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-While the western world lived under

-a cloud of ignorance and cruelty...

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-..people living here

-were assuming power.

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-People who would build

-cities of marble...

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-..and worship their gods

-in high places within them.

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-These people loved wisdom.

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-Their philosophers would ask

-questions about heaven and earth...

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-..their astronomers

-would map the sky...

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-..and their mathematicians

-would measure the planet.

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-They would create such amazing art,

-drama and architecture...

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-..that the Romans would copy them.

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-Their general, Alexander...

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-..would create the greatest empire

-the world had ever seen.

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-They established democracy

-and Europe's first civilisation.

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-They were the Greeks.

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-It's 2000 BC.

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-The Greek mainland is being overrun

-by foreign barbarians.

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-Civilisations don't grow

-under such conditions.

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-To tell the story of the Greeks

-and their gods...

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-..we must go to the place

-where it all began.

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-Egypt, Sumeria and Mesopotamia

-were already old...

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-..when Europe's

-first advanced civilisation...

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-..flourished on the island of Crete.

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-These people were known as Minoans.

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-In an ideal place

-in the Mediterranean...

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-..they grew strong and wealthy.

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-The secret of their success lay

-hidden in the shelter of the hills.

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-Grain, wood and olives to be traded

-for gold, ivory and precious stones.

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-But what about their gods?

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-From the earliest times, they had

-worshipped the earth goddess...

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-..who blessed their land

-and made it fertile.

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-When a sky god arrived...

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-..with immigrants

-from south east Asia...

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-..the Minoans responded with

-a marriage between earth and sky.

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-Uniting the kingdoms of heaven and

-earth would produce two families...

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-..the gods above

-and mortals below.

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-The gods gave form and meaning

-to the mysteries of creation...

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-..and the mortals paid their dues

-through worship.

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-This union between

-heaven and earth...

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-..gave rise to religious art

-and architecture.

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-Knossos was the jewel in the crown.

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-The palace at Knossos was a hive

-of activity with its 1,500 rooms...

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-..on a five-acre site.

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-There were workshops, kitchens

-and storerooms filled with jars.

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-It had terracotta plumbing...

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-..and two floors of rooms,

-and underground tunnels.

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-Religious processions of past ages

-have been recorded in frescoes...

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-..painted upon wet plaster.

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-Decorative stone staircases...

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-..connect the common folk's rooms

-to those of the king.

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-The focus of power - this alabaster

-throne - still remains here.

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-On each side

-are benches for counsellors...

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-..guarded by harmless griffins.

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-In the queen's chamber,

-dolphins cavort all over the walls.

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-But the bull-leapers are Knossos's

-most famous works of art.

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-It was a popular entertainment

-of the time.

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-Bulls were sacred to the Minoans,

-symbolising the power of the gods.

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-But it was all destroyed.

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-In 1650 BC, the nearby island

-of Thera - or Santorini - erupted...

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-..engulfing Crete

-in a shower of volcanic ash.

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-200 years later, Crete itself

-was hit by an earthquake.

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-By now, Minoan art, religion

-and architecture...

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-..had retreated towards Greece -

-and towards glory.

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-It was popularly believed...

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-..that the family of Greek gods

-was expanding...

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-..and fighting among themselves.

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-The battles above

-were reflected down on earth.

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-City states competed for power.

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-But they united when a common enemy

-- the Persians - appeared.

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-In the midst of the Persian crisis,

-Pericles came to power.

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-He insisted that the cities

-work together for their cause.

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-Persia was defeated,

-and Athens came to rule Greece.

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-The Acropolis was

-its jewel in the crown.

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-This was the beginning

-of the golden age.

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-Acropolis means 'high'.

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-And high denotes the sacred.

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-It was a shelter against attack...

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-..close to farms but far

-from the sea with its pirates.

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-The gods, according to myth,

-resided on Mount Olympus.

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-Their statues were kept

-and worshipped here.

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-But which god did

-the people of Athens worship?

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-Naturally, there were arguments.

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-The god Poseidon created a spring

-of salt water on the Acropolis.

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-But the goddess Athena planted

-an olive tree...

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-..and she received

-the people's support.

