All language subtitles for Mythical.Beasts.2018.S01E05.720p.WEB.H264-JFF_track3_[eng]

[ HISSING ]

Narrator:
THE FEATHERED SERPENT --

A MYTHICAL MUTANT MONSTER,

HALF-BIRD, HALF-SNAKE.

Reidenberg:
IF YOU HEAR THIS SOUND...

[ RATTLING ]

...YOU WOULD BE TERRIFIED.

Narrator:
IT RULED SOME OF THE AMERICAS'

MOST POWERFUL CIVILIZATIONS
FOR OVER 1,000 YEARS.

THE RITUALS
TO THE FEATHERED SERPENT

WOULD HAVE BEEN A PANIC
THAT THE RAIN WOULD NOT COME.

Narrator: WHY WERE THE ANCIENTS
SO CONVINCED

THIS MONSTER EXISTED?

THIS CREATURE HAS
NOTHING TO DO WITH MAN.

IT'S A CREATURE OF WILD PLACES.

Narrator: AND WHY COULD IT ONLY
BE SATED BY HUMAN BLOOD?

THESE INDIVIDUALS WERE PROBABLY
ALIVE AT THE TIME OF BURIAL.

Narrator:
TODAY A TEAM OF BEAST HUNTERS

USES GROUNDBREAKING SCIENCE
AND ARCHAEOLOGY

TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT
WAS THIS ALL-POWERFUL BEING,

AND THE PEOPLE RELIED ON HIM.

Narrator:
THEIR MISSION --

TO UNCOVER THE TRUE INSPIRATION
BEHIND THE MYTH

AND WHAT THIS FEARSOME MONSTER
REALLY WAS.

♪♪

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

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

♪♪

Narrator:
MORE THAN 1,500 YEARS AGO,

A MYSTERIOUS HYBRID CREATURE

TERRIFIED THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO
AND CENTRAL AMERICA.

PART RATTLESNAKE, PART BIRD,

THIS WAS THE BLOODTHIRSTY
FEATHERED SERPENT.

IN A LOT OF HUMAN CULTURES,
SNAKES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH EVIL.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT WAS
THE MOST TERRIFYING BEAST

IN THE ANCIENT AMERICAS.

Li: THIS WAS VERY FEARSOME.
IT WAS VERY AGGRESSIVE.

MORE THAN JUST A MONSTER,
IT WAS A SUPERNATURAL BEING.

Narrator: DESPITE ITS
BLOOD-CHILLING APPEARANCE,

THIS BEAST WAS HELD IN AWE
BY POWERFUL CIVILIZATIONS

LIKE THE AZTECS AND THE MAYA.

Li: THE FEATHERED SERPENT
WAS ONE CREATURE

WITH MANY DIFFERENT NAMES,

SO THE AZTECS CALLED IT
QUETZALCóATL,

AND THE MAYANS CALLED IT
KUKULKAN.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT ITSELF
IN LATIN AMERICAN CULTURES

WAS REVERED,
WAS ALL-POWERFUL AND IMMORTAL.

Narrator: WHAT WAS
THE REAL-WORLD INSPIRATION

BEHIND THIS MYTHOLOGICAL MONSTER

THAT MADE PEOPLE
BELIEVE IN IT FOR SO LONG?

IS THERE MORE TRUTH
TO THIS LEGEND THAN WE THINK?

COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
JOY REIDENBERG

IS CONVINCED THE FIRST CLUES LIE
IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.

SHE INVESTIGATES
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST,

STARTING WITH ITS BODY --
THE HIGHLY VENOMOUS RATTLESNAKE.

MEXICO HAS OVER 100 SPECIES
OF RATTLESNAKES --

MORE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE
IN THE WORLD.

Narrator:
THESE CREATURES ARE HIGHLY
DEVELOPED KILLING MACHINES.

VENOMOUS SNAKES STILL BITE
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE

IN MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
EVERY YEAR.

WITHOUT MODERN MEDICINE,
MOST VICTIMS WOULD DIE.

Reidenberg: THE ANCIENT MEXICANS
WOULD HAVE LEARNED

TO RESPECT THESE ANIMALS

BECAUSE IF YOU GOT BIT
BY A RATTLESNAKE,

IT WAS CERTAIN DEATH,

SO IF YOU HEAR THIS SOUND...

[ RATTLING ]

...YOU WOULD BE TERRIFIED.

Narrator:
BUT ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

DIDN'T SIMPLY FEAR THESE SNAKES.

THEY WERE IN AWE OF THEM.

THEY BELIEVED THEY HAD
MYSTICAL POWERS.

THIS IS THE SHED OUTER LAYER
OF THE SKIN OF A SNAKE,

SO WHAT YOU HAVE LEFT
LOOKS KIND OF LIKE A GHOST.

IT LOOKS LIKE IT DIED,

BUT THEN YOU SEE A BRAND-NEW,
GLISTENING SNAKE

RIGHT NEXT TO IT,
AS IF IT HAD BEEN REBORN AGAIN.

THESE CULTURES OFTEN BELIEVED
IN REINCARNATION,

SO YOU COULD SEE HOW THIS WOULD
INSPIRE SUCH A THOUGHT.

Narrator: THE RATTLESNAKE'S
ABILITIES TO KILL AND REGENERATE

SEEMED LIKE SUPERPOWERS.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT
WAS EVEN MORE EXTRAORDINARY.

IT COULD SOAR THROUGH THE AIR
LIKE NO SNAKE ON EARTH.

WHAT COULD BE BEHIND
THIS BELIEF?

THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH
OF A QUETZAL,

AND THESE BIRDS
WERE VERY HOLY BIRDS

BECAUSE THEY WERE THOUGHT
TO REPRESENT THE GODS.

THEY WENT BACK AND FORTH
BETWEEN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD

OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH
BECAUSE THEY COULD FLY.

THESE TAIL FEATHERS --
ALMOST 3 FEET LONG,

AND YOU IMAGINE
THEY'RE WIGGLING,

SORT OF LIKE THIS
PHEASANT FEATHER OVER HERE.

