All language subtitles for Mythical.Beasts.2018.S01E04.720p.WEB.H264-JFF_track3_[eng]

Narrator:
THE CYCLOPS...

A MYTHICAL MAN-EATING GIANT

WITH SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH
AND JUST ONE EYE.

HE KILLS HIS GUESTS
AND EATS THEM.

Narrator:
BUT WHAT WAS THE REAL-WORLD
INSPIRATION

BEHIND THIS TALL TALE?

IT WAS INCOMPREHENSIBLE
THAT HUMAN BEINGS

WERE ABLE TO BUILD THIS.

Narrator:
WHY WERE THE ANCIENT GREEKS

SO CONVINCED THAT KILLER
CYCLOPES ROAMED THE PLANET?

IF YOU LOOKED AT A SKULL
LIKE THIS AND SAW THIS OPENING,

YOU WOULD ASSUME
THAT THIS WAS A CYCLOPS.

Narrator:
AND IS THERE MORE TO THE STORIES
OF FEARSOME GIANTS

THAN MEETS THE EYE?

YOU CAN SEE THAT
HE HAS A HUGE HEAD.

NOW, INVESTIGATORS USE THE
LATEST SCIENCE AND ARCHEOLOGY

TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND THE
MYTH OF THE FEARSOME CYCLOPS...

AND WHY IT'S STALKED
OUR NIGHTMARES FOR SO LONG.

-- Captions by VITAC --
www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Narrator:
GREECE, THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO,

PEOPLE HERE WARNED OF A MONSTER
WITH SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH.

IT COULD CONSTRUCT
HUGE BUILDINGS

AND FORGE POWERFUL WEAPONS.

THE CYCLOPS WAS A GIANT OF A MAN
WITH AN EYE

AS BIG AS A WHEEL,
TERRIFYING IN ASPECT.

IT WAS KNOWN FOR BEING SAVAGE.

IT WAS KNOWN FOR BEING
A CANNIBAL,

AND IT WOULD EAT PEOPLE,
SIX OF THEM AT A TIME.

Narrator: WHAT INSPIRED
THIS TERRIFYING MYTH?

IS IT MORE THAN JUST A LEGEND?

♪♪

THE FIRST PLACE TO LOOK
FOR CLUES

IS IN THE ORIGINAL STORY ITSELF.

AN ANCIENT POEM BY HOMER
TELLS OF A GIANT CYCLOPS

TRAPPING THE HERO ODYSSEUS
AND HIS MEN IN A CAVE.

EVERY DAY, THE BEAST
DEVOURS TWO OF THEM.

THERE'S NO ESCAPE
FROM THE TERRIFYING CREATURE.

TODAY, EXPERTS CONTINUE
TO INVESTIGATE THE TRUTH

BEHIND THIS ANCIENT LEGEND.

Narrator:
PROFESSOR GEORGIOS THEODOROU
IS A TOP DINOSAUR EXPERT.

HE'S DIGGING A SITE NEAR
THE GREEK TOWN OF PIKERMI

AND THINKS GIANT
PREHISTORIC BONES

COULD HAVE HELPED KICK-START
THE CYCLOPS MYTH.

Narrator:
THE ANCIENT GREEKS WOULDN'T
HAVE BEEN USED TO ANIMALS

THAT HAD SUCH BIG BONES.

THEY COULDN'T EXPLAIN THEM.

TODAY, THE GREEK ISLANDS
LOOK VERY DIFFERENT

TO HOW THEY DID
3 1/2 MILLION YEARS AGO.

BACK THEN, THIS WASN'T
WATER BUT LAND.

THE AEGEAN SEA WAS A VAST
EXPANSE OF FOREST AND GRASSLAND.

GIANT BEASTS LIKE RHINOS
AND GIRAFFES ALL LIVED HERE.

WHEN THESE ANIMALS DIED,

THEIR BONES LAY BURIED
FOR THE ANCIENT GREEKS TO FIND.

THE FRAGMENTS OF THESE STRANGE
AND GIGANTIC SKELETONS

INSPIRED MYTHS
AND LEGENDS OF MONSTROUS GIANTS.

♪♪

IMAGINE WHAT PEOPLE
MUST HAVE THOUGHT,

YOU KNOW, COMING UPON
A SKELETON OR FOSSILS

THAT THEY HAD NO IDEA
OR ANY PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE ABOUT.

THEY COULD CONSTRUCT ANY IMAGINE
THAT THEY THOUGHT WOULD WORK,

YOU KNOW, AROUND THESE BONES.

Regal: THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND
EVOLUTION.

THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND FOSSILS.

THEY WERE SIMPLY FINDING
THESE BIG BONES,

AND IT'S NOT A SURPRISE THAT
THEY WOULD TRY TO INTERPRET THEM

IN THE WAY THAT
THEY UNDERSTOOD LIFE TO BE.

♪♪

Narrator: HUGE FOSSILS CAN HELP
EXPLAIN A BELIEF IN GIANTS...

BUT WHAT COULD HAVE LED
TO THE IDEA

THAT THESE BEASTS HAD
JUST ONE TERRIFYING EYE?

♪♪

COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
DR. JOY REIDENBERG BELIEVES

SHE HAS FOUND EVIDENCE
TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY.

WHAT I HAVE HERE ARE PHOTOGRAPHS
OF AFRICAN ELEPHANT SKULLS.

NOW, THESE ARE ACTUALLY
QUITE LARGE,

BUT A SMALLER VERSION
OF THIS ACTUALLY LIVED

IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA
MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO,

AND THEY WERE CALLED
DWARF ELEPHANTS,

AND THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN
ABOUT HALF THE SIZE

OR MAYBE EVEN
A LITTLE BIT SMALLER,

BUT STILL A FAIRLY LARGE ANIMAL.