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-This is a descendant of the tree...

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-..that was worshipped

-by generations of Athenians.

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-Poseidon's consolation prize

-was the Erechtheion...

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-..an architectural masterpiece

-built in 420 BC.

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-Six Ionic columns

-still stand on its northern side.

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-Scrolls adorn the top,

-and pearls decorate the abacus.

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-Facing south is a rare

-and imaginative feature.

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-These figures

-are known as Caryatids.

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-The six handmaidens

-support the portico.

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-Unlike the temples of Christians,

-Muslims and Jews...

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-..Greek temples were the homes

-of gods, not places of worship.

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-This is the stunning home of Athena,

-the city's patron goddess.

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-The Parthenon

-is the Acropolis's pinnacle.

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-It looks like a natural extension

-of the hillside.

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-It was built of marble

-in the Doric style.

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-Inside it was a huge statue

-of Athena.

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-The gold and ivory statue

-cost more than the building itself.

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-The Athenians

-never forgot the Persians.

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-Plaques on the temple...

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-..show scenes depicting the triumph

-of good over evil...

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-..civilisation over barbarity.

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-Some of them have survived

-2,500 years.

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-The Acropolis was a high city...

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-..intended to be a glorious,

-eternal home for the gods.

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-But what about the mortals

-who built it?

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-The Kerameikos cemetery...

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-..was a resting place for the

-Athenian elite for over 2,000 years.

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-Some of the tombs

-portray the heroism of martyrs.

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-Others show the pain

-of the bereaved.

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-Some recall the powerful symbols

-of the old days.

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-But where did the dead go?

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-Did they cross the River Styx in

-the underworld, on Charon's boat?

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-And what awaited them after that?

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-Paradise, punishment...

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-..or what one writer

-called eternal misery?

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-888

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-Zeus - god of the sky - released

-two eagles in different directions.

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-Where they met

-would be the earth's centre.

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-And, here it is, in Delphi, marked

-by this stone omphalos or navel.

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-Delphi, like the Vatican

-in the Middle Ages...

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-..wielded enormous power.

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-The temple of Apollo -

-the most famous altar in Greece...

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-..was built in the form of terraces.

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-It had colonnades, meeting rooms,

-and a stadium.

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-Apollo had killed the Python...

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-..a huge serpent

-which had attacked his mother...

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-..and the Pythian Games were held

-here in his honour every four years.

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-It was a religious festival...

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-..which included sports, music

-and drama competitions.

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-The festival could be compared

-with the Olympic Games.

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-What about the afterlife?

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-For the Greeks,

-the afterlife was a vague concept.

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-They concentrated more on this life.

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-The desire for information

-about the future...

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-..attracted kings and common people

-on pilgrimages to the omphalos.

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-Delphi and its priesthood

-flourished.

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-The pilgrims gave generous offerings.

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-They placed over 3,000 statues

-and treasure houses...

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-..along the sacred way,

-to show their gratitude.

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-Only one treasure house remains.

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-It commemorates

-the Greeks' gratitude...

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-..for their victory at Marathon.

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-Apollo was worshipped as the god

-of light, harmony and order.

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-He also had the gift of prophecy.

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-Apollo answered questions

-through his priestess - the Oracle.

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-She sat on a three-legged stool

-above a volcanic vent in the ground.

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-Her mumbled, incomprehensible

-answers were interpreted by priests.

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-The Oracle's answer...

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-..was always interpreted in a manner

-that was advantageous to Delphi.

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-Only Delphi could bestow

-its blessing on new colonies.

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-It did so - for a price.

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-Delphi had a network of spies

-who gave the priests information...

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-..as they bargained for power

-with political leaders.

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-When the united state

-was threatened by the Persians...

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-..the Greeks, led by their leader,

-Pericles...

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-..came to ask a question.

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-But the Oracle made a mistake.

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-A mistake... a mistake... a mistake.

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-The Greeks wanted to know

-if they should resist the Persians.

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-"No," said the Oracle...

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-..hoping, apparently, that Delphi

-would become the Greek capital...

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-..if the Persians gained power.

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-But Pericles ignored the Oracle.