IT WOULD LOOK LIKE
A SNAKE WIGGLING,

SO YOU CAN IMAGINE
HOW THIS MIGHT BE INTERPRETED

AS A FLYING SNAKE.

[ SCREECHES ]

Narrator: THE FEATHERED SERPENT
MAY HAVE BEEN INSPIRED

BY TWO REAL ANIMALS,

BUT FUSING THEM TOGETHER CREATED
A UNIQUE MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT
WAS MORE THAN JUST A MONSTER.

IT WAS A SUPERNATURAL BEING.

WHAT MAKES IT QUITE DIFFERENT

FROM OTHER
MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES

IS THAT YOU HAVE
SO MANY DIFFERENT CIVILIZATIONS

SEPARATED BY CENTURIES WHO WERE
WORSHIPING THE SAME CREATURE.

Narrator:
WHAT WAS THE DEADLY APPEAL
OF THIS TERRIFYING MONSTER

THAT GAVE IT SO MUCH POWER
OVER EARLY CIVILIZATIONS?

HISTORIAN ANNABETH HEADRICK
HUNTS FOR ANSWERS

IN MEXICO'S ANCIENT CITY
OF TEOTIHUACAN.

A PYRAMID HERE BEARS SOME OF
THE EARLIEST KNOWN IMAGES

OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT.

WHAT CAN THEY REVEAL ABOUT
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST

AND WHAT INSPIRED IT?

Headrick:
HERE'S THIS MYSTICAL CREATURE.

HE'S GOT THESE WONDERFUL TEETH,

NOSTRILS UP HERE,

AND THEN HE'S GOT A COLLAR
OF FEATHERS ALL THE WAY AROUND.

Narrator: VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN
ABOUT THE CIVILIZATION

THAT CARVED THESE FIERCE HEADS,

BUT ANNABETH BELIEVES
THE FEATHERED SERPENT

WAS MORE POWERFUL HERE
THAN ANYWHERE ELSE.

Headrick: ANCIENT MESOAMERICANS
BUILT MEANING

INTO ALL OF THEIR ARCHITECTURE.

IF WE CAN LEARN ABOUT
THE STRUCTURE OF THIS BUILDING,

I THINK WE CAN UNDERSTAND MORE
ABOUT WHO THIS CREATURE WAS.

Narrator:
TODAY, JUST A FEW HEADS SURVIVE.

AFTER NEARLY 2,000 YEARS,

ONLY THE FRONT FACADE
HAS THESE SERPENT HEADS

PROJECTING OUT
INTO THE HUMAN REALM.

Narrator:
ANNABETH BELIEVES UNCOVERING
THE ORIGINAL NUMBER OF HEADS

COULD UNLOCK THE MYSTERY
OF WHAT THIS BEAST REALLY WAS.

TO FIND OUT,
SHE USES LASER TECHNOLOGY

TO MEASURE THE DISTANCE
BETWEEN EACH ONE.

Headrick:
2.7 METERS.

Narrator:
THAT'S NEARLY 9 FEET.

THE LASER READINGS ARE ACCURATE

TO WITHIN 4 HUNDREDTHS
OF AN INCH.

THE DIMENSIONS OF
THIS STRUCTURE SUGGEST

THAT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN
260 FEATHERED-SERPENT HEADS

ON THIS BUILDING.

Narrator:
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.

260 WAS A MAGICAL NUMBER
TO THE PEOPLE OF TEOTIHUACAN.

JUST LIKE US,
THEY HAD A 365-DAY CALENDAR,

BUT THEY HAD A SECOND CALENDAR,
AND IT WAS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT.

IT WAS A 260-DAY
RITUAL CALENDAR.

THIS TELLS ME THAT THIS WAS
A VERY SACRED TEMPLE.

Narrator:
2,000 YEARS AGO,

THIS PYRAMID WAS THREE TIERS
HIGHER THAN IT IS TODAY.

THE FACADE GLISTENED
WITH BRIGHT PAINT,

BUT WHAT WAS THE ROLE
OF THE 260

INTRICATELY CARVED HEADS
OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT?

WERE THEY GUARDING THIS TEMPLE,

OR DID THEY SERVE
ANOTHER PURPOSE?

Bouck:
SNAKES GUARD ROYALTY.

THEY GUARD IMPORTANT FIGURES
AND EVEN TEMPLES

BECAUSE THEY'RE CONNECTED
TO THE PROMISE OF REBIRTH,

SO THEY GUARD A PROCESS
MORE THAN A PLACE.

Narrator: WAS THIS SNAKE MORE
THAN JUST A FEARSOME PROTECTOR?

ANNABETH FINDS MORE CLUES --

A CARVING OF THE BEAST
CARRYING A RITUAL HEADDRESS

WORN BY A HIGH PRIEST OR KING.

Headrick: YOU CAN SEE THAT
THE HEADDRESS IS RIDING

ON THE BACK
OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT.

THE SERPENT BRINGS THE HEADDRESS
TO THE PEOPLE OF TEOTIHUACAN,

PERHAPS TO THE KING HIMSELF,

AND ONLY A GOD CAN DO THAT.

Narrator: THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
THAT THE FEATHERED SERPENT

WAS MUCH MORE THAN AN ORDINARY
RATTLESNAKE AND BIRD COMBINED.

PEOPLE HERE BELIEVED
IT CAME FROM ANOTHER WORLD.

IT WAS DIVINE.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT
IS NOT JUST A GUARDIAN

OF THIS BUILDING.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT
IS THE GOD.

Narrator:
THIS PYRAMID WAS THE DOMAIN

OF THE HALF-SNAKE,
HALF-BIRD MONSTER.

FROM ITS TEMPLE, IT COULD
SURVEY THE ANCIENT CITY.

ITS MUSCULAR BODY SHOWED
ITS INCREDIBLE STRENGTH.

