Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:03,141 --> 00:00:07,301
DR MICHAEL SCOTT: The world's
ancient cities still contain
2
00:00:07,341 --> 00:00:11,781
many surprises and treasures
hidden from view for centuries.
3
00:00:11,821 --> 00:00:14,341
Now, with the latest
scanning technology,
4
00:00:14,381 --> 00:00:18,501
I'm revealing the secrets of three of
the most fascinating cities on Earth.
5
00:00:18,541 --> 00:00:23,141
Cairo, the gateway to ancient Egypt.
6
00:00:23,181 --> 00:00:28,021
Istanbul, the crossroads
between Europe and Asia.
7
00:00:28,061 --> 00:00:33,341
And in this programme, Athens,
the birthplace of democracy.
8
00:00:36,181 --> 00:00:40,741
Today, Greater Athens is home
to almost four million people.
9
00:00:40,781 --> 00:00:45,141
It's a city that has exploded with life
over the past century
10
00:00:45,181 --> 00:00:48,181
and, as a result,
ancient sites and monuments
11
00:00:48,221 --> 00:00:51,821
sit cheek by jowl with modern architecture
and urban renewal.
12
00:00:51,861 --> 00:00:57,381
It's an intoxicating mix of ancient
and modern clashing together.
13
00:00:57,421 --> 00:01:01,941
The temples of ancient Athens
dominate the city skyline,
14
00:01:01,981 --> 00:01:05,581
but I'm also exploring its hidden secrets,
15
00:01:05,621 --> 00:01:08,781
buried deep beneath the modern streets.
16
00:01:08,821 --> 00:01:10,341
I thought I knew Athens,
17
00:01:10,381 --> 00:01:13,061
but I've never been in a place
quite like this.
18
00:01:13,101 --> 00:01:16,301
I'll be working with
our 3-D scanning team...
19
00:01:16,341 --> 00:01:17,941
We're going to be scanning
the edges of the water
20
00:01:17,981 --> 00:01:19,061
so we're going to take to the air.
21
00:01:19,101 --> 00:01:22,981
...to reveal the secrets
of Athens' ancient past...
22
00:01:24,421 --> 00:01:26,661
...and to explore
its brilliant golden age.
23
00:01:28,781 --> 00:01:31,461
In which the citizens
of Athens created an idea
24
00:01:31,501 --> 00:01:35,061
that we still cherish
over 2,500 years later.
25
00:01:35,101 --> 00:01:36,741
Democracy.
26
00:01:36,781 --> 00:01:41,221
I'll be exploring ancient silver mines...
27
00:01:41,261 --> 00:01:42,661
What a world.
28
00:01:42,701 --> 00:01:44,221
- Whoa!
- Whoa!
29
00:01:44,261 --> 00:01:47,821
...and using virtual reality
to discover this amazing city
30
00:01:47,861 --> 00:01:49,541
in a whole new way.
31
00:01:49,581 --> 00:01:52,581
You wonder what they've been staring at
for the past 2,500 years.
32
00:01:53,901 --> 00:01:59,421
Athens is a city with layer after layer
of history and mythology.
33
00:02:00,981 --> 00:02:04,661
The ancients knew this place
as the City of the Gods.
34
00:02:04,701 --> 00:02:07,461
Welcome to Invisible Athens.
35
00:02:29,621 --> 00:02:34,301
The Acropolis - a sacred hill
in the centre of Athens.
36
00:02:38,861 --> 00:02:43,581
5,000 years ago,
its cliffs offered protection
37
00:02:43,621 --> 00:02:45,621
to Bronze Age settlers,
38
00:02:45,661 --> 00:02:47,741
and in the centuries that followed,
39
00:02:47,781 --> 00:02:49,821
the city grew up around it.
40
00:02:53,781 --> 00:02:56,981
At the end of the sixth century BC,
41
00:02:57,021 --> 00:02:59,701
a remarkable event took place here.
42
00:03:02,941 --> 00:03:07,581
The people of Athens
overthrew a tyrant on this hillside
43
00:03:07,621 --> 00:03:11,301
and started to create
the world's first democracy.
44
00:03:12,781 --> 00:03:16,941
In the golden era that followed,
the Athenians built
45
00:03:16,981 --> 00:03:19,421
the beautiful monuments
that sit here today.
46
00:03:21,141 --> 00:03:25,421
I'm walking through the Propylaea,
the ancient gateway to the Acropolis.
47
00:03:25,461 --> 00:03:28,421
It was designed to funnel your vision down
48
00:03:28,461 --> 00:03:31,941
until it exploded out again
49
00:03:31,981 --> 00:03:36,221
to reveal one of the most important
buildings in human history.
50
00:03:46,181 --> 00:03:47,661
The Parthenon.
51
00:03:47,701 --> 00:03:50,701
It was built to honour the goddess Athena,
52
00:03:50,741 --> 00:03:56,901
and on first impressions, this beautiful
temple is a model of order and symmetry.
53
00:03:57,981 --> 00:04:01,821
But when you look closer,
it becomes even more impressive.
54
00:04:01,861 --> 00:04:06,981
And that's because there's barely
a straight vertical line on it.
55
00:04:10,421 --> 00:04:13,501
Each of its 46 columns curves out
56
00:04:13,541 --> 00:04:17,461
and then tapers almost imperceptibly
inwards as it rises.
57
00:04:18,701 --> 00:04:22,261
This architectural trick
is what gives the Parthenon
58
00:04:22,301 --> 00:04:25,021
its grace and power...
59
00:04:26,581 --> 00:04:30,821
...and creates the illusion of a temple
always reaching for the heavens.
60
00:04:33,461 --> 00:04:36,541
It's not just the beauty of this building
that strikes you.
61
00:04:36,581 --> 00:04:41,341
It's the powerful message and purpose
that it was intended to convey.
62
00:04:41,381 --> 00:04:44,501
It's civilisation versus barbarism,
63
00:04:44,541 --> 00:04:48,101
with this building
and the city that it's at the centre of
64
00:04:48,141 --> 00:04:52,101
as the beating heart of civilisation.
65
00:04:56,421 --> 00:05:02,101
Sitting in the shadow of the Parthenon
is another, smaller temple.
66
00:05:02,141 --> 00:05:05,901
It's often overlooked,
but it's no less significant,
67
00:05:05,941 --> 00:05:07,221
and we're going to find out
68
00:05:07,261 --> 00:05:11,221
why this is one of the most important
buildings of ancient Athens.
69
00:05:14,581 --> 00:05:17,101
The Parthenon is
renowned for its symmetry,
70
00:05:17,141 --> 00:05:20,581
but the same cannot be said
of its eccentric little brother
71
00:05:20,621 --> 00:05:21,821
just across the way.
72
00:05:21,861 --> 00:05:26,021
This is the Erechtheion today, but in
ancient times it was simply known as
73
00:05:26,061 --> 00:05:29,181
"the building in which
the statue of Athena is".
74
00:05:29,221 --> 00:05:34,621
But it's also the most asymmetrical
building in ancient Greece.
75
00:05:39,941 --> 00:05:44,021
It's all different bits of architecture
that have sort of been higgledy-piggledy
76
00:05:44,061 --> 00:05:48,061
smashed together
in all sorts of weird ways.
77
00:05:51,981 --> 00:05:57,781
And so the question is, why did they
design a building to look like this?
78
00:06:01,821 --> 00:06:05,421
Our 3-D scanners
are going to try to make sense
79
00:06:05,461 --> 00:06:08,261
of this intriguing temple.
80
00:06:08,301 --> 00:06:11,421
The team is led by architect Matt Shaw.
81
00:06:12,901 --> 00:06:16,661
So, Matt, we've got
this uniquely asymmetrical building.
82
00:06:16,701 --> 00:06:18,981
How are we going to tackle that
with the 3-D laser scanning?
83
00:06:19,021 --> 00:06:22,181
Well, you have this complete clarity
over there with the Parthenon
84
00:06:22,221 --> 00:06:25,661
and here, you're right, this complexity
and almost this confusion,
85
00:06:25,701 --> 00:06:30,021
so the first thing for us to do
is just to map it really well,
86
00:06:30,061 --> 00:06:34,021
to understand the geometry
of the Acropolis site itself,
87
00:06:34,061 --> 00:06:38,261
and then we'll see exactly how the
Erechtheion is embedded into that site.
88
00:06:39,621 --> 00:06:43,341
To reveal more about
the Erechtheion's setting,
89
00:06:43,381 --> 00:06:47,981
Matt and his team are going to create
a 3-D model of the whole Acropolis.
90
00:06:49,021 --> 00:06:52,021
Using thousands of aerial photographs
91
00:06:52,061 --> 00:06:55,501
and a digital process
called photogrammetry,
92
00:06:55,541 --> 00:06:57,941
they'll be trying to reveal
why the Athenians
93
00:06:57,981 --> 00:07:01,341
designed the Erechtheion in this way.
94
00:07:03,221 --> 00:07:06,341
And while they get to work,
I'm going to take a closer look.
95
00:07:08,741 --> 00:07:11,861
The temple gets its name
from Erechtheus,
96
00:07:11,901 --> 00:07:14,501
a mythical king of Athens.
97
00:07:14,541 --> 00:07:19,021
He's said to have been killed here
by a thunderbolt thrown by Zeus,
98
00:07:19,061 --> 00:07:20,621
king of the gods.
99
00:07:23,781 --> 00:07:27,541
This confusing building
becomes even more confusing
100
00:07:27,581 --> 00:07:32,021
when we realise that the ancient Greeks
purposefully left a hole in the roof
101
00:07:32,061 --> 00:07:33,941
and a hole in the floor.
