI SCROLLS WEREN'T

WRITTEN FOR POSTERITY.

THE CLOSEST WE'RE ABLE TO
GET ARE FRAGMENTS RESCUED FROM

ANCIENT TRASH HEAPS AND
NOW IN THE CARE OF RESEARCHERS

IN OXFORD, ENGLAND.

THE COLLECTION, OWNED
AND MAINTAINED BY THE EGYPT

EXPLORATION SOCIETY,
CONTAINS MILLIONS OF PIECES

OF PAPYRI FROM A FORMER GREEK
COLONY IN OXYRHYNCUS, EGYPT.

OF PAPYRI FROM A FORMER GREEK
COLONY IN OXYRHYNCUS, EGYPT.

DIRK OBBINK: THERE WERE
RUBBISH DUMPS FROM THE ANCIENT

TOWN RINGING THE VILLAGE
ON THE DESERT EDGE,

BUT AS SOON AS THEY
STUCK THEIR SHOVEL INTO ONE

OF THESE RUBBISH MOUNDS,
THE PAPYRI JUST STARTED TO

FALL OUT OF THEM.

NARRATOR: 100 YEARS LATER,
DIRK OBBINK AND HIS TEAM HAVE

THE MONUMENTAL
TASK OF TRANSLATING

AND PUBLISHING EACH ONE.

DIRK OBBINK: IT'S
NOT GOING TO STOP.

5,000 ITEMS OUT OF A MILLION
HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED SO FAR.

IT'S THE, PROBABLY
THE LARGEST INCOMPLETE

ARCHAEOLOGICAL
PROJECT IN THE WORLD.

NARRATOR: SO FAR THEY'VE
PULLED OUT WORKS BY HESIOD,

NEW POEMS BY THE
LYRIC POET SAPPHO,

A COPY OF ARISTOTLE'S
ATHENIAN CONSTITUTION

AND HUNDREDS OF
OTHER ANCIENT TEXTS.

BUT BY FAR, THE VAST
MAJORITY OF FRAGMENTS STEM

FROM ONE SOURCE, HOMER.

DIRK OBBINK: THE ANCIENT
AUTHORS ARE VASTLY OUTNUMBERED

BY HOMER JUST BECAUSE
OF HIS POSITION IN THE

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM,
EVERYONE READ HOMER FIRST

AND MEMORIZED
LARGE SWATHS OF IT.

NARRATOR: THE PAPYRI DATE
TO AT THE 1ST CENTURY BC

AT THE EARLIEST, HUNDREDS
OF YEARS AFTER HOMER.

BUT THAT HIS WORKS WERE
BEING COPIED AND READ IN EGYPT,

HUNDREDS OF MILES FROM GREECE,
SO MANY CENTURIES LATER,

REVEALS HOW SIGNIFICANT HOMER'S
EPICS WERE TO THE ANCIENTS.

WHETHER WRITTEN OR SPOKEN,
HIS STORIES OF BRAVERY,

DIGNITY, LOVE
AND WAR, ARTICULATED

WHAT IT MEANT TO BE GREEK.

ERIC CLINE: IN
TELLING THESE STORIES,

THEY ARE HANDING
DOWN THE KNOWLEDGE.

THEY ARE
HANDING DOWN THE IDEAS,

THEY ARE HANDING
DOWN CONCEPTS OF IDENTITY.

WHO ARE WE,
WHERE DID WE COME FROM?

BETTANY HUGHES: THE GREEKS
ARE VERY SMART BECAUSE THEY

RECOGNIZE THAT ALTHOUGH WE
SHOULD NEVER LIVE IN THE PAST,

WE ARE FOOLS IF WE DON'T
ADMIT THAT WE LIVE WITH IT,

AND SO THEY REALLY
NOURISH THIS IDEA OF THE PAST,

OF HISTORY, OF MEMORY.

NARRATOR: AND IN THEIR
DEEPEST OF MEMORIES,

EVEN MORE CENTRAL
TO THE GREEKS THAN THE

HEROES OF HOMER, WERE
MORE POWERFUL FORCES.

THERE WOULD BE NO
GREECE WITHOUT ITS GODS.

BETTANY HUGHES: YOU CAN'T
UNDEREMPHASIZE HOW CENTRAL

RELIGION WAS TO THE GREEKS.

FOR THEM THERE WERE GODS,
AND GODDESSES AND DEMIGODS

AND SPIRITS
AROUND EVERY CORNER.

AND SPIRITS
AROUND EVERY CORNER.

THE BEAUTY OF THE MOUNTAINS
AND THE MEDITERRANEAN,

ALLOWED PEOPLE TO
IMBUE NATURAL PHENOMENON

WITH PERSONALITY.

EVERYTHING IN NATURE IS
IMBUED WITH THIS DIVINE ESSENCE.

NARRATOR: THE 12
MAIN GODS LIVED HERE,

ATOP GREECE'S HIGHEST
PEAK, MOUNT OLYMPUS.

ALMIGHTY ZEUS CONTROLLED
THE WEATHER, POSEIDON THE SEA,

HADES THE UNDERWORLD.

THERE WAS ATHENA,
GODDESS OF WISDOM;

APHRODITE, BEAUTY; APOLLO,
GOD OF THE SUN AND MUSIC,

ALL JOCKEYING FOR POWER
AND FOR THE AFFECTIONS OF

THE INSIGNIFICANT
HUMANS BELOW.

