Original subtitles

[narrator] southern greece,

Birthplace of the western world as we know it today.

Home to an ancient civilization

That influenced everything from the languages of europe

To philosophy, politics, art, architecture, and even sports.

A land where fearless spartan warriors

Challenged the might of tyrants.

And a temple where a mystic oracle

Delivered the word of the gods to hopeful pilgrims.

But southern greece has more to celebrate

Than ancient history.

Because the glories of the past

Are mirrored in the wonders of the present.

One of the world's longest suspension bridges,

Built to withstand earthquakes and typhoons,

Whose foundations move with the very earth beneath them.

An extraordinary architectural legacy

That still baffles engineers

After two and a half thousand years.

Where a race, run to commemorate an ancient battle,

Inspired the most popular of all sports.

And two legendary stadiums would inspire

The greatest athletic spectacle in the world,

The olympic games.

In one of the world's oldest cities,

A unique ceremonial event.

Here, mythology informs the everyday.

Like the legendary daughters of zeus,

Modern day water nymphs dance in perfect synchronicity.

And the spirit of icarus lives on beneath the single wing

Of a daredevil champion.

From the street artist whose work inspires a city

And challenges the dominion of the powerful.

To the dark secret of an idyllic island

Where a hollywood movie brought a horrific war crime

To the attention of the world.

This is southern greece, like you've never seen it before.

[upbeat music]

The story of western civilization begins in greece

And it was here in the south

Where the first chapter of that story was written.

Around the size of new jersey,

The peloponnese peninsula

Connects to southern mainland greece

By a narrow land bridge called the isthmus of corinth.

3,000 years ago,

Before the disconnected city states of greece were unified,

This was the stronghold of mycenaean civilization.

Here in the northeast of the peninsula,

Stands the best known monument from that time.

The ancient citadel of mycenae.

This is the lion gate excavated in the 19th century,

Portal to a city that was once home to 30,000 people.

Around 1150 bc, mycenae was burned by invading pirates

Known as the sea peoples.

But an even greater society would emerge from the ashes.

Here in the peloponnese, the divided greek city-states

Would reform into one coherent cultural entity.

What brought them together

Was an event still famed throughout the world.

A symbol of unity through competition.

The olympic games.

And in 776 bc, this is where it all began.

The sanctuary of zeus at olympia,

Site of the first olympiad,

A sporting event that would come to define greek culture.

The ancient greeks believed sport and religion

Were closely aligned and often held games at sacred sites.

The extensive ruins, which include athletic training areas,

A great stadium, and a great temple

Containing one of the seven wonders of the ancient world;

The statue of zeus.

Standing 41 feet tall,

Adorned with gold, ivory, and jewels,

It once occupied half the width of the temple aisle,

But is now sadly lost to the ages.

From the 8th century bc to the 4th century ad,

The games were held here at olympia

With spectators ranged on the slopes,

All their traditional differences, even wars,

Temporarily set aside.

Athletes competed nude, a tradition that started

When one runner shed his clothes to run more freely.

Woman were banned, but not because of nudity.

The sanctuary of zeus was sacred to men.

Woman had their own sacred places.

These are the ruins of the temple of hera,

The wife of zeus,

Goddess of woman, childbirth, and fertility.

The temple was destroyed by an earthquake in the 4th century

And partially reconstructed in modern times.

In ancient times, the temple contained

A magnificent gold and marble alter

Displaying wreaths awarded to the olympic champions.

This is where the modern olympic torch is lit,

Ignited by sunlight reflected in a parabolic mirror.

In 2008, the flame traveled

A record breaking 85,000 miles

To the summer games in beijing china.

But before the flame leaves greece,

The torch bearer carries it to one final,

Time-honored ceremonial location.

This is the great marble horseshoe

Of the panathenaic stadium in athens.

Built in the 4th century bc, this is where the capital

Hosted its own athletic games for 800 years.

When christianity arrived in the 4th century ad,

All such events fell into decline

Because of their link to zeus.

It would be 16 centuries

Before the olympics returned to greece,

But when they did in 1896, this is where they took place.

Women weren't allowed to compete

At those first modern games.