IF WE LOOK AT THE SKULL
FROM THE FRONT,

WHICH IS WHAT
THIS VIEW IS HERE,

YOU SEE THIS NICE DOUBLE OPENING
THAT'S FUSED IN THE CENTER.

THIS IS ACTUALLY THE OPENING
FOR THE NOSE,

AND ALL AROUND THIS IS WHERE
THE MUSCLES OF THE TRUNK.

THE EYES WOULD HAVE BEEN
ON THE SIDE, VERY LOW,

RIGHT ABOUT HERE.

SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SKULL,
IT'S NOT OBVIOUS RIGHT AWAY

THAT THIS IS WHERE
THE EYE SOCKETS ARE.

IF YOU LOOKED AT A SKULL
LIKE THIS

AND SAW THIS DOUBLE OPENING,

YOU WOULD ASSUME
THAT THIS WAS A CYCLOPS,

SOMETHING WITH EYES
THAT ARE FUSED IN THE CENTER

OR MAYBE EVEN JUST ONE EYE
IN THE CENTER

BUT A VERY, VERY LARGE HEAD,

SO IT'D LOOK LIKE
A GIANT HUMAN SKULL

WITH ONLY ONE EYE IN THE MIDDLE.

Narrator:
THESE FOSSILIZED ELEPHANT
REMAINS MAY GO SOME WAY

TO EXPLAINING THE BELIEF
IN THE ONE-EYED CYCLOPS.

BUT EXPERTS HAVE FOUND THAT
THERE'S MORE BEHIND THE TALES

OF THESE MUTANT GIANTS.

THESE LEGENDS ARE PROBABLY
BASED ON REAL PEOPLE

WHO SUFFERED
FROM THIS DEVASTATING DISEASE.

Narrator:
JUST HOW BIG AND POWERFUL
DID THE ANCIENT GREEKS

THINK THESE MUTANT BEASTS WERE,
AND WHY WERE THEY SO CONVINCED

THAT THEY FEASTED
ON HUMAN FLESH?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator:
ACROSS GREECE, INVESTIGATORS
SEARCH FOR THE ORIGINS

OF A HUGE MONSTER
WITH ONE GROTESQUE EYE...

THE CYCLOPS.

WHY DID THE GREEKS BELIEVE IN
GIANTS WITH SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH?

JUST HOW BIG DID THEY THINK
THEY WERE?

A CLUE LIES SOUTHWEST OF ATHENS
AMID THE MYSTERIOUS RUINS

OF THE HILLTOP FORTRESS
OF MYCENAE.

Kamil: MYCENAE AS A CULTURE
PREDATES ARCHAIC GREECE.

IT IS THOUGHT TO HAVE LASTED AND
FLOURISHED FOR ABOUT 500 YEARS.

Narrator:
THEY MYCENEANS ARE LONG GONE,

BUT ALL AROUND THIS RUIN
ARE CLUES TO THE CYCLOPS MYTH.

OVER 3,000 YEARS AGO,
THIS WAS A MIGHTY CITADEL,

SHELTERING BEHIND MASSIVE WALLS.

THE STONES PROTECTING IT
WERE COLOSSAL,

IMPOSSIBLE FOR MERE MORTALS
TO LIFT.

MYTH HAS IT THAT TO BUILD
THESE MIGHTY WALLS,

THE MYCENEANS RECRUITED
A GANG OF GIANTS --

DEFORMED, ONE-EYED BEASTS,
THE CYCLOPES.

EACH HAD THE STRENGTH
OF MANY MEN,

AND BLOCK BY GIANT BLOCK,
THEY BUILT THE CITADEL,

A FORTRESS UNLIKE
ANY SEEN BEFORE.

THE TRUE ORIGINS OF PLACES
LIKE MYCENAE

BECAME LOST TO
LATER GENERATIONS OF GREEKS.

ARCHAEOLOGIST PROFESSOR
CHRISTOFILIS MAGGIDIS

INVESTIGATES THE CITADEL'S
CONSTRUCTION TO FIND OUT

WHY THEY CLAIM THAT MONSTERS,
NOT MEN, HAD BUILT IT.

I MEAN, THE WALLS MUST HAVE BEEN
ABOUT 12 METERS

IN HEIGHT,
5 TO 8 METERS IN THICKNESS,

BUT IT'S THE SHEER WEIGHT

BASICALLY THAT KEEPS
THE WHOLE THING IN PLACE.

Narrator: THESE WERE THE DAYS
BEFORE THE WINCH OR THE CRANE,

BUT STILL THIS WALL
OF MASSIVE BOULDERS

HAS BEEN BUILT
TO A HEIGHT OF 40 FEET.

Maggidis: EACH OF THESE BOULDERS
MAY WEIGH A TON OR MORE,

SOMETIMES EVEN 20 TONS.

THAT'S ABOUT A METER AND A HALF,
A METER IN HEIGHT.

Narrator:
IT LOOKS LIKE IT WOULD TAKE
SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH

TO CONSTRUCT THESE WALLS.

Maggidis:
THE SIZE OF EVERYTHING BUILT,

THE SIZE OF
THE FORTIFICATION WALLS,

THE SIZE OF THE FORTRESS ITSELF,

THESE PROPORTIONS
WERE UNPRECEDENTED.

IT WAS INCOMPREHENSIBLE
THAT HUMAN BEINGS

WERE ABLE TO BUILD THIS.

♪♪

Narrator:
THERE WOULD BE NO STRUCTURE
LIKE IT IN GREECE

FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

Kerr:
THESE PLACES WERE TRULY AMAZING,
JUST BEYOND IMAGINATION.