IT'S QUITE A DEPARTURE
FROM HOW FORMALIZED RELIGIONS

VIEW THEIR GODS TODAY.

[CHANTING INAUDIBLY].

CHELSEA GARDNER: THERE
IS NOT A BIG BOOK THAT TELLS

YOU EXACTLY HOW TO
PRACTICE GREEK RELIGION.

BECAUSE THERE IS NO WAY
TO WRITE SOMETHING DOWN THAT

IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING,
SOMETHING THAT HAS DIFFERENT

INCARNATIONS
DEPENDING UPON WHERE YOU ARE

IN GREECE AND WHAT
PERIOD OF TIME YOU LIVE IN.

NARRATOR: EVEN WITHOUT A
RULEBOOK IT SEEMS THEIR

RELIGION PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT
ROLE IN BRINGING DISPARATE

GROUPS OF GREEKS TOGETHER,
MUCH MORE SO THAN MANY

ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVED.

THE TEXTBOOK VERSION OF HOW
GREECE CAME TO BE TYPICALLY

DOESN'T BEGIN WITH RELIGION,

BUT WITH THE
EMERGENCE OF CITIES.

AFTER THE MYCENAEAN
COLLAPSE THE STORY GOES,

POCKETS OF PEOPLE, SEPARATED
BY A MOUNTAINOUS LANDSCAPE

AND ROCKY COAST, BANDED
TOGETHER INTO SMALL,

ISOLATED VILLAGES
THROUGHOUT GREECE.

OVER TIME VILLAGES,
GREW INTO TOWNS,

TOWNS GREW INTO CITIES,
AND BY THE END OF THE DARK AGE,

RIGHT AROUND HOMER'S
TIME IN THE 8TH CENTURY BC,

CITIES GREW INTO WHAT
THE GREEKS CALL POLIS,

OR CITY-STATES:
ATHENS, SPARTA, CORINTH,

AND SOME 1500 OTHERS.

SUE ALCOCK:
GREECE DID NOT EXIST.

GREECE AS A WHOLE, AS
ENTIRE NATION-STATE, NUH-UH,

THERE WERE LIKE HUNDREDS
OF TINY LITTLE CITY-STATES,

WHAT WE CALL POLIS.

AND THERE IS KIND
OF ENDEMIC FIGHTING;

THIS IS NOT A HAPPY, PEACEFUL
UH, PEACEFUL BUNCH OF PEOPLE.

NARRATOR: ACCORDING TO
THE TRADITIONAL THEORY,

THE BIG RELIGIOUS SANCTUARIES,
CROPPED UP ONLY AFTER THE

THE BIG RELIGIOUS SANCTUARIES,
CROPPED UP ONLY AFTER THE

BUT NEW DISCOVERIES ARE
TURNING THAT ON ITS HEAD.

ABOUT TWO HOURS
NORTH OF ATHENS,

AT AN ANCIENT TEMPLE
SITE CALLED KALIPODI,

ARCHAEOLOGIST WOLF-DIETRICH
NIEMEIER AND HIS TEAM HAVE

UNCOVERED ALTARS AND
ARTIFACTS THAT INDICATE PEOPLE

WERE WORSHIPPING THEIR
GODS HERE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS

BEFORE THE
FORMATION OF CITIES,

ALL THE WAY BACK TO
THE MYCENAEAN PERIOD.

WOLF NIEMEIER: YOU READ
IN HANDBOOKS THERE WERE

NO GREEK TEMPLES
BEFORE THE 8TH CENTURY BC,

WHEN THE POLIS DEVELOPED,
THE GREEK CITY-STATE.

BUT HERE WE HAVE
THREE MYCENAEAN TEMPLES,

AND THEN WE HAVE A
TEMPLE OF THE 10TH CENTURY.

WE HAVE A TEMPLE
OF THE 9TH CENTURY.

WE HAVE A TEMPLE
OF THE 8TH CENTURY.

AND THIS IS WHEN
THE POLIS ARISE.

NARRATOR: IN ALL, THE TEAM
HAS UNCOVERED 10 DIFFERENT

TEMPLES HERE, BUILT,
DESTROYED, AND REBUILT OVER

MILLENNIA ON THIS VERY SPOT,
RIGHT THROUGH THE DARK AGE.

WOLF NIEMEIER: AT LEAST
IN THIS AREA WE HAVE NO

DARK AGE AT ALL,
WE HAVE A CONTINUITY.

NARRATOR: BY OFFERING REFUGE,
PROVIDING A FORUM FOR THE

EXCHANGE OF CULTURE AND IDEAS,
AND BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER

AROUND SHARED BELIEFS,
NIEMEIER BELIEVES THE

TEMPLES HERE, AND OTHERS
LIKE THEM ACROSS GREECE,

MAY HAVE HELPED GREEKS SURVIVE
THOSE MEAGER DARK AGE YEARS.

WOLF NIEMEIER: WHAT
BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER,

WHAT MADE THEM GREEKS, WAS
THEIR RELIGION AND THEIR GODS.

THIS WAS VERY IMPORTANT
FOR THE GREEK IDENTITY.

