All language subtitles for Ancient.Greece.by.Train.with.Alice.Roberts.2025.S01E02.720p.SBS WEB-DL AAC2.0 H.264-7VFr33104D-eng

ALICE ROBERTS: The Aegean Sea and
its collection of beautiful islands

are framed by the coastlines
of mainland Greece and Turkey.

Millions of tourists of all
nationalities come here every year.

3,000 years ago,
it was just as popular.

The ports of the Aegean would
have been crammed with families,

workers, soldiers and kings,

travelling for trade and to fight.

The cities of ancient Greece
were often at war with each other.

I want to find out more about this
vast and complicated civilisation,

to dig out the real stories
behind the myths.

And I'm not just going
to the well-known tourist spots.

Of course not.

I'm headed off the beaten track.

I'm Alice Roberts,
and I'm travelling hundreds of miles

through what is now
Greece and Turkey,

looking into the flowering
of classical civilisation,

from ancient Greece to the Romans...

Oh, my goodness!

That's wonderful.

..to discover
this region's vital role

as the birthplace of Plato,

Socrates and Alexander the Great,

mythology, theatre and democracy.

(SPEAKS GREEK)

Taking the train is such
a brilliant way to explore a country.

I love finding
quirky rural stations...

..and then seeing
how the landscape gradually changes.

(HORN HONKS)
(MAN SPEAKS GREEK)

ALICE: I started my journey
in Thessaloniki,

and from there,
I took the train

to the historic
sites at Vergina

and Delphi,

home of the oracle

and the temples of Apollo
and Athena.

Today, I'm on a 90-minute
train journey

from Livadia
to the Greek capital.

Heading away from those lovely
mountains and the temple of Athena.

But I'm now on my way
to the city that bears her name -

Athens itself.

Halfway to Athens, and Delphi
is very much still on my mind.

It's such
a stunning mountainside city,

with incredible examples
of precious ancient architecture

and thousands of tourists.

It's such a difficult balance
to strike,

making these sites accessible to the
public while protecting the heritage.

It's a hot topic in Greece

and one I hope to discuss
with the Greek Minister of Culture.

Arriving
into the metropolis of Athens

and new renovation at the station
reminds you

of the depth of history here.

As they work
to build two new platforms,

every scoop of earth
is monitored by archaeologists.

Athens is an ancient city

with a history dating back
thousands of years.

It's had a huge influence
on Western civilisation

in everything from art and science
to philosophy and politics.

My first meeting, though, is some
distance away, in the Pentelic Hills,

just 15 minutes from the city centre.

These small mountains
are all part of the...Mount Penteli,

which is the source of
the famous, famous Pentelic marble,

the beautiful white marble
that was used to build the Parthenon

on the Acropolis,

and as you can see,
the quarries are still busy today.

Alongside this road
is an archaeological site

rarely visited by tourists.

I'm heading
to the sanctuary of Dionysos,

that dates to the 8th century BCE.

I'm meeting Niki,
who's spent years researching here

and has a fascinating theory about
the origins of theatre and democracy.

Niki.

Hello.
Hi.

(SPEAKS GREEK)
(SPEAKS GREEK)

Hello.
Tell me about this place, then.

'Cause it's meant to be
the birthplace of theatre.

NIKI: Yes, indeed.

Uh, this is, uh,
the birthplace of, uh, Thespis.

You may know of, uh,
the word 'thespian'.

Uh, so, it comes from him.

Thespis lived here.

This is his home village.
Yeah.

And, erm...

..this village happened to have
a very important cult of Dionysos,

the god of wine.

So, Niki, where are we standing
right here, then?

There's archaeology all around us.
Yes.

So if you can notice,
there are these stone seats.

This is, uh, certain,
that it was a small theatre.

OK.
It's a local theatre.

Well, so this is the stage here?
Yeah.

We're standing on the stage?
More or less. Yes.

Yeah.
More or less.

So we have to think in terms
of, uh, small-scale activity,

but of extreme importance,
because this is where it all began.

Yeah, and is there...
there must be a settlement, then.

There must be...
Yes, of course.

There was a town around here?
Of course. There's a town.

It's not...
it hasn't been excavated fully.

Yeah.
Uh, only, erm...only this area.