SO IT MAKES SENSE THAT SOME
PEOPLE WOULD THINK

THAT THEY COULD
ONLY BE BUILT BY GIANTS.

Narrator:
HOW BIG WOULD THESE MONSTERS
HAVE TO BE

TO BUILD
SUCH A HUGE WALL AS THIS?

ANCIENT WRITERS
ARE LARGELY SILENT

WHEN IT COMES TO THE PRECISE
PROPORTIONS OF A CYCLOPS.

MATHEMATICIAN DR. KATIE STECKLES

IS GOING TO TRY
TO CALCULATE ITS SIZE

WITH THE HELP
OF A MODERN-DAY STRONGMAN.

ONE OF THE PROBLEMS
WITH GREEK MYTHS

IS THAT THEY'RE NOT VERY BIG
ON EXACT NUMBERS

OR GIVING PRECISE VALUES

FOR THINGS LIKE
PEOPLE'S HEIGHTS OR DISTANCES.

SO WE'RE GOING TO GET
SOME REAL-WORLD VALUES.

Narrator:
BOB McSTAY IS A WEIGHT LIFTER

AND USES HEAVY STONES
LIKE THESE IN COMPETITION.

THESE ARE
ATLAS STONES, RIGHT?

YEAH. YEAH,
THAT'S RIGHT, YEAH.

SO WHAT HAVE
WE GOT HERE TODAY?

THIS IS A 100 KILO.

Narrator:
THAT'S 220 POUNDS
OF ATLAS STONE.

THAT WOULD BE
MY WARM-UP WEIGHT.

♪♪

ONCE KATIE KNOWS HOW HEAVY
AN ATLAS STONE BOB CAN LIFT,

SHE CAN WORK OUT HOW BIG
THIS CYCLOPS WOULD HAVE TO BE

TO PICK UP THE HUGE STONES
IN THE MYCENAE CITADEL.

THAT'S THE
140-KILOGRAM STONE.

THAT WAS MY LAST WARM-UP
STONE BEFORE THE 160.

BOB TOPS OUT AT 353 POUNDS.

YEAH, THAT'S
ABOUT IT.

WITH THIS FIGURE,
KATIE CAN SCALE UP TO CALCULATE

THE SIZE
OF THE CYCLOPEAN BUILDERS.

HERE'S OUR ATLAS STONE,

COMPARING THAT TO OUR GIANT
BLOCKS THAT MAKE UP OUR WALL.

Narrator:
THE BIGGEST STONES AT MYCENAE
WEIGH UP TO 20 TONS EACH,

125 TIMES MORE THAN
BOB'S HEAVIEST.

HOW BIG WOULD BOB NEED
TO BE TO LIFT ONE?

WE DON'T NEED TO SCALE
BOB UP BY 125 TIMES

BECAUSE WHEN YOU SCALE
SOMEONE UP,

THEIR STRENGTH INCREASES MUCH
MORE QUICKLY THAN THEIR HEIGHT.

SO IN FACT, WE ONLY NEED
TO SCALE

BOB AROUND ABOUT 11 TIMES,
AND BOB IS EXACTLY 6 FEET TALL,

WHICH MEANS THAT OUR GIANT
BOB IS GOING TO BE 66 FEET TALL.

Narrator:
THIS IS A HUGE INCREASE IN SIZE.

66 FEET IS INCREDIBLE.

IT'S THE HEIGHT OF A SEVEN-STORY
BUILDING.

IN FACT, IT'S SO HIGH, IT'S
PRETTY MUCH DINOSAUR TERRITORY.

Narrator:
THE STRENGTH AND SIZE
OF THE CYCLOPS BUILDERS

WOULD HAVE
BEEN AWE-INSPIRING,

BUT IT WASN'T JUST THE GREEKS
WHO THOUGHT SUPERSIZED CREATURES

WERE BUILDING
MONSTER STRUCTURES.

IN IRELAND, MYTHS OF
GIANT BUILDERS WERE ALSO RIFE.

♪♪

COULD IT BE BECAUSE REAL-LIFE
GIANTS ONCE WALKED AMONG US?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator:
THE CYCLOPS, A TERRIFYING
MYTHICAL MAN-EATING GIANT.

ITS SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH
WAS THOUGHT TO BE BEHIND

SEEMINGLY MONSTER BUILDS.

WHAT CONVINCED THE ANCIENT
GREEKS IT REALLY EXISTED?

IT SEEMS THEY WERE NOT
THE ONLY ONES TO BELIEVE

IN SUPERSIZED BEINGS.

IN NORTHERN IRELAND,
A STRANGE SECTION OF COASTLINE

STRETCHES OUT INTO THE SEA
TOWARDS SCOTLAND --

THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY.

JUST LIKE MYCENAEAN GREECE,

IT WAS ONCE THOUGHT
TO BE THE WORK OF GIANTS.

GEOLOGIST KIRSTIN LEMON
INVESTIGATES

THE BIZARRELY SHAPED STONES.

Lemon:
THE COLUMNS THEMSELVES
ARE REALLY UNUSUAL.

TO BE HONEST,
THEY ACTUALLY LOOK MAN-MADE.

THEY ALL FIT TOGETHER A BIT
LIKE HONEYCOMB FITS TOGETHER.

I SUPPOSE PEOPLE,
WHEN THEY FIRST SAW THEM,

THOUGHT,
"THEY CAN'T POSSIBLY BE NATURAL.

SURELY THESE ARE MADE BY MAN AND
ONLY SOMEBODY AS BIG AS A GIANT

COULD HAVE POSSIBLY MADE
A ROCK FORMATION LIKE THIS."