BRIGHT-GREEN FEATHERS REVEALED
ITS POWERS OF HEAVENLY FLIGHT,

AND TERRIFYING TEETH
WARNED OF ITS FEROCIOUS HUNGER.

A CLUE TO JUST HOW IMPORTANT

THIS SERPENT GOD WAS
TO THE PEOPLE

LIES IN THE LOCATION
OF ITS TEMPLE,

RIGHT AT THE VERY HEART
OF THE CITY.

THE RULERS GAVE THE FEATHERED
SERPENT PRIME REAL ESTATE.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT
WASN'T JUST ONE OF THE GODS,

BUT HE WAS
THE MOST IMPORTANT GOD.

Bouck: THE FEATHERED-SERPENT
SYMBOL IN TEOTIHUACAN

IS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND.

THERE WAS NEVER BEFORE
A TEMPLE QUITE THAT LARGE

DEDICATED TO
THE FEATHERED SERPENT,

NOR HAD THERE BEEN
SUCH A FERVENT WORSHIP

OF THIS GOD BEFORE.

Narrator: WHAT DID THE PEOPLE
OF TEOTIHUACAN

WANT FROM THEIR FEROCIOUS
SERPENT GOD?

COULD THE ANSWER LIE CONCEALED
AT THE VERY HEART

OF THIS MYSTERIOUS PYRAMID?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: AT THE ANCIENT CITY
OF TEOTIHUACAN IN MEXICO,

INVESTIGATORS HUNT FOR THE TRUTH

BEHIND THE MYTH
OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT.

WHAT COMPELLED PEOPLE HERE
TO WORSHIP

THIS TERRIFYING
HALF-BIRD, HALF-SNAKE GOD?

DOES THE ANSWER LIE WITH
HOW OTHER CULTURES

VENERATED SERPENTS?

Hersch: WHAT FASCINATES ME
AS A CLASSICIST SO MUCH

IS THAT CROSS-CULTURALLY,

WE SEE HUMANS WORSHIPING
THE VERY THING THAT THEY FEAR.

Kamil:
SNAKES ARE QUITE FRIGHTENING

AND HAVE ASSOCIATIONS WITH
THE DEAD AND THE UNDERWORLD,

BUT THEY ALSO ARE
VERY PROTECTING.

A SNAKE WAS SAID TO GUARD
THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS,

AND THE PEOPLE WOULD
SACRIFICE FOOD TO IT --

YOU KNOW,
POURING OUT LIBATIONS

AND THINGS LIKE THAT
TO FEED THIS GUARDIAN SNAKE.

Narrator: THE SNAKE MIGHT BE
A PROTECTOR IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY,

BUT AT TEOTIHUACAN,
THE FEATHERED SERPENT

WAS FAR MORE
THAN JUST A GUARDIAN.

♪♪

THE TEMPLE
OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT

STANDS AT THE HEART
OF THIS VAST METROPOLIS.

SPRAWLING ACROSS 8 SQUARE MILES

AND BOASTING A POPULATION
OF OVER 100,000,

TEOTIHUACAN WAS
ONE OF THE LARGEST CITIES

IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.

THE SERPENT'S TEMPLE
WAS SO IMPORTANT,

IT WAS ENCLOSED BY A CITADEL.

WALLS OVER 22 FEET HIGH
HAD ONLY A SINGLE ENTRANCE,

MAKING IT EASY TO DEFEND.

SO WHY WAS THIS TEMPLE
CONSTRUCTED?

THIS TEMPLE WAS ONCE ONE OF THE
GREATEST BUILDINGS IN THE WORLD.

ITS TRUE PURPOSE HAS BEEN HIDDEN
DEEP BELOW ITS SURFACE

FOR CENTURIES.

ARCHAEOLOGIST
SERGIO GóMEZ CHáVEZ

UNCOVERS ITS DARK SECRET.

♪♪

Gómez Chávez:
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Narrator:
SERGIO WAS THE FIRST PERSON
TO ENTER THIS SECRET TUNNEL

FOR 1,800 YEARS.

WHAT SITS AT THE VERY END
OF THIS NARROW PASSAGE

REVEALS THE TRUE ROLE
OF THE FEATHERED-SERPENT GOD.

Gómez Chávez:
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Narrator:
UNDER THE CORE OF THE PYRAMID

LIES A CROSS-LIKE FORMATION
OF THREE CHAMBERS.

THEY CONTAIN A MYSTERIOUS DESIGN

SCULPTED THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO
BY THE PEOPLE OF TEOTIHUACAN.

Gómez Chávez:
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Narrator: INSIDE THE CHAMBER
ARE FOUR GREEN STONE FIGURES,

ALL FACING UPWARDS TOWARDS THE
VERY CENTER OF THE TEMPLE ABOVE.

ON THE CEILING,
A LAYER OF POWDERED PYRITE

CREATES THE IMPRESSION
OF A STARRY NIGHT SKY...

...A SYMBOLIC COSMOS.

THE FLOOR, CARVED INTO JAGGED
PEAKS AND DEEP TROUGHS,

IS A SCULPTED LANDSCAPE
OF MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS.

GLIMMERING POOLS OF MERCURY,
LONG GONE,

ONCE REPRESENTED LAKES.

WHY DID THE PEOPLE CREATE
A STRANGE MIRROR IMAGE

OF THE WORLD
HIDDEN DEEP UNDERGROUND?

SERGIO BELIEVES THESE
DARK WATERMARKS ON THE WALLS

ARE A VITAL CLUE.

THEY REVEAL THAT THIS CHAMBER
WAS ONCE FLOODED.

[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Narrator: THE FLOODING OF
THIS CHAMBER WAS NO ACCIDENT.

SERGIO THINKS THAT
THE TEOTIHUACAN PEOPLE DID IT

TO DELIBERATELY CREATE
A LARGE UNDERGROUND LAKE.

Gómez Chávez:
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Narrator: WHY DID
THE FEATHERED SERPENT'S TEMPLE

CONTAIN THIS SECRET
WATERY CHAMBER,

AND WHAT DID IT REVEAL
ABOUT THE BEAST?