But times have changed,

And like a host of female olympians before her,

Maria polizou is no stranger to firsts.

In 1996 at the summer games in atlanta, georgia,

She was the first female greek athlete

To run the woman's marathon.

Maria began running competitively at the age of 17.

By her calculations, she has clocked up

Over 170,000 miles since,

The equivalent of six laps of the globe.

Her motto, "nothing is impossible".

[crowd cheering]

Thousands of well cushioned feet pound the streets of athens

On the final stage of a legendary race.

This is the city's annual marathon,

Not just a sporting event, but also a commemoration

Of one of the most historic events in greek history.

In 490 bc, an athenian army of 10,000 men

Defeated the mighty persian invasion forces

Of king darius at marathon, 26 miles east of athens,

Saving the capital from almost certain destruction.

The greek triumph would change the course of human history,

Preserving a cherished ideal

That athenians called "democratia" or

Rule of the people

This blur of iron and glass represents pheidippides,

An athenian soldier who ran non-stop from marathon to athens

Bringing news of the victory

And giving the modern event its name.

Today the marathon is one of the most popular of all sports.

The u.S. Alone hosts 1,100 races every year,

Along with thousands of events worldwide,

From the north pole to the great wall of china.

All following in the footsteps of an athenian legend.

Athens is one of the world's oldest cities,

Continuously inhabited for over 5,000 years.

In greek mythology, the goddess athena became its protector,

Giving the city her name.

In gratitude, the people built this temple in her honor,

An enduring symbol of ancient greece.

Visible from almost every part of the capital,

The ancient citadel of the acropolis

Was built by the bronze age myceneans.

It's the most impressive surviving monumental complex

In the world and its centerpiece is the parthenon,

A temple dedicated to athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare.

When it was built in the 5th century bc,

The athenian empire was at the height of its power.

Even now, undergoing restoration work after 2,500 years,

It remains a masterpiece of architecture and engineering.

The huge doric columns that once supported the roof

Are over 6 feet in diameter and 34 feet high.

The interior is about half the size

Of an american football field.

The apparently straight lines of the structure

Are actually optical illusions curved and tapered

With mathematical precision to look that way.

Restoration of the parthenon and the citadel around it

Began in 1975, an ongoing project to preserve the majesty

Of this extraordinary ancient architecture.

Athens is a city where the glories of the past

Aren't just kept alive, but fiercely defended.

Every Sunday at 11 a.M.,

Crowds gather at syntagma square in athens

To watch a unique ceremonial event.

Don't be distracted by the colorful headgear,

Pleated kilts, and foot tassels.

These elaborately dressed soldiers

Are presidential guard

The evzones, an elite unit of the greek army.

Here at the tomb of the unknown soldier,

In the shadow of the parliament,

They perform one of the most precise

And unusual military displays in the world.

The changing of the guard.

The distinctive evzone uniform

Dates back to the battle dress worn by mountain fighters

In the greek war of independence almost two centuries ago.

And this precisely coordinated ceremony

Is imbued with historical significance.

The black tassel on the toe of the shoe

Conceals a kicking blade for close combat

With the enemies of greek liberty.

The kilt has 400 pleats, one for each year

Of the turkish occupation from the 15th to the 19th century.

The red hat symbolizes the blood of those fallen in battle.

Switching positions every 15 minutes,

The guardsmen punctuate their signature March

By striking the ground with their feet,

Letting dead heroes know that the evzones

Are always on duty, guarding their honor.

Their fortitude is legendary.

In 2001, when a protestor threw a molotov cocktail

And set a wooden guardhouse on fire,

The evzone on duty refused to move

Until ordered to do so by his officer.

Political statements are everywhere

On the streets of athens.

Graffiti, from the greek word "graphi" meaning "to write",

Has been a feature of the city's buildings

Since ancient times

When slogans were carved into stone walls.

Greek artist ino started his career

As a graffiti artist 20 years ago.

Like the subject he's working on now,

He wears a mask, creating large scale figurative murals

Like this recent piece called, "mind control."

His distinctive work on the streets of athens and elsewhere

Has evolved from the lettering and abstract designs

To stylized fragmented forms in photorealistic grayscale

With touches of light blue.