Narrator: THE HUGE CAUSEWAY
INSPIRED A GIANT MYTH.

IT TELLS OF FINN McCOOL,
THE BIGGEST GIANT IN IRELAND

WHO PICKS A FIGHT
WITH SCOTTISH GIANT BENANDONNER.

THE GIANTS HAMMER A CAUSEWAY
ACROSS THE SEA,

SO THEY CAN MEET FACE-TO-FACE,

BUT WHEN FINN McCOOL SEES THAT
THE SCOT IS WAY BIGGER THAN HIM,

HE DISGUISES HIMSELF
AS HIS OWN BABY.

TERRIFIED OF HOW GIGANTIC
BABY McCOOL'S FATHER MUST BE,

BENANDONNER FLEES BACK
ACROSS THE CAUSEWAY,

SMASHING IT TO PIECES.

♪♪

THE STORY OF THE GIANT'S
CAUSEWAY

IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HUMANS

TRYING TO MAKE SENSE
OF THE NATURAL WORLD.

YOU HAVE WHAT CLEARLY LOOKS
LIKE A MAN-MADE STRUCTURE,

BUT IT'S OF HUGE PROPORTIONS.

HOW DO WE EXPLAIN THAT?

IT MUST HAVE BEEN MADE
BY A GIANT.

Narrator:
TODAY, GEOLOGISTS GIVE US
A DIFFERENT EXPLANATION

FOR THIS EXTRAORDINARY-
LOOKING PHENOMENON.

THESE UNIFORM ROCKS WERE MADE
FROM VOLCANIC LAVA

THAT CRACKED
INTO MULTIPLE SEGMENTS

AS IT COOLED
60 MILLION YEARS AGO.

THE TALE OF HOW FINN McCOOL
CREATED THE CAUSEWAY

MAY ONLY BE A MYTH,

BUT IS THERE STILL MORE
TO OLD LEGENDS OF IRISH GIANTS

THAN MEETS THE EYE?

ENDOCRINOLOGIST
DR. MARTA KORBONITS EXAMINES

THE REMAINS OF WHAT APPEARS TO
BE A SUPERSIZED HUMAN.

THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH
OF CHARLES BYRNE.

HE WAS A GIANT LIVING
IN THE 18TH CENTURY,

GROWING TO A HEIGHT
OF 7-FOOT-7.

Narrator:
CHARLES BYRNE WAS BORN IN 1761

AROUND 50 MILES
FROM THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY.

YOU CAN SEE THAT HE HAS
LONG BONES IN HIS LEGS

AS WELL AS HIS ARMS,

A VERY LONG TORSO AND A HUGE
HEAD COMPARED A NORMAL SKULL.

HE HAD A DISEASE,
WHICH WE CALL GIGANTISM,

AND HE HAD A TUMOR IN HIS
PITUITARY GLAND BEHIND THE EYE,

MAKING TOO MUCH GROWTH HORMONE.

Narrator:
CHARLES BYRNE DIED OF
THE COMPLICATIONS

OF GIGANTISM
AT THE AGE OF 22.

COULD THIS CONDITION
HAVE PLAYED A ROLE

IN CREATING THE MYTH THAT GIANT
CREATURES ONCE LIVED IN IRELAND?

AND COULD THE SAME CONDITION
HAVE EXISTED IN ANCIENT GREECE,

LAND OF THE CYCLOPS?

MARTA LOOKS FOR ANSWERS.

SHE BEGINS BY INVESTIGATING DNA
OF OTHER OVERSIZED PEOPLE.

A FEW YEARS AGO, A FAMILY
WAS REFERRED TO THIS HOSPITAL

BECAUSE TWO MEMBERS OF THAT
FAMILY BOTH HAD GIGANTISM.

ONE OF THEM ACTUALLY
WAS VERY TALL, OVER 2 METERS.

Narrator:
MARTA ANALYZES BLOOD SAMPLES

AND ISOLATES
THE GENETIC MUTATION

THAT'S BEHIND THE FAMILY'S
EXCESSIVE GROWTH.

IT'S SUCH A RARE DISEASE.

WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE
THAT THIS FAMILY OF YOUNG GIANTS

LIVING TODAY COULD BE RELATED TO
THE IRISH GIANT CHARLES BYRNE?

Narrator:
MARTA LOOKS TO SEE IF THESE
CASES ARE IN FACT CONNECTED

BY SOME KIND OF GIANT GENE
IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD.

IF SO, COULD OTHER
MUTANT GIANT GENES

HAVE EXISTED FURTHER AFIELD
AT THE TIME OF THE CYCLOPS MYTH?

THE RESULTS ARE IN.

WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, THE FAMILIES
HAVE THE SAME DISEASE

AND THE SAME MUTATION

AND ARE RELATED TO
THE GIANT CHARLES BYRNE.

Narrator:
IT TURNS OUT THAT CHARLES BYRNE
AND THE YOUNG FAMILY

SHARED A COMMON ANCESTOR
ABOUT 60 GENERATIONS AGO.

WE FOUND ALTOGETHER 18 FAMILIES
WITH EXACTLY THE SAME MUTATION.

Narrator:
OVERSIZED PEOPLE HERE
ARE NOT ISOLATED CASES.

THEY'RE PART OF A PHENOMENON,

ONE THAT STRETCHES BACK
FOR CENTURIES.

SO THIS PART OF IRELAND
HAS MORE GIANTS,

PROBABLY,
THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.

THESE TALES, THESE LEGENDS,

ARE PROBABLY BASED
ON REAL PEOPLE

WHO SUFFERED FROM THIS
DEVASTATING DISEASE.

Narrator:
OVERSIZED PEOPLE HELP FUEL MYTHS
OF GIANTS LIVING HERE.