And you see the site also looks
kind of abandoned.

ALICE: Legend has it
that Thespis invented theatre

when he stepped away from a chorus of
dancers and singers to speak to them,

and it somehow connected to the
Greek god Dionysos, the god of wine.

NIKI: So you have to imagine
a group of revellers.
ALICE: Yep.

Thespis jumped out of this little
crowd and addressed a question.

And the group answered the
question.
Yeah.

So this is a rudiment
of Greek theatre,

the actor and the chorus.

And the reason
why it is so important

is because the actor
represents the individual...

Yeah.

..and the chorus
represents the collective.

And it starts with a drunken dance.
A drunken dance. Absolutely.

A drunken dance...
Yes.

..gives birth to theatre.

Yes.
This is brilliant.

So...we shouldn't think of theatre
as secular, the way we do today.
Yeah.

It was under the protection
of this very, very, uh,

important god, Dionysos...

Yeah, yeah.
..erm, who is a protector.

That's all part
of the religious worship?

Absolutely. Yes.
Yeah.
Yes, yes.

ALICE: The site was first discovered
by a German archaeologist

in the late 19th century

and then excavated
by an American team.

How do you know that Dionysos was...
was worshipped here?

NIKI: Because right
where this big rectangular stone
is,

we found
the archaic statue of Dionysos.

And it's...it's...it's recognisable
as that particular god?
Yeah. Absolutely.

Because he's holding,
uh, the kantharos, the drinking
cup.

And, of course, there are, uh,

always stylistic criteria to
recognise gods when you find the...

ALICE: Yeah.
..statues...
ALICE: Yeah.

..let alone the fact
that he's larger than...

..than natural size, so...

Yeah.
He's in the National Museum.

I really recommend
that you visit him.

So this is extraordinary.

You've got a really wonderful
connection here between, uh...

..between archaeology and history
AND mythology.

Yes, yes.
It's all coming together.
Of course.

ALICE: Niki has written extensively

about the surprising link
between theatre and democracy.

NIKI: When democracy was founded
a few years later,

democracy, uh, utilised
this very important dialogue,

between individuals
and collectives...

Yeah.

..as a f...a foundation
for tremendous intellectual growth
and political growth.

And, um, what I found interesting,
looking at Hellenistic towns,

actually, into...
into the Roman period,

is that you have the...
the buildings, the architecture,

kind of reflects that link,

because you have
the buildings which are the...

..uh, the odeon, or the bouleuterion,
like, where the town council sits,

and it looks like a small theatre.

Yes.
Yeah.

I can show you this, erm,

pillar here.

It has been identified and read.

Uh, it has letters here, as you
see.

Uh...
Oh, yeah. Yeah.

NIKI: Yes. Uh...

ALICE: God, they're fairly subtle,
aren't they, underneath that lichen.

Do we know how old this is?
Do you have any idea?

NIKI: This, yes. Yes, yes, we do.
We know very well.

It dates all the way from, uh,
the 4th century BCE.

ALICE: OK.

So you've got some letters on here.
Yes.

What does this relate to? Is it...
is it readable? Is it legible?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It was much more legible.

They're the names of the sponsors.

Oh, OK.
Yes.

The patrons of the theatre...
Yeah, patrons.
..effectively.

The patrons of the theatre here.
Held here.

ALICE:
So the patrons get their names here.

That's the important thing, isn't it?
NIKI: This is the important thing.

You write it in stone.
You make sure everybody knows.

Everybody knows.
Yeah.

And then this gave you
a lot of, erm, social...

Status.
..visibility...

Yeah. Yeah.
..and status - exactly.

ALICE: And then setting up a monument
to say, "I've done this."

NIKI: Yes, yes, yes.
ALICE: Yeah.

Does every village have a theatre?
We think so.

This just happens to be
a very exceptional village,

because it...it produced, uh...
uh, the...the birth of theatre.

ALICE: So it means it becomes

a really important central pillar
of Greek culture.

NIKI: Absolutely. Yes. Yes.
ALICE: Yeah. Yeah.

Well, Plato, uh, was, uh,
uh, annoyed by that.

He talked about theatrokratia. Huh?

Like we say demokratia?
Yeah.
Democracy?

It's like the overpowering, uh...