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-He went on to defeat the Persians...

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-..and that Greek victory was the

-beginning of the end for Delphi.

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-As Delphi declined in the

-third century BC, Greece expanded.

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-As they sailed to the colonies...

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-..trireme ships carried with them

-Greek gods, art and architecture...

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-..and the same old question -

-what about the afterlife?

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-Colonists are always tempted to

-recreate the place they have left.

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-Certainly, Paestum in southern Italy

-is like a part of Greece.

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-A temple was built to Poseidon,

-god of the sea, in 450 BC.

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-Doric architecture,

-the most popular Greek style...

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-..is recreated here in these thick

-columns topped with plain capitals.

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-But local limestone

-has been used instead of marble.

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-Built next to it,

-within 100 years in age...

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-..the basilica

-also conforms to an old design.

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-But unusually, it has nine columns

-on the shorter side...

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-..and fourteen on the longer side.

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-The most important member

-of the pantheon in Paestum...

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-..was Hera, Zeus's jealous wife,

-goddess of motherhood and fertility.

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-Other gods have been represented

-on pottery and in sculpture.

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-This is a small statue of Demeter...

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-..goddess of the harvest and

-fertility, holding a bowl of fruit.

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-A brightly-decorated amphora depicts

-Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty...

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-..rising gracefully

-from the foam of the sea.

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-For the Greeks,

-Paestum was a home from home.

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-On June 3, 1968,

-the archaeologist Marco Napoli...

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-..discovered something new

-and exciting.

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-At first sight

-it seemed like an ordinary tomb.

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-But it contained the oldest

-and best examples of Greek murals.

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-Five slabs of travertine stone

-covered in white stucco...

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-..and painted with bright colours.

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-The paintings show a symposium -

-a party and drinks after dinner...

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-..attended only by men.

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-These usually included

-singing and poetry...

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-..and a game of kottabos, where

-wine dregs were thrown at a target.

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-These scenes speak more of this life

-than the next.

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-But there's a picture of

-a dead young man - the Diver...

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-..on the tomb lid.

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-His muscular, toned body

-has a reddish tint.

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-It's an idealised figure,

-in the tradition of Greek sculpture.

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-Some experts believe this is

-more than just a work of art.

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-They believe the platform symbolises

-the Pillars of Hercules...

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-..which marked the end of the world.

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-The Diver dives to his death,

-knowing he will be reborn.

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-The philosopher Pythagoras...

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-..had already advanced the concept

-of reincarnation in Greece.

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-The other pictures...

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-..are an elegy to the end of life

-and its pleasures.

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-But the Diver

-seems to be diving joyfully...

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-..full of hope for the afterlife.

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-The small ripple caused

-by the Diver in Paestum...

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-..was a powerful wave

-by the time it reached Athens.

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-Athens had become

-a kingdom of intellect.

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-Plato preached the doctrine

-of specific virtues...

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-..transferring the emphasis

-from god to virtue.

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-Aristarchus announced that

-the earth circles around the sun.

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-The plays of Sophocles...

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-..expressed doubts

-about the justice of the gods.

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-Aristotle and others

-placed reason above mystery.

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-Camus, the writer, wrote

-that once man begins to think...

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-..he begins to be undermined.

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-That's what happened to Olympus,

-the mountain of the gods.

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-It was dismantled, one myth

-at a time, by questions.

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-Where did the Greek gods go?

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-The high city, home of the gods,

-knows their fate.

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-The Acropolis, and Greece, were

-seized by the Romans in 147 BC.

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-And the gods?

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-They changed their names

-to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva...

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-..and they were taken to Rome

-as spoils of war.

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-The lofty, sacred Acropolis

-would be disregarded...

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-..and new temples

-would usurp the old ones.

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-The church of St George was

-consecrated to the new Roman god...

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-..Jesus of Nazareth.

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-Christianity would replace

-the old Greek gods...

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-..and answer the question

-regarding the afterlife.

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-But the gods of the Mount of Olives

-would be remembered for ever...

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-..in Greek art, architecture,

-sculpture and drama...

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-..the living heritage

-of the lost gods.

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-S4C subtitles by TROSOL Cyf.

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