THE SANCTUARIES HAD AN
IMPORTANT FUNCTION IN THE

FORMATION OF THE CITY-STATES,
AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

NARRATOR: BY THE
LATE 8TH CENTURY BC,

STUNNING CENTERS OF WORSHIP
HAVE STARTED CROPPING UP ALL

OVER THE GREEK WORLD, WITH
AS MANY AS 1500 CITY-STATES

GROWING AROUND THEM,
STRETCHING EAST TO THE

BLACK SEA, WEST TO ITALY
AND SOUTH TO NORTH AFRICA.

BUT IN ANCIENT GREECE
ONE SANCTUARY IN PARTICULAR

STOOD OUT ABOVE THE OTHERS.

EDITH HALL: DELPHI IS
THE RITUAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL,

AND GEOGRAPHICAL
CENTER OF THE GREEK WORLD.

WHEN YOU MAKE THE GREAT
ASCENT UP THE VALLEY PAST

ALL THE OLIVE GROVES
AND VINEYARDS TO THIS HIGH,

HIGH PLACE YOU KNOW THAT THIS
IS WHERE THE GOD OF THE SUN,

APOLLO, WOULD HAVE CHOSEN
TO HAVE HIS SEAT OF PROPHECY.

APOLLO, WOULD HAVE CHOSEN
TO HAVE HIS SEAT OF PROPHECY.

NARRATOR: A WHO'S WHO OF
GREEK HISTORY MADE THE TREK UP

THIS MOUNTAINSIDE TO DELPHI,
ENTERING THROUGH THESE

TOWERING COLUMNS TO SEEK
THE WISDOM OF THE ORACLES,

PRIESTESSES BELIEVED TO
BE THE MOUTHPIECES OF APOLLO.

SAID TO SEE YEARS
INTO THE FUTURE,

THE DELPHIC ORACLES
WERE CONSULTED ON ALL KINDS

OF MATTERS, FROM FORMING
ALLIANCES TO GOING TO WAR.

THEY WARNED OEDIPUS THAT
HE WOULD KILL HIS FATHER AND

MARRY HIS MOTHER, AND
PRONOUNCED THAT NO ONE WAS

WISER THAN SOCRATES, FOR
HE WAS WISE ENOUGH TO KNOW

THAT HE INDEED KNEW NOTHING.

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
THE ORACLE'S WORDS WERE

GOSPEL TO THE ANCIENTS.

BUT IN KEEPING WITH THE
DEFIANT, INDIVIDUALISTIC,

SOME MIGHT SAY
HUBRISTIC GREEK CHARACTER,

THEY WEREN'T EXACTLY
HUMBLE BEFORE THEIR GODS.

THEY WERE AMONG THE
FIRST TO IMAGINE THEIR

DEITIES IN THEIR OWN IMAGE.

NICHOLAS STAMPOLIDIS:
THEIR GODS RESEMBLE THEM.

THEY CREATED THE
OLYMPIAN GODS AS HUMAN BEINGS

WITH THEIR THOUGHTS,
WITH THEIR WAYS OF THINKING.

THEY ARE NOT
RESEMBLING TO DRAGONS,

THEY ARE NOT RESEMBLING
TO ANIMAL-HEADED GODS.

THEY ARE HUMANS.

NARRATOR: IF THE LOWLY GREEK
HUMANS EARNED THE GODS' FAVOR,

THEY COULD EVEN ACHIEVE
GOD-LIKE STATUS FOR THEMSELVES

AND HAVE THEIR NAMES
SUNG ACROSS ALL ETERNITY.

BETTANY HUGHES: I THINK THIS
IS ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THE

GREEKS ACHIEVE SO MUCH IS
THAT THEY HAVE THIS NOTION THAT

THE BEST WAY TO BECOME
IMMORTAL WAS TO DO SOMETHING

IN YOUR LIFE THAT MADE
YOU WORTHY OF IMMORTALITY.

NARRATOR: IT WAS AN IDEA
SO ENGRAINED IN THEIR CULTURE,

THEY EVEN CONJURED A PLACE
WHERE PEOPLE FROM ALL RUNGS

OF SOCIETY
COULD PROVE THEIR WORTH.

THIS IS OLYMPIA.

IT BEGAN LIKE THE
MANY OTHER RELIGIOUS

SANCTUARIES ACROSS GREECE.

BUT STARTING IN 776 BC,
EVENTS WOULD TAKE PLACE IN

THIS VERY ARENA THAT WOULD GIVE
MORTALS A SHOT AT IMMORTALITY,

AND UNITE THE
GREEKS IN THE PROCESS.

ATHLETES AT THE PEAK OF
PERFORMANCE FLOCKED HERE FROM

HUNDREDS OF GREEK CITY-STATES
TO RUN, JUMP, WRESTLE, BOX,

HUNDREDS OF GREEK CITY-STATES
TO RUN, JUMP, WRESTLE, BOX,

THE OLYMPICS.

EDITH HALL: PEOPLE
CAME FROM ALL OVER THE

GREEK-SPEAKING WORLD,
THE BEST CHARIOT RACERS

CAME FROM NORTH
AFRICA, FROM LIBYA,

SOME OF THE BEST SPRINTERS
CAME FROM SOUTHERN ITALY,

THE BOXERS CAME FROM
THE GREEK ISLANDS AND

THEY WOULD BRING THEIR
PACK OF FANS WITH THEM.