102
00:07:33,981 --> 00:07:36,461
The mythical explanation for this
103
00:07:36,501 --> 00:07:40,861
is this was the point where Zeus's
thunderbolt came from the sky
104
00:07:40,901 --> 00:07:43,021
and killed Erechtheus.
105
00:07:45,981 --> 00:07:50,581
But the connection with Greece's
ancient myths doesn't end there.
106
00:07:50,621 --> 00:07:54,341
This temple also stands
over one of the crucial spots
107
00:07:54,381 --> 00:07:56,381
in Athenian mythology -
108
00:07:56,421 --> 00:08:00,781
the contest between the gods
to be the patron deity of the city.
109
00:08:02,061 --> 00:08:06,541
Poseidon, the god of the sea,
and Athena, the goddess of wisdom,
110
00:08:06,581 --> 00:08:09,701
had to pit their powers
against each other.
111
00:08:11,701 --> 00:08:15,941
Poseidon supposedly struck
down into rocks
112
00:08:15,981 --> 00:08:18,461
with his trident.
113
00:08:18,501 --> 00:08:22,461
And he produced sea water
out of nowhere.
114
00:08:25,501 --> 00:08:31,221
Not to be outdone, Athena planted
an olive tree near the same spot,
115
00:08:31,261 --> 00:08:34,141
and the Athenian king
who was judging the competition
116
00:08:34,181 --> 00:08:37,181
thought that an olive tree would be
more useful to the Athenians
117
00:08:37,221 --> 00:08:40,381
than sea water,
and so declared her the victor.
118
00:08:42,141 --> 00:08:46,621
From that moment on, Athena
would be the patron deity of Athens.
119
00:08:48,381 --> 00:08:51,901
Today, an olive tree planted in 1917
120
00:08:51,941 --> 00:08:55,341
marks the spot where
Athena's olive tree once stood.
121
00:08:58,221 --> 00:09:02,261
Jutting out of another side
of the building is a porch
122
00:09:02,301 --> 00:09:07,861
supported by columns in the form of
six maidens, known as the Caryatids.
123
00:09:09,261 --> 00:09:14,541
This porch, too, was built
over more sacred royal ground.
124
00:09:14,581 --> 00:09:18,821
We're so used to thinking
of the maidens acting as columns,
125
00:09:18,861 --> 00:09:22,621
but actually they were guardians
of something far more important.
126
00:09:22,661 --> 00:09:27,221
Deep beneath their feet,
deep down in that corner,
127
00:09:27,261 --> 00:09:31,501
the grave, the mythical grave of the
founding king of Athens, Cecrops.
128
00:09:31,541 --> 00:09:36,461
And so these maidens are doing far more
than just holding up the roof above them.
129
00:09:36,501 --> 00:09:38,941
They're there in eternity,
130
00:09:38,981 --> 00:09:43,061
pouring offerings
to this legendary hero.
131
00:09:45,181 --> 00:09:47,341
These buildings on the Acropolis
132
00:09:47,381 --> 00:09:53,061
have become enduring symbols of the city
that gave the world democracy.
133
00:09:54,461 --> 00:09:59,541
But to Athenians, these were
sacred places for religious worship.
134
00:10:02,461 --> 00:10:06,501
The political heart of their city
lies elsewhere.
135
00:10:11,741 --> 00:10:16,301
Sitting just below the Acropolis
is a hill called the Pnyx,
136
00:10:16,341 --> 00:10:19,581
and it's my favourite place in Athens.
137
00:10:19,621 --> 00:10:24,301
Athenian citizens assembled
on this hillside to hear speeches
138
00:10:24,341 --> 00:10:28,741
and cast their votes,
and if anywhere can lay claim to being
139
00:10:28,781 --> 00:10:33,461
the world's first democratic
meeting place, then this is it.
140
00:10:36,861 --> 00:10:39,981
But this wasn't democracy
as we know it.
141
00:10:41,541 --> 00:10:45,781
Only Athenian men
were classed as citizens.
142
00:10:45,821 --> 00:10:52,381
There were no votes for women,
nor for Athens' vast workforce of slaves.
143
00:10:54,101 --> 00:10:58,061
But while we wouldn't recognise
Athenian democracy as democracy,
144
00:10:58,101 --> 00:11:02,261
they also wouldn't recognise our system
as democracy,
145
00:11:02,301 --> 00:11:05,701
because we don't each individually
get up and vote on every issue
146
00:11:05,741 --> 00:11:09,821
as the Athenians did,
and it was on the Pnyx
147
00:11:09,861 --> 00:11:14,341
that the very essence of their political
system was put into operation -
148
00:11:14,381 --> 00:11:18,501
a direct vote by every citizen
on every issue.
149
00:11:21,781 --> 00:11:25,941
Our scan team will be helping to reveal
the story of the ancient city
150
00:11:25,981 --> 00:11:30,101
that lies beneath the surface
of modern Athens.
151
00:11:33,781 --> 00:11:38,021
And now they're ready to show me
the first scans of the Acropolis.
152
00:11:38,061 --> 00:11:40,661
I can't wait to see Athens
in all her glory,
153
00:11:40,701 --> 00:11:42,261
and particularly the Acropolis.
154
00:11:42,301 --> 00:11:44,741
Well, take a seat, and here we are.
155
00:11:48,461 --> 00:11:51,621
You can take this kind of helicopter ride
around the site here.
156
00:11:51,661 --> 00:11:55,421
MICHAEL: Yeah. And of course our eyes
are immediately attracted
157
00:11:55,461 --> 00:12:00,221
towards the Parthenon,
the glory piece of the Acropolis.
158
00:12:03,901 --> 00:12:08,061
And there it is - the eccentric
little brother of the Erechtheion,
159
00:12:08,101 --> 00:12:11,941
that kind of weirdly designed building
sitting next door.
160
00:12:11,981 --> 00:12:14,621
Let's take this model apart a little bit,
so we're going to...
161
00:12:14,661 --> 00:12:16,541
...we're going to take
the Erechtheion away
162
00:12:16,581 --> 00:12:19,021
and we'll just be left
with the foundations
163
00:12:19,061 --> 00:12:21,101
and the marks on the ground,
I guess.
164
00:12:22,741 --> 00:12:24,101
And here we are.
165
00:12:24,141 --> 00:12:26,981
We take ourselves back in time
to before that building was even there.
166
00:12:27,021 --> 00:12:31,421
What we're left with is this piece
of quite undulating terrain.
167
00:12:31,461 --> 00:12:33,261
This is not a flat site here.
168
00:12:33,301 --> 00:12:36,501
From the south side to the north side,
169
00:12:36,541 --> 00:12:39,701
you can see there's this big drop in
terrain here - this is over three metres,
170
00:12:39,741 --> 00:12:41,821
so the site is pretty constrained.
171
00:12:41,861 --> 00:12:44,381
So it's got...
It's got difficulties of terrain.
172
00:12:44,421 --> 00:12:48,821
What about also the pre-existing
sacred locations
173
00:12:48,861 --> 00:12:51,821
and places that we know
were littered around here?
174
00:12:51,861 --> 00:12:53,661
So the first of those
175
00:12:53,701 --> 00:12:58,341
is this strange little hole in the ground,
actually, here.
176
00:12:59,661 --> 00:13:03,261
Well, I mean the ancient sources
talk about it was Zeus's thunderbolt.
177
00:13:03,301 --> 00:13:06,301
There are moments in time
and there are specific locations
178
00:13:06,341 --> 00:13:09,901
that are really attached
to the ground itself.
179
00:13:09,941 --> 00:13:12,581
Let's take this little sacred
moment on the ground
180
00:13:12,621 --> 00:13:16,101
and let's bring in
some of the architecture.
181
00:13:16,141 --> 00:13:19,981
So we've just popped the North Porch on
in a matter of seconds,
182
00:13:20,021 --> 00:13:24,341
but we can see this hole in the ceiling
that is directly above,
183
00:13:24,381 --> 00:13:28,381
and it frames this patch of ground
with this sacred hole in the middle of it.
184
00:13:28,421 --> 00:13:31,701
It's how the Athenians
would have thought about
185
00:13:31,741 --> 00:13:36,541
what they were building, that it
was visible to the all-seeing gods.
186
00:13:36,581 --> 00:13:41,661
But there's something stopping them
extending the building.
187
00:13:43,101 --> 00:13:44,181
(LAUGHS)
188
00:13:44,221 --> 00:13:46,181
- It's the olive tree.
- It's the olive tree.
189
00:13:46,221 --> 00:13:47,541
What are you going to do about that?
190
00:13:47,581 --> 00:13:50,581
You can't move this olive tree,
supposedly Athena's olive tree.
191
00:13:50,621 --> 00:13:52,541
- You're going to have to work around it.
- Yeah.
192
00:13:52,581 --> 00:13:55,581
And I mean, we do this nowadays, right?
We have tree preservation orders.
193
00:13:55,621 --> 00:13:59,381
- "You're not touching this."
- "This tree's not going anywhere." No.
194
00:14:01,861 --> 00:14:05,741
If we take a sneaky peek
beyond Athena's olive tree,
195
00:14:05,781 --> 00:14:08,021
there's another sacred site.
196
00:14:08,061 --> 00:14:10,461
And so this is the Caryatid Porch,
isn't it,
197
00:14:10,501 --> 00:14:12,381
that's sitting over the top,
198
00:14:12,421 --> 00:14:14,581
we think, of the tomb of Cecrops.
199
00:14:14,621 --> 00:14:17,021
Again, the building has to respect it
200
00:14:17,061 --> 00:14:21,501
and it has to be commemorated in some way,
and marked.
201
00:14:21,541 --> 00:14:26,981
It's layers of history
and identity and construction.