IS IT POSSIBLE THAT
THE SAME CONDITION

ALSO EXISTED IN GREECE,

AND IF REAL PEOPLE WERE BEHIND
SOME OF THESE TALES,

WHY WAS THE CYCLOPS
CONSIDERED TO BE A MAN-EATER?

COULD THE ANSWER LIE

WITH OUR CAVE-DWELLING
ANCESTORS?

VERY SHARP,
VERY RHYTHMICAL CUTS,

CLEARLY TO REMOVE FLESH
FROM THE BONE, WAS CANNIBALIZED.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator:
THE MIGHTY CYCLOPS...

ALL ACROSS ANCIENT GREECE,

PEOPLE TOLD STORIES OF THIS
SUPERSTRENGTH ONE-EYED GIANT.

WHAT WAS THE TRUTH
BEHIND THIS TERRIFYING LEGEND?

WAS THERE EVER A REAL GIANT THAT
USED TO FEAST ON HUMAN FLESH?

ONE OF THE INTERESTING
MOTIFS ABOUT GIANTS IS,

FREQUENTLY THEY'RE
CANNIBALISTIC,

OR THEY EAT THE FLESH OF MEN.

ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS STORIES
OF MAN-EATING GIANTS,

AND ONE THAT GETS TOLD
TO KIDS TODAY,

IS "JACK AND THE BEANSTALK."

Narrator:
IN MANY DIFFERENT CULTURES,
THERE ARE STORIES OF MONSTERS

EATING PEOPLE WHO VENTURE
INTO THE WRONG PLACE.

IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY, THE CYCLOPS
POLYPHEMUS LIVES INSIDE A CAVE.

HE TRAPS ODYSSEUS AND HIS MEN
IN HIS HOME,

EATING TWO OF THEM EACH MORNING.

DID MAN-EATING GIANTS ONCE STALK
THE EARTH LIKE

IN THESE OLD FOLKTALES?

FRED COOLIDGE FROM
THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO

AT COLORADO SPRINGS

IS ON THE TRAIL
OF A REAL-LIFE MONSTER.

THIS NETWORK OF CAVES
IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND

IS A TREASURE TROVE
FOR ANTHROPOLOGISTS.

THEY FOUND THOUSANDS
AND THOUSANDS OF ITEMS,

ALL KINDS OF STONE TOOLS.

Narrator:
EXPERTS HAVE CONCLUDED THAT
THESE CAVES WERE ONCE INHABITED

BY OUR DISTANT COUSINS --
THE NEANDERTHALS.

Coolidge:
IT'S FAIR TO SAY IT'S A
NEANDERTHAL CAVE

BECAUSE IT WAS PROBABLY OCCUPIED
FROM ABOUT 90,000 YEARS AGO

TO UP TO ABOUT 40,000 YEARS AGO.

Narrator: LIKE THE CYCLOPS, THE
NEANDERTHAL WAS CAVE-DWELLING.

ANTHROPOLOGISTS USED TO THINK
THAT NEANDERTHALS

WERE A PRIMITIVE
STEPPING-STONE

IN THE EVOLUTION
OF HOMO SAPIENS,

BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT BOTH
SPECIES SIT SIDE BY SIDE

ON TWO BRANCHES OF
THE SAME FAMILY TREE.

THEY EVOLVED TOGETHER
BUT IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

HOMO SAPIENS GREW LEAN AND TALL,

WHEREAS NEANDERTHALS
WERE SHORT AND STOCKY

BUT INCREDIBLY STRONG.

Coolidge:
THIS IS THE NEANDERTHAL SKULL.

THIS IS KIND OF SCARY, YOU KNOW,
THIS OVERHANGING BROW RIDGE.

THESE PEOPLE WERE VERY,
VERY STRONG, TOUGH IN A FIGHT.

THEY TOOK ABOUT 35%
MORE CALORIES JUST TO WALK

BECAUSE OF THEIR THICK,
STOCKY, HEAVY BODIES,

AND HEAVILY MUSCULATURED.

SO THEY NEEDED MEAT.

THEY NEEDED BIG MEAT.

ABOUT 80% OF THEIR DIET
WAS MEAT.

Narrator:
ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED
A GRUESOME TRUTH

ABOUT THE SOURCE
OF SOME OF THIS MEAT.

THE EVIDENCE WAS FOUND
ON THE BONES THEMSELVES.

ONE INTERESTING ASPECT OF THESE
BONES, THE STRIATION MARKS,

THE CUTS ON THE BONES WERE MADE
WITH A STONE TOOL,

VERY SHARP ALONG THE EDGES MADE
BY A NEANDERTHAL,

AND THIS WOULD HAVE
MADE THESE MARKS.

VERY RHYTHMICAL, CLEARLY
TO REMOVE FLESH FROM THE BONE,

SCRAPED AND EATEN.

Narrator: LIKE THE CYCLOPS,
THE NEANDERTHAL WAS A MAN-EATER.

WE'VE GOT A CLEAR HISTORY
OF NEANDERTHAL CANNIBALISM

ON OTHER NEANDERTHALS
FOR ALMOST 100,000 YEARS.

IN ONE CASE, THE LARGEST
NEANDERTHAL EVER FOUND

WAS CANNIBALIZED ALONG WITH
A BABY AND TWO LITTLE JUVENILES,

AND THEY EVEN SHOW SCRAPES
IN THE BABY'S SKULL

HOW THE TONGUE
WAS RIPPED OUT.

Narrator:
AMONG THE 80,000 ITEMS

FOUND IN THE DEBRIS
OF THIS ANCIENT CAVE,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS MADE
A REMARKABLE DISCOVERY,

ONE THAT MIGHT THROW LIGHT ON
THE MYTH OF THE CYCLOPS ITSELF.