NARRATOR: ALL THAT WAS
REQUIRED WAS THAT YOU HAD

TO BE GREEK, WHICH MEANS
THEY HAD A SENSE FOR WHAT

THAT WAS BY THEN,
YOU HAD TO BE MALE,

AND YOU HAD TO BE NAKED,

PREFERABLY
SLATHERED IN OLIVE OIL.

EDITH HALL: THE ANCIENT GREEKS
ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED IN BEAUTY

AND THEY DELIGHTED IN THE
BEAUTY OF THE PHYSICAL FORM,

THEY SAW MEN'S BODIES
AS ABSOLUTELY AS BEAUTIFUL

IN A DIFFERENT
WAY AS WOMEN'S BODIES.

THEY OILED THEMSELVES WITH
OLIVE OIL PARTLY TO HELP GET

A NICE TAN BUT ALSO FOR THE
COMBAT SPORTS TO MAKE IT LESS

EASY FOR THEIR OPPONENTS
TO GET A GRIP ON THEM.

NARRATOR: NEARLY 3,000 YEARS
AFTER THE FIRST OLYMPICS,

MODERN COMPETITION
IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.

WE HAVE CLOTHING FOR STARTERS,
AND WOMEN, FINALLY.

AND IT SEEMS WE MIGHT
HAVE GROWN A LITTLE SOFT.

COMPARED TO THE HUNDREDS
OF OLYMPIC EVENTS TODAY,

GREEK COMPETITIONS
WERE LIMITED TO SKILLS

USEFUL IN COMBAT,
RUNNING, WRESTLING, BOXING.

AND WHILE TODAY
THREE TEAMS MAKE IT TO THE

PODIUM FOR BRONZE, SILVER
AND GOLD, IN ANCIENT GREECE.

JOHN CAMP: ONE GUY IS
THE WINNER AND EVERYBODY ELSE

IS THE LOSER.

THERE'S NO SECOND PLACE,
THERE'S NO THIRD PLACE.

SO THERE'S A
WHOLE DIFFERENT ETHOS,

A COMPETITIVE ETHOS WHICH
RUNS RIGHT THROUGH ALL OF

GREEK LIFE ALL THE TIME,

WHERE THEY'RE
STRIVING TO BE THE BEST.

NARRATOR: THE GREEKS HAD
A WORD FOR THIS COMPETITIVE

ETHOS, AGON, AS IN AGONY,

AND IT WASN'T
CONFINED TO THE OLYMPICS.

BOB COSTAS: AGON IS REALLY
JUST AN ANCIENT PREDECESSOR OF

SOMEBODY TELLING YOU NOW THAT
NOTHING WORTHWHILE COMES EASY,

IN LOFTY PURSUITS LIKE
PHILOSOPHY OR GOVERNMENT

OR LITERATURE OR
WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE,

IF WE'RE FORCED TO DO
OUR VERY BEST IN THE PURSUIT

OF THE STANDARD OF
EXCELLENCE THEN THAT'S GOING

TO MAKE US BETTER.

NARRATOR: WHEN IT CAME
TO PUTTING AGON ON DISPLAY,

THE OLYMPICS WEREN'T
THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN.

SO-CALLED PANHELLENIC
FESTIVALS WERE HELD

AT FOUR DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS
SANCTUARIES ACROSS GREECE,

IN OLYMPIA, DELPHI,
NEMEA AND ISTHMIA,

ALTERNATING ANNUALLY
BETWEEN EACH ONE,

WHICH IS WHY THE OLYMPICS
ARE ONLY HELD EVERY FOUR YEARS.

BUT THERE WAS ONE PLACE
THAT MAY PREDATE THEM ALL,

JUST 22 MILES
AWAY FROM OLYMPIA,

IN A SMALL MOUNTAIN
VILLAGE CALLED LYKAION.

AND EVERY FOUR YEARS RESIDENTS
HERE HOST THE LYKAION GAMES

TO KEEP THEIR
COMPETITIVE TRADITIONS ALIVE.

♪ ♪

THE MYTHS TELL US ZEUS
WASN'T JUST WORSHIPED HERE,

HE WAS BORN HERE.

AND ARCHAEOLOGIST, AND
COMPETITOR, DAVID ROMANO,

HAS FOUND EVIDENCE THAT
THE GAMES TO HONOR HIM WERE

LIKELY HELD HERE
HUNDREDS OF YEARS

BEFORE THE TORCH
AT OLYMPIA WAS EVEN LIT.

DAVID ROMANO: WE NOW
BELIEVE THAT THE WHOLE IDEA

OF OLYMPIA WAS PROBABLY
MODELED ON LYKAION.

SO FOR MANY CENTURIES,
ZEUS WAS BEING WORSHIPPED,

AND WAS BEING
CELEBRATED HERE,

AND ONLY 22 MILES
AWAY AT OLYMPIA,

THERE WAS NO CULT OF ZEUS,
UNTIL THE 11TH CENTURY.

NARRATOR: ROMANO'S WORK IS
REVEALING THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL

SIGNIFICANCE OF LYKAION,
AND TODAY THE PROUD GREEKS

ARE HOPING THE FINDS,
AND THEIR GAMES,

WILL PUT THEIR
TOWN BACK ON THE MAP.

♪ ♪

THEY'VE GOT A WAYS TO GO.

BUT THE PATH TO
EXCELLENCE HAS NEVER BEEN EASY.

OF COURSE THE OLYMPIC
SPIRIT HAS ALWAYS BEEN

ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN WINNING.