Here at the port of piraeus near athens,

Ino spent several days working at height

On this piece called, "lost."

The blue vortex represents lingering memories

Of the global financial crisis,

A trauma still etched in the consciousness of greek púo

In a city whose walls have held politics

To account for thousands of years,

Street art embodies the very spirit of democracy.

For ino, political and social injustice

Is what art is meant to depict.

A defiant ideology integrated

With the architecture of greece.

Symbolism and unexpected connections

Are everywhere in greek culture.

Just as art and politics intertwine

On the streets of athens, today,

Ancient myth and athleticism come together

In the rooftop pool of a city center hotel.

These are the naiads, a group of

Led by their founder konstantina galiotou.

Each one is a former member of the greek national team.

They take their name from the water nymphs of mythology,

Female spirits who, by their grace,

Protected the streams and rivers of ancient greece.

The naiads were the greatest of the water nymphs,

Said to be the daughters of zeus himself.

A fitting name for this six-woman team,

All professional swimmers at the top of their game.

The picturesque harbor of pasalimani,

7 miles southwest of athens,

Has several impressive claims to fame.

In ancient times, it was the main military base

Of the athenian fleet.

At the historic 1896 summer olympics,

These waters hosted the swimming events.

But for rock fans, all that pales

Compared to what happened in the summer of 1979

When the legendary band pink floyd came here on vacation.

Relaxing in the marina on their yacht,

They were inspired to write several tracks

For their seminal concept album, "the wall."

Three years later, "the wall",

Regarded as one of the most influential albums of all time,

Would inspire a musical film of the same name

Directed by legendary british filmmaker, alan parker.

Today, the marina at pasalimani

Is a showcase for the superyachts

And luxury cruisers of the fabulously wealthy.

The marina can accommodate over 600 vessels

Up to 150 feet in length.

These days, the owners are more likely to be

Tech billionaires and russian oligarchs than rock stars.

In high season, the combined wealth on show here

Would tend to leave you, "comfortably numb."

This curious convoy of vehicles crossing

The marathon dam in attica is a miniature showcase

Of greece's contribution to the automotive industry.

Collector alex vazaios drives a 200cc attica cabrioletta.

One of only six ever made, it once belonged

To the legendary greek shipping magnate stavros niarchos.

The mini cooper driven by andreas ilianopoulis

Is one of the world's most influential cars.

It was the creation of his great uncle,

Auto designer sir alexander issigonis,

The man they called the greek god of automobile design.

The indigenous greek car industry never really took off,

But for patriotic auto-enthusiasts like

Andreas and alex

Technology comes second to style and character.

In greece, if you want power,

All you have to do is ask the gods.

In ancient times, delphi, on the slopes of mount parnassus

Overlooking the corinthian gulf,

Was considered the mystical center of the world.

Like the legendary icarus,

Who met his fate when he flew to close to the sun,

Professional paraglider giannis georgosopoulos

Shares a lifelong obsession with the majesty of flight.

Unlike his mythological predecessor, however,

Giannis is careful to keep his altitude in check

As he soars above delphi.

Since 2013, he's been a member

Of the greek national paragliding team,

Winning a host of international medals.

Paragliding is a potentially dangerous sport,

But the adrenaline rush giannis feels,

Gliding thousands of feet above the ground,

Is part of the thrill.

It takes nerves of steel for the paraglider

As he spins toward the valley floor

Before leveling off and gliding majestically out of danger.

If only icarus had thought of that.

[dramatic music]

The temple of apollo at delphi

Was once the most sacred site in all of greece.

This was where kings and commoners alike

Came to receive prophesies of the future,

Direct from the gods.

Here, a sacred priestess known as the oracle of delphi

Was believed to have the power to predict the future.

For more than a thousand years,

People from across the mediterranean flocked here

Seeking the gods' guidance on everything

From personal affairs to international politics.

They got their answers, but it turns out,

The oracle may have been under the influence

Of something other than gods.

The temple is located on a geological fault line

That emits gases including the powerful intoxicant ethylene.

Experts now believe the divine visions of the oracle

Were actually caused by psychedelic delirium.

