All language subtitles for The Greeks Series 1 3of3 Chasing Greatness 1080p

[RAIN]

NARRATOR: IT'S A RAINY
SEPTEMBER MORNING IN ATHENS,

AND SOME 350 ATHLETES FROM ALL
OVER THE WORLD ARE GATHERING

UNDER THE ACROPOLIS TO
REENACT THE MOST HIGH-STAKES

RUN IN HISTORY.

FOR THE NEXT 36 HOURS,
THEY WILL ATTEMPT TO RUN

FROM THE HEART OF ATHENS,

ACROSS SOME OF GREECE'S
MOST TREACHEROUS TERRAIN,

TO SPARTA,
SIX MARATHONS AWAY.

IT WOULD SEEM BEYOND THE
LIMITS OF HUMAN ENDURANCE.

BUT 2,500 YEARS AGO,
FACING ANNIHILATION BY THE

PERSIAN EMPIRE, ATHENS SENT
A SINGLE RUNNER ON THIS

SAME DESPERATE RACE TO
PLEAD FOR SPARTA'S HELP.

HIS NAME WAS PHEIDIPPIDES;
HE SEEMED THEIR ONLY HOPE.

DEAN KARNAZES: PHEIDIPPIDES
KNEW THE PERSIANS WOULD WIPE

ATHENS FROM THE MAP.

HE KNEW DEMOCRACY WOULD
BE COMPLETELY OBLITERATED.

NARRATOR: DEMOCRACY THEN
WAS MERELY 17 YEARS OLD,

AND IT WAS ABOUT TO SET
OFF A CHAIN REACTION OF ART,

DRAMA, PHILOSOPHY,
AND SCIENCE THAT

WOULD HAVE BEEN
UNTHINKABLE ANYWHERE ELSE.

JOSH OBER: IT IS A WORLD OF
ALMOST CONSTANT INNOVATION.

THEY NEVER SIT AND JUST
REST ON THEIR LAURELS.

BETTANY HUGHES: THEY WERE
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
IT WAS WHEN IT WAS FIRST

CONCEIVED 25 CENTURIES AGO.

NARRATOR: IN THE CRUCIBLE
UNDER THE ACROPOLIS,

THE MODERN MIND
HAD BEEN UNLEASHED.

BUT IT ALMOST NEVER HAPPENED.

THE GREEKS.

RIGHT NOW ON THIS NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC SPECIAL.

♪ [NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
THEME MUSIC PLAYS].♪

♪♪

NARRATOR: THE
152-MILE SPARTATHLON,

FROM ATHENS TO SPARTA,
HONORS A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN

GREECE'S QUEST FOR GREATNESS,

WHEN THE EARLIEST SPARKS
OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION

WERE NEARLY STAMPED OUT.

IT WAS 490 BC.

AND GREECE WASN'T
ANYTHING LIKE THE NATION

WE THINK OF TODAY.

IT WAS A NETWORK OF SOME 1,500
OFTEN WARRING CITY-STATES,

EACH WITH VASTLY DIFFERENT
SIZES, STRENGTHS,

AND FORMS OF GOVERNMENT.

SUSAN ALCOCK: IF YOU WALKED UP
TO A GUY IN 5TH-CENTURY ATHENS,

AND YOU SAY,
ARE YOU A GREEK?

HE WOULDN'T HAVE A CLUE.

HE'D SAY NO, I'M AN ATHENIAN.

AND IF YOU WENT TO
THEBES, I'M A THEBAN.

IF YOU WENT TO
SPARTA, I'M A SPARTAN.

GREECE AS A WHOLE
DID NOT EXIST.

NARRATOR: ATHENS,
THE LARGEST CITY-STATE,

WAS UNIQUE AMONG THEM.

IT HAD UNDERGONE A MAJOR
POLITICAL REVOLUTION LESS THAN

TWO DECADES EARLIER,
WHERE ORDINARY PEOPLE

REJECTED TYRANNY AND
INSTITUTED A RADICAL NEW

FORM OF GOVERNMENT.

DEMOCRACY.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY,

POWER WAS TRULY IN
THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE.

THEY COULD SERVE
IN GOVERNMENT AND VOTE ON

EVERYTHING FROM TAX RATES
TO DECLARATIONS OF WAR.

IN A WORLD OF
KINGS AND TYRANTS,

THE ATHENIANS RECOGNIZED
THAT BY EMPOWERING INDIVIDUALS,

FROM THE WEALTHIEST LANDOWNER
TO THE LOWLIEST FOOT SOLDIER,

THEY COULD BE FAR GREATER
THAN THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS.

BETTANY HUGHES: HOW INCREDIBLE
WOULD IT HAVE BEEN TO SPEND

SOME TIME IN ATHENS
IN THE 5TH CENTURY BC?

JUST ELECTRICALLY EXCITING.

DEMOCRACY IS REALLY
FETISHIZED AND CHERISHED.

IT COMES TO BE
WORSHIPED AS A GODDESS,

AS A FANTASTIC STONE STEELY
IN ATHENS OF DEMOCRACY AS A

GODDESS CROWNING HO DEMOS,
THE COMMON PEOPLE.

NARRATOR: IT WAS THE BEGINNING
OF THE ANCIENT GREECE

WE THINK WE KNOW,

THAT 170-YEAR-LONG
GOLDEN AGE WHOSE LEGACY IS

INVOKED EVERYWHERE, FROM
THE STREETS OF MODERN ATHENS

TO THE STEPS OF THE
U.S. SUPREME COURT.

BUT DEMOCRACY
ALMOST DIED IN ITS TEENS.

EDITH HALL: SO ATHENS HAD
BECOME A DEMOCRACY IN 507 BC.

BUT JUST 17 YEARS LATER,
SHE FACED THE GREATEST

CHALLENGE SHE'D EVER FACED,
THE PERSIAN EMPIRE.

NARRATOR: THE PERSIANS HAD
AMASSED THE WORLD'S FIRST

GLOBAL EMPIRE, UNDER
POWERFUL KING DARIUS,

CONQUERING SOUTH TO
EGYPT, EAST TO INDIA,

CONQUERING SOUTH TO
EGYPT, EAST TO INDIA,

NOW, THEY HAD THEIR
SITES SET ON EUROPE,

AND ONLY LITTLE ATHENS,
AND ITS VASTLY OUTNUMBERED

ARMY HERE ON THE SHORES OF
MARATHON, STOOD IN THEIR WAY.

THAT'S WHERE PHEIDIPPIDES'
STORIED RUN COMES IN.

DEAN KARNAZES: PHEIDIPPIDES
WAS WHAT THEY CALLED

AN ALL-DAY RUNNER.

THAT WAS A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
THE GREEKS HAD TO COMMUNICATE.

IT WAS LIKE THE INTERNET,
YOU KNOW, 2500 YEARS AGO,

AND THEY DID IT ON FOOT.

NARRATOR: MODERN MARATHONS
ARE BASED ON THE LEGEND THAT

PHEIDIPPIDES RAN ABOUT 26
MILES FROM MARATHON TO ATHENS,

NAKED OF COURSE, TO ALERT
LEADERS OF THE BATTLE'S

OUTCOME, AND PROMPTLY
DROPPED DEAD FROM EXHAUSTION.

IT'S A TALE IMMORTALIZED
IN POETRY AND PAINTINGS.

BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT OUR
MARATHONS MAY ONLY REPRESENT

THE LAST PIDDLING 26
OF A MUCH LONGER RUN.