IN A LAND FILLED WITH AS
MANY AS 1500 CITY-STATES,

OFTEN DOING BATTLE
OVER RESOURCES, TERRITORY,

AND INFLUENCE,
MUCH LIKE TODAY,

THEY BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER.

THEY BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER.

YOUR TEAM, OR IN THE
CASE OF THE OLYMPICS,

YOUR NATION COMPETING
ON A GLOBAL STAGE,

THERE ARE INDIVIDUAL
ACHIEVEMENTS, YES,

AND THEY WANT IT
FOR THEMSELVES TOO,

LET'S BE REALISTIC,
BUT IF THEY GET TO THE TOP

OF THE PODIUM, THEY HEAR
THAT NATION'S NATIONAL ANTHEM,

THEIR NATION, AND MUCH OF
THAT COUNTRY SWELLS WITH PRIDE,

NOT JUST THE COMPETITOR.

NARRATOR: THIS COMPETITIVE
PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE BECAME

A CORE FACET OF GREEK CULTURE,

MUCH LIKE STORIES OF HEROES
AND SHARED BELIEFS IN THE GODS.

IT'S WHY 776 BC, DATE
OF THE FIRST OLYMPIC GAMES,

IS WIDELY CONSIDERED
TO BE THE UNOFFICIAL

BIRTH YEAR OF GREECE.

EVEN IF GREECE
WOULD REMAIN A FACTIOUS

COLLECTION OF CITY-STATES.

OVER THE NEXT FEW CENTURIES,
NEW GREEK CITY-STATES WOULD

FORM AROUND THE
MEDITERRANEAN WORLD.

EDITH HALL: WHENEVER
THERE WASN'T ENOUGH TO EAT,

WHENEVER THERE
WAS A BAD TYRANT,

GREEKS JUST GOT UP
PACKED THEIR SHIPS AND

WENT OFF SOMEWHERE NEW.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS: THE GREEKS
COLONIZED THE MEDITERRANEAN.

MARSEILLES AND NICE.

NAPLES IN ITALY.

THEY GO AS FAR NORTH
AS THE BLACK SEA, UKRAINE.

THE NEAR EAST, CYPRUS,
SOUTH ITALY AND SICILY.

NARRATOR: LIKE FROGS AROUND
A POND, TO USE PLATO'S WORDS,

THE GREEKS SAILED AS
FAR AND WIDE AS THEIR SHIPS

WOULD TAKE THEM,
SPREADING THEIR LANGUAGE

AND TRADITIONS
WHEREVER THEY WENT.

BUT ONE THING
DISTINGUISHED THESE

GREEK COLONIZERS FROM OTHERS.

NO MATTER HOW TIED TO
THEIR ROOTS THEY WERE OR

HOW FAR AFIELD THEY WENT,
THEY ALWAYS SEEMED TO EMBRACE

NEW IDEAS FROM
THE LANDS THEY SETTLED.

BETTANY HUGHES: IDEAS ARE
REALLY THE KIND OF FAVORITE

CURRENCY OF THE
GREEKS SO THE GREEKS

MAKE IDEAS THEIR BUSINESS.

AND "IDEA" IS ACTUALLY
A PURE GREEK WORD: ADIE.

IT COMES DOWN TO US
AS COMPLETELY UNCHANGED.

NARRATOR: AND IN
THE 6TH CENTURY BC,

ON WHAT IS NOW THE
WEST COAST OF TURKEY,

INSPIRED BY THEIR
NEW ASTRONOMICALLY AND

MATHEMATICALLY INCLINED
NEIGHBORS IN MESOPOTAMIA

AND EGYPT, GREEK COLONISTS
WOULD CONJURE IDEAS SO RADICAL,

THEY'D RESHAPE OUR
ENTIRE VISION OF THE WORLD.

THIS IS MILETUS.

YOU'D NEVER KNOW IT NOWADAYS,

BUT 2500 YEARS AGO
IT WAS A COASTAL CITY.

THE GREEKS WHO LIVED
HERE WOULD TRANSFORM IT INTO

ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST
PORTS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN.

TODAY THE SEA IS JUST
OVER 6 MILES TO THE WEST.

BEVERLY GOODMAN: YOU HAVE
TO KIND OF IMAGINE THAT INSTEAD

OF HAVING ALL OF THESE FIELDS,
THAT THE WATER CAME ALL THE

WAY UP INTO THIS VALLEY.

AND THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE
THEY CHOSE TO ESTABLISH MILETUS.

NARRATOR: ACCORDING
TO GEO-ARCHAEOLOGIST

BEVERLY GOODMAN, THE REASON
FOR THE LANDLOCKED VALLEY

AND FOR THE REVOLUTION IN
THOUGHT THAT TOOK PLACE HERE,

BEGINS IN CENTRAL
TURKEY FAR TO THE EAST.

THE LONG, WANDERING
MAEANDER RIVER,

WHICH GAVE THE WORD
"MEANDER" ITS NAME.

BEVERLY GOODMAN: THIS IS
THE RIVER THAT, BASICALLY,

WAS ONE OF THE REASONS THAT
THEY SETTLED WHERE THEY DID.

BUT IT'S ALSO THE
SAME RIVER THAT DESTROYED

THE HARBOR EVENTUALLY.