Greece's location above numerous tectonic fault lines

Has made the country's engineers especially adept

At dealing with unpredictable shifts

Of the earth beneath their feet.

And not just the earth.

The rio-antirrio bridge, designed by santiago calatrava,

Crosses the gulf of corinth,

Connecting the northern peloponnese to mainland greece.

At 1.8 miles, it's the world's longest

Fully suspended cable-stay bridge.

Tectonic stress in this region actually expands the gulf

By 1.2 inches a year.

To counter this, the piers are not buried into the seabed,

But rest on a specially constructed gravel layer,

So they can move laterally with the expanding gulf.

It's an engineering feat that enables the bridge

To absorb the energy of an earthquake.

By replacing a journey once possible only by ferry,

The bridge has dramatically improved access

To the northern peloponnese.

Functionality and form are all well and good,

But, this being greece, what really counts is beauty.

As calatrava's fellow designer daniel leibeskind once said,

"architecture is not based on concrete and steel

"and the elements of the soil, it's based on wonder."

At night, this masterpiece of modern engineering

Takes on a dreamlike quality with its orange illuminations

Reflected in the waters of the gulf

And its majestic pylons bathed in blue light.

Almost 10,000 vehicles a day traverse the bridge,

But by night, some locals are known to make the crossing,

Just for the inner peace

This extraordinary structure seems to bring.

In the soul of greek architecture,

Form is more important than function.

Looking for all the world like an interstellar craft,

This is villa ypsilon, a futuristic residence

Embedded into a hill near the fishing village of messenia

In the southwest peloponnese.

Surrounded by olive groves, this luxurious summer home

Was designed by this man, architect theo sarantoglou lalis

And prefabricated off site.

The green roof takes the form of the greek letter y,

Or ypsilon, which gives the villa its name.

A luxurious open plan interior with three bedrooms

And three courtyards links seamlessly to the rooftop

Where theo can enjoy spectacular panoramic views.

This house embodies modern greek ingenuity and,

In another part of the peloponnese,

That same ingenuity appears on an even greater scale.

The peloponnese is a peninsula, not an island.

Technically though it's both and this is why.

Beneath the busy highways, multimillion-dollar boats

Glide serenely through the corinth canal.

Most of their owners are blissfully unaware

Of its turbulent 2,000 year-long construction history.

The narrow land bridge of the isthmus of corinth

Connects the peloponnese to mainland greece.

In 67 ad, the infamous roman emperor nero

Had 6,000 slaves complete nearly half a mile of canal

Before he committed suicide the following year.

In the mid 1800s, several attempts were made

To resume the work,

All of which ended in failure and financial ruin,

Giving rise to the belief

That the landscape itself was cursed.

In 1893, the canal was finally completed

Bisecting the isthmus,

Joining the gulf of corinth to the aegean sea,

Effectively turning the peloponnese into an island.

Four miles long, banked by walls rising 170 feet,

It's an engineering marvel, 20 centuries in the making.

But even after it opened,

The old curse still appeared to be in effect.

Seismic activity caused the soft limestone rock of the walls

To collapse, leading to long closures.

At the end of world war ii, the retreating german army

Blocked the waterway with thousands of tons of debris.

The canal's maximum width of 80 feet

Makes it too narrow for most ocean-going ships.

Some mid-sized vessels can just squeeze through,

Saving their pilots a 420-mile detour

Around the peloponnese.

Today, having survived earthquakes,

War, and a mythical curse,

The corinth canal operates 24 hours a day,

Except on tuesdays when it closes between 6 a.M. And 6 p.M.

For routine maintenance.

Strictly speaking, this waterway means that the peloponnese

Is entirely detached from mainland greece.

And that physical separation resonates

With the peninsula's fierce historical autonomy.

Near the modern peloponnesian town of sparti

Lie the ruins of what was once

The most powerful city-state of ancient greece.

In the words of gerard butler as leonidas

In the 2007 action film "300", "this is sparta."

Admittedly, there's not much to see.

And that's because the spartans,

The dominant military power of greece

From the 7th to the 4th century bc,

Were warriors, not builders.

As the ancient greek historian thucydides once said,

"if the population of sparta suddenly deserted the city

"and then strangers arrived, they would not believe

"this was the mightiest city in all of greece."