JOHN HALE: GREEKS WOULD'VE
LAUGHED THEIR HEADS OFF AT

THIS IDIOTIC STORY.

26 MILES?

THAT'S NOTHING!

NARRATOR: THE HISTORIAN
HERODOTUS TELLS US THAT BEFORE

THE BATTLE OF
MARATHON EVEN BEGAN,

PHEIDIPPIDES HAD TO RUN
150 MILES TO SPARTA,

AND BACK TO PLEAD FOR SUPPORT
FROM THE WARRIOR SPARTANS.

TODAY'S SPARTATHLETES
ARE TRYING TO COMPLETE

THAT FIRST LEG.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUSE].

SOME TAKE IT MORE
SERIOUSLY THAN OTHERS.

ULTRA-MARATHONER DEAN KARNAZES
IS TRYING TO MANAGE IT ON ONLY

THE FOODS PHEIDIPPIDES
WOULD HAVE EATEN.

DEAN KARNAZES: IT'S BASICALLY
A GROUND SESAME PASTE.

FIGS.

CURED MEAT.

NUTS.

NARRATOR: HE FEELS
THIS RUN IN HIS BLOOD.

DEAN KARNAZES: I AM 100% GREEK
AND MY DAD ALWAYS INSISTS

WE'RE FROM, YOU KNOW, THIS
SAME REGION AS PHEIDIPPIDES.

CAN YOU IMAGINE, PHEIDIPPIDES
OUT HERE, BY HIMSELF,

RUNNING TO SAVE DEMOCRACY?

NARRATOR: WITHOUT ROADS,
OVER MOUNTAINS,

AND THROUGH THE DARK OF NIGHT,
PHEIDIPPIDES IS SAID TO HAVE

REACHED SPARTA
IN JUST 36 HOURS,

ONLY TO FACE ONE OF HISTORY'S
CRUELEST REJECTIONS.

IN THE MIDST OF A
SACRED FESTIVAL,

IN THE MIDST OF A
SACRED FESTIVAL,

DEAN KARNAZES: THEY SAID,
WE'LL COME HELP YOU BUT IT'S

JUST GONNA BE
THREE OR FOUR DAYS.

NARRATOR: AND SO
PHEIDIPPIDES MADE THE 176-MILE

RETURN TRIP BACK TO
THE BATTLEFIELD AT MARATHON,

TO ALERT THE GENERALS
THAT THE SPARTANS

WOULD BE "DELAYED."

THE ATHENIANS WOULD FACE
DOWN THE WORLD'S FIRST TRUE

SUPERPOWER WITHOUT THEM,

OUTNUMBERED BY
MORE THAN 2 TO 1.

PATRICK HUNT: THIS IS A
CRITICAL, CRITICAL MOMENT.

TO PUSH BACK AGAINST
THE PERSIANS.

NO ONE'S DONE IT
SUCCESSFULLY BEFORE.

NARRATOR: BUT THERE'D NEVER
BEEN AN ARMY LIKE THIS BEFORE.

THE 10,000 ATHENIANS WERE
NOW FREE AND EQUAL MEN.

BOUND BY A COMMUNAL
SENSE OF BROTHERHOOD,

THEY WEREN'T ABOUT TO
SURRENDER THEIR HARD-WON

RIGHTS OVER TO AN
AUTOCRATIC RULER.

WAYNE LEE: ONE OF THE REALLY
UNIQUE THINGS ABOUT GREECE IS

THE WAY IN WHICH THOSE BONDS
OF COMMUNITY TRANSLATE INTO

THE WAY THAT THEY FIGHT.

IT IS INTIMATELY COOPERATIVE.

NARRATOR: RIGHT DOWN
TO THE WAY THEY HOLD THEIR

16-POUND SHIELDS.

WAYNE LEE: THE SHIELD
QUITE FAMOUSLY EXTENDS A

FOOT AND A HALF TO THE LEFT
OF AN INDIVIDUAL FIGHTER.

WHEN HE IS HOLDING
THE SHIELD UP,

HALF OF THE SHIELD IS COVERING
THE PERSON TO HIS LEFT.

THE WHOLE ETHIC OF
THE FIGHT IS BUILT AROUND

THAT MUTUAL PROTECTION.

STAND THERE AND
PROTECT YOUR NEIGHBOR.

NARRATOR: THE GREEKS STOOD
SHIELD OVER SHIELD IN A

FOUR-DAY STANDOFF
AGAINST THE PERSIANS.

UNTIL FINALLY, IN WHAT
SEEMED A DESPERATE MOVE,

THEY CHARGED THE
MUCH LARGER ARMY.

WHEN THE ATHENIAN
CENTER SEEMED TO FALTER,

THE PERSIANS PUSHED FORWARD,
ONLY TO FIND THEMSELVES

SURROUNDED BY THE
GREEKS' STRONGER FLANKS.

IT WAS A ROUT.

THE PERSIANS
LOST 6,400 SOLDIERS,

ACCORDING TO HERODOTUS.

THE GREEKS, ONLY 192.

DEMOCRACY WAS SAFE,
FOR THE MOMENT.

AND PHEIDIPPIDES'
FABLED CRY OF VICTORY WITH

HIS DYING BREATH,

AFTER NOW RUNNING
MORE THAN 350 MILES,

EVEN THE ANCIENT ATHENIANS
WOULDN'T BEGRUDGE AN EPIC

DEMISE LIKE THAT.

THE BATTLE OF MARATHON
LEFT THE YOUNG DEMOCRACY

FEELING INVINCIBLE.

FEELING INVINCIBLE.

STRIKING A RICH VEIN OF SILVER
IN A MINE NEAR CAPE SOUNION,

LATER HOME TO THE
TEMPLE OF POSEIDON.

IT WAS WORTH ABOUT
$60 MILLION IN TODAY'S MONEY,

AND ATHENIANS WERE EAGER FOR
THEIR SHARE OF THE SPOILS.

BUT ONE GENERAL, THEMISTOCLES,
KNEW FULL WELL THAT THE

PERSIANS WOULD BE BACK,
AND HE WANTED THAT SILVER TO

MOUNT A DEFENSE.

DEMOCRACY BEING WHAT IT IS,
HE FIRST HAD TO CONVINCE THE

CITIZENS OF ATHENS
TO PART WITH IT,

A POLITICAL REALITY NO
TYRANT EVER HAD TO DEAL WITH.

JOHN HALE: IT'S NOT POPULAR
TODAY IN THE WORLD OF

SCHOLARSHIP TO ADMIT
THAT YOU'VE GOT HEROES,

BUT I'VE GOT ONE, AND THAT
HERO IN THE ENTIRE ANCIENT WORLD

IS THEMISTOCLES.

FOLKS WERE DECIDING WHAT
TO DO WITH THAT SILVER,

AND HE PLAYED UPON
THEIR SENSE OF PRIDE,

THEIR SENSE OF SECURITY,
THEIR SENSE, ABOVE ALL,

OF POTENTIAL
GREATNESS AS A CITY,

WHICH ATHENS HAD NOT ACHIEVED.

BJORN LOVEN: THEMISTOCLES
CONVINCED THEM TO USE THIS

SILVER TO BUILD A HUGE NAVY.

NARRATOR: HERE AT
ATHENS' PORT OF PIRAEUS,

ARCHAEOLOGIST BJORN LOVEN AND
HIS TEAM ARE EXCAVATING THE

IMMENSE HARBOR THAT
THEMISTOCLES BUILT FOR HIS

DREAM NAVY.