..uh, theatre, uh...
you know...addiction.

Being ruled by theatre.
Yes, yes!

Yeah.
Yes, yes.

Did he go to the theatre, though?
Uh...

Do you think he...

We don't know if he went, but,
uh...
Yeah.

..he must have.

Uh...
He sounds a bit miserable, Plato,
I always think.

He is a little bit.

Yes. Uh, detached.

Yeah.
And too intellectual.

I like...
(LAUGHS)

..I pref...I prefer Aristotle.

(LAUGHS)
I think he'd have been more fun.

I would have liked to have met him.
Yes.
Yeah.

It would be nice to meet
any of them.

Yeah, it would, wouldn't it?

I'd like to meet
some of the playwrights, though.

Yes.
Aristophanes.

Oh, my God.
He'd have been a laugh.

NIKI: He would have been a...

..a real treat to meet.

ALICE: Yeah.

It's a...it's a very quiet
archaeological site.

NIKI: Very. Very much so, yes.
ALICE: Yeah.

Uh...

..it would be nice if, uh,
more people knew about it.

Yeah.
Yeah.

If, as you say, this really is
the birthplace of theatre.

Yeah.
It's an important place.

Very much so, yes.
Yeah. Yeah.

Back in the city centre of Athens,
and I'm in the district of Plaka,

famous for its narrow,
winding streets, bars and cafes.

Plaka sits
in the shadow of the Acropolis,

which dominates the skyline.

It seems a bit strange
to find a street here

named after
the English romantic poet Byron.

But he was here, in Athens,
200 years ago,

and he was a champion of Greek
independence from the Ottoman Empire.

He was also very critical
of the British diplomat Lord Elgin

about removing marble sculptures
from the Parthenon

and taking them back to Britain.

It's a controversy that rumbles on

and that
I want to understand more about.

Hello.

Are you gonna come and lie on my bag?

(SPEAKS GREEK)

(MAN SPEAKS GREEK)

Mmm.

Tomorrow, I'm going to look
at some very ancient inscriptions,

which hold clues
to Athens's power and wealth.

But for now, I'm just going to enjoy
the evening light with my new friend

and raise a glass to Dionysos.

(CAT PURRS)

ALICE: I'm in Athens, looking for
evidence of this city's ancient past.

Today, Athens has a population
of just over 3 million,

but it brings in
twice as many visitors.

Some six and a half million tourists
come here each year.

I want to discover
what lies behind its success.

Five metres below street level,
ancient Athens reveals itself.

In the 1990s,
engineers extending the metro

came face-to-face with
the engineering of their ancestors.

Getting water into and out
of the growing city was a challenge,

and amongst these remains
of ancient Athenian buildings

are stone channels,
including a very large one,

dating to the 5th century,

called the Great Drain.

One of the reasons
we know so much about ancient Greece

is because of their obsession
with writing things down.

Public notices, new laws and, as
I saw at the sanctuary of Dionysos,

lists of patrons who funded the arts

were all written on stone

and have lasted thousands of years.

There's a whole museum dedicated
just to inscriptions on stone

in the city centre
north of the Acropolis.

I'm meeting
the museum director, Dimos,

who has a team of people still
working on conserving and decoding

many of these texts.

Dimos.
DIMOS: Hi.

Good morning.
(SPEAKS GREEK)

Oh. It's very nice you speak Greek.

(LAUGHS) A little bit.
A very tiny bit.
OK.

And I can read it a little bit
as well.

Yes. This is very good. (LAUGHS)

And...and it is good here, isn't it,
because it's all about...

Yes, it's...
..inscriptions...

..all about inscriptions
and all about writing.

It was founded in 1886.

It's a...a museum that has,
uh, Greek inscriptions, mainly,

from 8th century to modern times.

ALICE: Yeah, yeah.

How many inscriptions
have you got here?

14,000.

14,000 inscrip...

Have you read them all?

Me personally?
Yeah.

Not all.
Not all? (LAUGHS)
Not all.

I know most of them, but...

Yeah.
..I have not read them all.

Do you hope to read them all?
Yes, of course.
Yeah?

I have some years, you know...
Yeah, yeah.
..in front of me.

So I have to read some inscriptions
that I have not read yet.
Yeah.