202
00:14:27,021 --> 00:14:29,461
It's the constraints
of the landscape,
203
00:14:29,501 --> 00:14:32,501
but it's also the constraints
of the sacred places
204
00:14:32,541 --> 00:14:35,221
and objects they want to respect.
205
00:14:35,261 --> 00:14:38,461
A patch of ground
touched by the gods,
206
00:14:38,501 --> 00:14:43,101
an olive tree created by Athena,
207
00:14:43,141 --> 00:14:46,821
and the tomb of Athens' founding king.
208
00:14:46,861 --> 00:14:51,101
Three sacred spots
united around a central temple
209
00:14:51,141 --> 00:14:55,541
housing shrines and relics to Athena
and many other gods.
210
00:14:55,581 --> 00:14:58,661
So when you factor all of those things in,
211
00:14:58,701 --> 00:15:02,981
this building becomes an ingenious
solution to the problem.
212
00:15:04,261 --> 00:15:09,701
Looking at this building,
this little...this little gem here,
213
00:15:09,741 --> 00:15:14,421
no longer is it
the sort of eccentric little brother,
214
00:15:14,461 --> 00:15:19,061
it's actually the prime example
215
00:15:19,101 --> 00:15:21,381
of what the Athenians could achieve.
216
00:15:26,901 --> 00:15:30,421
(MERCHANTS SHOUT IN GREEK)
217
00:15:35,581 --> 00:15:39,261
Today, modern Athens
is a vivid and colourful city
218
00:15:39,301 --> 00:15:42,581
with a strong connection to the sea.
219
00:15:42,621 --> 00:15:45,101
It's the bustling capital of a democracy
220
00:15:45,141 --> 00:15:48,381
struggling to keep up with
its European neighbours.
221
00:15:50,541 --> 00:15:53,781
At the time of the first democracy,
222
00:15:53,821 --> 00:15:57,181
before the buildings
of the Acropolis rose up,
223
00:15:57,221 --> 00:16:01,701
Athens also had to fight
to secure its place in the world.
224
00:16:03,061 --> 00:16:09,821
In 490 BC, Athens was a Greek city state
surrounded by rivals.
225
00:16:11,701 --> 00:16:15,061
Places like Aegina, Corinth
226
00:16:15,101 --> 00:16:18,461
and the militaristic Sparta.
227
00:16:18,501 --> 00:16:22,101
The greatest threats of all, however,
lay to the east,
228
00:16:22,141 --> 00:16:26,421
where the Persian Empire
was growing in power and ambition.
229
00:16:31,581 --> 00:16:36,461
But Athens had one great advantage
over many of its rivals.
230
00:16:41,941 --> 00:16:46,461
The territory it controlled,
known as Attica,
231
00:16:46,501 --> 00:16:48,821
was rich in natural resources.
232
00:16:50,501 --> 00:16:53,781
And beneath these hills,
in the region of Laurion,
233
00:16:53,821 --> 00:16:55,781
lay extensive seams of silver.
234
00:16:58,421 --> 00:17:01,101
This was once an industrial landscape
235
00:17:01,141 --> 00:17:03,341
teeming with slaves.
236
00:17:05,021 --> 00:17:08,381
And the best way to explore
what this world was like
237
00:17:08,421 --> 00:17:11,821
is to go inside one of the mines.
238
00:17:11,861 --> 00:17:13,621
- Shall we go in?
- Yes.
239
00:17:13,661 --> 00:17:15,901
- Watch your head.
- Watch my head, OK.
240
00:17:15,941 --> 00:17:19,821
My guide is archaeologist
Professor Andreas Kapetanios.
241
00:17:19,861 --> 00:17:22,901
He knows these mines
better than anyone.
242
00:17:24,061 --> 00:17:27,021
When they started digging galleries...
243
00:17:27,061 --> 00:17:29,541
Those are the galleries going back there?
244
00:17:29,581 --> 00:17:32,581
Some of the galleries,
they are like octopus tentacles
245
00:17:32,621 --> 00:17:37,021
and, er, they expanded all over
the underground world
246
00:17:37,061 --> 00:17:40,861
because they tried to figure out
where to look for the ore.
247
00:17:40,901 --> 00:17:42,781
- And that's where we're going?
- Yeah.
248
00:17:43,861 --> 00:17:46,061
OK, well, I'm going to follow you, OK?
249
00:17:46,101 --> 00:17:48,101
Because I certainly don't want to get lost
down here.
250
00:17:48,141 --> 00:17:50,381
We have to crawl here.
251
00:17:50,421 --> 00:17:52,261
Narrow and low.
252
00:17:57,021 --> 00:18:00,181
- Michael, are you coming?
- I'm on my way...now.
253
00:18:00,221 --> 00:18:02,861
These are actual tunnels
254
00:18:02,901 --> 00:18:05,141
that they would have dug
in ancient times
255
00:18:05,181 --> 00:18:07,701
- looking for the silver as they went?
- Looking for the ore
256
00:18:07,741 --> 00:18:10,661
that the silver comes from.
If you come over here
257
00:18:10,701 --> 00:18:14,661
you will see the deep, um,
tool marks.
258
00:18:14,701 --> 00:18:16,941
The tool marks all around.
259
00:18:18,101 --> 00:18:22,301
This gap here, this tunnel
is no more than half a metre in height.
260
00:18:22,341 --> 00:18:25,461
I can't imagine how anyone
has the work space to move
261
00:18:25,501 --> 00:18:29,941
and then actually work at
hacking away at the rock with tools.
262
00:18:29,981 --> 00:18:31,821
I mean, it's incredibly tight.
263
00:18:33,541 --> 00:18:36,501
Andreas, it feels like
we're heading downwards now.
264
00:18:36,541 --> 00:18:39,621
You see, this is a kind of step,
265
00:18:39,661 --> 00:18:41,901
- stepping downwards...
- Yeah.
266
00:18:41,941 --> 00:18:44,101
And we find ourselves in a hole.
267
00:18:44,141 --> 00:18:48,821
I'll try it head first, and hopefully
we won't be in too much trouble.
268
00:18:52,701 --> 00:18:54,421
My God.
269
00:18:54,461 --> 00:18:58,141
Andreas, this is probably
the narrowest piece.
270
00:18:58,181 --> 00:19:00,221
ANDREAS: It's fine, it's fine.
271
00:19:00,261 --> 00:19:02,461
- (LAUGHS) It's fine?
- Yeah!
272
00:19:05,821 --> 00:19:07,621
This is officially insane.
273
00:19:07,661 --> 00:19:11,181
I have to admit, though,
I'm kind of enjoying it.
274
00:19:11,221 --> 00:19:12,621
(LAUGHS)
275
00:19:12,661 --> 00:19:15,461
- ANDREAS: Are you through?
- I think I'm through.
276
00:19:17,741 --> 00:19:19,581
This is incredible!
277
00:19:19,621 --> 00:19:21,341
Are you coming?
278
00:19:22,661 --> 00:19:26,221
It's sobering to think that the people
who dug these tunnels
279
00:19:26,261 --> 00:19:30,501
2,500 years ago
were forced to work down here
280
00:19:30,541 --> 00:19:32,821
for the benefit of the city of Athens.
281
00:19:35,501 --> 00:19:39,741
ANDREAS: This was labour done
by tens of thousands of slaves.
282
00:19:39,781 --> 00:19:44,901
Slaves were captured in wars
or they were bought in markets.
283
00:19:44,941 --> 00:19:49,701
Slaves were very valuable -
valuable tools.
284
00:19:49,741 --> 00:19:53,301
We can see pairs of adults
and children working together.
285
00:19:53,341 --> 00:19:55,221
- Children?
- Yes, yes.
286
00:19:58,901 --> 00:20:03,381
Can't help but feel for the people
who had to work hard
287
00:20:03,421 --> 00:20:05,341
excavating down here in antiquity.
288
00:20:05,381 --> 00:20:09,581
You're seeing the real underbelly,
the real Athens.
289
00:20:11,621 --> 00:20:15,381
With all these tight tunnels
and narrow galleries, this is going to be
290
00:20:15,421 --> 00:20:18,341
the hardest challenge
our scan team have faced yet.
291
00:20:18,381 --> 00:20:20,541
- I do think we've got a while in here.
- Yeah.
292
00:20:20,581 --> 00:20:22,941
I think we've got about six hours,
probably.
293
00:20:22,981 --> 00:20:25,781
Really? How are you guys going to manage
getting all your scanning equipment
294
00:20:25,821 --> 00:20:27,821
through some of these galleries?
295
00:20:27,861 --> 00:20:30,501
I mean, it's teamwork, right? One of us
has got to creep through these holes
296
00:20:30,541 --> 00:20:32,741
and the other one has got to pass
the equipment
297
00:20:32,781 --> 00:20:35,461
and then we've got to creep again and
pass again and creep again and pass again.
298
00:20:41,021 --> 00:20:45,141
I'm now incredibly curious
to see some of this silver ore
299
00:20:45,181 --> 00:20:48,901
as they would have seen it
as they hewed it out of the rock.
300
00:20:50,581 --> 00:20:51,941
I can show you a piece.
301
00:20:54,141 --> 00:20:55,501
Wow!
302
00:20:55,541 --> 00:20:58,381
Oh, it's sparkling.
It's beautiful, isn't it?
303
00:20:58,421 --> 00:21:00,661
And this is what they were after.
304
00:21:00,701 --> 00:21:05,261
But you need four tonnes of this
to produce two kilos of silver.
305
00:21:05,301 --> 00:21:08,821
That's why they should move
mountains of this material.
306
00:21:08,861 --> 00:21:12,381
These are the Silicon Valleys
of classical Athens.
