Y Groegiaid Duwiau Coll

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-While the western world lived under

-a cloud of ignorance and cruelty...

-..people living here

-were assuming power.

-People who would build

-cities of marble...

-..and worship their gods

-in high places within them.

-These people loved wisdom.

-Their philosophers would ask

-questions about heaven and earth...

-..their astronomers

-would map the sky...

-..and their mathematicians

-would measure the planet.

-They would create such amazing art,

-drama and architecture...

-..that the Romans would copy them.

-Their general, Alexander...

-..would create the greatest empire

-the world had ever seen.

-They established democracy

-and Europe's first civilisation.

-They were the Greeks.

-It's 2000 BC.

-The Greek mainland is being overrun

-by foreign barbarians.

-Civilisations don't grow

-under such conditions.

-To tell the story of the Greeks

-and their gods...

-..we must go to the place

-where it all began.

-Egypt, Sumeria and Mesopotamia

-were already old...

-..when Europe's

-first advanced civilisation...

-..flourished on the island of Crete.

-These people were known as Minoans.

-In an ideal place

-in the Mediterranean...

-..they grew strong and wealthy.

-The secret of their success lay

-hidden in the shelter of the hills.

-Grain, wood and olives to be traded

-for gold, ivory and precious stones.

-But what about their gods?

-From the earliest times, they had

-worshipped the earth goddess...

-..who blessed their land

-and made it fertile.

-When a sky god arrived...

-..with immigrants

-from south east Asia...

-..the Minoans responded with

-a marriage between earth and sky.

-Uniting the kingdoms of heaven and

-earth would produce two families...

-..the gods above

-and mortals below.

-The gods gave form and meaning

-to the mysteries of creation...

-..and the mortals paid their dues

-through worship.

-This union between

-heaven and earth...

-..gave rise to religious art

-and architecture.

-Knossos was the jewel in the crown.

-The palace at Knossos was a hive

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

-..on a five-acre site.

-There were workshops, kitchens

-and storerooms filled with jars.

-It had terracotta plumbing...

-..and two floors of rooms,

-and underground tunnels.

-Religious processions of past ages

-have been recorded in frescoes...

-..painted upon wet plaster.

-Decorative stone staircases...

-..connect the common folk's rooms

-to those of the king.

-The focus of power - this alabaster

-throne - still remains here.

-On each side

-are benches for counsellors...

-..guarded by harmless griffins.

-In the queen's chamber,

-dolphins cavort all over the walls.

-But the bull-leapers are Knossos's

-most famous works of art.

-It was a popular entertainment

-of the time.

-Bulls were sacred to the Minoans,

-symbolising the power of the gods.

-But it was all destroyed.

-In 1650 BC, the nearby island

-of Thera - or Santorini - erupted...

-..engulfing Crete

-in a shower of volcanic ash.

-200 years later, Crete itself

-was hit by an earthquake.

-By now, Minoan art, religion

-and architecture...

-..had retreated towards Greece -

-and towards glory.

-It was popularly believed...

-..that the family of Greek gods

-was expanding...

-..and fighting among themselves.

-The battles above

-were reflected down on earth.

-City states competed for power.

-But they united when a common enemy

-- the Persians - appeared.

-In the midst of the Persian crisis,

-Pericles came to power.

-He insisted that the cities

-work together for their cause.

-Persia was defeated,

-and Athens came to rule Greece.

-The Acropolis was

-its jewel in the crown.

-This was the beginning

-of the golden age.

-Acropolis means 'high'.

-And high denotes the sacred.

-It was a shelter against attack...

-..close to farms but far

-from the sea with its pirates.

-The gods, according to myth,

-resided on Mount Olympus.

-Their statues were kept

-and worshipped here.

-But which god did

-the people of Athens worship?

-Naturally, there were arguments.

-The god Poseidon created a spring

-of salt water on the Acropolis.

-But the goddess Athena planted

-an olive tree...