So these inscriptions relate to
lots of different things.

Some of them are decrees or...

Decrees.
..uh, laws carved in stone.

Some of them are...
Decrees. Laws.

Uh...catalogues,
what we call catalogues, that
are...

..uh, usually,
they catalogued many things.

And they had, uh, many things
from the...

..sacred place, from the temples.

And I presume
that they're put up in...

..uh, public places where...

Yes, of course.
..where people can read them.

Uh, Acropolis. Usually on
Acropolis.
Yeah.

On Acropolis, it was fine,
it was written...

(SPEAKS GREEK)

"Put them on Acropolis."

ALICE: Because when you look
at these inscriptions,

there are no gaps between the words.

DIMOS: Yes, of course.

The way they were writing
had no gaps.
Yeah.

I find it very difficult,
because I can read the letters.

I studied ancient Greek.

But when they're all just...

..in a string,
I find it really difficult.

OK.

You...with the years...

..you are used.

You just get used to it?
You used and you read them.
Yeah.

It's...it's not...if...even if you
come here and you stay one month,

after one month,
you are going to read them...

Yeah.
..easily.

Yeah, yeah.

So, what should I look out for
as I'm wandering round?
What?

From there, that...
they are the earliest inscriptions.

And afterwards,
you have to go back there from
here.

That there.
OK.

I mean...
I'll go and explore.

Thank you very much.
You're welcome.

ALICE: There are four large galleries

containing inscriptions
on smaller and larger stones

and back rooms, where
the researchers decode the texts

and carefully catalogue each item.

I'm looking, though, for
the oldest piece in the collection.

This is one of the smallest fragments
in the museum,

but definitely not to be missed,
'cause it's also the oldest,

dating back to the 8th century BCE.

So this is

incredibly early Greek writing.

I can make out a kappa there
and an alpha.

What they're doing
is they're taking a written language

that already existed,
the Phoenician language,

the language of...of trade
around the eastern Mediterranean,

and they're adapting it to

the language that they're speaking.

They're adapting it to

that Greek spoken language,

using those Phoenician letters,

but also adding in new ones,

because Phoenician didn't have
any vowels.

And so the creation
of the Greek alphabet also involves

vowel sounds as well as consonants.

8th century.

I mean, that's mind-blowing.

We're seeing the origins
of the Greek alphabet here,

and it really caught on.

There's something amazing about

still being able
to read these words today.

But some inscriptions
are harder to decode than others.

And these earlier ones look like
they're back-to-front.

It's mirror writing.

This is from the 7th century BCE,

and it's read from right to left.

So this is a gravestone for...

..Keramos.

And then in this inscription
of the 5th century,

the direction of the writing
changes every line.

So you can just see that
we're going this way, left to right,

then we're going right to left

then left to right.

And this style is called
boustrophedon,

because it's like
cattle pulling a plough

and turning at the ends of the field.

Tall stone slabs
covered in inscriptions

were erected in public spaces.

They're called stelae.

They'd inform the citizens
of new laws, treaties

or record financial dealings,

a bit like a newsletter.

So this is the stela that relates
to the first Athenian League.

And this is when
the city-states came together

in an alliance against the Persians.

And Athens was
at the heart of that alliance.

And what Athens was doing was

asking for money
from the other city-states.

So it was asking for a tribute.

And what we've got here, then,
are all of these tributes recorded.

So it is the kind of accounts
that go with this Athenian League,

with this alliance.

And what we've got here are numbers,

a little bit like numbers in...
in Latin,

but instead here
we've got Greek letters, so...

..each one of these represents
a hekaton, so that's actually 400.

So it's basically saying
how much each...

..city should be paying to Athens.

And you can see some
of the names of cities around here.

They're all arranged
geographically, look,

so we've got
cities around the Hellespont.

Hellespontios.

And they were all listed here,
like Neandreia.

And then every few years,

Athens has a reassessment

and decides that everybody
should be paying them a bit more tax.

Dimos says I can go in here,
into the research lab.

It says "No entrance, no photos."

I'm going in anyway.

Oh, that's lovely.

A little grave marker,

with somebody's name on it, look.

"Zosime Heraklionos..."

So "Zosime, daughter of Heraklion..."