307
00:21:17,821 --> 00:21:22,861
Our scans reveal a labyrinth of tunnels
and chambers
308
00:21:22,901 --> 00:21:24,661
over 100 metres long....
309
00:21:28,181 --> 00:21:33,181
...cut by hand as the slaves
followed a thin seam of silver ore
310
00:21:33,221 --> 00:21:34,941
into the hillside.
311
00:21:40,541 --> 00:21:43,621
And above ground,
the scans also capture
312
00:21:43,661 --> 00:21:46,301
the remains of the mine's
processing plants.
313
00:21:46,341 --> 00:21:49,141
Here, the ore would have been washed,
314
00:21:49,181 --> 00:21:51,781
then ground into tiny pebbles
315
00:21:51,821 --> 00:21:55,221
before being heated in furnaces nearby
316
00:21:55,261 --> 00:21:57,581
to coax out the precious silver.
317
00:21:58,821 --> 00:22:03,061
This is just one
of at least 30 known silver mines
318
00:22:03,101 --> 00:22:05,581
hidden under the hillsides of Laurion,
319
00:22:05,621 --> 00:22:09,221
and the sources record that in the 480s BC
320
00:22:09,261 --> 00:22:15,101
the Athenians hit on a new
and extremely rich vein of silver
321
00:22:15,141 --> 00:22:18,781
which would prove a massive boost
to Athens' new democracy.
322
00:22:20,781 --> 00:22:22,501
(CAR HORN TOOTS)
323
00:22:25,141 --> 00:22:28,061
How to spend this lucky windfall
324
00:22:28,101 --> 00:22:31,941
became a subject of fierce debate
amongst the citizens of the city.
325
00:22:33,221 --> 00:22:35,301
Many wanted to cash in
326
00:22:35,341 --> 00:22:39,301
and give every citizen
an equal share of the silver.
327
00:22:39,341 --> 00:22:44,981
But one leading politician,
a heroic general called Themistocles,
328
00:22:45,021 --> 00:22:46,861
put forward a powerful case
329
00:22:46,901 --> 00:22:51,141
for investing the money
in a fleet of ships to defend the city.
330
00:22:53,541 --> 00:22:56,821
The debate over what to do
with the Laurion silver
331
00:22:56,861 --> 00:22:59,901
was decided by a democratic vote,
332
00:22:59,941 --> 00:23:03,381
and as a result, the people poured
the money not into their own pockets,
333
00:23:03,421 --> 00:23:08,981
but into the building of a fleet
and, henceforth, naval muscle and might
334
00:23:09,021 --> 00:23:13,541
would be just as important a marker
of Athens as the democracy itself.
335
00:23:16,901 --> 00:23:21,621
The naval muscle took the form
of warships known as triremes,
336
00:23:21,661 --> 00:23:25,541
because they were powered
by three rows of oars.
337
00:23:25,581 --> 00:23:30,461
At 40 metres long,
they were light and fast,
338
00:23:30,501 --> 00:23:34,221
and fitted with bronze battering rams.
339
00:23:34,261 --> 00:23:37,381
They were formidable weapons of war.
340
00:23:37,421 --> 00:23:41,301
Here on the waterfronts,
we can peel back the layers of history
341
00:23:41,341 --> 00:23:45,341
to show the strategic importance
of the Athenian fleet to the city
342
00:23:45,381 --> 00:23:50,341
over several centuries. The scanning team
is already investigating.
343
00:23:50,381 --> 00:23:52,821
So how are we going to
make the invisible visible this time?
344
00:23:52,861 --> 00:23:54,901
Scanning on the inside,
relatively easy,
345
00:23:54,941 --> 00:23:56,941
but we're not just doing the ruins,
346
00:23:56,981 --> 00:23:59,101
we're actually doing
this whole apartment building here.
347
00:23:59,141 --> 00:24:01,381
And then we're going to be scanning
the edges of the water here,
348
00:24:01,421 --> 00:24:03,621
but getting a view into the water
is tricky for us.
349
00:24:04,701 --> 00:24:06,581
So we're going to take to the air
for that,
350
00:24:06,621 --> 00:24:08,301
so we want to see directly down
through that water
351
00:24:08,341 --> 00:24:11,741
with a nice high sun,
and we're hoping that the structures
352
00:24:11,781 --> 00:24:15,741
underneath the water are really
going to come to life for us there.
353
00:24:15,781 --> 00:24:17,941
While the scan team gets to work outside,
354
00:24:17,981 --> 00:24:23,141
I'm going to look inside with marine
archaeologist Dr Bjørn Lovén.
355
00:24:24,301 --> 00:24:27,741
So, Bjørn, we can see the harbour
just there in front of us,
356
00:24:27,781 --> 00:24:30,421
but where can we get a glimpse
of the ancient harbour?
357
00:24:31,901 --> 00:24:35,741
Bjørn has investigated
the remains of ancient dry docks,
358
00:24:35,781 --> 00:24:38,501
known as ship sheds,
tucked away in this basement.
359
00:24:40,101 --> 00:24:43,821
What a magic, hidden,
invisible world underneath...
360
00:24:43,861 --> 00:24:45,301
...underneath this apartment.
361
00:24:45,341 --> 00:24:48,181
BJØRN: Yeah - we're so lucky
that this has been preserved.
362
00:24:49,421 --> 00:24:53,941
Dry-dock ship sheds like this one
seem like a simple enough idea,
363
00:24:53,981 --> 00:24:58,501
but they were vital to the success
of Athens' naval fleet.
364
00:24:58,541 --> 00:25:00,021
BJØRN: The best way to show this,
365
00:25:00,061 --> 00:25:04,421
- that if you stand on this column here...
- I'll get, OK, I'll get up on this one.
366
00:25:04,461 --> 00:25:08,061
Then, er, over here to the other side.
367
00:25:09,861 --> 00:25:15,501
So in this space between us
is one ship shed unit.
368
00:25:15,541 --> 00:25:17,061
So if I go and stand...
369
00:25:17,101 --> 00:25:21,141
If I'm here, I am where
the ancient trireme warship...?
370
00:25:21,181 --> 00:25:22,861
Yeah, you are in the space.
371
00:25:22,901 --> 00:25:25,301
So it really is like
a massive parking garage?
372
00:25:25,341 --> 00:25:26,581
It is.
373
00:25:26,621 --> 00:25:30,021
And we have to imagine that people
are pulling the ships up by hand?
374
00:25:30,061 --> 00:25:31,901
Yeah. What we actually have here,
375
00:25:31,941 --> 00:25:36,261
we have to imagine that right here
there would be a line of 70 men...
376
00:25:36,301 --> 00:25:39,901
70 on this side, 70 on that side,
all pulling away?
377
00:25:39,941 --> 00:25:43,061
Hauling away on big ropes that were
attached to the ram of the ship.
378
00:25:43,101 --> 00:25:46,061
So they would want to
pull the ship up out of the water,
379
00:25:46,101 --> 00:25:49,301
not just for repairs, I presume,
but also to dry it out?
380
00:25:49,341 --> 00:25:53,541
Yeah, the drier and the more
well-maintained your ship is,
381
00:25:53,581 --> 00:25:55,301
the faster it is in battle,
382
00:25:55,341 --> 00:25:57,781
but the most important thing is that they
383
00:25:57,821 --> 00:26:02,461
pulled the ships out of the sea
to protect it from the evil ship worm
384
00:26:02,501 --> 00:26:07,261
that could actually destroy a ship
in a matter of months.
385
00:26:07,301 --> 00:26:11,301
So it was to ensure
that it was a long-lasting,
386
00:26:11,341 --> 00:26:15,621
perfectly functioning lethal weapon?
387
00:26:15,661 --> 00:26:19,301
Yeah. You could say that the fleet was
the backbone of the Athenian democracy.
388
00:26:20,981 --> 00:26:25,661
What's becoming much clearer to me now
is how, in the ancient world,
389
00:26:25,701 --> 00:26:31,981
it was these industrial, commercial areas
down on the ports,
390
00:26:32,021 --> 00:26:37,221
these ship sheds, where the engines and
motors of Athenian power and democracy
391
00:26:37,261 --> 00:26:39,021
were housed and maintained
392
00:26:39,061 --> 00:26:41,261
that was the ultimate symbol
393
00:26:41,301 --> 00:26:45,821
of both the democratic
political system of Athens
394
00:26:45,861 --> 00:26:49,261
and the power it projected
across the ancient world.
395
00:26:52,621 --> 00:26:55,421
Our scans show how
the modern apartments
396
00:26:55,461 --> 00:26:59,261
are built right on top of
the ancient ship sheds.
397
00:27:07,341 --> 00:27:09,821
And using data gathered from our drone,
398
00:27:09,861 --> 00:27:12,621
we've been able to map remains
399
00:27:12,661 --> 00:27:16,101
that reveal how the ship sheds
extend under the modern road
400
00:27:16,141 --> 00:27:17,861
and into today's harbour.
401
00:27:19,381 --> 00:27:23,701
And our graphic shows how they once
stood all around this cove.
402
00:27:28,021 --> 00:27:31,741
In 480 BC, thanks to
their wise investment,
403
00:27:31,781 --> 00:27:36,301
the Athenian navy was 200 warships
strong,
404
00:27:36,341 --> 00:27:39,781
just as Athens prepared to face
a mortal threat
405
00:27:39,821 --> 00:27:43,461
from the most powerful empire
in the ancient world.
406
00:27:52,661 --> 00:27:56,021
Down here in Piraeus, Athens' port,
407
00:27:56,061 --> 00:27:58,301
a decisive sequence of events began.
408
00:28:00,741 --> 00:28:04,941
An army of at least 200,000
Persian soldiers
409
00:28:04,981 --> 00:28:08,901
was on its way to invade Athens
and crush its democracy.