THIS IS PART OF A HUMAN JAWBONE
WITH TEETH.

Narrator:
THE ORIGINAL IS VERY FRAGILE,
SO THIS IS AN EXACT REPLICA.

CLEARLY IDENTIFIED AS
HOMO SAPIENS 41,000 YEARS AGO.

Narrator:
THIS EXTRAORDINARY FIND REVEALS
SOMETHING STARTLING

ABOUT OUR ANCESTORS' HISTORY
IN THESE VERY CAVES.

Coolidge:
SINCE THIS DATES TO ABOUT
41,000 YEARS AGO,

IT'S PROOF THAT NEANDERTHALS
AND HOMO SAPIENS

OVERLAPPED IN THIS CAVERN

AND THAT THERE WAS
AN INTERACTION

BETWEEN THE TWO TYPES.

Narrator:
IT RAISES AN ASTONISHING
POSSIBILITY.

IF OUR ANCESTORS
MET NEANDERTHALS,

WERE THESE HULKING FLESH
EATERS THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

OF THE MYTH
OF MAN-EATING GIANTS?

IF NEANDERTHALS HAD THIS
PREDILECTION,

GREATER PREDILECTION
FOR CANNIBALISM,

IT WOULD NOT BE SURPRISING
THAT HOMO SAPIENS

WOULD MAKE UP STORIES,
YOU KNOW,

PARTICULARLY TO PROTECT
THEIR YOUNG AND JUVENILES

FROM BEING EATEN AND SAYING,
"STAY AWAY FROM DARK PLACES."

THAT'S WHERE THESE MYTHS
MIGHT HAVE STARTED WITH PEOPLE

IN THE DARK
WHO ARE GOING TO EAT YOU.

Narrator:
FOR AROUND 5,000 YEARS,

NEANDERTHALS LIVED ALONGSIDE
OUR ANCESTORS IN EUROPE.

ALTHOUGH THE LAST ONES DIED
OUT AROUND 40,000 YEARS AGO,

STORIES OF MAN-EATING
CAVE DWELLERS

HAVE SURVIVED FOR MILLENNIA.

BUT THERE WAS MORE TO THE
CYCLOPS THAN A MAN-EATING OGRE.

IT WAS SAID TO BE A HUGELY
SKILLED CRAFTSMAN

WHO CREATED POWERFUL WEAPONS
FOR THE GODS.

DID THIS ASPECT OF THE MYTH

ALSO HAVE ITS ORIGINS
IN THE REAL WORLD,

AND WHAT CAN IT REVEAL ABOUT
THE MOST WELL-KNOWN FEATURE

OF THE CYCLOPS --

ITS PETRIFYING SINGLE EYE?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator:
INVESTIGATORS ARE ON A QUEST
TO UNRAVEL THE TRUTH

BEHIND THE CYCLOPS MYTH.

ITS ORIGINS COULD LIE IN
A WARNING FROM OUR DISTANT PAST.

COULD ANCIENT HISTORY
ALSO EXPLAIN WHY IT WAS THOUGHT

THAT THIS MONSTER
ONLY HAD ONE EYE?

THE CYCLOPS MYTHS DESCRIBE
HOW THESE BEASTS

WERE BLACKSMITHS
WORKING FOR THE GODS.

HEPHAESTUS,
THE GOD OF THE FORGE,

HAD HIS WORKSHOP IN THE VOLCANO
OF MOUNT ETNA

ON THE ISLAND OF SICILY.

HIS BLACKSMITHS
WERE THREE CYCLOPES.

SHAKING THE EARTH
WITH THEIR HAMMER BLOWS,

THEY FORGED WEAPONS
FOR THE GODS --

A HELMET OF INVISIBILITY FOR
HADES, GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD,

A TRIDENT FOR POSEIDON,
GOD OF THE SEA,

AND FOR ZEUS, THEY FORGED
A DEADLY THUNDERBOLT

WITH THE POWER
TO SHAKE THE WORLD.

SO CYCLOPSES WERE
ACTUALLY FORGING

THESE AMAZINGLY POWERFUL
LIGHTNING BOLTS WIELDED

AND HURLED
BY THE HEAD GOD,

I MEAN, THE MOST
POWERFUL DEITY THEY HAD.

SO THEY DEFINITELY HAD
A MYSTERIOUS

OR A SUPERNATURAL COMPONENT
TO THEM, A MAGICAL THING.

Narrator:
WHY LIES BEHIND THIS STORY
OF THIS HULKING MONSTER

AS THE GODS' BLACKSMITH?

ARCHAEOLOGIST JOANNA PALERMO
SPECIALIZES

IN THE GREEK IRON AGE.

IRON BECOMES THE MOST
PROMINENT METAL

ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN,
AND SO IT REALLY USHERS

IN A WHOLE NEW AGE
IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.

Narrator:
THE BLACKSMITH WAS CENTRAL
TO THE NEW IRON AGE ECONOMY.

Palermo: BLACKSMITHS
WERE SO IMPORTANT.

THIS WAS MANUAL LABOR.

IT WAS DIRTY LABOR,
BUT THESE PEOPLE WERE SO PIVOTAL

TO THE NEW BEGINNINGS
OF GREEK SOCIETY.

Narrator:
TODAY, JOANNA INVESTIGATES
A WORKING FORGE

THAT USES IRON AGE TECHNIQUES.

SHE WANTS TO SEE WHAT IT REVEALS
ABOUT THE CYCLOPS MYTH.

BLACKSMITH ROD HUGHES IS MAKING
A REPLICA IRON AGE SWORD

USING THE METHODS
FROM OVER 3,000 YEARS AGO.