"..Apamaetis..."

"..from Apamea".

And these two hands are praying,

so hands raised
in invocation or prayer.

That's lovely.

Politics, ancient lives, deaths.

They're all here.

And they'll be here
long after I've gone.

The centre of Athens has three huge
hills, completely uninhabited today.

The most famous is the Acropolis.

But I'm heading
to a neighbouring hill.

And here,
I'm on the edge of the old city.

This is part of
the ancient fortifications of Athens.

There was a...

..an enormous long wall,

and then this is the remains of

one of the gates into the city -

in fact,
one of the towers at the gates.

It had two towers, or dipylon.

Look at the city!

It's like a vast sea,
lapping up against these islands.

The Acropolis is, of course, the most
famous landmark in Athens, but...

..I think in some ways,
this hill is even more important.

It's called the Pnyx.

Seems to come from a word that means
"tightly packed together", because

throngs of people
would gather up here,

and this was where
the Athenian assembly met.

This is the beginning
of the world's first democracy.

Thousands of people could fit
into this semi-natural hollow,

and the speaker, whoever it was
that was going to address the crowd,

would step onto that platform there,
called the bema.

And a really important principle was
that everybody had the right

to speak to the assembly.

Although when I say everybody,
it was every citizen,

and not everybody was a citizen,

so if you were a slave,

you were not going to be able
to speak to the assembly,

and also, you had to be a man,

but apart from that, it is
the beginnings of democracy. (LAUGHS)

Tomorrow,
I have a very important meeting

with a minister
in the Greek government.

I want to talk about the challenges

of protecting
ancient Greek archaeology,

the effects of tourism,

and hopefully the Parthenon marbles,
that ended up in London.

I love the way

that people come out at night and sit

on these little rocky islands
that poke up above the city.

There's a few people up here,

but there's loads of people on

the Areopagus rock over there.

That's a favourite spot.

And it gets even more spectacular

as the sun goes down
and they light up the Acropolis.

The Acropolis,
literally the "high city",

still dominates Athens.

Its crowning glory is the Parthenon,

the temple dedicated
to Athena herself.

There are other monuments
up there too,

all dating to the 5th century BCE.

The Parthenon
looks remarkably intact,

but it's been reconstructed.

It was damaged by earthquakes
in antiquity,

and in the 17th century, it was used
as a gunpowder store by the Ottomans

and was blown up
by Venetian artillery.

In the 19th century,

the British ambassador Lord Elgin

claimed to have made a deal
with the Turks

allowing him to take
marble sculptures from the site,

which he did,

and they ended up a long way from
the Parthenon, in the British Museum.

The debate about their return
has been rumbling on ever since.

ALICE: I'm in Athens,
and I have an important meeting.

I've got to be at the Minister
of Culture's office at 12 sharp.

To get to the
ministerial Department of Culture,

I'm walking through
the National Gardens,

a calm and peaceful short cut
through the city centre.

It wasn't always
open to the public like this, though.

It was the Royal Gardens originally

and reserved for the exclusive use
of the Royal Family.

The park ends at Hadrian's Gate,
also known as the Arch of Hadrian,

a classic example of Roman Athens.

(SHUTTER CLICKS)

But now, time is tight,

and I want to look smart
for my meeting.

So, I've got an appointment
to see Dr Lina Mendoni,

who is an archaeologist

with a special expertise
in ancient inscriptions.

She also happens to be
the Minister for Culture.

I want to talk to her
about inscriptions,

but I'm also wondering

if she'll answer a question
about some very particular marbles.

As with all politicians,
time is very precious.

The Minister has two meetings today
with her Turkish counterpart,

so I'm very grateful
that she has managed

to squeeze me in.

We have just a few minutes
to get our cameras in place

and then it's on.

Dr Mendoni, I wanted to ask you
about inscriptions.

That is your particular passion,
your particular expertise.

Uh, so...uh...uh,

what...what is the importance of...
of inscriptions

to understanding
ancient Greek culture?

I mean, uh, uh, I think that's
what's incredible, is...is...is...

..being able to read the words
that were written in antiquity.

It's like somebody in the past
talking to you.

(SPEAKS GREEK) Exactly.

Yeah. Yeah.
Exactly.