410
00:28:11,541 --> 00:28:14,261
And with the entire population at risk,
411
00:28:14,301 --> 00:28:19,461
the Athenians had to decide
whether to stay and fight in the city
412
00:28:19,501 --> 00:28:20,981
or to retreat by sea.
413
00:28:23,701 --> 00:28:27,981
Themistocles knew the Athenians
could never hope to take on
414
00:28:28,021 --> 00:28:31,341
the full force of the Persians on land,
415
00:28:31,381 --> 00:28:35,701
and so he convinced them
to make an extraordinary decision -
416
00:28:35,741 --> 00:28:39,941
to abandon Athens,
to abandon the land of Attica
417
00:28:39,981 --> 00:28:42,941
and instead to put
all their hopes of survival
418
00:28:42,981 --> 00:28:46,101
into the wooden walls of their ships.
419
00:28:47,941 --> 00:28:53,821
And on that moment, that decision,
that democratic vote did history turn.
420
00:28:58,781 --> 00:29:01,501
Women and children
were taken to safety
421
00:29:01,541 --> 00:29:04,141
and every Athenian man of military age
422
00:29:04,181 --> 00:29:06,861
took his place on a trireme
423
00:29:06,901 --> 00:29:09,901
and prepared to face the Persians at sea.
424
00:29:19,301 --> 00:29:21,341
The Athenians withdrew their fleet
425
00:29:21,381 --> 00:29:25,541
just a short distance
across the water from the city
426
00:29:25,581 --> 00:29:30,701
into a secluded bay
where they could plan their next move.
427
00:29:32,181 --> 00:29:36,021
Here, they were joined by allies
from across Greece,
428
00:29:36,061 --> 00:29:40,941
and in late September 480 BC,
they prepared to make a stand.
429
00:29:47,621 --> 00:29:51,381
The battle that followed,
the Battle of Salamis,
430
00:29:51,421 --> 00:29:55,421
was the moment the world's first democracy
faced its greatest threat.
431
00:29:56,581 --> 00:30:01,301
It is one of the major turning points
of Western civilisation.
432
00:30:03,661 --> 00:30:07,381
And until recently, barely any remains
433
00:30:07,421 --> 00:30:10,661
dating from this moment
were thought to have survived.
434
00:30:10,701 --> 00:30:15,101
But, in 2017, Professor Yannos Lolos
discovered new evidence
435
00:30:15,141 --> 00:30:20,621
that helps us to understand what this bay
might have been like at the time.
436
00:30:23,141 --> 00:30:25,941
YANNOS: On the eve
of the Battle of Salamis,
437
00:30:25,981 --> 00:30:30,581
the united Greek fleet
was stationed in this bay
438
00:30:30,621 --> 00:30:35,421
with over 300 triple-decker warships.
439
00:30:35,461 --> 00:30:39,061
You've been investigating here
out in the bay.
440
00:30:39,101 --> 00:30:40,821
What have you found here?
441
00:30:40,861 --> 00:30:46,781
We have constructed the first underwater
geological map of the bay,
442
00:30:46,821 --> 00:30:48,941
of the harbour, of Salamis.
443
00:30:50,421 --> 00:30:53,301
This is the harbour of the city state
of Athens,
444
00:30:53,341 --> 00:30:56,181
this is a fortified harbour,
445
00:30:56,221 --> 00:31:01,661
including a long wall
with a round tower at each end.
446
00:31:01,701 --> 00:31:06,581
There's no doubt about the crucial role
of this harbour
447
00:31:06,621 --> 00:31:10,061
on the eve of the sea battle of Salamis.
448
00:31:10,101 --> 00:31:12,981
We can imagine the Athenians,
449
00:31:13,021 --> 00:31:17,341
who see from the heights
surrounding this bay
450
00:31:17,381 --> 00:31:22,781
- their city in flames...
- It's just there behind us, isn't it?
451
00:31:22,821 --> 00:31:26,621
I'm trying to imagine
the fear, the anger,
452
00:31:26,661 --> 00:31:30,381
the desperation that the people
in this bay must have felt...
453
00:31:30,421 --> 00:31:31,861
- Yes, yes,
- ...at that time.
454
00:31:31,901 --> 00:31:35,341
Because Athens was no longer.
455
00:31:39,461 --> 00:31:42,661
Using the new research,
our scan team has managed to fix
456
00:31:42,701 --> 00:31:45,381
the coordinates of
the archaeological remains here.
457
00:31:47,021 --> 00:31:50,261
Our graphic model of the harbour wall
and its defensive tower
458
00:31:50,301 --> 00:31:53,941
shows how it extended 160 metres
into the bay.
459
00:31:56,661 --> 00:32:00,101
And this is where the force
of over 300 Greek triremes gathered
460
00:32:00,141 --> 00:32:04,901
to take on a Persian fleet
said to be three times as strong.
461
00:32:08,101 --> 00:32:12,341
To help balance the odds,
the general, Themistocles,
462
00:32:12,381 --> 00:32:16,701
managed to lure the Persians
into the narrow straits beyond the bay,
463
00:32:16,741 --> 00:32:20,301
where their superior numbers
would count for nothing.
464
00:32:22,981 --> 00:32:26,501
As the massive force funnelled
into the narrow stretch of water,
465
00:32:26,541 --> 00:32:28,901
the Athenians and their allies pounced,
466
00:32:28,941 --> 00:32:31,781
rammed into the enemy ships
467
00:32:31,821 --> 00:32:34,941
and smashed the Persian fleet apart.
468
00:32:40,981 --> 00:32:44,981
It was a stunning victory
for the world's first democracy.
469
00:32:53,781 --> 00:32:56,981
But victory came at a high price
for Athens.
470
00:32:58,781 --> 00:33:02,461
The people returned to a city in ruins.
471
00:33:02,501 --> 00:33:07,501
Even their sacred buildings on the
Acropolis had been razed to the ground.
472
00:33:09,101 --> 00:33:12,941
In the decades after the Athenians
defeated the Persians,
473
00:33:12,981 --> 00:33:15,461
they did something
really quite extraordinary.
474
00:33:15,501 --> 00:33:17,861
Instead of rebuilding their city,
475
00:33:17,901 --> 00:33:22,261
they chose instead to leave it in ruins
as a memorial,
476
00:33:22,301 --> 00:33:26,021
as they put it,
to the impiety of the barbarian.
477
00:33:26,061 --> 00:33:29,981
And yet, while they would happily
leave their city in ruins,
478
00:33:30,021 --> 00:33:32,941
the Athenians moved
as quickly as they could
479
00:33:32,981 --> 00:33:37,901
to build something else entirely
to protect themselves in the future.
480
00:33:37,941 --> 00:33:43,221
And that's what I'm trying to find here
in the streets of Athens today.
481
00:33:44,821 --> 00:33:48,141
And I think...it's somewhere around here.
482
00:33:59,981 --> 00:34:03,901
I've been told to take a left at the loos,
483
00:34:03,941 --> 00:34:07,181
and now I'm looking
for some stairs downwards.
484
00:34:17,501 --> 00:34:18,821
And here they are.
485
00:34:18,861 --> 00:34:21,221
This you don't see every day
in a car park.
486
00:34:21,261 --> 00:34:27,061
These are 2,500-year-old city walls.
487
00:34:27,101 --> 00:34:29,661
The Themistoclean Walls of Athens.
488
00:34:29,701 --> 00:34:31,581
You can still see the...
489
00:34:31,621 --> 00:34:35,901
...the individual blocks neatly lined up
on top of one another,
490
00:34:35,941 --> 00:34:40,901
and we've got here...
We've got one course, a second, a third,
491
00:34:40,941 --> 00:34:44,541
a fourth, a fifth
disappearing into the floor,
492
00:34:44,581 --> 00:34:48,061
and we're yet
nowhere near the foundations.
493
00:34:48,101 --> 00:34:50,341
They must be even further down.
494
00:34:56,501 --> 00:35:01,541
The story is that every Athenian was told
to drop whatever they were doing
495
00:35:01,581 --> 00:35:03,461
and come and help build the walls,
496
00:35:03,501 --> 00:35:06,341
and in the foundations,
they put anything they could find.
497
00:35:06,381 --> 00:35:09,701
There's column drums in there,
sculptures, gravestones,
498
00:35:09,741 --> 00:35:14,941
anything that would help this wall
rise up as quickly as possible.
499
00:35:20,461 --> 00:35:23,181
Our scans and graphics
show that these walls,
500
00:35:23,221 --> 00:35:25,581
concealed within the modern car park,
501
00:35:25,621 --> 00:35:28,381
were part of a series of building projects
502
00:35:28,421 --> 00:35:30,621
that would transform Athens.
503
00:35:38,261 --> 00:35:41,941
First, the Athenians
enclosed their city,
504
00:35:41,981 --> 00:35:47,021
then, almost ten kilometres away,
they fortified the port of Piraeus.
505
00:35:50,621 --> 00:35:53,541
And then they linked the two
506
00:35:53,581 --> 00:35:57,861
with a fortified corridor
that ran all the way
507
00:35:57,901 --> 00:36:00,301
from the ports to the centre of Athens,
508
00:36:00,341 --> 00:36:05,621
a system of long walls
almost 150 metres apart
509
00:36:05,661 --> 00:36:09,341
and estimated to be 3.5 metres high.
510
00:36:20,061 --> 00:36:22,981
With the completion of the Long Walls
connecting the port of Piraeus
511
00:36:23,021 --> 00:36:26,541
to these walls guarding the city,
512
00:36:26,581 --> 00:36:30,941
Athens effectively became
an island on the mainland.