The legacy of sparta was built on countless battles.

But one stands out above all the rest.

Here on the east coast of the balkan peninsula,

A monument marks the site of the greatest last stand

Of the ancient world, the battle of thermopylae in 480 bc.

This statue depicts the spartan king leonidas

Who along with 300 soldiers

Held off the enormous persian army of king xerxes

For three days at a mountain pass

Known as thermopylai or hot gates.

Today the ancient pass lies beneath 66 feet of soil,

But the battle still looms large in world history,

Celebrated in art, literature, and on the big screen,

Most notably by zack snyder's epic film, "300."

Though eventually defeated,

Leonidas and his men would inspire their fellow greeks

To rise up against the persian invasion,

A fight they would ultimately win 10 years later

At the battle of marathon.

This is the eastern peloponnesian island of hydra,

Population 3,000.

Well, most of the time.

Every year this otherwise quiet place

Fills with cultural tourists.

They're here to visit the galleries, spot the celebrities,

And bask in hydra's fashionable contemporary art scene.

The only vehicles allowed on hydra are garbage trucks,

So water taxis are the only way to reach the beaches

And restaurants in remote villages.

Long before it was a home for wealthy collectors

And part of the summer art scene,

Hydra was a refuge for artists and intellectuals.

In the 1960s, canadian singer leonard cohen

Bought a house here, which he shared

With his girlfriend and muse, marianne ihlen.

While living on the island, cohen wrote two novels

And one of his best known songs, "bird on the wire."

It's not big or yellow, but it is a taxi.

This is the neso, operated by sea captain manos loudaros,

One of the last original hydra water taxis.

Today, he's collecting tourists from a remote church

On one of hydra's small islands.

Manos describes his taxi as a venetian gondola.

It's much faster and more maneuverable

Than the modern boats, it's ideal for taking guests

To the hidden coves, villages,

And small islands of hydra's coast.

After years as a captain on cargo and passenger ships,

Manos has operated his own water taxi

Here on hydra since 2014.

Guest safety is guaranteed as manos is a former graduate

Of the first navel academy in greece,

Located right here in the center of hydra.

Founded in 1749,

The academy has already produced 2,800 captains.

Even before they graduate, the cadets are so well trained,

They regularly assist the crews of massive container ships.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like

To walk in the footsteps of a god?

And not just any god, the king of gods.

Well, you've come to the right place.

The terrain of the peloponnese changes dramatically

As you travel inland.

Here, the white sands and coastal cliffs

Give way to majestic tree-covered peaks

And deep ravines.

Today, professional trekker stratos agiassotis

And his work colleagues

Are establishing the route of a new tourist trail

Through the river gorges of his native peloponnese.

Brought together by a shared passion for the environment,

These trekkers avoid the beaten track,

Wearing helmets to protect against falling rocks.

It's a growing trend in this part of greece,

Finding unexpected paths through the wilderness

To enjoy the untamed beauty of nature.

Right now, they're following the valley of the river neda

As it flows toward the ionian sea

From its source at mount lykaion in the western peloponnese.

In greek mythology, it was here that the young zeus grew up,

Hidden from his murderous father cronus

By the water nymph neda.

In time, zeus would become king of the gods,

But he would never forget the debt he owed

To his beloved nursemaid.

And so, according to legend,

He named the river in her honor.

But there are places in greece

Whose waters preserve memories of a very different kind.

Off the coast of laconia, in the southern peloponnese,

Lie the submerged remains of a city

Thought to have been inhabited

Since the bronze age, around 2800 bc.

Pavlopetri has been described as an underwater pompei,

A city frozen in time.

In 1967, british archeologists found evidence

Of a highly advanced civilization,

Uncovering insights into an astonishing lost world.

More recently, pavlopetri has been the subject

Of new research, using robots and 3d mapping

To reveal a layout

That has not only survived centuries of erosion,

But resembles the blueprint of a modern city.

So far at least 15 large buildings have been identified,

Some are two story houses with large courtyards,

Upstairs bedrooms with views of the sea,

And flushing toilets.

Pavlopetri was a port city

With trading links across the mediterranean.