WITH IT ARE CLUES ABOUT
HOW HE MIGHT HAVE SWAYED

PUBLIC OPINION INTO BUILDING
IT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

THE DIVERS CAN BARELY SEE
A FOOT IN FRONT OF THEM.

BUT BY SIFTING THROUGH THE
MURK OF ALMOST 2,500 YEARS,

THEY'RE STARTING TO UNCOVER
THE ACTUAL STRUCTURES THAT

HOUSED AND LAUNCHED
THEMISTOCLES' FLEET.

BJORN LOVEN: SO IT WAS
A MASSIVE STRUCTURE.

IMAGINE THE WHOLE SHORELINE
LINED WITH SHIP SHEDS.

NARRATOR: THE SHIP SHEDS
WOULD FORM ONE OF THE

LARGEST STRUCTURES
IN THE ANCIENT WORLD,

HOUSING 200 OF THE GREATEST
FIGHTING GALLEYS OF THE DAY.

TRIREMES:

BATTLESHIP, SPEEDBOAT,
AND TORPEDO ALL IN ONE.

THEMISTOCLES THOUGH
DIDN'T PITCH TRIREMES AS JUST

WEAPONS OF WAR, BUT
AS ENGINES OF DEMOCRACY,

GIVING LOWER CLASS CITIZENS
A CHANCE TO RISE THROUGH

ATHENS' POLITICAL RANKS.

JOHN HALE: YOU GET POWER
AS CITIZENS BY FIGHTING

FOR YOUR CITY.

NARRATOR: EACH TRIREME
REQUIRED 200 CREW MEMBERS.

NARRATOR: EACH TRIREME
REQUIRED 200 CREW MEMBERS.

BJORN LOVEN: YOU WOULD
NEED CLOSE TO 40,000 MEN.

JOHN HALE: POORER-CLASS
CITIZENS WERE DOING THE

MATHEMATICS, AND SAYING,
THERE'S A CREW OF 200

AT EVERY TRIREME.

THAT SOUNDS LIKE ME.

ULTIMATELY EVERY POST IN
THE LAND OF ATHENS WAS OPEN

TO THE POOREST CITIZEN
BECAUSE OF THE NAVY.

NARRATOR: IN 480 BC, JUST
TEN YEARS AFTER MARATHON,

THEMISTOCLES' WORST
FEARS CAME TRUE.

THE PERSIANS
STRUCK FIRST HERE,

AT THE NARROW PASS
OF THERMOPYLAE,

WHERE FOR DAYS MORE
THAN 100,000 BESIEGED

AN ALLIED GREEK
FORCE OF ONLY 7,000.

BUT THIS TIME IT WOULD
BE SPARTA'S FINEST HOUR.

UNDER THEIR KING, LEONIDAS,
300 SPARTANS FAMOUSLY FOUGHT

TO THE DEATH, HOLDING BACK THE
PERSIANS LONG ENOUGH FOR THEIR

GREEK ALLIES TO ESCAPE.

BUT THE PASS EVENTUALLY FELL,
AND THE PERSIANS POURED INTO

THE GREEK PENINSULA, BENT
ON REVENGE AGAINST ATHENS.

THEMISTOCLES HAD TO
DO SOMETHING DRASTIC.

IN AN URGENT ORDER, HE CALLED
FOR THE COMPLETE EVACUATION OF

WOMEN, CHILDREN AND THE
ELDERLY FROM THE CITY,

ALL MEN TO THE TRIREMES
OF HIS NEW NAVY.

ATHENS ITSELF WOULD BE LEFT
TO THE MERCY OF THE PERSIANS,

WHO'D BURN IT TO THE GROUND.

THEMISTOCLES WOULD NOW
TAKE THE BATTLE TO SEA,

TO THE NEARBY
STRAITS OF SALAMIS.

BJORN LOVEN: THE ATHENIANS
BROUGHT 200 WARSHIPS TO THE

BATTLE OF SALAMIS, AND THE
ALLIES BROUGHT AROUND 200.

SO AROUND 80,000 PEOPLE
AT SEA ON THAT MORNING.

NARRATOR: AND THAT'S
JUST THE GREEK ALLIES.

THE PERSIAN FLEET
WAS TWICE AS BIG.

LURING THE PERSIANS INTO
SALAMIS' NARROW STRAIGHTS,

THEMISTOCLES SPRUNG A TRAP.

HIS TRIREMES RAN CIRCLES AROUND
THE HULKING PERSIAN SHIPS,

TORPEDOING THEM
WITH THEIR RAMS,

AND SENDING NEARLY HALF
OF THEM TO THE BOTTOM.

IT WAS THE FIRST MAJOR NAVAL
VICTORY IN RECORDED HISTORY.

BJORN LOVEN: THE BATTLE OF
SALAMIS IS A TURNING POINT IN

WESTERN CIVILIZATION.

THE YOUNG MEN THAT WERE
SITTING AT THE OARS THEY HAD

FOUGHT TOGETHER
AGAINST INCREDIBLE ODDS AND

FOUGHT TOGETHER
AGAINST INCREDIBLE ODDS AND

NARRATOR: MEN OF FREE WILL HAD
PULLED TOGETHER TO DEFEAT THE

SUPERPOWER OF THE DAY.

DEMOCRACY, IT SEEMED,
WAS NO FLASH IN THE PAN,

BUT A FORCE TO
BE RECKONED WITH.

BETTANY HUGHES: THEY'D
DEFEATED, AGAINST THE ODDS,

THE VAST PERSIAN EMPIRE
AND THAT SEEMS TO GIVE THEM

AN EXTRAORDINARY SENSE OF
THEMSELVES AS A PEOPLE AND

AS A CULTURE.

NARRATOR: FREE FROM TYRANNICAL
RULERS AND IMPERIAL THREATS,

ATHENIANS WERE NOW FREE
TO BUILD A NEW SOCIETY,

AN IDEAL STATE THAT ACTIVELY
SOUGHT PERFECTION IN ALL
THINGS,

FROM GOVERNMENT
AND ARCHITECTURE,

TO PHILOSOPHY AND ART.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS: THEY
TRIED TO REACH AND UNDERSTAND

THAT PERFECT WORLD.

EVERYTHING THAT WE
DO MUST BE PERFECT.

NARRATOR: THE GREAT GOLDEN
AGE OF ATHENS HAD DAWNED.

AND UNDER THE RULE OF A
POWERFUL NEW STATESMAN NAMED

PERICLES, IT WOULD TRUMPET ITS
ARRIVAL FROM THE UNOCCUPIED

HEIGHTS ABOVE THE CITY.

EDITH HALL: PERICLES DECIDES
HE'S GOING TO MAKE A LASTING

MEMORIAL TO ATHENS
GREATNESS FOR ALL TIME.

SO HE COMMISSIONS
THE BEST ARCHITECTS,

THE BEST SCULPTORS,
THE BEST ARTISTS,

AND HE DESIGNS THE BUILDING
PLAN OF THE ACROPOLIS.

NARRATOR: LIKE THEMISTOCLES,
PERICLES APPEALED TO THE NEW

DEMOCRACY'S SENSE OF CIVIC
PRIDE TO FOOT THE BILL,

TO THE TUNE OF HALF A BILLION
DOLLARS IN TODAY'S MONEY.