-..and she received

-the people's support.

-This is a descendant of the tree...

-..that was worshipped

-by generations of Athenians.

-Poseidon's consolation prize

-was the Erechtheion...

-..an architectural masterpiece

-built in 420 BC.

-Six Ionic columns

-still stand on its northern side.

-Scrolls adorn the top,

-and pearls decorate the abacus.

-Facing south is a rare

-and imaginative feature.

-These figures

-are known as Caryatids.

-The six handmaidens

-support the portico.

-Unlike the temples of Christians,

-Muslims and Jews...

-..Greek temples were the homes

-of gods, not places of worship.

-This is the stunning home of Athena,

-the city's patron goddess.

-The Parthenon

-is the Acropolis's pinnacle.

-It looks like a natural extension

-of the hillside.

-It was built of marble

-in the Doric style.

-Inside it was a huge statue

-of Athena.

-The gold and ivory statue

-cost more than the building itself.

-The Athenians

-never forgot the Persians.

-Plaques on the temple...

-..show scenes depicting the triumph

-of good over evil...

-..civilisation over barbarity.

-Some of them have survived

-2,500 years.

-The Acropolis was a high city...

-..intended to be a glorious,

-eternal home for the gods.

-But what about the mortals

-who built it?

-The Kerameikos cemetery...

-..was a resting place for the

-Athenian elite for over 2,000 years.

-Some of the tombs

-portray the heroism of martyrs.

-Others show the pain

-of the bereaved.

-Some recall the powerful symbols

-of the old days.

-But where did the dead go?

-Did they cross the River Styx in

-the underworld, on Charon's boat?

-And what awaited them after that?

-Paradise, punishment...

-..or what one writer

-called eternal misery?

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-Zeus - god of the sky - released

-two eagles in different directions.

-Where they met

-would be the earth's centre.

-And, here it is, in Delphi, marked

-by this stone omphalos or navel.

-Delphi, like the Vatican

-in the Middle Ages...

-..wielded enormous power.

-The temple of Apollo -

-the most famous altar in Greece...

-..was built in the form of terraces.

-It had colonnades, meeting rooms,

-and a stadium.

-Apollo had killed the Python...

-..a huge serpent

-which had attacked his mother...

-..and the Pythian Games were held

-here in his honour every four years.

-It was a religious festival...

-..which included sports, music

-and drama competitions.

-The festival could be compared

-with the Olympic Games.

-What about the afterlife?

-For the Greeks,

-the afterlife was a vague concept.

-They concentrated more on this life.

-The desire for information

-about the future...

-..attracted kings and common people

-on pilgrimages to the omphalos.

-Delphi and its priesthood

-flourished.

-The pilgrims gave generous offerings.

-They placed over 3,000 statues

-and treasure houses...

-..along the sacred way,

-to show their gratitude.

-Only one treasure house remains.

-It commemorates

-the Greeks' gratitude...

-..for their victory at Marathon.

-Apollo was worshipped as the god

-of light, harmony and order.

-He also had the gift of prophecy.

-Apollo answered questions

-through his priestess - the Oracle.

-She sat on a three-legged stool

-above a volcanic vent in the ground.

-Her mumbled, incomprehensible

-answers were interpreted by priests.

-The Oracle's answer...

-..was always interpreted in a manner

-that was advantageous to Delphi.

-Only Delphi could bestow

-its blessing on new colonies.

-It did so - for a price.

-Delphi had a network of spies

-who gave the priests information...

-..as they bargained for power

-with political leaders.

-When the united state

-was threatened by the Persians...

-..the Greeks, led by their leader,

-Pericles...

-..came to ask a question.

-But the Oracle made a mistake.

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

-The Greeks wanted to know

-if they should resist the Persians.

-"No," said the Oracle...

-..hoping, apparently, that Delphi

-would become the Greek capital...

-..if the Persians gained power.

-But Pericles ignored the Oracle.