THE PEOPLE OF TEOTIHUACAN
BELIEVED THAT A COSMIC PILLAR

CALLED THE AXIS MUNDI

CONNECTS ALL THE LAYERS
OF THE UNIVERSE.

THE TEMPLE AND THE EARTHLY PLAIN

WHERE HUMANS LIVE
SIT IN THE MIDDLE.

BENEATH IT LIES
THE WATERY UNDERWORLD,

THE PLACE OF CREATION,

AND AT THE TOP
IS THE CELESTIAL LAYER,

THE REALM OF THE GODS.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT CAN USE
THE AXIS MUNDI

TO SLIDE BETWEEN THE UNDERWORLD,
THE HEAVENS, AND TEOTIHUACAN,

GIVING IT POWER
OVER THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE.

♪♪

THE PEOPLE OF TEOTIHUACAN
BELIEVED THAT IT WAS

THE UNDERWORLD
THAT WAS ACTUALLY

WHERE THE FEATHERED SERPENT
PREFERRED TO LIVE.

Gómez Chávez:
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Narrator: SERGIO THINKS THAT
THE PEOPLE WERE CREATING

A VERSION OF THE UNDERWORLD
BENEATH THE PYRAMID,

REPLICATING HOW THE SERPENT
EMERGED INTO THIS WORLD.

WHAT DID THEY WANT
FROM THIS DANGEROUS BEAST?

AND WHAT TERRIFYING PRICE
WOULD IT EXACT IN RETURN?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS
AT TEOTIHUACAN IN MEXICO

HUNT FOR THE TRUTH
BEHIND THE MYTH

OF THE MIGHTY FEATHERED SERPENT.

WHAT DID THIS DIVINE MONSTER
OFFER ITS PEOPLE

THAT MADE IT THE MAIN GOD HERE?

THERE'S A DEEP CONNECTION TO
THE FEATHERED SERPENT AND WATER.

IT USUALLY HAS A VERY FLOWING
BODY, WHICH LEADS US TO BELIEVE

THAT IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO
WITH WATER OR RIVERS.

Narrator: ANCIENT MYTH SAYS THAT
IN THE BEGINNING,

THERE WAS ONLY SKY AND SEA.

IN THE PRIMORDIAL SEA LIVED
THE CREATOR GOD,

THE FEATHERED SERPENT.

USING THOUGHT ALONE, IT CREATED
THE VERY FIRST MOUNTAIN.

IT PUSHED THE MOUNTAIN UP
AND OUT OF THE WATERS,

FORMING THE EARTH,

AND TIME ITSELF
CAME INTO EXISTENCE.

THIS MARKED THE DAWN
OF THE UNIVERSE

AND THE GENESIS
OF ALL LIFE ON EARTH.

FROM THIS POINT ON,
THE FEATHERED SERPENT KEPT

A WATCHFUL EYE
OVER ITS CREATION,

AND IT BROUGHT THE RAINS
THAT SUSTAINED THE CITY.

♪♪

[ RATTLING ]

IN MESOAMERICAN MYTHOLOGY,
THE RATTLE OF THE RATTLESNAKE

WAS MEANT TO ANNOUNCE
THE COMING OF THE RAIN,

SO THE FEATHERED SERPENT
WAS LINKED TO

FERTILITY, AGRICULTURE,
AND THE SEASONS.

Bouck: WATER MEANT EVERYTHING
TO MESOAMERICANS.

IT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

THE PERPETUATION
OF THEIR COLLECTIVE LIFE

OR TOTAL DESTRUCTION
OF THEIR CIVILIZATION.

Narrator: THE PEOPLE
OF TEOTIHUACAN BELIEVED

THAT AS THE FEATHERED SERPENT
HAD CREATED THEIR WORLD,

IT ALSO PROVIDED THEIR WATER,

BUT WHAT DID IT DEMAND
IN RETURN?

HISTORIAN ANNABETH HEADRICK
INVESTIGATES.

THE PEOPLE OF TEOTIHUACAN PRAYED
TO THE FEATHERED SERPENT,

GAVE OFFERINGS
TO THE FEATHERED SERPENT,

AND THE PRIESTS DO THE RITUALS,
AND HE CAME THROUGH.

HE BROUGHT THE RAINS.

Narrator: BUT DID THE PEOPLE
HERE DO MORE THAN JUST PRAY?

AN UNUSUAL CLUE
LIES BENEATH THE CITADEL

THAT SURROUNDS
THE BEAST'S PYRAMID,

HIDDEN DEEP INSIDE
THE CITY'S ANCIENT PLUMBING.

ARCHAEOLOGIST
SERGIO GóMEZ CHáVEZ EXPLAINS.

[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

FOR UP TO EIGHT MONTHS PER YEAR,

ANCIENT TEOTIHUACAN RECEIVES
NO RAIN AT ALL.

BUT IN THE SUMMER MONTHS,

THE WINDS
AND THE WEATHER CHANGE.

A WHOLE YEAR'S WORTH OF RAIN
POURS DOWN.

FOR THE PEOPLE OF TEOTIHUACAN,
THIS WATER WAS SO PRECIOUS,

THEY BUILT A COMPLEX NETWORK
OF CANALS AND RESERVOIRS

TO COLLECT IT
FOR THE NEXT DRY SEASON.

NEAR THE FEATHERED-SERPENT
TEMPLE IN THE CENTER OF TOWN,

THEY CREATE
AN ENORMOUS RESERVOIR,

MEASURING 140,000 SQUARE FEET.

THESE CHANNELS WOULD ALSO
KEEP THE CITADEL

FROM FLOODING
DURING THE RAINY SEASON,

BUT RECENT EXCAVATIONS
REVEAL SOMETHING SURPRISING.

[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

AH.

Narrator: SERGIO THINKS THAT
THE CITY'S DRAINAGE SYSTEM

WAS SOMETIMES
BLOCKED DELIBERATELY...

...SO THAT THE PLAZA
WOULD FILL WITH WATER.