100,000 TONS OF
THE FINEST MARBLE,

HUNDREDS OF BREATHTAKING
SCULPTURES THAT SEEMED TO

BREATHE LIFE INTO
STONE, AND A FANTASTIC,

4-STORY STATUE OF ATHENA,
DECORATED IN GOLD AND IVORY,

AS EXPENSIVE AS THE
BUILDING ITSELF.

AFTER 15 YEARS, IT WAS DONE,
AND ATHENS HAD ANNOUNCED ITS

SUPREMACY TO THE WORLD.

2500 YEARS LATER, THE
PARTHENON HAS SHOWN ITS AGE.

NATURAL DISASTERS.

WARS.

CONVERSIONS INTO A CHURCH,
A MOSQUE, A TREASURY,

HAVE ALL TAKEN THEIR TOLL.

IN 1687 GUNPOWDER
STORED INSIDE EXPLODED,

IN 1687 GUNPOWDER
STORED INSIDE EXPLODED,

LATER ON, THE ENGLISH LORD
ELGIN CHISELED OFF HALF THE

INNER SANCTUM'S MARBLE FRIEZE
AND SHIPPED IT TO LONDON,

WHERE IT CONTROVERSIALLY
RESIDES TO THIS DAY.

DESPITE ALL IT'S
BEEN THROUGH, THOUGH,

THE PARTHENON STILL STANDS AS
DEMOCRACY'S LIGHT ON A HILL,

A PROUD SYMBOL OF GREEK
AND HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT.

BUT IN ANCIENT ATHENS, THE
REAL BUSINESS OF HUMANS DURING

THE GOLDEN AGE DIDN'T TAKE
PLACE UP ON THE ACROPOLIS,

BUT FAR BELOW.

JOHN CAMP: THE THING UP ON
THE HILL IS THE SANCTUARY TO

ATHENA, AND SHE IS
TREMENDOUSLY IMPORTANT.

BUT DOWN HERE IS THE
CIVIC LIFE OF THE CITY.

THIS AREA BEHIND
ME IS THE AGORA.

IT'S BASICALLY, IN ANTIQUITY,
A GREAT BIG OPEN SQUARE,

WHERE YOU CAN GET ALL
THE PEOPLE TOGETHER FOR

A VARIETY OF FUNCTIONS.

YOU COULD COME
DOWN HERE ONE DAY,

AND IT WOULD BE SET
UP FOR AN ELECTION.

YOU COULD COME
DOWN THE NEXT DAY,

IT'D BE SET UP
AS A MARKETPLACE.

NEXT DAY, THERE'D BE
ATHLETIC CONTESTS.

SO IT'S THE CENTRAL SQUARE
WHERE YOU CAN GET ALL THE

CITIZENS TOGETHER.

NARRATOR: BY THE TIME
ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARRIVED TO

EXCAVATE THE AGORA IN 1931,
THERE WAS A TRAIN RUNNING

THROUGH THE SITE, AND
THEY'VE BEEN DIGGING AROUND

IT EVER SINCE.

JOHN CAMP HAS LED
THE EXCAVATIONS HERE

FOR TWO DECADES.

JOHN CAMP: WE ARE STANDING
BASICALLY AT GROUND ZERO

FOR DEMOCRACY.

THIS IS WHERE THE CONCEPT
WAS FIRST INVENTED,

AND WHERE IT WAS
PRACTICED FOR 150 YEARS.

NARRATOR: DEMOCRACY,
WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT,

REQUIRES BUREAUCRACY AND
THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE AGORA

BUILDINGS SHOW THAT'S
AS IT'S ALWAYS BEEN.

THERE WAS A SENATE, A
MINT, COURTS OF LAW,

BUILDINGS YOU MIGHT
FIND IN CAPITALS TODAY.

BUT THIS NEWBORN DEMOCRACY
WOULD BARELY BE FAMILIAR

TO US NOW.

FOR STARTERS, ATHENIANS DIDN'T
ELECT MOST OF THEIR LEADERS;

ELECTIONS COULD BE
BOUGHT AND RIGGED.

SO THEY SELECTED MOST
OFFICIALS JURY-DUTY STYLE.

JOHN CAMP: THEY WOULD PULL
500 NAMES OUT OF A HAT,

AND THOSE GUYS WOULD
SERVE FOR 1 YEAR.

THEY WOULD MEET EVERY
DAY, EXCEPT FESTIVAL DAYS,

AND THEY WOULD
CONSIDER LEGISLATION.

NARRATOR: PARTICIPATION WASN'T
SIMPLY VOLUNTARY EITHER,

IT WAS A SACRED DUTY.

IT WAS A SACRED DUTY.

IN POLITICS, YOU WERE
DESCRIBED AS ONE OF THE

IDIOTI, AS AN IDIOT,
AND IT IS WHERE WE GET OUR

WORD IDIOT FROM.

AND IF YOU LOOKED JUST TO
SERVE YOURSELF RATHER THAN THE

COMMON GOOD YOU WERE DESCRIBED
AS A PARASATOI, A PARASITE.

NARRATOR: ONCE IN OFFICE,
THE LEADERS COULDN'T VOTE

ON NEW LAWS, THEY
COULD ONLY PROPOSE THEM.

PASSING THEM CAME DOWN
TO ORDINARY CITIZENS,

WHO VOTED BY A SHOW OF HANDS.

JEREMY MCINERNEY: EVERY
ATHENIAN VOTED ON WHETHER THEY

WERE GOING TO RAISE TAXES,
OR WHETHER THEY WERE GOING TO

BUILD THE PARTHENON.

EVERY ATHENIAN MALE VOTED.

THEY DIDN'T DELEGATE IT TO
A GROUP OF REPRESENTATIVES.

IF YOU HAD A TIME MACHINE AND
IF AN ATHENIAN DROPPED INTO

THE US, AN ATHENIAN WOULD SAY,
WELL, YOU ARE NOT A DEMOCRACY.

YOU KNOW, YOU YOURSELF
DIDN'T VOTE ON THE LATEST TAX

INCREASE OR OBAMACARE
OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

THAT WAS DECIDED FOR YOU.

JOHN HALE: WE COULD BE A
DEMOCRACY, BUT WE ARE NOT.

WE LIKE TO CALL OURSELVES
THAT; WE ARE NOT A DEMOCRACY.

IT IS NOT POWER TO THE PEOPLE,

IT IS POWER TO A
CHOSEN SET OF LEADERS,

WHO THE PEOPLE
HAVE YES CHOSEN,

BUT THEN HAVE TO PUT UP
WITH ONCE THEY ARE IN THE

CORRUPTING POSITION
OF BEING IN POWER.

NARRATOR: ATHENIANS
KNEW POWER CORRUPTED,

AND CAME UP WITH THEIR
OWN WAY TO DEAL WITH IT.

ALL ALONG THE
ROADS OF THE AGORA,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND
DISCARDED SHARDS OF POTTERY,

CALLED OSTRACA.

ONCE A YEAR, CITIZENS COULD
CARVE THE NAMES OF DUBIOUS

POLITICIANS ONTO THE
CLAY FRAGMENTS AND CAST THEM

INTO A JAR.

IF ENOUGH VOTES WERE TALLIED,
THE OFFICIAL WAS OSTRACIZED,

BANNED FROM THE
CITY FOR 10 YEARS.