EDITH HALL: THE SILT FROM
THE RIVER MAEANDER GRADUALLY

EXTENDED THE LAND DOWN
AND DOWN AND DOWN WESTWARD,

WESTWARD, AND WESTWARD.

SO YOU HAD THESE
MEN ACTUALLY WATCHING

THEIR OWN BELOVED CITY, THEY
ARE SEAMEN, THEY ARE GREEKS,

BECOMING LANDLOCKED.

NARRATOR: THE HARBOR WAS
GONE WITHIN A GENERATION.

TYPICALLY, ANCIENTS FROM
GREECE TO EGYPT TO INDIA WOULD

HAVE HAD A SIMPLE ANSWER FOR
NATURAL PHENOMENA LIKE THESE:

THE GODS CAUSED THEM.

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: PEOPLE
HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON

AND SO IT'S SIMPLER TO SAY
ZEUS DID IT, POSEIDON DID IT.

NARRATOR: BUT AS THE
WORLDLY CITIZENS OF MILETUS

WATCH THEIR PRECIOUS
HARBOR DISAPPEAR PRACTICALLY

IN FRONT OF THEIR EYES,
THEY DON'T BLAME THE GODS.

THEY LOOK AT THE STONES
AND SILT BEING CARRIED BY THE

MAEANDER INTO THE SEA AND
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN RECORDED

HISTORY ATTRIBUTE THEIR
WOES TO NATURAL CAUSES.

THEY'RE CONSIDERED TO BE THE
WORLD'S FIRST SCIENTISTS AND

FROM THAT MOMENT ON,
LIFE WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME.

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON:
ONCE YOU HATCH THAT EGG,

ONCE YOU CRACK THAT ICE,
ONCE YOU PRY OPEN THAT DOOR,

ALL OF NATURE IS
THERE FOR YOU TO EXPLORE.

TAKE IT AND RUN WITH IT.

NARRATOR: AND THESE
GREEKS ON THE WEST COAST

OF TURKEY DID JUST THAT.

FIRST CAME THALES, CONSIDERED
THE WORLD'S FIRST PHILOSOPHER

FIRST CAME THALES, CONSIDERED
THE WORLD'S FIRST PHILOSOPHER

THE DISTANCE OF SHIPS
FROM SHORE AND THE HEIGHT

OF EGYPT'S GREAT PYRAMID,
WAS FIRST TO PREDICT A SOLAR

ECLIPSE AND POSITED A
CAUSE FOR EARTHQUAKES.

HE GOT THE DETAILS WRONG,
THAT THE EARTH FLOATED ON WATER

LIKE A GIANT RAFT, BUT HIS
NATURAL EXPLANATION WAS WORLDS

BEYOND THE PREVIOUS THEORY,
THAT POSEIDON CAUSED THEM.

THALES WOULD INSPIRE OTHER
GREEKS, LIKE PYTHAGORAS,

WHO FOUNDED A BROTHERHOOD
AROUND THE BELIEF THAT NUMBERS

AND MATHEMATICS COULD
EXPLAIN THE UNIVERSE,

EVERYTHING FROM ASTRONOMY
TO NATURE TO MUSIC.

AND HIPPOCRATES, A RENOWNED
ANCIENT PHYSICIAN WHO

DEVELOPED AN ETHICAL CODE
FOR PRACTICING MEDICINE.

TODAY, DOCTORS SWEAR
BY AN OATH IN HIS HONOR

TO FIRST DO NO HARM.

COUNTLESS PHILOSOPHERS
AND SCIENTISTS WOULD FOLLOW

IN THE FOOTSTEPS
OF THESE GREAT THINKERS,

AND THEIR ANCIENT WISDOM
CONTINUES TO MOTIVATE ONE

ARTIST IN ATHENS
PORT OF PIRAEUS TODAY.

AFTER FOUR LONG
DAYS AND NIGHTS,

INO'S MURAL IS
FINALLY TAKING SHAPE.

IT SHOWS THE
FACE OF DEMOCRITUS,

ANOTHER ANCIENT GREEK
PHILOSOPHER WHO DETERMINED

THAT EVERYTHING IN THE
UNIVERSE WAS MADE UP OF TINY,

BUILDING BLOCKS CALLED ATOMS,
GREEK FOR INDIVISIBLE.

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON: FOR ME
WHEN I THINK OF A FIRST IDEA

THAT MATTER IS MADE OF ATOMS,
THAT TELLS YOU THAT THEY ARE

THINKING THAT MAYBE THE
UNIVERSE IS KNOWABLE,

NATURE IS KNOWABLE.

THAT'S PROFOUND BECAUSE
THAT WOULD BECOME THE VERY

FOUNDATION OF SCIENCE,
THAT WE HAVE METHODS AND

TOOLS THAT
TRANSCEND OUR FIVE SENSES,

THAT PROBE THE OPERATIONS
OF NATURE IN WAYS THAT

YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCE
HAS NO ENCOUNTERS WITH.

NARRATOR: PROBING NATURE,
QUESTIONING THE ORIGINS OF

PHENOMENA, EVEN
OUR VERY EXISTENCE,

THEY ARE PROFOUND IDEAS
THAT ALL HAD THEIR START

IN THE EASTERN AEGEAN.

BUT THEY
WOULDN'T STAY THERE.

BY THE 6TH CENTURY BC,
A NEW POWER WAS EMERGING

IN THE EAST,
THE PERSIAN EMPIRE.