513
00:36:30,981 --> 00:36:37,261
No strictly land-based force
could really ever hope to conquer it.
514
00:36:37,301 --> 00:36:42,541
And as a result, to many,
Athens seemed impregnable.
515
00:36:53,781 --> 00:36:57,181
A bit narrow... Whoa!
...and into the water,
516
00:36:57,221 --> 00:36:59,301
Let's see if we can get through this.
517
00:37:04,421 --> 00:37:05,901
When the ancient Athenians
518
00:37:05,941 --> 00:37:09,581
eventually did decide
to rebuild their city,
519
00:37:09,621 --> 00:37:12,981
they wanted to do it bigger and better
than ever before,
520
00:37:13,021 --> 00:37:16,541
and so they turned to
the very landscape around them,
521
00:37:16,581 --> 00:37:19,781
because the land around Athens
522
00:37:19,821 --> 00:37:23,141
is literally made of marble.
523
00:37:23,181 --> 00:37:24,901
Although we're obviously driv...
524
00:37:24,941 --> 00:37:26,941
- (CLUNK)
- (LAUGHS)
525
00:37:26,981 --> 00:37:31,621
...just driving on, it's like
we're driving on a marble road.
526
00:37:31,661 --> 00:37:33,781
We're driving on Penteli Mountain
527
00:37:33,821 --> 00:37:38,021
and it was here
that the Athenians came to quarry.
528
00:37:39,621 --> 00:37:44,141
The quarry face that dates from that time
is still here.
529
00:37:44,181 --> 00:37:48,661
And archaeologist Alexandra Mari
is going to show me.
530
00:37:48,701 --> 00:37:51,701
And what were your impressions
when you first saw it?
531
00:37:51,741 --> 00:37:55,581
I was, er, amazed, actually,
by all these things which are here.
532
00:37:55,621 --> 00:37:59,981
- This is it.
- Wow! This is the quarry.
533
00:38:00,021 --> 00:38:02,221
- Isn't it nice?
- It's extraordinary.
534
00:38:02,261 --> 00:38:04,421
It's huge! I mean,
it's massive, you can see
535
00:38:04,461 --> 00:38:06,901
- the sheer walls they quarried off.
- The walls, yes, yes.
536
00:38:13,061 --> 00:38:19,141
Can we get any sense of how much marble
was quarried out of this space?
537
00:38:19,181 --> 00:38:23,021
Well, approximately 400,000 tonnes
of marble
538
00:38:23,061 --> 00:38:26,421
were produced by this quarry -
the Quarry of the Cave, as it is called.
539
00:38:26,461 --> 00:38:28,901
And you can see all the cut marks,
can't you,
540
00:38:28,941 --> 00:38:32,061
of all the individual chisels
moving, moving...
541
00:38:32,101 --> 00:38:34,621
ALEXANDRA: First of all, they had to
choose the right block,
542
00:38:34,661 --> 00:38:38,421
without fissures and cracks,
and then they would start hammering,
543
00:38:38,461 --> 00:38:41,861
continuous hammering until
they managed to split the block.
544
00:38:41,901 --> 00:38:43,621
- But that's incredibly dangerous...
- Yes.
545
00:38:43,661 --> 00:38:47,781
- ...and time-consuming and hard work.
- Very, very much, yes. Yes, yes, exactly.
546
00:38:47,821 --> 00:38:49,741
What they had to do was, er,
547
00:38:49,781 --> 00:38:54,301
to transport it to a special road
called Lithagogia,
548
00:38:54,341 --> 00:38:56,381
meaning conveyance of stones.
549
00:38:56,421 --> 00:38:58,541
And there's nothing left
of that road today?
550
00:38:58,581 --> 00:39:00,501
- Well, yes, there is, actually.
- There is?
551
00:39:00,541 --> 00:39:01,821
Just a little, a small part.
552
00:39:03,141 --> 00:39:05,421
This was once the start of a long route
553
00:39:05,461 --> 00:39:10,661
that ran from the quarry to the heart
of the city over 18 kilometres away.
554
00:39:12,021 --> 00:39:15,141
I mean, it's still beautiful, isn't it,
over 2,500 years?
555
00:39:15,181 --> 00:39:18,381
- I mean, it's like a sledge track.
- Yes, exactly.
556
00:39:18,421 --> 00:39:21,261
It seems that, er,
they were using animal fat
557
00:39:21,301 --> 00:39:25,181
in order to grease the flagstones
and reduce the friction.
558
00:39:25,221 --> 00:39:27,901
And the danger that
if one block of marble got away,
559
00:39:27,941 --> 00:39:29,981
it would just sweep down
the mountain?
560
00:39:34,701 --> 00:39:37,101
And a little further down the hillside
561
00:39:37,141 --> 00:39:41,421
is in fact one runaway block
from the quarry above.
562
00:39:41,461 --> 00:39:44,661
But take a look at this view.
What do you think about it?
563
00:39:44,701 --> 00:39:46,981
Hang on a sec, is this...?
564
00:39:48,261 --> 00:39:49,901
This is a piece of a column.
565
00:39:49,941 --> 00:39:51,861
- It's a column drum.
- Mm-hm.
566
00:39:51,901 --> 00:39:54,261
So perhaps somebody did
take their eye off the job
567
00:39:54,301 --> 00:39:57,101
and was looking at the view
and they missed their rope.
568
00:39:57,141 --> 00:39:59,101
- After all.
- And it all went!
569
00:39:59,141 --> 00:40:00,941
This weighed ten tonnes.
570
00:40:00,981 --> 00:40:04,101
Can you imagine
having to go back up to the top
571
00:40:04,141 --> 00:40:07,021
to all the workers who have been quarrying
this piece of stone
572
00:40:07,061 --> 00:40:09,741
and go, "Sorry, guys,
we've got to start again"?
573
00:40:09,781 --> 00:40:11,221
"It just broke," yeah.
574
00:40:12,781 --> 00:40:17,621
A phenomenal sort of marker
to an incredible process.
575
00:40:17,661 --> 00:40:19,381
Yes, exactly.
576
00:40:28,301 --> 00:40:30,461
The marble that was quarried here
577
00:40:30,501 --> 00:40:35,221
and transported all the way to the city
became the face of Athens' new identity -
578
00:40:35,261 --> 00:40:38,621
that of a place
on the cusp of a golden age
579
00:40:38,661 --> 00:40:42,901
of not just art and architecture,
but politics, philosophy, culture -
580
00:40:42,941 --> 00:40:48,301
a golden age that still burns bright
in our human story.
581
00:40:52,221 --> 00:40:56,661
Our 3-D model shows how the gleaming
marble from Mount Penteli
582
00:40:56,701 --> 00:41:02,101
was used to create brand-new monuments
over the ruins of the Acropolis...
583
00:41:03,261 --> 00:41:09,181
...the most prestigious of which were
the Parthenon, started in 447 BC...
584
00:41:10,301 --> 00:41:12,701
...the Propylaea, a temple to Nike...
585
00:41:14,061 --> 00:41:16,021
...and of course the Erechtheion...
586
00:41:17,181 --> 00:41:22,021
...all completed
in one remarkable 40-year burst
587
00:41:22,061 --> 00:41:24,061
of creativity and confidence
588
00:41:24,101 --> 00:41:27,381
in the second half
of the fifth century BC.
589
00:41:33,501 --> 00:41:38,701
Athens was now the most powerful city
in Greece,
590
00:41:38,741 --> 00:41:45,221
and the Athenian Empire began to
extend its influence across the sea.
591
00:41:45,261 --> 00:41:49,821
So, Costas, we have calm seas today,
good seas to be out on the boat?
592
00:41:49,861 --> 00:41:51,261
Yes, it's very good weather.
593
00:41:55,301 --> 00:41:56,861
This is Cape Sounion.
594
00:41:56,901 --> 00:41:59,221
It's about 80 kilometres
south of Athens
595
00:41:59,261 --> 00:42:03,661
and it's the southernmost tip of
the land of the Athenians, Attica.
596
00:42:03,701 --> 00:42:07,141
For the Athenians
who'd been out across the Aegean
597
00:42:07,181 --> 00:42:09,621
on trading ventures or military
expeditions,
598
00:42:09,661 --> 00:42:13,341
the sight of this place
meant that they were finally home.
599
00:42:16,901 --> 00:42:20,501
But something of a mystery
has grown up around Sounion.
600
00:42:22,301 --> 00:42:26,781
Thanks to the Temple of Poseidon
that sits on the hill,
601
00:42:26,821 --> 00:42:30,141
it was mostly known as a sacred site,
602
00:42:30,181 --> 00:42:34,541
and until recently,
that's overshadowed the strategic role
603
00:42:34,581 --> 00:42:37,741
it played in Athens' empire.
604
00:42:38,821 --> 00:42:42,741
Now a team of archaeologists,
including Dr Kalliopi Baika,
605
00:42:42,781 --> 00:42:45,821
are discovering how important
it really was.
606
00:42:47,941 --> 00:42:51,341
There was a settlement
with a very important strategic role
607
00:42:51,381 --> 00:42:52,701
and commercial value,
608
00:42:52,741 --> 00:42:56,981
and here we're standing in front of
a very big, massive building, actually.
609
00:42:57,021 --> 00:43:01,181
This is a corner, and the other part of
the corner you can see the other way.
610
00:43:01,221 --> 00:43:04,221
So basically I'm standing
in the middle of what was once
611
00:43:04,261 --> 00:43:07,061
- a wall going that way...
- Yes, a massive wall.
612
00:43:07,101 --> 00:43:08,781
...out to sea.
613
00:43:08,821 --> 00:43:11,541
They didn't build the building
half on the land and half in the sea,
614
00:43:11,581 --> 00:43:14,661
- so something's changed?