JOHN CAMP: PRETTY MUCH EVERY
PROMINENT ATHENIAN IN THE

FIRST HALF OF THE 5TH-CENTURY
BC TOOK ONE OF THESE 10-YEAR

VACATIONS, COURTESY OF
THE ATHENIAN PEOPLE.

NARRATOR: EVEN THEMISTOCLES,
THE HERO OF SALAMIS,

WASN'T IMMUNE.

OSTRACA WITH HIS NAME ON
THEM SHOW HE WAS BANISHED

ABOUT 10 YEARS AFTER THE WAR.

JOHN CAMP: IF
SOMEBODY GETS TOO HIGH,

BY DEFINITION IN A DEMOCRACY,

YOU HAVE TO CUT
'EM DOWN TO SIZE.

IT WOULD BE NICE IF WE HAD
THE OPTION TODAY OF VOTING A

WASHINGTON POLITICIAN OUTSIDE
THE BELTWAY ONCE A YEAR.

NARRATOR: IT ALL
SOUNDS NICE, IN THEORY.

BUT IN PRACTICE,
ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY WAS ALSO

PROFOUNDLY LIMITED;

FEWER THAN 20 PERCENT
OF THE POPULATION COULD VOTE.

FEWER THAN 20 PERCENT
OF THE POPULATION COULD VOTE.

GREEK CITIES, AND LIVED HERE,
BUT THEY WEREN'T CITIZENS;

AND THERE WERE
PLENTY OF SLAVES.

SO YES, IN THAT SENSE IT IS
NOT A VERY DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY.

SUSAN ALCOCK: SO THIS IDEA
THAT THEY ARE ALL WALKING

AROUND AND, YOU KNOW,
WHITE TUNICS,

AND GOING TO THE THEATER,
AND GOING TO WORSHIP,

THAT IS ALL HAPPENING, BUT IT
IS NOT THE FULL STORY BY ANY

STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION.

NARRATOR: ONE THING ATHENIANS
WERE VERY GOOD AT WAS

NETWORKING, AND THE AGORA
WAS THE PLACE TO BE.

HERE, RIFFRAFF RUBBED
SHOULDERS WITH THE GREATEST

MINDS TO GRACE THE EARTH.

JOHN CAMP: YOU CAN IMAGINE,
AND IT'S TRUE THAT THEY WERE

HERE, PERICLES,
SOPHOCLES, THUCYDIDES,

ALL THESE GREAT ATHENIANS,
SPENDING TIME IN THE SQUARE

AND IN THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS
AROUND THE SQUARE.

NARRATOR: AND AT THE
CENTER OF THEM ALL,

A HYPNOTIC FIGURE
WHOSE RADICAL,

NEW WAY OF THINKING COULD
ONLY HAVE TAKEN ROOT IN

THIS FREE SOCIETY.

THE FATHER OF WESTERN
PHILOSOPHY, SOCRATES.

YANNIS SIMONIDES: SOCRATES
EXPLORED EVERYTHING, WHATEVER,

WHATEVER WAS THE
ISSUE OF THE DAY.

AND HE WOULD ENGAGE.

PEOPLE WOULD BE INTERESTED
IN HIM, LOOKING AT HIM,

THIS STRANGE,
SMELLY, VERY UGLY...

[AMBULANCE HONKS HORN]

AND A PUG NOSE, AND BULGING
EYES, AND THICK LIPS.

BUT TOTALLY MAGNETIC.

NARRATOR: ACTOR AND
PRODUCER, YANNIS SIMONIDES,

HAS PLAYED THE INQUISITIVE
SOCRATES IN PERFORMANCES

AROUND THE GLOBE.

YANNIS SIMONIDES: HE SAYS
"THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS

NOT WORTH LIVING."

IF YOU DO NOT EXPLORE IT,
IF YOU DO NOT EXAMINE IT,

YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO DIE.

NARRATOR: SOCRATES' NOTORIOUS
LINE OF QUESTIONING, THOUGH,

WAS ALSO RELENTLESS.

AND IN THE AGORA, HE BECAME
A PROFESSIONAL THORN IN

THE SIDE OF ALMOST EVERYONE.

JOHN CAMP: JUST A
PAIN IN THE ASS.

HE'S JUST BOTHERING EVERYBODY,
BUT HE'S NOT SHUTTING UP,

AND QUESTIONING PEOPLE
AND HARASSING THEM.

AS HE CALLS HIMSELF, A GADFLY.

NARRATOR: LIKE A GADFLY
STINGING A SLEEPY HORSE AWAKE,

SOCRATES CONFRONTED
POLITICIANS AND POETS,

CRAFTSMEN, AND KIDS,
QUESTIONING THEM AD NAUSEUM

ABOUT THEIR VIEWS
ON EVERYTHING FROM

DEMOCRACY AND TYRANNY...

TO LOVE, WAR AND DEATH.

IT WOULD BE CALLED
THE SOCRATIC METHOD,

A QUESTION-AND-ANSWER DIALOGUE
IN WHICH HE CHALLENGED ALL

ASSUMPTIONS, ALWAYS IN
SEARCH OF A DEEPER TRUTH.

ASSUMPTIONS, ALWAYS IN
SEARCH OF A DEEPER TRUTH.

THOSE IN POWER.

BUT PHILOSOPHY WAS NOT
THE ONLY PATH TO TRUTH.

WITHIN JUST A FEW GENERATIONS
OF THE PERSIAN DEFEAT,

AS CULTURE FLOWERED
ALL OVER THE CITY,

THE GREEK LOVE
OF STORYTELLING,

HARKENING ALL THE WAY BACK
TO THE EPICS OF HOMER,

EXPLODED INTO A WILDLY
POPULAR NEW ART FORM.

WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF
ACTORS, A CHORUS, A NARRATOR,

AND PERHAPS MOST
IMPORTANTLY, A THEATER,

THE GREEKS INVENTED COMEDY,

TRAGEDY AND ALL
OF WESTERN DRAMA,

CONFRONTING THEMES
WE GRAPPLE WITH TO THIS DAY.

MARLENE KAMINSKY:
POWER, REVENGE, LOVE, HATE.

THE BIG ONES.

GREG NAGY: IT WAS CIVICS 101
TO LISTEN TO TRAGEDY AND TO

TRY TO BECOME MORE MORAL BY
PROCESSING THE MOST IMPORTANT

QUESTIONS OF LIFE.

THE EXPERIENCE OF DYING
IN WAR, FALLING IN LOVE,

BEING AWARE OF FORCES
AROUND YOU THAT ARE BEYOND

THE HUMAN REALM.

HOW DO WE EXPLAIN THEM,
AND IF WE CAN'T EXPLAIN THEM,

WHAT DO WE CALL THEM THEN?

EDITH HALL: SO TRAGEDY
GIVES YOU SERIOUS

PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS.

COMEDY IS THERE TO ACTUALLY
PUT YOUR POLITICIANS ON TRIAL,

BY LAUGHTER.

NARRATOR: AS IT DOES TODAY,
COMEDY OFFERED PEOPLE A

PLATFORM TO POKE FUN AT
THEIR FELLOW CITIZENS AND

TO CRITICIZE THOSE IN POWER.

EVEN THAT CELEBRATED VISIONARY
BEHIND THE PARTHENON.

EDITH HALL: PERICLES
HIMSELF HAD CARICATURES OF HIM

IN THE COMIC THEATER.

HE ALWAYS WORE HIS
HELMET IN PUBLIC,

WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHY.