Hughes:
YOU HAVE TO GET A VERY LARGE
LUNK OF MATERIAL SUITABLY HOT

FOR LONG ENOUGH TO BE ABLE
TO CHANGE ITS SHAPE

AND CHANGING ITS SHAPE
BY APPLYING FORCE.

Narrator:
THE MELTING POINT OF IRON IS
OVER 2,700 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

ANCIENT GREEK FURNACES COULDN'T
REACH TEMPERATURES THAT HIGH,

SO BRUTE FORCE WAS NEEDED TO
BEAT THE HOT METAL INTO SHAPE.

SO FROM WHAT I CAN SEE, IT'S A
VERY, VERY PHYSICAL PROCESS.

IT REQUIRES REPETITIVE
HAMMERING.

YOU HAVE TO BE PHYSICAL
WITH THE TOOLS

IN ORDER TO GET IRON TO BEHAVE
THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO.

Narrator:
IN ANCIENT GREECE, ONLY THE
STRONGEST MEN WOULD HAVE

BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING
IN THIS WAY DAY IN, DAY OUT.

Hughes:
THERE'D BE DUST TO DAWN MOVING
VERY HEAVY BITS OF METAL

AND THEN GRINDING AND SHAPING.

IT'S JUST VERY, VERY ARDUOUS.

Narrator:
THE WORK OF THE BLACKSMITH
WAS NOT JUST TOUGH,

IT WAS DANGEROUS.

IT COULD MAIM AND EVEN BLIND.

SOME SCHOLARS HAVE SUGGESTED
THAT ANCIENT BLACKSMITHS

WOULD HAVE WARN AN EYE PATCH
TO PROTECT THEIR VISION

FROM SPARKS
COMING UP FROM THE FORGE.

IN THE DAYS,
THEY WOULD HAVE NO GOGGLES.

THEY WOULD HAVE SPARKS
FLYING AROUND,

STRAY SPARK HITTING THEM
IN THE EYES.

Narrator:
BEING A BLACKSMITH WAS LOUD
AND DIRTY WORK.

THE FORGE WAS LOCATED AWAY
FROM THE CITY CENTER.

THE BLACKSMITHS WERE POWERFUL
AND STRONG,

BUT WORKING WITH RED-HOT METAL
WAS DANGEROUS

CAUSING MANY BURNS AND SCARS.

SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT
TO PROTECT THEIR EYES

FROM FLYING SPARKS,

THE BLACKSMITHS
WORE AN EYE PATCH.

THEY LOOKED LIKE ONE-EYED,
HULKING MONSTERS.

IT MAY BE THAT THE IRON AGE
BLACKSMITH

WAS THE REAL-LIFE INSPIRATION
FOR THE CYCLOPS.

THE CYCLOPS ARE IMBUED WITH
THE ATTRIBUTES OF STRENGTH

AND BRUTE FORCE,
ELEMENTS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN

PIVOTAL TO WORK WITH
IN THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP.

Narrator:
DOES THE IRON AGE FORGE
HOLD OTHER CLUES

ABOUT THE MYTH OF THE CYCLOPS,

THE OUTSIDER BEAST WITH
SUPERNATURAL POWERS?

Regal:
ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE TO
REMEMBER ABOUT THESE MONSTER

LEGENDS IS
THEY'RE COMING OUT OF A PLACE

WHERE HUMANS HAVE ONLY RECENTLY
LEARNED HOW TO DO METALWORK.

THESE TECHNIQUES WOULD HAVE BEEN
RELATIVELY SECRETIVE

AMONGST THE PEOPLE
WHO PRACTICED THEM.

Narrator:
THE BLACKSMITH'S MAGIC WAS TO
TURN AN ORDINARY LOOKING ROCK

OF IRON ORE INTO SOMETHING THAT
WOULD INSPIRE FEAR AND WONDER.

Regal:
ONE WAY TO EXPLAIN FOR PEOPLE
WHO DIDN'T KNOW THIS ALMOST

MAGICAL ART OF TAKING THESE
STRANGE STONES IN THE GROUND

AND MAKING THEM INTO A SHIELD
OR A PLATE OR A SWORD

OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT
WOULD BE TO CREATE THE IDEA

OF MYTHICAL CREATURES DOING IT.

Narrator:
LIKE NEVER BEFORE, NEW IRON
WEAPONS TRANSFORM

THE POTENTIAL OF THE ANCIENT
GREEKS ON THE BATTLE FIELD.

Palomer:
OVER THE EARLY IRON AGE,

WE DEVELOP A WHOLE NEW FORM
OF WARFARE,

AND ONE OF THEIR KEY ITEMS
IS NOT JUST THE SPEAR

BUT THE SWORD
THAT CAME ALONG WITH IT.

THEY BOTH WOULD BE MADE
OUT OF IRON.

Narrator:
THE CYCLOPS WAS A SUPREMELY
SKILLED WEAPON MAKER,

BUT IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY,

HE'S OFTEN PORTRAYED AS A
HULKING MONSTER OF LITTLE BRAIN.

THE CYCLOPS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
REALLY REPRESENTED BRUTE FORCE,

AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT
THE CYCLOPS IN THE "ODYSSEY,"

THERE'S SOMETHING VERY PRIMAL
ABOUT IT,

PRE-CIVILIZATIONAL
ABOUT IT.

THE KIND OF
ANTITHESIS OF CULTURE,

THAT SORT OF BARBARIAN-LIKE
STATE OF EXISTENCE.

AH!

Narrator:
SO WHY IS THE CYCLOPS ALWAYS
A MONSTER AND NEVER A HERO?