Gómez Chávez:
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Narrator:
DURING THE CEREMONIES,

THE TEMPLE SYMBOLIZED
THE FIRST MOUNTAIN,

AS DESCRIBED
IN THE FEATHERED-SERPENT MYTH.

THE FLOODED CITADEL REPRESENTED
THE PRIMORDIAL OCEAN.

THE PEOPLE OF TEOTIHUACAN

WERE BRINGING
THE FEATHERED-SERPENT MYTH

TO LIFE FOR ALL TO SEE.

IMAGINE THE WHOLE THING FILLED
WITH SHIMMERING WATER,

THE MOUNTAIN RISING UP,

PRIESTS STANDING
ON TOP OF THE PYRAMID.

EVERY YEAR, THE RAINS CAME,

AND THE PEOPLE WERE RENEWED
IN THEIR FAITH.

UNDER THE PROTECTION
OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT,

THIS CITY WAS THRIVING.

PEOPLE WERE MOVING HERE,
BUILDING BUILDINGS.

THEIR CROPS WERE GROWING.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT

BECAME THE HEART AND SOUL
OF TEOTIHUACAN.

THE MASS RITUALS TO THE GODS

WERE ALMOST ALWAYS
ABOUT FERTILITY.

UNDERLINING THE RITUALS
TO THE FEATHERED SERPENT

WOULD HAVE BEEN
A SORT OF DESPERATION

AND EVEN MAYBE A PANIC
THAT THE RAIN WOULD NOT COME.

THESE PEOPLES WERE AWARE
THAT PREVIOUS CIVILIZATIONS

HAD FALLEN DUE TO DROUGHT,
AND THERE WAS A DISTINCT FEAR

THAT THE SAME THING
WOULD HAPPEN TO THEM.

Narrator: THERE WAS
A TERRIBLE PRICE TO BE PAID

FOR THE HELP
OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT.

CLUES TO JUST HOW HIGH THIS WAS

MIGHT LIE WITH ANOTHER
ANCIENT CIVILIZATION

AND HOW THEY HARNESSED THE POWER
OF A LETHAL SNAKE MONSTER.

IT HAD, FOR HAIR,
LIVING, VENOMOUS SNAKES.

Narrator: CAN INVESTIGATING
THIS MYTHICAL BEAST SHINE LIGHT

ON THE DANGEROUS ALLURE OF THESE
MYSTERIOUS SERPENT MONSTERS?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: EXPERTS INVESTIGATE
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE MYTH

OF THE FEARSOME
FEATHERED SERPENT.

AT TEOTIHUACAN, PEOPLE BELIEVED
IT PROVIDED THE RAIN

THEY NEEDED TO SURVIVE,

BUT DID THIS WATER
COME AT A DEADLY PRICE?

THE FEATHERED SERPENT WAS,
AFTER ALL, A RATTLESNAKE,

AND THERE'S DANGER THERE.

THE SNAKE IS WHAT
STRUCK FEAR IN THEM

BECAUSE THE SNAKE HAS THE VENOM,

AND IT ALWAYS HAS
THAT WARNING RATTLE

TO TELL YOU,
"YOU'RE GETTING TOO CLOSE."

SNAKES ARE ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING

AND NOT JUST BECAUSE
OF THE WAY THEY MOVE,

BUT IT'S A CREATURE
THAT IS A VERY LONG TUBE,

AND THERE'S A MOUTH AT ONE END,

AND IT EXISTS SOLELY
TO CONSUME AND DIGEST,

SO IN THAT SENSE, THEY
REPRESENT HUNGER AT ITS PUREST.

Narrator: WHY DID THE PEOPLE
OF TEOTIHUACAN DARE

TO MAKE A PACT WITH THE BEAST
THEY KNEW WAS A KILLER?

A CLUE MAY LIE OVER 6,000 MILES
AWAY IN EUROPE,

HOME TO ANOTHER
DEADLY SNAKE MONSTER.

THE GREEKS BELIEVED THE
MONSTROUS CREATURE CALLED MEDUSA

LIVED ON A REMOTE ROCKY ISLAND.

INSIDE HER LAIR STOOD HUNDREDS
OF WARRIORS FROZEN IN TIME.

THEY CAME AS HUNTERS
BUT QUICKLY TURNED INTO PREY.

THEIR KILLER WAS MEDUSA,
A VICIOUS MYTHICAL BEAST --

PART-HUMAN, PART-SERPENT.

HER HAIR WAS A WRITHING TANGLE
OF VENOMOUS SNAKES,

BUT HER FACE WAS
STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL.

WITH JUST ONE LOOK, SHE COULD
TURN ANYONE INTO STONE.

[ MAN SCREAMS ]

MEDUSA IS ONE OF THE MORE
MEMORABLE MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES

IN OUR IMAGINATION.

YOU CAN FIND HER IN FILMS
LIKE "THE CLASH OF THE TITANS."

Kamil: TURNING SOMEONE TO STONE
WITH YOUR EYES

IS A REALLY UNUSUAL POWER --

A VERY LITERAL
AND VIVID REPRESENTATION

OF BEING PARALYZED WITH FEAR.

Narrator: MEDUSA'S DEADLY APPEAL
BEGAN MORE THAN 2,500 YEARS AGO

WHEN THE ANCIENT GREEKS
CONCEIVED HER.

BUT ARCHAEOLOGIST PROFESSOR
IOULIA TZONOU-HERBST

INVESTIGATES WHY THE ROMANS ALSO
EMBRACED HER VENOMOUS POWER.

Tzonou-Herbst: THIS TERRA-COTTA
PLAQUE THAT YOU SEE HERE

PROBABLY DATES FROM
THE END OF THE 6th CENTURY

AND INTO THE 5th CENTURY B.C.,

AND IT HAS
THE WHOLE IMAGE OF MEDUSA

WITH THE HEAD AND HER BODY.

Narrator: OVER TIME,
THE ROMANS FOCUSED ON

JUST ONE ASPECT
OF THIS SERPENTINE MONSTER.