SO HE OFTEN HAD AN ONION ON
HIS HEAD BUT HE GOT ELECTED

YEAR AFTER YEAR.

HE SURVIVED TRIAL BY
DEMOCRATIC COMEDY.

NARRATOR: IN DRAMA,
AS IN ALL THINGS,

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION
CREATED COMPETITION,

AND SOMETHING ELSE GREEKS
LOVED: PRIZE-GIVING.

ON A STATUE BASE IN THE
AGORA, JOHN CAMP HAS FOUND THE

ANCIENT ROOTS OF THE OSCARS.

JOHN CAMP: SO HERE YOU CAN
SEE WE HAVE THE TWO CATEGORIES,

COMEDY AND TRAGEDY.

AND THE NAME OF THE
WINNING PRODUCER,

AND THE NAME OF THE
WINNING PRODUCER,

SO THESE ARE LIKE THE
ACADEMY AWARDS, OR THE TONYS.

SO THIS IS WHERE WESTERN
DRAMA, AND FROM THAT,

ALL OF SHOW BUSINESS BEGINS.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUSE].

NARRATOR: BY 431 BC,
ATHENS HAD BECOME THE CENTER

OF A CULTURAL EMPIRE.

EURIPIDES AND SOPHOCLES WERE
COMPETING FOR BEST PLAYWRIGHT.

AND THE PARTHENON HAD
JUST OPENED TO THE PUBLIC.

THIS TEMPLE TO ATHENA,
ALSO PRONOUNCED THE ARRIVAL

OF NEW HEROES,
THE ATHENIANS THEMSELVES.

IT'S MARBLE FRIEZE, A THIRD
OF WHICH SURVIVES IN THE

NEARBY ACROPOLIS MUSEUM,
DEPICTS THE ANNUAL FESTIVAL

OF ATHENA'S BIRTHDAY.

BUT THE REAL FOCUS OF THE
SCULPTURES ISN'T GODS,

BUT PEOPLE, AND THE
PERFECTION OF THE HUMAN FORM.

NIKOS STAMPOLIDIS: GREEKS
THOUGHT THAT HUMAN BEINGS ARE

IN THE CENTER OF THE WORLD.

THEY WERE THINKING THAT THE
PROTAGONISTS WERE THEMSELVES.

NARRATOR: MAN WAS THE
MEASURE OF ALL THINGS,

TO QUOTE THE GREEK
PHILOSOPHER PROTAGORAS.

HUMANS, NOT GODS, WERE BEHIND
ATHENS' EXTRAORDINARY RISE.

OF COURSE, WITH
EVERY GREAT RISE,

COMES AN EQUALLY
FANTASTICAL FALL.

AND IN THE DIN OF
SELF-CONGRATULATION,

ATHENIANS HAD GROWN TONE DEAF
TO THE CAUTIONARY MYTHS THAT

HAD GUIDED THEIR ANCESTORS
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

BETTANY HUGHES: ONE OF THE
MOST FAMOUS AND FAVORITE MYTHS

OF THE GREEKS WAS THE STORY
OF DAEDALUS AND ICARUS.

SO THE INVENTOR DAEDALUS
AND ICARUS HIS SON.

NARRATOR: DAEDALUS BUILT WINGS
MADE OF WOOD AND WAX FOR HIS

SON ICARUS, ALLOWING HIM
TO TAKE TO THE SKIES.

BUT HE ALSO ISSUED A
WARNING: FLY TOO LOW,

AND THE MOIST SEA AIR
WOULD DAMPEN THE WINGS.

FLY TOO HIGH, AND THE
SUN WOULD MELT THEM.

WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

BETTANY HUGHES: ICARUS
FLIES UP TO THE SUN,

AND THE WAX IN THE WINGS
MELT AND ICARUS PLUNGES

DOWN TO EARTH.

NARRATOR: ICARUS, TEMPTED TO
SEE THE WORLD AS THE GODS DID,

BECAME THE ULTIMATE
SYMBOL OF HUBRIS,

BECAME THE ULTIMATE
SYMBOL OF HUBRIS,

PRICE FOR IT.

BETTANY HUGHES: AND THE
GREEKS TOLD ONE ANOTHER THIS

STORY BECAUSE THEY WERE
SAYING GO FOR IT,

MAKE YOUR MARK IN THE WORLD,
BUT ALSO REMEMBER THAT AS A

SPECIES WE HAVE LIMITS.

NARRATOR: IF ATHENS HAD
FORGOTTEN THE LESSONS OF

HUBRIS, THE REST OF
THE GREEKS HAD NOT.

THE RICHEST CITY IN THE GREEK
WORLD HAD BUILT THE ULTIMATE

TEMPLE TO ITSELF ON
THE BACKS OF OTHERS,

BY EXTORTING EXORBITANT TAXES,
PROTECTION MONEY REALLY,

FROM HUNDREDS OF
NEIGHBORING CITIES.

AND ALL THIS TIME
ATHENS WAS FLOURISHING,

THAT OTHER GREAT ANCIENT
CITY-STATE, SPARTA,

HAD BEEN WATCHING WITH
GROWING RESENTMENT.

SPARTANS VENERATED ATHLETIC
AND MILITARY MIGHT OVER

CULTURAL PERFECTION.

BY AGE 7, BOYS WERE TAKEN
FROM THEIR MOTHERS AND

RAISED AS SOLDIERS.

THEY RAN WITHOUT SHOES
TO HARDEN THEIR FEET;

THEY WERE BEATEN AND
DEPRIVED OF FOOD TO HARDEN

THEIR BODIES AND HEARTS.

THEY WOULD HAVE APPROVED
OF THE SPARTATHLON.

MAN: GOOD LUCK.

NARRATOR: 100 MILES
INTO THE 150-MILE RACE,

DEAN KARNAZES IS STRUGGLING
ON WITH HIS SELF-IMPOSED

5TH-CENTURY BC DIET.

AND OTHERS AREN'T
FARING MUCH BETTER.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUSE].

MAN: YOU'RE ALWAYS SMILING.

WOMAN: YOU LIKE IT?

RUNNER: NO.

[ALL LAUGHING].

WOMAN: WE ADMIRE YOU.

YOU'RE A HERO, REALLY.

NARRATOR: THE ONES WHO FORGE
ON WILL NOW FACE THEIR MOST

PUNISHING CHALLENGE YET:

MT. PARTHENIO,
A 4,000-FOOT CLIMB,

THROUGH THE DEAD OF NIGHT.

IT'S THEIR LAST BIG
HURDLE BEFORE SPARTA,

A MERE TWO MARATHONS
AWAY, WHERE, BY 432 BC,

HARDENED SPARTANS HAD HAD
ENOUGH OF ARROGANT ATHENS,

AND DECLARED WAR.

THE BLOODY PELOPONNESIAN
WAR WOULD EMBROIL THE GREEK

CITY-STATES FOR
NEARLY THREE DECADES.

AND EVEN THE GODS
SEEMED TO HAVE GROWN WEARY

OF ATHENS' PRIDE.

A PLAGUE SWEPT
THROUGH THE CITY,

KILLING ABOUT A QUARTER OF
THE ATHENIAN POPULATION,

INCLUDING PERICLES.

AND, AS THE WAR DRAGGED
ON, ATHENS TURNED AGAINST

EVERYTHING IT STOOD FOR.

[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE].

IN 399 BC, NONE OTHER THAN
SOCRATES WAS PUT ON TRIAL.

[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE].