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Narrator:
THE ANCIENT GREEKS THOUGHT
THE CYCLOPS

WAS A TERRIFYING ONE-EYED BEAST
WITH A TASTE FOR HUMAN FLESH.

DESPITE HIS MANY SKILLS,

THIS GIANT IS DEPICTED AS
SLOW-WITTED AND EASILY TRICKED.

IN HOMER'S EPIC POEM,
THE "ODYSSEY," A GIANT CYCLOPS

TRAPS ODYSSEUS IN HIS CAVE

AND THEN EATS HIS MEN TWO
AT A TIME.

BUT ODYSSEUS CLEVERLY PLIES
THE CYCLOPS WITH WINE

AND PRETENDS TO JOIN IN

UNTIL THE GIANT FALLS
OVER BLIND DRUNK.

ODYSSEUS HEATS A MASSIVE
SPLINTER FROM THE CYCLOPS' CLUB

AND STABS HIM IN THE EYE.

WITH THE BEAST BLINDED
AND OUTWITTED,

THE HERO AND HIS MEN CAN ESCAPE.

ODYSSEUS IS ABLE TO OUTWIT
THE CYCLOPS THROUGH BRAINPOWER

RATHER THAN BRUTE FORCE
OR EVEN MAGIC.

Narrator:
SO WHY IS THE CYCLOPS
ALWAYS A LOSER?

ARCHAEOLOGIST
CHRISTOFILIS MAGGIDIS

BELIEVES IT COULD HAVE BEEN A
DEVICE TO PROMOTE THE POWER

AND SOPHISTICATION
OF GREEK SOCIETY.

THE CYCLOPS WERE BELIEVED
TO BE MYTHICAL CREATURES

THAT WERE EXCELLENT
IN METALSMITH, GREAT BUILDERS,

BUT WITH CRUDE FORCE,
CRUDE POWER, WITHOUT REFINEMENT,

WITHOUT TOO, YOU KNOW,
MUCH OF THE AESTHETICS

THAT WERE SO HIGHLY VALUED
BY THE LATER GREEKS.

Narrator:
THE ANCIENT GREEKS USED MYTHS
AND LEGENDS

TO REINFORCE THE IDEALS
THEY HELD DEAR.

MYTHS OFTEN ARE CONVEYING
POWERFUL MESSAGES ABOUT SOCIETY.

THEY'RE LETTING PEOPLE KNOW WHAT
IS CONSIDERED RIGHT AND WRONG,

WHO'S RIGHTEOUS, WHO'S SINFUL,
WHO IS CONSIDERED THE HERO,

AND WHO IS CONSIDERED
THE MONSTER.

Narrator:
CHRISTOFILIS THINKS THAT
THE PARTHENON OF ATHENS,

THE MOST FAMOUS TEMPLE
IN ANCIENT GREECE,

COULD HOLD THE SECRET
TO UNDERSTANDING

HOW THE GREEKS
REALLY VIEWED THE CYCLOPS.

Maggidis:
THIS IS A GREAT VANTAGE POINT.

WE CAN ACTUALLY COMPARE,
YOU KNOW,

THE TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES
IN MASONRY AND ARCHITECTURE,

THE EMBODIMENT
OF CRUDE STRENGTH AND FORCE

IN THE CYCLOPEAN WALL
AND PERFECTION

AND HIGH-END AESTHETICS
ON THE PARTHENON OF ATHENS.

Narrator:
THE PARTHENON IS DESIGNED
WITH PRECISION

AND BEAUTY IN MIND.

EVERY AESTHETIC DETAIL
HAS BEEN CONSIDERED.

THE STRUCTURAL COLUMNS
ARE TAPERED AND TILTED,

ENHANCING THE VIEW
FROM A DISTANCE.

WITH ARCHITECTURAL BRILLIANCE,
THE ANCIENT GREEKS HAVE DESIGNED

THE PARTHENON TO LOOK
PERFECT FROM EVERY ANGLE.

Maggidis: THE ATHENIAN ACROPOLIS
IS GENERALLY REGARDED

AS THE PINNACLE
OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE.

IT EPITOMIZES
THE ANCIENT GREEK SPIRIT.

IT REFLECTS AND SYMBOLIZES
ALL THE GREAT IDEALS

BY WHICH WE LIVE TODAY --
PHILOSOPHY, THEATRE,

INTELLECT, SCIENCE, ART,
AND ABOVE ALL, DEMOCRACY.

Narrator:
THE IDEALS BUILT INTO THE VERY
FABRIC OF THE PARTHENON

REPRESENT EVERYTHING
THAT THE HULKING, UGLY

AND SLOW-WITTED CYCLOPS WAS NOT.

THE BARBARIAN CYCLOPS IS ONE
OF THE MOST MEMORABLE

AND ENDURING MONSTERS
IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY.

BUT FOR ALL ITS BRUTISH POWER,

HUMAN INGENUITY OUTWITTED IT
IN THE END.

EXPERTS HAVE SHOWN THE CYCLOPS
IS NOT JUST MYTH ALONE.

ELEPHANT FOSSILS,
REAL-LIFE GIANTS,

AND IRON AGE BLACKSMITHS
MAY HAVE

ALL BEEN REAL-WORLD INSPIRATIONS
BEHIND ITS POWERFUL LEGEND.

AND OUR CLOSE RELATIVES,
THE NEANDERTHAL,

COULD HAVE BEEN THE REASON
IT WAS THOUGHT

TO BE A MAN-EATER.

THE ANCIENT GREEKS CREATED
THE MONSTROUS CYCLOPS

TO SHOW HOW THEIR VALUES
OF BEAUTY

AND INTELLECT REIGN SUPREME.

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