SO A NUMBER OF THE SILVER COINS
THAT YOU SEE HERE

SHOW JUST THE HEAD OF MEDUSA
WITH THE SNAKES AND ALL.

IT'S A VERY UGLY HEAD.

IT WAS A POWERFUL IMAGE
IN ANCIENT PEOPLE'S IMAGINATION.

IT HAD, FOR HAIR,
LIVING, VENOMOUS SNAKES.

HER MOUTH IS WIDE OPEN,
PORTRAYED IN A ROAR,

AND SHE'S TERRIFYING FOR THAT,
AS WELL.

Narrator: IOULIA BELIEVES CLUES
TO WHY THE ROMANS

ONLY HONORED HER HEAD
LIE IN THE LEGEND.

IN THE MYTH OF MEDUSA,

A YOUNG HERO NAMED PERSEUS
VOWS TO SLAY THE BEAST.

THE GODS GIVE HIM
POWERFUL WEAPONS --

WINGED SANDALS
THAT WOULD LET HIM FLY,

A RAZOR-SHARP SWORD,
A POLISHED SHIELD,

AND A HELMET
TO MAKE HIM INVISIBLE.

PERSEUS SNEAKS UP ON MEDUSA
UNDETECTED.

WATCHING HER REFLECTION
IN HIS POLISHED SHIELD,

HE AVOIDS HER EVIL GAZE
AND CUTS OFF HER HEAD,

BUT EVEN IN DEATH, MEDUSA'S
STARE RETAINS ITS MAGIC,

GIVING PERSEUS THE POWER
TO CONQUER HIS ENEMIES.

THE HEAD IS
THE MOST POWERFUL IMAGE

BECAUSE THE HEAD THEN HAS THE
POWER TO TURN PEOPLE INTO STONE,

EVEN AFTER IT'S BEHEADED.

Narrator:
INCREDIBLY, THESE ROMAN COINS

DATE TO THE SAME TIME
AS TEOTIHUACAN.

WHY DID TWO POWERFUL
CIVILIZATIONS

ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE WORLD
ADOPT SNAKE MONSTERS?

IOULIA THINKS THAT BOTH CULTURES

BELIEVED THE BENEFITS
WERE WORTH THE DEADLY RISKS.

Tzonou-Herbst: MEDUSA'S HEAD
BECAME A SYMBOL OF PROTECTION.

EMPERORS USE IT ON THEIR ARMOR.

WOMEN EVEN,
IN THE 10th CENTURY A.D.,

WERE WEARING IT
TO AVERT ALL DISEASES,

AND IT SAVES
THE PERSON WEARING IT.

WHAT'S SO INTERESTING TO ME
IS THAT THE VERY LOGO

THAT YOU CAN FIND
ON VERSACE GARMENTS

IS MEDUSA'S HEAD.

MANY MODERN PEOPLE MAY NOT BE
AWARE OF THE SYMBOLISM.

THERE IS AN ELEMENT OF DUALITY
IN THE MEDUSA MYTH,

SO SHE IS BOTH VERY DANGEROUS
AND TREMENDOUSLY PROTECTIVE.

EVEN THOUGH
SHE'S QUITE FRIGHTENING

AND TO LOOK AT HER
WILL TURN YOU INTO STONE,

IF YOU ARE BEHIND THE IMAGE
RATHER THAN IN FRONT OF IT,

YOU GET SECURITY,

AND THIS IS A DUALITY
WE SEE IN SNAKES, AS WELL.

♪♪

Narrator: THE PEOPLE OF
TEOTIHUACAN ALSO BELIEVED

THEY COULD HARNESS
THE POWER OF THEIR MONSTER,

THE FEATHERED SERPENT.

THEY THOUGHT THEY COULD FIND
A WAY TO PLEASE IT.

Li: THE IRONY OF
THE FEATHERED SERPENT

IS THAT IT HAD
A BENEVOLENT SIDE TO IT,

BUT IT WAS ALSO VERY FEARSOME.

IT WAS VERY AGGRESSIVE.

THAT DEMANDED RESPECT
FROM THE HUMANS.

Narrator: COULD NEW EVIDENCE
REVEAL THE HIGH PRICE

THE PEOPLE OF TEOTIHUACAN
WERE PREPARED TO PAY

FOR THE BEAST'S PROTECTION?

Gómez Chávez:
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Narrator:
WHY COULD THE FEATHERED SERPENT

ONLY BE SATISFIED
BY HUMAN BLOOD?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: IN THE RUINS
OF ANCIENT TEOTIHUACAN,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS SEARCH
FOR THE TRUTH

BEHIND THE ALL-POWERFUL
FEATHERED-SERPENT GOD.

Li: THE CREATURE COULD CHOOSE
TO BLESS THE PEOPLE

WITH PLENTIFUL RAINS
AND A PLENTIFUL HARVEST,

AND THAT MADE IT
A VERY POWERFUL BEING

IN A SOCIETY THAT DEPENDED
ON FARMING A LOT.

[ RATTLING ]

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGIST
SERGIO GóMEZ CHáVEZ

INVESTIGATES WHAT THE FEATHERED
SERPENT DEMANDED IN RETURN.

HE MAKES A SHOCKING DISCOVERY --

HUMAN REMAINS PLACED INSIDE
THE WATER NETWORK.

Gómez Chávez:
[ SPEAKING SPANISH ]

Narrator: THESE BODIES WERE USED
TO BLOCK THE WATER CHANNELS

AND FLOOD THE CITADEL IN HONOR
OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT.

WITHIN THE INNER SANCTUM
OF THE BEAST'S TEMPLE,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND
MORE HUMAN REMAINS.

♪♪

78 SKELETONS LAY IN
8 MASS GRAVES AROUND THE TEMPLE.

MORE WERE HIDDEN INSIDE...