IN THE ONE-MAN SHOW,
"SOCRATES NOW,"

YANNIS SIMONIDES REENACTS
PLATO'S ACCOUNT OF SOCRATES'

SELF-DEFENSE BEFORE
HIS ATHENIAN JURY.

YANNIS (AS SOCRATES):
MY FELLOW CITIZENS.

I DON'T KNOW IF MY ACCUSERS
HAVE AFFECTED YOU OR NOT.

DESPITE THE FACT THAT THERE'S
NO TRUTH IN WHAT THEY SAID.

NARRATOR: SOCRATES' RELENTLESS
EXAMINING AND QUESTIONING HAD

GROWN INCREASINGLY UNWELCOME
TO ATHENS' LEADERS DURING

THE LONG WAR, WHEN ORDER
AND STABILITY BECAME MORE

VALUED THAN NEW IDEAS.

YANNIS (AS SOCRATES): AND
THEY HAVE FILLED YOUR EARS

WITH WILD STORIES ABOUT ME.

SLANDERING ME.

NARRATOR: THEY DRUMMED UP
CHARGES TO SILENCE HIM.

YANNIS (AS SOCRATES):
"SOCRATES IS GUILTY OF

WRONGDOING BECAUSE HE
CORRUPTS THE YOUNG.

HE DOESN'T BELIEVE IN
THE GODS OF THE CITY,

BUT RATHER IN NEW DEMONS.

HIS SENTENCE SHOULD BE DEATH."

NARRATOR: FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN DEMOCRACY'S SHORT HISTORY,

A CITIZEN HAD STRETCHED THE
BOUNDS OF FREE SPEECH AND

FREE INQUIRY TO
THE BREAKING POINT AND

ILLUMINATED ITS LIMITATIONS.

THE TRIAL OF SOCRATES IS ONE
THAT CONTINUES TO THIS DAY.

YANNIS SIMONIDES: IF HE
WAS HERE TODAY WITH US,

HE WOULD BE PERSECUTED.

HE WOULD BE VILIFIED,
AND GOD KNOWS WHAT WE DO TO

ALL THE ONES THAT DARE,
YOU KNOW, RESIST.

WE CAN LOOK AT THOSE THAT ARE
PUSHING FOR WOMEN'S EQUALITY.

OR FOR GAY EQUALITY, OR
FOR EQUITABLE INCOME.

THEY DISTURB THE SYSTEM.

THEY MAKE WAVES, AND WHETHER
YOU LIKE THEM OR NOT,

THEY MAKE US THINK.

THEY MAKE US THINK.

HIS DEATH SENTENCE,

IF HE'D ABANDON
HIS INCESSANT QUESTIONING.

HE FAMOUSLY DOWNED A CUP
OF POISON HEMLOCK INSTEAD.

THOUGH HIS MESSAGE
WOULD SPAN THE AGES,

HIS DEATH WOULD MARK THE
BEGINNING OF THE END FOR

ATHENS' GOLDEN AGE.

[THUNDER]

BETTANY HUGHES: WITH HIS
SEVEN MOST FAMOUS WORDS,

"THE UNEXAMINED LIFE
IS NOT WORTH LIVING,"

IN A WAY HE GIVES
US THE MODERN WORLD.

HE TELLS US THAT INQUIRY
AND EXPLORATION AND EXPANDING

YOUR MIND SHOULD BE
SOMETHING THAT ISN'T SEDITIOUS,

BUT THAT IS CENTRAL
TO THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

NARRATOR: BY THE TIME
OF SOCRATES' DEATH,

ATHENS HAD LOST THE BRUTAL
PELOPONNESIAN WAR WITH SPARTA.

THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE
WAS SLOWLY CRUMBLING,

AND IN 338 BC,

A MERE 170 YEARS
AFTER ITS INVENTION,

ITS DEMOCRACY FINALLY FELL.

IOANNES GRAEKOS: THE GREEK
WORLD WAS UPSIDE DOWN.

I MEAN, THE ATHENIAN
DEMOCRACY WAS FALLING APART.

I MEAN, THE CITY-STATES
WERE FIGHTING EACH OTHER.

BUT GREECE DOESN'T COME TO
AN END WHEN ATHENS FALLS.

WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS NEW.

NARRATOR: THAT "SOMETHING"
CAME IN THE FORM OF AN

UNLIKELY FORCE FROM
NORTHERN GREECE.

MACEDON, LED
NOT BY CITIZENS,

BUT A KING,
PHILIP THE SECOND.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE
WEAKENED GREEK CITY-STATES,

PHILIP CONQUERED THEM
ALL, EXCEPT FOR SPARTA,

AND FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER,
UNITED THEM INTO ONE KINGDOM.

ARCHAEOLOGIST ANGELIKI
KOTTARIDI HELPED EXCAVATE

PHILIP'S TOMB IN 1977.

ANGELIKI KOTTARIDI: PHILIP
IS A VERY, IS A GENIUS.

HE DEVELOPED A NEW
SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT,

BY MIXING THE
ROYALTY, THE KINGDOM,

AND INDEPENDENT CITY-STATES.

NARRATOR: INVITING
THE GREATEST ARTISTS,

ARCHITECTS AND THINKERS FROM
ATHENS AND BEYOND TO HIS

PALACE HERE IN VERGINA,
PHILIP WANTED TO BE THE FIRST

"PHILOSOPHER KING,"
AN ENLIGHTENED MONARCH AS

"PHILOSOPHER KING,"
AN ENLIGHTENED MONARCH AS

WITH GREECE CONQUERED,
PHILIP LONGED TO INVADE PERSIA,

AND THE REST OF
THE KNOWN WORLD.

BUT IN 336 BC, AT A WEDDING
IN THIS VERY THEATER,

PHILIP WAS MURDERED
BY HIS OWN BODYGUARD.

THE TASK OF WORLD DOMINATION
WOULD INSTEAD FALL TO HIS

20-YEAR-OLD SON, ALEXANDER.

TRAINED BY SPARTAN WARRIORS,
AND STEEPED IN PHILOSOPHY BY

PLATO'S STAR PUPIL,
ARISTOTLE, ALEXANDER WAS

IMPATIENT FOR GREATNESS.

WITHIN 2 YEARS OF HIS
FATHER'S ASSASSINATION,

HE LED A FORCE ALMOST
50,000 STRONG INTO ASIA,

AND BROUGHT DOWN GREECE'S OLD
ADVERSARY, THE PERSIAN EMPIRE.

FROM THERE HE
MARCHED ON TO EGYPT,

DECLARING HIMSELF PHARAOH,
AND ESTABLISHING GREEK RULE

THAT WOULD LAST ALL
THE WAY TO CLEOPATRA.

ALEXANDER THEN SPENT
THE NEXT DECADE EXPANDING

HIS EMPIRE ALL
THE WAY TO INDIA.

ALONG THE WAY, HE
WON HEARTS AND MINDS,

PAYING RESPECTS TO LOCAL GODS,
MARRYING SEVERAL LOCAL WOMEN,

AND FORCING HIS
MEN TO DO THE SAME,

AND ALWAYS SPREADING
THE GREEK IDEALS.

ANGELIKI KOTTARIDI:
ALEXANDER TRIED REALLY

TO CONNECT PEOPLE.

SO THAT THROUGH
MARRIAGE, MIXED TOGETHER,

THEY FORGET THE IDEAS
OF GREEK AND BARBARIANS.