It thrived here for 2,000 years,

During a time that saw the birth of western civilization

And the mythical trojan war of homer's odyssey.

Around 1000 bc, a series of three powerful earthquakes

Shifted the bedrock on which pavlopetri was built,

Plunging the whole city beneath the sea.

Today, it is a remarkable insight

Into the very foundation of our own way of life.

To the west of the peloponnese,

Cephalonia is the largest of the seven ionian islands,

Known collectively as the heptanese.

It's an island of stunning beauty,

But it's situated atop a major tectonic fault line

And seismic activity results in dozens

Of minor tremors every year.

Majestic peaks rise hundreds of feet above the sea,

Sweeping down to the island's many bays

And white sandy beaches.

But cephalonia has also been shaped by human history.

On the west coast, overlooking asos,

The venetians built a fort in the late 16th century

To protect the town from attack by opportunistic pirates.

Many of the modern buildings here are designed

To withstand seismic shock, a lesson town planners learned

In the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake in 1953.

It's a constant reminder of the unpredictability of life

Lived above the ever moving tectonic plates

Of the ionian sea.

Cephalonia remains an especially popular destination

For italian tourists,

Drawn here not just for this idyllic landscape

And the breathtaking blue waters,

But for an all together different reason.

They come to remember the victims of a massacre.

During the second world war,

The ionian islands were occupied by italian forces.

In 1943, around 12,000 soldiers

Of the italian acqui division

Were stationed here on cephalonia.

But when Italy changed sides in the war,

The garrison found itself pitted

Against its former german allies.

Running short of ammunition,

Realizing defeat was inevitable,

The italian commanders negotiated a surrender.

But the germans exacted a terrible revenge,

Ordering the mass execution

Of 5,000 unarmed italian soldiers, in cold blood.

Lost in the fog of war,

The atrocity remained unknown to the wider world.

Until 2001, when the movie, "captain corelli's mandolin",

Once more brought the atrocity to light.

The film starring nicolas cage and penelope cruz,

Was shot entirely on location here on the island.

The heartrending scene featuring the cephalonia massacre

Was filmed here at the beautiful ruined village

Of old vlachata.

Only one man was ever brought to justice.

In October 2013, 90-year-old

German wehrmacht corporal alfred stork

Was finally convicted for his role

In the mass execution and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Nestled in a valley in the northern peloponnese

Lies the sleepy hamlet of kalavrita.

At first glance it looks like

Any other greek mountain village.

Except for the fact that this is the final destination

Of a remarkable journey.

A trip on the odontotos rack railway

Is a memorable experience for any commuter,

But it's not for the faint of heart.

Millions of tons of rock

Appear to be hanging above the line,

Impossibly suspended, waiting to crush the carriages below.

The train inches slowly

Through clearings gouged from the mountain.

At times, it seems there's barely enough room to pass.

Passing among the highest peaks of the peloponnese,

The odontotos railway is an engineering marvel.

It travels along a conduit

That seems to have been formed by mother nature herself.

The track begins in the coastal town of diakopto

And runs uphill for 14 miles,

Following the natural contours of the vouraikos gorge

As it passes through a landscape of breathtaking beauty.

The train takes an hour to reach the terminus at kalavrita,

2,460 feet above sea level.

Construction of the line began in 1889.

Despite the enormous technical challenge,

It was judged to be a better option

Than building a road through the same terrain.

The first obstacle faced by engineers was the limited space.

There was only enough room for a single track

And it had to be extremely confined.

At just 2 1/2 feet wide,

It's the narrowest gauge railway in the world.

Another challenge was the steep gradient.

In order to prevent the wheels of the train

From slipping on the steep climb,

The engineers built a special cogged track

Running down the middle of the line.

A toothed wheel beneath the locomotive locks into this track

Providing stability and grip for the steep ascent.

Today, this extraordinary line blends seamlessly

Into its natural surroundings

Thanks to plans drawn up by greek railway engineers

Over 130 years ago.

It remains a magnificent expression of form and function,

An imaginative practical solution

That enhances the very landscape into which it was carved.

A fitting symbol for the ingenuity, resilience,

And glorious creative spirit of southern greece.