AND AS IT EXPANDED,
MANY GREEKS WOULD HEAD WEST,

AND AS IT EXPANDED,
MANY GREEKS WOULD HEAD WEST,

WAYS OF THINKING WITH THEM.

OVER THE NEXT CENTURY,
THE FLOOD OF REASON THAT

BEGAN IN THE MAEANDER
RIVER VALLEY WOULD WASH

OVER THE GREEK WORLD,
AND EVENTUALLY CULMINATE IN

A SMALL BACKWATER OF
A CITY-STATE CALLED ATHENS.

EDITH HALL: SO AGAINST
THIS BACKGROUND OF

INTELLECTUAL TURMOIL, OF
THE BEGINNINGS OF SCIENCE,

OF ABSTRACT REASONING, AND
INDEED IDEAS OF A PHYSICAL

UNIVERSE WHERE MAN CAN
INTERVENE IN AND CONTROL,

THAT HE'S NOT ENTIRELY
AT THE WHIMS OF THE GODS,

COMES ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY.

NARRATOR: FOR CENTURIES,
ATHENS HAD BEEN JUST ONE OF

THOSE 1500 CITY-STATES,
CLIMBING ITS WAY OUT OF

THE ASHES OF THE DARK AGE.

TEETERING BETWEEN THE RULE OF
RICH, ARISTOCRATIC FAMILIES,

WHO CAME TO POWER BY BIRTH,

OR POWER-GRABBING
LEADERS CALLED TYRANTS,

PEOPLE WERE OFTEN SUBJECTED
TO DRACONIAN LAWS, LITERALLY,

THEY WERE WRITTEN BY A
TYRANT NAMED DRACO IN 621 BC.

FARMERS WHO COULDN'T
PAY THEIR DEBTS WERE

FORCED INTO SLAVERY.

SIMPLE CRIMES
LIKE "STEALING A CABBAGE"

WERE PUNISHABLE BY DEATH.

ATHENS WAS ON THE BRINK
OF REVOLUTION UNTIL A WISE

REFORMER NAMED SOLON
STEPPED IN WITH A SERIES

OF REFORMS THAT WOULD
MAKE TODAY'S GREEKS PROUD.

HE FREED ALL DEBTOR SLAVES,
ELIMINATED THE DEATH PENALTY

FOR ALL BUT EXTREME CASES,
AND WRESTLED POLITICAL POWER

OUT OF THE HANDS OF NOBLE
BLOODLINES BY ESTABLISHING

A COUNCIL OF 400
CITIZENS TO RUN THE CITY.

IT WAS A BIG STEP, UNTETHERING
GOVERNANCE FROM INHERITANCE.

BUT ONLY ATHENS' WEALTHIEST
CITIZENS HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF

SERVING ON THE COUNCIL,

AND IN THE
DECADES THAT FOLLOWED,

FACTIONS OF COMPETING
ARISTOCRATS FORMED.

EDITH HALL: YOU HAVE A LOT
OF SEESAWING AROUND ABOUT

WHO'S ACTUALLY IN
CHARGE AND THIS ACTUALLY

GETS WORSE AND WORSE.

NARRATOR: IN 508 BC, THE
POWER STRUGGLE CAME TO A BOIL

BETWEEN TWO RIVAL ARISTOCRATS,
ISAGORAS AND CLEISTHENES.

ISAGORAS, WITH SUPPORT FROM
MILITARY POWERHOUSE SPARTA,

TOOK CONTROL OF THE CITY,

INSTALLED AN
OLIGARCHY OF NOBLES,

INSTALLED AN
OLIGARCHY OF NOBLES,

WITH THE ATHENIAN ELITE
SQUARELY IN ISAGAORAS' CORNER,

CLEISTHENES WAS LEFT
WITH ONLY ONE PLACE TO TURN.

BETTANY HUGHES: WE ARE
TOLD THAT CLEISTHENES TOOK

INTO HIS FACTION,
CHA DEMOS, THE COMMON PEOPLE.

NARRATOR: ORDINARY CITIZENS
HAD HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH OF

ARISTOCRATS AND
NOBLES RUNNING THEIR CITY.

FOR THEIR SUPPORT,
CLEISTHENES AGREED TO BREAK

THE HOLD OF
ARISTOCRATIC FACTIONS,

DETERMINE POWER BY
ELECTIONS, NOT WEALTH,

AND INSTITUTE TRIALS BY JURY.

NEITHER LEADER COULD HAVE
PREDICTED WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

AN ALL-OUT
REVOLT SWEPT OVER ATHENS.

CITIZENS STORMED THE
ACROPOLIS AND SENT ISAGORAS

AND THE SPARTANS PACKING.

AND CLEISTHENES?

JOSIAH OBER: THE WAY
TO THINK ABOUT CLEISTHENES

IS HE'S A SURFER.

HE IS RIDING A REALLY BIG
WAVE OF AN INCREASINGLY CLEAR

IDENTITY OF A
COMMON PEOPLE THAT

THEY ARE THE
PEOPLE OF ATHENS.

THEY ARE ATHENS.

HE GETS AHEAD OF THE WAVE,

HE RIDES IT WELL AND
THE REST OF IT IS HISTORY.

NARRATOR: WHETHER
HE MEANT TO OR NOT,

CLEISTHENES USHERED IN
A REVOLUTIONARY NEW WAY OF

RUNNING A SOCIETY.