...BURIED UNDER TONS OF RUBBLE,

ONE ROW OF MEN
AND ONE ROW OF WOMEN,

THEIR BACKS TO THE CENTER
OF THE PYRAMID

AS THOUGH STANDING GUARD,

AND AT THE CORE,

20 BODIES CAREFULLY ARRANGED
WITH RICH OFFERINGS --

JEWELRY, TOOLS,
AND STONE STATUES.

WHY DID THE FEATHERED SERPENT
DWELL IN A TEMPLE

EMBEDDED WITH
SACRIFICIAL VICTIMS?

ARCHAEOLOGIST NAWA SUGIYAMA
HUNTS FOR CLUES

INSIDE THE BONES.

Sugiyama: THESE BOXES CONTAIN
THE REMAINS

OF THE SACRIFICIAL VICTIMS

FROM THE FEATHERED-SERPENT
PYRAMID.

THEY CONTAIN INDIVIDUALS
THAT WERE EXCAVATED ON SITE.

Narrator:
NAWA EXAMINES BONES FOUND

AT SEVERAL DIFFERENT TEMPLES
IN TEOTIHUACAN.

SHE WANTS TO FIND OUT
HOW EACH PERSON DIED.

Sugiyama: THIS WAS AN INDIVIDUAL
THAT WAS FOUND DECAPITATED

INSIDE OF THE MOON PYRAMID
OF TEOTIHUACAN ITSELF.

YOU COULD SEE THE CUT MARKS
RIGHT HERE,

LEFT BEHIND
FROM THE SACRIFICIAL IMPLEMENT,

CUTTING AND GUSHING THROUGH
THE CERVICAL VERTEBRAE

AND INTO THE MANDIBLE.

Narrator: SOME OF THE DEAD
WERE YOUNG WARRIORS

BROUGHT TO TEOTIHUACAN
HUNDREDS OF MILES AWAY.

THEY FACED A PARTICULARLY
HORRIFIC DEATH.

IN THIS CASE, THIS INDIVIDUAL
WAS FOUND ARTICULATED,

COMPLETE, AND ACTUALLY WITH
ITS HANDS BEHIND THEIR BACK.

THERE'S NO INDICATIONS OF
PATHOLOGIES, TRAUMA, CUT MARKS.

THAT SUGGESTS
THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS

WERE PROBABLY ALIVE
AT THE TIME OF BURIAL.

Narrator:
MARKED FOR SACRIFICE,

PRIZE CAPTIVES
FROM OUTSIDE THE CITY

WERE LINED UP
IN FRONT OF THEIR OWN GRAVES,

ONE FOR MEN, ONE FOR WOMEN.

THEIR FEET WERE TIED TOGETHER,

AND THEIR HANDS WERE BOUND
BEHIND THEIR BACKS

AS THEY AWAITED
THEIR GRUESOME FATE.

RELIGIOUS LEADERS WOULD
TELL THEM WHERE TO KNEEL.

THEN THE CELLS
WERE FILLED WITH RUBBLE,

BURYING THE VICTIMS ALIVE.

THERE WAS NO ESCAPE.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT
WATCHED FROM ABOVE,

HUNGRY FOR SACRIFICE,

THE PRICE HE REQUIRED
FOR BRINGING THE RAIN.

MESOAMERICANS BELIEVED THAT
THE GODS

DREW THEIR NOURISHMENT
FROM THE GROUND.

HUMAN SACRIFICE
SERVED THE PURPOSE

OF NOURISHING THE GODS.

BY PLACING A SACRIFICIAL VICTIM
UNDERGROUND

LIKE A SEED THAT'S BURIED,

THE FEATHERED SERPENT
CAN NOW REACH HIM.

FOR MOST ANCIENT PEOPLE,
YOUR LIFE IS ALL THAT YOU HAVE,

AND BLOOD SYMBOLIZES THAT.

IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT
COMMODITY THAT YOU HAVE.

Narrator:
AT FIRST, ONLY PRIZED ENEMIES

WERE SACRIFICED TO THE MONSTER.

Sugiyama: LOOKING AT SEVERAL
EXAMPLES OF THESE SKELETONS,

WE WERE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT
SOME WERE COMPLETELY FOREIGN,

PROBABLY WERE CAPTURED
OUTSIDE OF TEOTIHUACAN.

Narrator: BUT ONE SKELETON
REVEALS A SHOCKING SECRET.

THIS WOMAN WAS NO ENEMY.

THIS INDIVIDUAL --
ACTUALLY BOTH HER TEETH

AND HER BONES DEMONSTRATE THAT
SHE WAS A LOCAL OF TEOTIHUACAN

RESIDING WITHIN
THE CITY LIMITS ITSELF.

NOT ONLY ARE THEY
DRAWING ON FOREIGNERS

FOR THE SACRIFICIAL VICTIMS,

BUT THEY'RE ALSO
CAPTURING INDIVIDUALS

THAT ARE LOCAL RESIDENTS.

Narrator:
THE FLESH OF THE CITY'S FOES

WAS NOT ENOUGH TO SATISFY
THE HUNGER

OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT.

THE LEADERS OF TEOTIHUACAN
HAD BEGUN TO SACRIFICE

THEIR OWN PEOPLE.

NO ONE REALLY KNOWS
HOW ORDINARY PEOPLE

FELT ABOUT HUMAN SACRIFICE
AT THE TIME.

WAS IT LIKE THE ROMANS WATCHING
A GLADIATORIAL COMBAT

AS A FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT?

Narrator: WHAT HAPPENED WHEN
THE FEATHERED SERPENT DEMANDED

THE HEADS OF THOSE IT WAS
SUPPOSED TO BE PROTECTING?

WOULD THE INHABITANTS
OF TEOTIHUACAN BE PREPARED

TO PAY THIS ULTIMATE PRICE?

THESE HEADS
DIDN'T JUST FALL HERE.

THEY WERE RIPPED OFF THE TEMPLE,

THROWN DOWN,
AND SMASHED WITH HAMMERS.

Narrator:
WAS THIS MYTHICAL BEAST
ABOUT TO MEET ITS END?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator:
THE FEATHERED SERPENT --

A FEROCIOUS SNAKE GOD
NOURISHED BY HUMAN BLOOD.