-He went on to defeat the Persians...

-..and that Greek victory was the

-beginning of the end for Delphi.

-As Delphi declined in the

-third century BC, Greece expanded.

-As they sailed to the colonies...

-..trireme ships carried with them

-Greek gods, art and architecture...

-..and the same old question -

-what about the afterlife?

-Colonists are always tempted to

-recreate the place they have left.

-Certainly, Paestum in southern Italy

-is like a part of Greece.

-A temple was built to Poseidon,

-god of the sea, in 450 BC.

-Doric architecture,

-the most popular Greek style...

-..is recreated here in these thick

-columns topped with plain capitals.

-But local limestone

-has been used instead of marble.

-Built next to it,

-within 100 years in age...

-..the basilica

-also conforms to an old design.

-But unusually, it has nine columns

-on the shorter side...

-..and fourteen on the longer side.

-The most important member

-of the pantheon in Paestum...

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

-goddess of motherhood and fertility.

-Other gods have been represented

-on pottery and in sculpture.

-This is a small statue of Demeter...

-..goddess of the harvest and

-fertility, holding a bowl of fruit.

-A brightly-decorated amphora depicts

-Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty...

-..rising gracefully

-from the foam of the sea.

-For the Greeks,

-Paestum was a home from home.

-On June 3, 1968,

-the archaeologist Marco Napoli...

-..discovered something new

-and exciting.

-At first sight

-it seemed like an ordinary tomb.

-But it contained the oldest

-and best examples of Greek murals.

-Five slabs of travertine stone

-covered in white stucco...

-..and painted with bright colours.

-The paintings show a symposium -

-a party and drinks after dinner...

-..attended only by men.

-These usually included

-singing and poetry...

-..and a game of kottabos, where

-wine dregs were thrown at a target.

-These scenes speak more of this life

-than the next.

-But there's a picture of

-a dead young man - the Diver...

-..on the tomb lid.

-His muscular, toned body

-has a reddish tint.

-It's an idealised figure,

-in the tradition of Greek sculpture.

-Some experts believe this is

-more than just a work of art.

-They believe the platform symbolises

-the Pillars of Hercules...

-..which marked the end of the world.

-The Diver dives to his death,

-knowing he will be reborn.

-The philosopher Pythagoras...

-..had already advanced the concept

-of reincarnation in Greece.

-The other pictures...

-..are an elegy to the end of life

-and its pleasures.

-But the Diver

-seems to be diving joyfully...

-..full of hope for the afterlife.

-The small ripple caused

-by the Diver in Paestum...

-..was a powerful wave

-by the time it reached Athens.

-Athens had become

-a kingdom of intellect.

-Plato preached the doctrine

-of specific virtues...

-..transferring the emphasis

-from god to virtue.

-Aristarchus announced that

-the earth circles around the sun.

-The plays of Sophocles...

-..expressed doubts

-about the justice of the gods.

-Aristotle and others

-placed reason above mystery.

-Camus, the writer, wrote

-that once man begins to think...

-..he begins to be undermined.

-That's what happened to Olympus,

-the mountain of the gods.

-It was dismantled, one myth

-at a time, by questions.

-Where did the Greek gods go?

-The high city, home of the gods,

-knows their fate.

-The Acropolis, and Greece, were

-seized by the Romans in 147 BC.

-And the gods?

-They changed their names

-to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva...

-..and they were taken to Rome

-as spoils of war.

-The lofty, sacred Acropolis

-would be disregarded...

-..and new temples

-would usurp the old ones.

-The church of St George was

-consecrated to the new Roman god...

-..Jesus of Nazareth.

-Christianity would replace

-the old Greek gods...

-..and answer the question

-regarding the afterlife.

-But the gods of the Mount of Olives

-would be remembered for ever...

-..in Greek art, architecture,

-sculpture and drama...

-..the living heritage

-of the lost gods.

-S4C subtitles by TROSOL Cyf.