- We have a relative sea-level change
615
00:43:14,701 --> 00:43:16,141
of two metres and a half,
616
00:43:16,181 --> 00:43:18,781
almost three metres,
from the fifth century BC.
617
00:43:18,821 --> 00:43:23,981
So what you're telling me is that half of
the settlement that was here at Sounion
618
00:43:24,021 --> 00:43:25,821
- is there in the water?
- Yes.
619
00:43:25,861 --> 00:43:28,581
- And we can get in and explore that?
- Absolutely, yes, we can.
620
00:43:31,181 --> 00:43:35,341
Sounion's crucial role in the defence
of the Athenian Empire
621
00:43:35,381 --> 00:43:38,421
is now becoming clearer.
622
00:43:38,461 --> 00:43:40,221
Sounion is the most sophisticated
623
00:43:40,261 --> 00:43:42,701
small-scale naval base
in the Mediterranean.
624
00:43:43,781 --> 00:43:46,981
Here, we have a strategic lookout post
625
00:43:47,021 --> 00:43:50,181
that operates in a network of naval bases.
626
00:43:50,221 --> 00:43:54,701
And that means, from here, a ship could
reach the message to Athens
627
00:43:54,741 --> 00:43:58,021
that an enemy fleet is approaching
in only one hour.
628
00:44:09,661 --> 00:44:12,061
The water is clear,
629
00:44:12,101 --> 00:44:16,021
but I'm having trouble
finding the remains of the city.
630
00:44:16,061 --> 00:44:20,581
Yes, the vertical lines,
the small structures from this way.
631
00:44:25,501 --> 00:44:27,821
And, finally, here they are.
632
00:44:27,861 --> 00:44:32,821
Massive sections of defensive wall
from the submerged city,
633
00:44:32,861 --> 00:44:36,821
still recognisable after 2,500 years.
634
00:44:44,381 --> 00:44:50,541
And one of the berths of the ancient
naval base cut into sheer rock.
635
00:44:57,141 --> 00:45:01,781
And fine marble blocks from what must
have been impressive structures
636
00:45:01,821 --> 00:45:05,421
in this strategically important town.
637
00:45:11,061 --> 00:45:14,301
It's absolutely amazing down there,
as clear as day.
638
00:45:14,341 --> 00:45:18,821
It must have been once upon a time
stretching down from the coastline,
639
00:45:18,861 --> 00:45:22,501
now under the water behind me,
the remains of a massive wall.
640
00:45:22,541 --> 00:45:27,061
As you come out from the coast,
the ancient blocks, they're a decent size,
641
00:45:27,101 --> 00:45:29,741
but they get bigger and bigger
till the ones here -
642
00:45:29,781 --> 00:45:34,861
must have been an enormous fortification
wall for the ancient town of Sounion.
643
00:45:36,261 --> 00:45:39,581
It feels like a world frozen in time
down there.
644
00:45:44,261 --> 00:45:46,941
Fortified naval bases like Sounion
645
00:45:46,981 --> 00:45:50,461
helped Athens extend its empire
across Greece,
646
00:45:50,501 --> 00:45:53,061
the Aegean and the coast of Asia Minor.
647
00:46:00,341 --> 00:46:03,581
But its supremacy didn't go unchallenged.
648
00:46:03,621 --> 00:46:07,501
From here on the hill above Sounion
you can look out
649
00:46:07,541 --> 00:46:13,581
towards the Peloponnese,
home to their bitterest Greek rival -
650
00:46:13,621 --> 00:46:14,621
Sparta.
651
00:46:16,261 --> 00:46:19,661
In the second half
of the fifth century BC,
652
00:46:19,701 --> 00:46:25,821
the two cities waged war on and off
across this territory for almost 30 years.
653
00:46:25,861 --> 00:46:30,981
Athens relied mostly on its famous fleet
to fight its cause...
654
00:46:33,981 --> 00:46:37,381
...while the citizens took refuge
behind their city walls.
655
00:46:38,981 --> 00:46:44,581
But in 405 BC, the Spartans
finally lured Athens into
656
00:46:44,621 --> 00:46:46,981
a disastrous sea battle...
657
00:46:48,461 --> 00:46:52,821
...and then laid siege
to their weakened city.
658
00:46:55,021 --> 00:46:58,101
Athens was forced to surrender
the following year.
659
00:47:00,981 --> 00:47:05,901
The golden age of the world's first
democracy was coming to an end.
660
00:47:08,261 --> 00:47:13,101
Its ideals and achievements, however,
would never be forgotten.
661
00:47:15,781 --> 00:47:18,781
That was partly due to
the Athenians themselves,
662
00:47:18,821 --> 00:47:23,101
who eulogised their golden age
in the centuries that followed,
663
00:47:23,141 --> 00:47:27,061
but it was also partly thanks
to the Romans,
664
00:47:27,101 --> 00:47:31,181
who came to control Athens
in the first century BC.
665
00:47:34,621 --> 00:47:37,781
And over the next two centuries
Athens became
666
00:47:37,821 --> 00:47:43,421
a kind of theme park cum finishing school
for the Roman elite.
667
00:47:49,741 --> 00:47:53,581
In the second century AD,
the Emperor Hadrian
668
00:47:53,621 --> 00:47:59,421
was one of Rome's most passionate admirers
of all things Greek.
669
00:47:59,461 --> 00:48:02,301
Hadrian didn't just repair
bits of Athens,
670
00:48:02,341 --> 00:48:05,461
he claimed the city for himself.
671
00:48:05,501 --> 00:48:07,861
This is the Arch of Hadrian
672
00:48:07,901 --> 00:48:11,381
and there still, just above the archway,
you can read a text,
673
00:48:11,421 --> 00:48:15,861
it says simply,
"This is the city of Hadrian."
674
00:48:22,781 --> 00:48:26,621
Hadrian was on a mission
to improve Athens
675
00:48:26,661 --> 00:48:30,341
and he lavished the city with gifts -
a library, a gymnasium,
676
00:48:30,381 --> 00:48:35,301
and something even more crucial to
the everyday life of the people.
677
00:48:37,701 --> 00:48:44,261
And that's what brings me here, to
the site of the modern Olympic Village.
678
00:48:44,301 --> 00:48:48,541
I'm going to explore
a feat of Roman engineering.
679
00:48:52,181 --> 00:48:55,341
Which means going underground...again.
680
00:48:55,781 --> 00:48:57,501
- Tim, how are we looking?
- It's good.
681
00:48:57,541 --> 00:48:59,661
I'm just getting
the final preparations here.
682
00:48:59,701 --> 00:49:03,021
But you can feel the...
You can feel the hot air coming out
683
00:49:03,061 --> 00:49:06,941
from under there. I can't even see
the bottom, I've got no sense...
684
00:49:06,981 --> 00:49:09,741
It's about 16 metres straight down.
685
00:49:13,901 --> 00:49:19,621
Just absolutely straight burrowed,
down through...
686
00:49:19,661 --> 00:49:25,461
This shaft leads down to
a 2nd-century AD Roman aqueduct,
687
00:49:25,501 --> 00:49:28,301
where TV cameras have never been
allowed to film before.
688
00:49:30,941 --> 00:49:32,941
Oh, gosh, it's narrow now.
689
00:49:34,701 --> 00:49:36,581
Oh, I can hear the water.
690
00:49:38,101 --> 00:49:39,661
(LAUGHS)
691
00:49:39,701 --> 00:49:43,141
Here we come,
into the underground aqueduct.
692
00:49:44,701 --> 00:49:46,701
There we are.
693
00:49:46,741 --> 00:49:51,861
God, I've got not even room enough
for me to stand sideways.
694
00:49:51,901 --> 00:49:53,781
Have I got my torch?
695
00:49:53,821 --> 00:49:56,021
Get to start exploring.
696
00:49:56,061 --> 00:49:59,541
There's the water right there,
this is extraordinary.
697
00:50:00,821 --> 00:50:05,541
Oh, I'm stuck, I am actually stuck.
I'll go more on my side.
698
00:50:05,581 --> 00:50:10,781
I can see the passageway
just opening up behind me
699
00:50:10,821 --> 00:50:12,221
is just going dead on.
700
00:50:17,181 --> 00:50:19,661
The water is...
701
00:50:19,701 --> 00:50:22,701
It's cold, it's fresh,
it's got that mountain feel to it.
702
00:50:22,741 --> 00:50:24,821
You can see it's doing its job,
703
00:50:24,861 --> 00:50:30,021
bringing the water from the hills around
Athens right into the centre.
704
00:50:31,421 --> 00:50:35,341
I'm just trying to imagine the lives
705
00:50:35,381 --> 00:50:39,701
of the people who were actually
cutting this out of the sheer rock.
706
00:50:39,741 --> 00:50:44,581
I mean, absolutely appalling conditions.
707
00:50:44,621 --> 00:50:47,981
I'm wondering whether these...
I keep seeing these...
708
00:50:48,021 --> 00:50:50,221
They're sort of a little shelf.
709
00:50:50,261 --> 00:50:52,461
This was how they managed to see down here
what they were doing.
710
00:50:52,501 --> 00:50:55,941
They had small oil lamps, like my torch,
I can put it here,
711
00:50:55,981 --> 00:50:59,661
just giving them enough
of a flickering light
712
00:50:59,701 --> 00:51:03,901
by which to hack away
at the solid rock in front of them.
713
00:51:11,421 --> 00:51:13,181
(THEY LAUGH)
714
00:51:13,221 --> 00:51:16,261
Can't actually now turn my head back.
There we go.
715
00:51:17,621 --> 00:51:20,901
This tunnel took 15 years
to dig out of solid rock,
716
00:51:20,941 --> 00:51:23,821
and runs for 20 kilometres.