IT WAS THE BEGINNING
OF A BEAUTIFUL NEW ERA.

DIFFERENT PEOPLE, DIFFERENT
NATIONS, DIFFERENT RELIGIONS,

AND THEY CREATE THIS
COMMON CIVILIZATION,

THE HELLENISTIC CIVILIZATION.

NARRATOR:
UNFORTUNATELY FOR ALEXANDER,

IT WAS A CIVILIZATION
HE'D NEVER GET TO WITNESS.

IN 323 BC, CARRIED
OFF BY TYPHOID FEVER OR

PERHAPS POISON,
HE WAS DEAD AT JUST 32.

BUT HIS SHORT REIGN WOULD
SEED GREEK LANGUAGE,

THOUGHT AND CULTURE FROM
THE WARM ISLANDS OF THE

MEDITERRANEAN TO THE SANDS
OF EGYPT TO THE FOOTHILLS

OF THE HIMALAYA.

IOANNES GRAEKOS: THE CULTURE
THAT IS ROOTED HERE AND

WAS SPREAD ALL OVER THE
WORLD BY ALEXANDER THE GREAT

WAS SPREAD ALL OVER THE
WORLD BY ALEXANDER THE GREAT

YES, OF COURSE.

NARRATOR: OF COURSE, THAT
THEIR REVOLUTION WOULD BE

PASSED ALL THE WAY DOWN
TO US WAS IN NO WAY ASSURED.

RUNNER: THANK YOU,

MAN: BRAVO, WOW, AMAZING.

NARRATOR: IT'S 6 AM
IN MODERN SPARTA,

AND CROSSING THE FINISH
LINE OF THE IMPOSSIBLY LONG

SPARTATHLON IS A CHILD OF
ANOTHER GREAT CIVILIZATION.

RUNNING THE 152 MILES
IN LESS THAN 23 HOURS,

IVAN CUDIN OF ITALY IS
FIRST TO KISS THE SPARTAN

KING LEONIDAS' FEET.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUSE].

AND FITTINGLY, IT WAS
ITALY'S ANCIENT FOREBEARS,

ROME, WHO BEGINNING IN
AROUND THE 3RD CENTURY BC,

WOULD PICK UP THE GREEK TORCH.

JOHN CAMP: THE ROMANS ADMIRED
EVERYTHING THE GREEKS DID.

THEY DIDN'T LIKE THEM
AS, WHAT DO WE WANNA SAY,

THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE
KIND OF EFFEMINATE,

THAT THEY WERE DISORGANIZED,

BUT THEY RECOGNIZED
THAT THEY WERE CREATIVE.

AND SO THEY STOLE
GREEK SCULPTURE.

THEY BROUGHT IN TUTORS FROM
GREECE FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

ALL SIGNIFICANT ROMANS
CAME HERE, CAESAR WAS HERE,

POMPEY WAS HERE,
CICERO WAS HERE,

PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY.

NARRATOR: ROME CARRIED THE
GREEK TRADITION FORWARD FOR

HUNDREDS OF YEARS UNTIL,
IN THE 4TH CENTURY AD,

THE ROMAN EMPEROR CONSTANTINE
CONVERTED TO AN INSURGENT NEW

RELIGION, CHRISTIANITY.

ALL THINGS GREEK WERE SOON
GIVEN A NEW LABEL: PAGAN.

SCIENCE BECAME HERETICAL.

PHILOSOPHY, DANGEROUS.

AND ANY CELEBRATION OF THE
GRECO-ROMAN GODS BLASPHEMOUS.

AFTER NEARLY TWO MILLENNIA
OF CONTINUAL OPERATION,

THE CHURCH SHUTTERED THE
VENERATED ORACLE OF DELPHI,

EXTINGUISHED THE
OLYMPIC FLAME,

AND ALL BUT WIPED SO-CALLED
PAGANISM OFF THE MAP.

IT WOULD BE ANOTHER THOUSAND
YEARS BEFORE THE SECRET

HISTORY OF GREECE WAS
REDISCOVERED IN THE WEST,

SPARKING THE RENAISSANCE.

REIGNITING IDEAS OF LOGIC AND
REASONING, REALISM IN ART,

AND A BELIEF IN THE HUMAN
POTENTIAL TO DETERMINE

ONE'S OWN FATE.

IT WAS A WAY OF THINKING
THAT INSPIRED A BAND OF

ENLIGHTENMENT REVOLUTIONARIES,
WHO IN 1776 LAUNCHED A NEW

WORLD OF THEIR OWN, WITH
DEMOCRACY AT ITS VERY CORE.

WORLD OF THEIR OWN, WITH
DEMOCRACY AT ITS VERY CORE.

PATRICK HUNT: GREECE LIVES ON.

WE ARE STILL THE INTELLECTUAL
CHILDREN OF GREEK THOUGHT,

OF GREEK IDEAS.

THE IDEA THAT EVERYONE HAS
A VOICE AND SHOULD BE HEARD.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE
DIRECTLY IN DEBT TO GREECE.

ANGELIKI KOTTARIDI: TO BE A
GREEK IS NOT A MATTER OF BLOOD,

BUT A MATTER OF MIND.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUSE].

NARRATOR: AFTER 34 HOURS,
45 MINUTES, AND 27 SECONDS,

GREEK-AMERICAN DEAN KARNAZES
IS FINALLY REACHING THE END OF

HIS OWN JOURNEY, BESTING
PHEIDIPPIDES' STORIED TIME

BY OVER AN HOUR.

DEAN KARNAZES: IT
WAS WELL BEYOND WHAT I THOUGHT

IT WOULD BE,
IT WAS THE HARDEST STRUGGLE

I'VE EVER FOUGHT.

IT'S UNFATHOMABLE, HOW
PHEIDIPPIDES WAS ABLE TO

ACCOMPLISH THIS.

NARRATOR: UNFATHOMABLE,
BUT IT HAPPENED.

WHICH IS PRETTY MUCH
THE STORY OF GREECE.

THEY WERE SOMETIMES FLAWED;
THEY WERE SOMETIMES ARROGANT.

AND THEY BROUGHT ABOUT
THEIR OWN DOWNFALL.

BUT IN THEIR VOYAGE
FROM CAVEMEN TO KINGS,

FROM OLYMPIANS TO ARCHITECTS
OF THE WORLD'S FIRST DEMOCRACY,

THEY UNLEASHED IDEAS IDEAS
THAT COULD NEVER BE PUT BACK

IN THE BOTTLE.

BETTANY HUGHES:
FROM THERE ON IN,

THERE CAN BE NO SORT OF
SOCIETY THAT DOESN'T AT LEAST

ENGAGE WITH THE IDEA
OF PEOPLE HAVING A SAY IN

HOW THEY SHOULD
RUN THEIR LIVES.

NO, THEY WERE NOT PERFECT,
BUT THERE IS JUST SOMETHING

SPECIAL, THERE IS ALMOST A
KIND OF PERFECT STORM WHEN IT

COMES TO THE GREEKS.

MICHAEL COSMOPOULOS: IT'S NOT
JUST THINGS LIKE DEMOCRACY OR

SCIENCE OR MEDICINE OR
LAW OR ARCHITECTURE.

YOU KNOW, THE LIST
GOES ON AND ON AND ON,

BUT IT GOES DEEPER.

I THINK THE REAL
CONTRIBUTION OF THE GREEKS

IS THE BELIEF IN HUMANITY.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUSE].

♪♪

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