WHAT HAPPENED
WHEN EVEN ITS FOLLOWERS

BEGAN TO BE SACRIFICED?

THIS WAS A GIVE-AND-TAKE
RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN THE FEATHERED SERPENT
AND THE PEOPLE OF TEOTIHUACAN.

HE GAVE THEM RAIN.
HE GAVE THEM LIFE.

BUT IN RETURN,
HE DEMANDED HUMAN SACRIFICE.

Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGIST
ANNABETH HEADRICK

THINKS THE BEAST FAILED
TO LIVE UP TO

ITS SIDE
OF THE DEADLY BARGAIN.

THE RAINS DIDN'T COME.

EVEN THOUGH MORE AND MORE
OF TEOTIHUACAN'S CITIZENS

WERE SACRIFICED,
DROUGHT PLAGUED THESE LANDS.

TEOTIHUACAN RAPIDLY GREW TO
A CITY OF 100,000 PEOPLE,

BUT THIS IS ALSO AN AREA
VERY PRONE TO DROUGHT,

AND WHEN PEOPLE
GET HUNGRY AND THIRSTY,

THEY CAN GET DESPERATE.

THE FEATHERED SERPENT
WAS SUPPOSED TO BRING THE RAINS,

BUT WHEN HE DIDN'T,

I SUPPOSE THE ONLY COURSE
OF ACTION FOR THE RULERS

WAS TO SACRIFICE MORE PEOPLE.

Narrator: HOW DID THE CITIZENS
OF TEOTIHUACAN REACT

TO THE SERPENT'S
NEW BLOOD PRICE?

Headrick: SACRIFICING
THEIR ENEMIES WAS ONE THING,

BUT SACRIFICING THEIR OWN PEOPLE
WAS A STEP TOO FAR.

Narrator: ANNABETH BELIEVES
THIS LED TO A MAJOR UPRISING.

EVIDENCE LIES SCATTERED AROUND
THE BASE OF THIS PYRAMID.

Headrick: THESE HEADS
AND ALL OF THIS RUBBLE

DIDN'T JUST FALL HERE.

THEY WERE RIPPED OFF THE TEMPLE,

THROWN DOWN,
AND SMASHED WITH HAMMERS.

THIS IS EVIDENCE
OF A VIOLENT REBELLION.

Narrator: WAS THIS THE END
OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT?

ANNABETH THINKS THE TRUE TARGETS
OF THIS UPRISING

WERE THE PRIESTS,
RATHER THAN THE BEAST ITSELF.

Headrick:
THE FACT THAT THEY DIDN'T

DESTROY THE TEMPLE COMPLETELY

TELLS US
THEY WEREN'T ANGRY AT THE GOD.

THEY WERE ANGRY AT THE RULERS
WHO HAD ABUSED THEIR POWER.

Narrator:
THE CITIZENS OF TEOTIHUACAN

HAD HAD ENOUGH OF THE EXTREME
DEMANDS OF THEIR LEADERS,

NOT THEIR SERPENT GOD.

Bouck: THE PEOPLE DIDN'T WANT TO
ERADICATE THE FEATHERED SERPENT.

THEY WANTED TO RECLAIM THE GOD.

Narrator: THE MONSTER DEITY
NOT ONLY SURVIVED

BUT CONTINUED TO THRIVE
ELSEWHERE.

THESE ARE IMAGES
OF MESOAMERICAN CULTURES

ALL FOUNDED AFTER TEOTIHUACAN --

CHICHEN ITZA, UXMAL, XOCHICALCO,

AND THE GREAT TEMPLE
OF THE AZTECS.

TEMPLE AFTER TEMPLE
HAS THE FEATHERED SERPENT

AS THE MAIN DEITY.

THIS IS PROOF THAT THE GOD
SURVIVED THE REBELLION.

Narrator: EVEN AS TEOTIHUACAN
FELL INTO RUIN,

THE FEATHERED SERPENT LIVED ON.

IN CHICHEN ITZA,
THE MAYA CRAFTED

AN EXTRAORDINARY PYRAMID
IN HIS HONOR.

DURING THE EQUINOX AT SUNSET,
A SHADOW STILL FORMS,

BRINGING ALIVE THE RIPPLING BODY
OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT,

AND IN CHOLULA,
THEY ASSEMBLED FOUR PYRAMIDS

ON TOP OF EACH OTHER

TO CREATE THE BIGGEST-EVER
MAN-MADE MONUMENT

AND DEDICATED IT
TO THE SERPENT GOD.

THE CULT
OF THE FEATHERED SERPENT

SPREAD ALONG THE TRADE ROUTES
SPRAWLING OUT FROM TEOTIHUACAN

ACROSS AN AREA OF MORE THAN
100,000 SQUARE MILES.

PEOPLE STILL BELIEVED
IN THE FEATHERED SERPENT

WHEN COLUMBUS SET FOOT
IN THE NEW WORLD,

SO THE BELIEF IN
THE FEATHERED SERPENT PERSISTS

RIGHT UP UNTIL THE SPANISH
CONQUEST OF THE AZTECS.

Narrator: THE ORIGIN OF
THE DEADLY FEATHERED SERPENT

LIE DEEP IN OUR ANCIENT PAST.

TODAY, THIS HALF-SNAKE,
HALF-BIRD GOD SEEMS BIZARRE,

BUT IT ALLOWED
THE ANCIENT PEOPLE OF MEXICO

TO MAKE SENSE OF A CHANGING
AND UNPREDICTABLE WORLD.

WHAT WE WOULD SEE NOW
AS RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

WEREN'T PERCEIVED AS THAT.

THEY WERE SIMPLY THE WAY
OF SEEING THE COSMOS.

Narrator:
BY UNCOVERING BURIED CLUES,

INVESTIGATORS ARE BEGINNING
TO DECODE

THE MEANING OF THE MYTH,

FINALLY REVEALING
THE TRUTH BEHIND

THE MONSTROUS FEATHERED SERPENT.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