717
00:51:25,461 --> 00:51:28,621
It's an astonishing feat
of ancient engineering.
718
00:51:31,341 --> 00:51:36,821
And I've asked aqueduct expert
Dr Shawna Leigh to shed some light on it.
719
00:51:36,861 --> 00:51:38,981
So, Shawna, how did they go about
720
00:51:39,021 --> 00:51:41,301
building such a project
so deep underground?
721
00:51:41,341 --> 00:51:43,421
They would dig vertical shafts
722
00:51:43,461 --> 00:51:47,821
something between 33 and 35 metres apart
723
00:51:47,861 --> 00:51:52,461
and, um dig towards each other
and ideally meet each other.
724
00:51:52,501 --> 00:51:54,981
What happens
if you don't meet the first time?
725
00:51:55,021 --> 00:51:59,261
So, um, you have to do a little S-curve
to sort of get it together.
726
00:51:59,301 --> 00:52:02,621
- Just like this one we've come through?
- Yes, exactly, right there.
727
00:52:02,661 --> 00:52:04,461
And we're talking about an aqueduct
728
00:52:04,501 --> 00:52:06,501
- of over 20 kilometres in length.
- Right.
729
00:52:06,541 --> 00:52:10,701
How did they manage
to get that gradient so perfect?
730
00:52:10,741 --> 00:52:15,061
Well, it's absolutely striking
because it's all based on gravity,
731
00:52:15,101 --> 00:52:18,661
so if the slope is too steep,
the water will move too quickly
732
00:52:18,701 --> 00:52:21,101
and basically tear apart the tunnel.
733
00:52:21,141 --> 00:52:23,341
And if it's too shallow,
the water won't move.
734
00:52:23,381 --> 00:52:25,701
And here it is,
still flowing beneath our feet...
735
00:52:25,741 --> 00:52:27,701
- Absolutely.
- ...almost 2,000 years later.
736
00:52:27,741 --> 00:52:29,301
It's amazing, isn't it?
737
00:52:32,261 --> 00:52:34,301
Oh, and this section's even narrower!
738
00:52:34,341 --> 00:52:36,381
The aqueduct's getting lower and lower,
I'm having to go
739
00:52:36,421 --> 00:52:38,981
actually down on my knees
740
00:52:39,021 --> 00:52:41,341
right into the water. Oh!
741
00:52:42,421 --> 00:52:48,901
But the pay-off
is this extraordinary vaulted ceiling.
742
00:52:53,901 --> 00:52:58,501
They have these unusual markings
from...frankly who knows when?
743
00:53:02,181 --> 00:53:03,821
It's nice to see the sky again.
744
00:53:10,901 --> 00:53:14,181
The scans reveal the aqueduct
in amazing detail.
745
00:53:15,741 --> 00:53:19,421
We can see several of
those remarkable curves
746
00:53:19,461 --> 00:53:22,181
where the workmen
almost missed each other.
747
00:53:25,501 --> 00:53:29,621
The section we scanned
was just over 80 metres long
748
00:53:29,661 --> 00:53:34,941
and over that distance, the water level
drops less than half a metre.
749
00:53:36,501 --> 00:53:38,221
A gradient so well-engineered
750
00:53:38,261 --> 00:53:41,861
that the aqueduct was used
until the middle of the 20th century.
751
00:53:44,221 --> 00:53:49,061
And this is just one part
of a network of ancient aqueducts
752
00:53:49,101 --> 00:53:54,381
that runs for almost 80 kilometres
beneath the city of Athens.
753
00:54:04,141 --> 00:54:07,781
I've seen so much
of ancient Athens hidden
754
00:54:07,821 --> 00:54:10,701
beneath the surface of the modern city,
755
00:54:10,741 --> 00:54:14,901
but now I'm going to experience it
in virtual reality.
756
00:54:14,941 --> 00:54:17,061
- OK.
- Jump on in.
757
00:54:17,101 --> 00:54:20,941
Oh...can't wait to see
what you've got waiting.
758
00:54:20,981 --> 00:54:22,981
Ah, wow!
759
00:54:23,021 --> 00:54:24,781
So this is the Acropolis, of course.
760
00:54:24,821 --> 00:54:26,461
That's the gods' view!
761
00:54:26,501 --> 00:54:29,261
We're, like, flying over the top
of the city.
762
00:54:32,061 --> 00:54:34,741
So, actually, we can dive on in
a little bit here
763
00:54:34,781 --> 00:54:37,901
and go and have a real detailed view
of the Erechtheion.
764
00:54:40,821 --> 00:54:44,061
And this is, I mean, the best doll's house
in the world.
765
00:54:44,101 --> 00:54:46,141
- Check this out.
- Today you can just
766
00:54:46,181 --> 00:54:48,701
walk into the building.
767
00:54:48,741 --> 00:54:54,021
I can put myself inside it
and look at it from this side.
768
00:54:54,061 --> 00:54:55,661
Wow.
769
00:55:00,701 --> 00:55:04,861
So we're back now at a scale
that you'll be super familiar with, right?
770
00:55:04,901 --> 00:55:07,461
- The world is the real scale,
- This is one to one, wow.
771
00:55:07,501 --> 00:55:10,541
- And actually you are not allowed here...
- No.
772
00:55:10,581 --> 00:55:12,021
...in the real world.
773
00:55:12,061 --> 00:55:14,701
We're right down looking up
at the whole of the porch, aren't we?
774
00:55:14,741 --> 00:55:17,141
From the hole.
775
00:55:17,181 --> 00:55:18,661
Whoa!
776
00:55:18,701 --> 00:55:22,261
- You've got us flying through the air.
- Yeah.
777
00:55:22,301 --> 00:55:25,341
So now we can just drift around
the Erechtheion.
778
00:55:25,381 --> 00:55:27,261
We've just been through the door.
779
00:55:27,301 --> 00:55:29,301
Hang on a sec,
now we're going into a wall!
780
00:55:29,341 --> 00:55:30,821
There's a wall, whoa, whoa!
781
00:55:30,861 --> 00:55:32,661
Whoa, we just went through the wall.
782
00:55:32,701 --> 00:55:34,301
- Why not, hey?
- (LAUGHS)
783
00:55:34,341 --> 00:55:36,781
And here we are.
784
00:55:36,821 --> 00:55:39,021
Oh, wow.
785
00:55:39,061 --> 00:55:41,141
What a view.
786
00:55:41,181 --> 00:55:45,261
You wonder what they've been
staring at for the past 2,500 years.
787
00:55:47,861 --> 00:55:50,621
Just step up on there
and, er, give them a hand.
788
00:55:50,661 --> 00:55:52,421
What, so if I try to...?
789
00:55:52,461 --> 00:55:53,821
Hang on a sec.
790
00:55:55,341 --> 00:55:56,701
Whoa!
791
00:55:56,741 --> 00:55:59,141
Oh, that is a freaky experience.
792
00:55:59,181 --> 00:56:01,501
That's worse than flying through
the virtual world
793
00:56:01,541 --> 00:56:03,181
cos you're actually propelling yourself...
794
00:56:03,221 --> 00:56:05,621
And I'm right... I'm right next to them!
795
00:56:05,661 --> 00:56:09,261
It's like, "Yeah, you know what?
796
00:56:09,301 --> 00:56:11,061
"Easy peasy, no worries."
797
00:56:11,101 --> 00:56:14,261
Do you think you could hold that pose
for two-and-a-half millennia?
798
00:56:14,301 --> 00:56:17,421
Well, with a view like this,
yeah, it's not so bad.
799
00:56:17,461 --> 00:56:19,501
I think it definitely
would have compensations.
800
00:56:19,541 --> 00:56:24,461
Looking out over Athens' glory
of the Parthenon,
801
00:56:24,501 --> 00:56:28,541
it's creating this link that was
so important to the Athenians
802
00:56:28,581 --> 00:56:33,541
between the landscape,
the past, the present, the future.
803
00:56:33,581 --> 00:56:36,501
If there's a spot you put yourself in
in Athens
804
00:56:36,541 --> 00:56:39,421
to understand
what it means to be Athenian,
805
00:56:39,461 --> 00:56:41,341
this is it.
806
00:56:55,421 --> 00:56:59,261
The Athenians smelted silver
from their mines
807
00:56:59,301 --> 00:57:02,381
and voted to invest it in a naval fleet.
808
00:57:02,421 --> 00:57:06,781
They built dry docks
to preserve their warships.
809
00:57:08,021 --> 00:57:13,781
They surrounded their city and their
harbour with extraordinary walls.
810
00:57:15,781 --> 00:57:18,861
And they gave their city a unique identity
811
00:57:18,901 --> 00:57:22,061
using marble
carved from their own quarries.
812
00:57:24,381 --> 00:57:30,381
This bold democracy left a legacy
that has never been forgotten.
813
00:57:32,781 --> 00:57:35,901
It's all too easy when you come to Athens
to be overwhelmed
814
00:57:35,941 --> 00:57:39,981
by the beauty of the buildings on the
Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Erechtheion,
815
00:57:40,021 --> 00:57:44,021
but what's become clear to me
is that the hidden and invisible spaces
816
00:57:44,061 --> 00:57:46,261
of the city are just as important -
817
00:57:46,301 --> 00:57:50,141
those mines and aqueducts,
those quarries and ship sheds,
818
00:57:50,181 --> 00:57:53,901
those are the spaces
in which Athens itself was forged,
819
00:57:53,941 --> 00:57:56,141
its ideas and dreams made real,
820
00:57:56,181 --> 00:58:00,621
and those are ideas and dreams
that still inspire us today.
68131
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.