I thought it was interesting
at Delphi, the...

..the importance
of protecting that landscape,

so that you do feel like you're
stepping back in time, actually.

And an important part of your...
your job now is...

..is looking at
how you can achieve that balance of

making these sites
accessible to the public

but protecting the archaeology.

That must be a huge challenge.

Yeah. So new policies
are making a difference.

And...yeah.

I would like to ask you
one final question.

And you can say that you don't want
to answer it if you don't want to.

In your lifetime,
would you like to see

the marbles come back from Britain
to the Parthenon?

Hmm. (LAUGHS)

Uh...

What would it mean to Greece
to have those marbles back?

Absolutely.

I don't know
why it seems so complicated.

To me, it is very straightforward.

They should be back here, in Athens.

Yeah. Yeah.

Amazing. Thank you.
You're very welcome.

ALICE: The Minister dashed off
to her next meeting.

The impression I have is

that she's a politician
who likes to get things done.

I've just two hours left in Athens
before I'm back on the train

for my next destination.

Ancient Athens
was a cosmopolitan city

where people from
different regions and cultures mixed.

I'm on my way to a museum dedicated
to the history of one community

that thrived here 2,000 years ago.

Along the avenue down to the metro
is an arts-and-crafts market.

I'm suddenly surrounded
by characters from ancient Greece.

And here is the legendary Theseus,

the man who went to Crete
to slay the minotaur

and who's credited
with founding Athens.

There's no evidence for any of that,
of course, but it's a good story.

As well as the bronze statue,

he has his very own metro station.

Thissio station is just a couple
of stops from my next destination.

I'm going to see a new exhibition
that reveals the fascinating story

of the Jews in ancient Greece.

A 5-minute walk
brings me to the Jewish Museum.

(BUZZING)

It was founded in 1977

to house thousands of artefacts from
Jewish communities across Greece,

stretching back from the modern era
through the Middle Ages to antiquity.

And here's one object that captures
a century's worth of history.

There's a great story of recycling
right here.

This piece of stone has had
at least three cultural lives,

if I can describe it in that way.

It was...most recently,
before it ended up in this museum,

part of a Venetian fort at Chalcis.

But you can see there's writing
on it, and that writing is in Hebrew.

So before it was part of the fort,
it was a tombstone,

and it was a tombstone of, obviously,
a Jewish person in the 16th century.

Before that, though, it was part of
a bit of ancient Greek architecture.

It's an Ionic capital
from the top of a column.

So it's interesting
to see this Jewish reuse of

this earlier
ancient Greek bit of stonework.

But I know there are much older
inscriptions in this museum

which evidence Jews in Greece
going back more than 2,000 years ago.

Occupying what seems to be
an old townhouse,

the museum has four floors arranged
around an octagonal staircase.

The collection here consists
of ritual objects

from synagogues from all over Greece.

There are also personal items,
rare books

and a collection of beautiful
textiles from the Ottoman period.

But it's the new exhibition on the
very top floor that I've come to see.

I'm meeting the museum's director,

Zanet.

Zanet.
Hi.

Hello. Nice to meet you.
It's good to see you.

Really good to see you.
I found an inscription downstairs,

But it dated to the 16th century.
Yes.

Yes, yes.
Which is a bit late for me.
Yes, quite.

ALICE: This gallery
is dedicated to inscriptions,

but this time, Jewish inscriptions.

These artefacts have been collected
from mainland Greece and the islands

and span
different periods of antiquity.

This is a Hebrew inscription
dating from 1611...
OK.

..from the castled city of Mystras,

where there was a
strong and vibrant Jewish
community.

ALICE: Yeah.

So, here we are moving
to the 5th century, Common Era,

and this is a fragment
from the Agora of Athens.

That's a menorah, isn't it?
Yes, it's a menorah.
Yeah.

ZANET: And a lulav. You see
part of a lulav here to the right.

ALICE: What's a lulav?

It's a bunch of plants...
Yeah.

..a bouquet of plants, that's used,
uh, for the, uh, holiday of
Sukkoth.

And the menorah is the..
Tabernacles.
..is that typical Jewish candle?

Typical. Yes. Typical.
Yeah. Yeah.

And do you think
they were Greek-speaking?