IN 507 BC,
DEMOCRACY WAS BORN.

BETTANY HUGHES: I
CANNOT OVER EMPHASIZE HOW

STOMACH-CHURNINGLY
MIND-BLOWINGLY

ELECTRICALLY-EXCITING
THIS WAS IN ANCIENT GREECE.

BECAUSE THIS IS THE FIRST
TIME IN THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE

AS FAR AS WE KNOW WHEN
"I" THE PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED

TO ACT AS A POLITICAL AGENT.

SUDDENLY YOU GET PERFUME
MAKERS AND CHEESE TRADERS AND

GENERALS AND ARISTOCRATS
STANDING NEXT TO ONE ANOTHER

IN THE ASSEMBLY DECIDING HOW
THEY SHOULD RUN THEIR OWN LIVES.

NARRATOR: ATHENIAN
DEMOCRACY WASN'T EXACTLY OF,

BY AND FOR ALL THE PEOPLE.

YOU NEEDED TO BE
A FREE MALE CITIZEN.

WOMEN, SLAVES AND
FOREIGN BORN NEED NOT APPLY,

WHICH MEANS FEWER THAN 50,000
IN A CITY OF MORE THAN 200,000,

LESS THAN 20%, WERE
ACTUALLY ELIGIBLE TO VOTE.

STILL, THE IDEA OF
DEMOCRACY WAS WILDLY POPULAR.

"DEMOCRITUS," OR
JUDGE OF THE PEOPLE,

THE STAR OF INO'S MURAL,
BECAME ONE OF THE MOST

THE STAR OF INO'S MURAL,
BECAME ONE OF THE MOST

BETTANY HUGHES: SO THIS
IS THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY

MOMENT IN THE HUMAN STORY.

DEMOCRACY JUST
APPEARS FROM THAT FEBRILE,

FERVENT BUBBLE THAT IS
GREECE AND IT'S BEEN DELIVERED

DOWN TO US AS ONE
OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY

LEGACIES OF THE GREEK WORLD.

JOSIAH OBER: THE DEMOCRACY
EMERGES IN STRIFE.

IT WAS THE WILL OF
THE ORDINARY PEOPLE.

THAT IS WHAT MADE
DEMOCRACY POSSIBLE.

NARRATOR: TWO AND A
HALF MILLENNIA LATER,

IT'S ORDINARY PEOPLE WHO
CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR IT.

♪ ♪

PEOPLE LIKE INO, WHO'S
PUTTING THE FINISHING TOUCHES

ON HIS MURAL, AN INFANT
LOOKING UP AT DEMOCRITUS.

INO: IT'S ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE,
AND THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE.

THE CHILD IS THE PEOPLE.

THE YOUNGER PEOPLE
AFTER THE ANCIENTS.

IT'S A CONNECTION,
FROM THEN TO NOW.

THE POWER IS IN EVERY ONE
OF US AND WITH COLLABORATION

WE CAN WORK TO
MAKE THIS PLACE BETTER.

NARRATOR: INDIVIDUALS
CORRALLING THEIR TALENTS

TO MAKE LIFE BETTER,
IT'S WHAT THE GREEKS

HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT.

THROUGH ONE OF THE
DARKEST CHAPTERS IN HISTORY,

THEY BUILT A CIVILIZATION
FROM THE BOTTOM UP,

DELIVERING SOME OF HUMANITY'S
GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS:

LITERATURE, THE OLYMPICS,

SCIENTIFIC REASONING,
DEMOCRACY.

AND THEY WERE JUST
GETTING STARTED.

BETTANY HUGHES: WHAT IS VERY
INTERESTING ABOUT DEMOCRACY

IN GREECE IS THAT VERY
QUICKLY IT BECOMES THIS IDEA

THAT CATCHES LIKE WILDFIRE
AND THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT

THAT POWERS THE KIND
OF ENGINE OF CHANGE AND THE

DEVELOPMENT OF CIVILIZATION
THAT STILL SPEAKS TO US TODAY.

NARRATOR: WITH
POWER NOW SQUARELY IN THE

HANDS OF THE PEOPLE,
CITIZENS WOULD FINALLY HAVE

THE CHANCE TO
SET THEIR OWN COURSE,

NOT ONLY FOR ATHENS, BUT FOR
ALL OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION.

ANNOUNCER: NEXT TIME
ON "THE GREEKS",

THE GOLDEN AGE
FINALLY ARRIVES,

THE PEOPLE RULE AND
NEW IDEAS TAKE HOLD.

BETTANY HUGHES: THEY'RE
WORKING OUT THE BEST WAY

TO BE HUMAN, THE
BEST WAY TO LIVE IN THE WORLD.

AND THAT'S AN IDEA THAT
IS AS STRONG NOW AS WHEN

AND THAT'S AN IDEA THAT
IS AS STRONG NOW AS WHEN

ANNOUNCER: CHASING GREATNESS,
ON "THE GREEKS".

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS
PROGRAM, VISIT PBS.ORG.

"THE GREEKS" IS
AVAILABLE ON DVD.

THE COMPANION BOOK
IS ALSO AVAILABLE.

TO ORDER, VISIT SHOPPBS.ORG
OR CALL 1-800-PLAY-PBS.

THE GREEKS WAS MADE POSSIB