Are we talking
about people who were...

..who were, you know, part
of that wider Hellenistic culture?

We know they were Greek-speaking.
Yeah.

They had already been Hellenised

by coming into contact
with the Greek language of the
time.

And they were speaking, um, Greek,
Hellenistic Greek, among themselves

in their everyday life.

Um, it...it was
something like English today.
Mmm.

If you wanted to be part
of a social milieu

and, uh, participate,
you know, in...in socials

and in, uh, business,

um, you had to speak Greek
at that time, like you do now.

You have to speak English.
Yeah, yeah.

So they're...they're speaking Greek
on a day-to-day basis...
Yes.

..but speaking Hebrew
in the synagogue?

Exactly. And worshipping in Hebrew.
Yeah. Yeah.

ZANET: This is very special.

This is the oldest inscription
in this exhibition

but also the oldest
archaeological evidence

of the presence of, uh, Jews
in...on Greek soil.

Really?
Yep.

And when does that date to?

ZANET: It dates from
the end of the 4th,

uh, to the first half of the 3rd
century, Before Common Era,
which...

BCE.
BCE. That's right.

ALICE: So we're talking, you know,
round the time of Aristotle,

around the time
of Alexander the Great.

Yeah.
Yep.

That's incredible.

It was found, erm, at the, uh,
temple of Amphiaraos,

in a small town called Oropus,
about
an hour and a half from Athens.

Yeah.
Um, it's a manumission inscription.

Quite rare. Yes.
OK. So...so freeing a slave?

Yes. It concerns freeing a slave.

And the text tells us very de...
in great detail,

because it's actually
a legally binding text,

that, uh, the, uh, man,
Moschos, son of Moschion, the Jew,

uh, will be liberated
by his master, Phrenenis,

a year after
this inscription is put up

at the wall of the temple
where it was found.

Yeah. Yeah.
So a year after that,
he must be liberated.

ALICE: So this legal document
written in stone...
ZANET: Exactly.

..is the...is the first...
is the first inscription

that we have
relating to a Jewish person.

Show me...show me
where the word is that says...

It's right here.
..that he's a Jew.

ZANET: "Moschos, Moschionos..."
ALICE: Yes.

ZANET: Meaning "son of Moschion".
ALICE: Yeah.

"..Ioudaios."
ALICE: "Ioudaios." I can see that.

ZANET: "The Jew".
ALICE: Yeah.
ZANET: Right.

That's incredible.

So based on what we know
from the historical documents

and then this amazing new work
on the epigraphy, the inscriptions,

do you think there were...
there were Jews, there were...

..there were Jewish communities,
in...in most Greek cities?

Yes, if we...

..especially if we speak about, uh,
the...time in the long term...

Mmm.
And we're talking about 2,500
years.

So it is the long term.
Mmm.

..um, yes, absolutely.

They settled
in Greek cities and islands, um,

and, uh, traded there
and made lives for themselves,

professions they took up,

all the way from Crete
right to the north.

Yeah.
Um...maybe not in every city.

But in most cities, yes.
Yeah.

That's beautiful.
Thank you very much.

My time in Athens has come to an end.

I'm back at the station to catch
the train away from the capital.

I've seen amazing archaeology here,

including inscriptions revealing
the political power of ancient Athens

and the presence of
Jewish communities in Greek cities.

And I learned how
theatre and democracy emerged here.

I've caught the train
heading westwards out of Athens,

and you quite quickly get out
of the city and into the countryside.

Lovely hills
dotted with olives and cypress trees.

And I'm going to be crossing across
a very narrow isthmus

which connects to the Peloponnese.

I'm heading for another ancient city,
the city of Corinth,

and I've found an ancient philosopher
to be my guide,

a man called Socrates.

Next time, I come face-to-face
with the Greek gods...

That's incredible, isn't it?
WOMAN: Yes.

..meet the workers
piecing together the past...

Are you getting near the end?

Oh! No.
(LAUGHS) Oh! No.

(LAUGHS)

..I take to the seas...

OK.

I'm in charge now.

..and meet the archaeologist

with the keys to the city...

Oh! It's lovely.

..searching for more evidence
of ancient Greek civilisation.

Captions by Red Bee Media
(c) SBS Australia 2025