Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:04,629 --> 00:00:07,379
(MYSTICAL MUSIC)
2
00:00:10,292 --> 00:00:12,340
Just imagine a city that housed
3
00:00:12,341 --> 00:00:14,341
all the knowledge of the world.
4
00:00:14,342 --> 00:00:17,253
All the mathematical
and scientific treaties.
5
00:00:17,254 --> 00:00:18,775
All the works of literature,
6
00:00:18,776 --> 00:00:22,026
and the sonnets of philosophical fancy.
7
00:00:25,077 --> 00:00:28,262
A place where writers, and
artists, and scientists met
8
00:00:28,263 --> 00:00:31,013
to debate and to pioneer thought.
9
00:00:31,946 --> 00:00:33,835
Just think of what ideas
10
00:00:33,836 --> 00:00:36,865
and inventions that city would produce.
11
00:00:36,866 --> 00:00:40,783
What power knowledge
would bring to its rulers.
12
00:00:44,244 --> 00:00:46,634
Just think of what would happen
if that wealth of knowledge
13
00:00:46,635 --> 00:00:49,028
was destroyed, burnt to the ground,
14
00:00:49,029 --> 00:00:51,112
or scattered to the wind.
15
00:00:52,055 --> 00:00:55,575
A terrible moment, when
civilization itself
16
00:00:55,576 --> 00:00:57,243
stops in its tracks.
17
00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,916
This sounds like some kind
of science fiction fantasy.
18
00:01:02,917 --> 00:01:05,543
But this is a reality, and this was the
19
00:01:05,544 --> 00:01:07,914
real place that it happened.
20
00:01:07,915 --> 00:01:11,089
A city where its secrets
are hidden beneath the sea.
21
00:01:11,090 --> 00:01:13,090
And beneath its streets.
22
00:01:17,172 --> 00:01:19,755
This is the city of Alexandria.
23
00:01:20,637 --> 00:01:23,790
And this is its extraordinary story.
24
00:01:23,791 --> 00:01:26,541
(MYSTICAL MUSIC)
25
00:01:38,344 --> 00:01:40,586
Although you might think
that Athens and Rome
26
00:01:40,587 --> 00:01:43,225
were the greatest cities in antiquity.
27
00:01:43,226 --> 00:01:47,459
For my money that claim,
could well go to Alexandria
28
00:01:47,460 --> 00:01:51,627
for over 2,300 years the city
has occupied a key junction
29
00:01:52,492 --> 00:01:56,040
between the eastern and western worlds.
30
00:01:56,041 --> 00:01:58,295
Lying in Egypt at the top
of the Nile belt on the
31
00:01:58,296 --> 00:02:01,814
coast of the Mediterranean,
today it's a sprawling place.
32
00:02:01,815 --> 00:02:06,331
And every inch is jammed
packed with activity.
33
00:02:06,332 --> 00:02:09,097
But curiously, the ancient city
34
00:02:09,098 --> 00:02:11,707
is conspicuous by absence.
35
00:02:11,708 --> 00:02:14,291
(UPBEAT MUSIC)
36
00:02:24,267 --> 00:02:27,867
A modern city here, it's
really buzzing with life.
37
00:02:27,868 --> 00:02:29,573
But it can be a bit hard to get a handle
38
00:02:29,574 --> 00:02:33,334
on ancient Alexandria,
you could spend weeks here
39
00:02:33,335 --> 00:02:34,889
without realizing that this is one
40
00:02:34,890 --> 00:02:37,828
this is a really a roll call
41
00:02:37,829 --> 00:02:40,001
of the great of antiquity.
42
00:02:40,002 --> 00:02:42,081
Because it was here
that Alexander the Great
43
00:02:42,082 --> 00:02:44,896
was buried, it was here
that Cleopatra seduced
44
00:02:44,897 --> 00:02:48,099
Mark Anthony, Cesar, and this is the home
45
00:02:48,100 --> 00:02:51,933
of one of the seven
wonders in ancient worlds.
46
00:02:53,035 --> 00:02:55,042
Piecing together the
scattered jig saw puzzle,
47
00:02:55,043 --> 00:02:57,431
I'm going to explore the incredible
48
00:02:57,432 --> 00:03:00,029
stories of this extraordinary city.
49
00:03:00,030 --> 00:03:02,053
Pharos Lighthouse shone
it's beacon out over
50
00:03:02,054 --> 00:03:06,056
spectacular stages,
temples and colonnades.
51
00:03:06,057 --> 00:03:09,840
Monuments as grand as
anywhere in the ancient world.
52
00:03:09,841 --> 00:03:14,008
This is a human scale it's
more than 30 meters high.
53
00:03:16,118 --> 00:03:17,460
[BETTANY] Which combines the best of
54
00:03:17,461 --> 00:03:19,828
Greek, Roman, and Egyptian design
55
00:03:19,829 --> 00:03:23,082
to create a dynamic hybrid culture.
56
00:03:23,083 --> 00:03:24,073
We're mixing and matching, we're being
57
00:03:24,074 --> 00:03:25,796
purely Alexandrian, we're
taking what we want.
58
00:03:25,797 --> 00:03:26,677
Sticking it together.
59
00:03:26,678 --> 00:03:28,760
We're open to everything.
60
00:03:30,683 --> 00:03:33,892
And most importantly
where intellectual advances,
61
00:03:33,893 --> 00:03:37,196
new philosophies, new
sciences, were a driving
62
00:03:37,197 --> 00:03:38,697
force of the city.
63
00:03:39,636 --> 00:03:41,716
And that's what makes
this place so special.
64
00:03:41,717 --> 00:03:44,423
Although Alexandria was amazingly wealthy,
65
00:03:44,424 --> 00:03:47,570
it didn't just sponsor grand monuments,
66
00:03:47,571 --> 00:03:50,654
they put an absolute value on wisdom.
67
00:03:52,316 --> 00:03:55,564
Because wisdom meant power,
and it was Alexandria's
68
00:03:55,565 --> 00:03:59,500
ultimate ambition to become the
most powerful city on earth.
69
00:03:59,501 --> 00:04:03,707
By capturing all the world's
knowledge within its walls.
70
00:04:03,708 --> 00:04:06,790
An ambition which stemmed
from its very beginnings,
71
00:04:06,791 --> 00:04:09,115
and a vision of its founder.
72
00:04:09,116 --> 00:04:11,866
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
73
00:04:18,181 --> 00:04:20,302
By ancient Egyptian standards Alexandria
74
00:04:20,303 --> 00:04:23,119
was a relative new build.
75
00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:26,120
It was founded only 2,300 years ago.
76
00:04:27,511 --> 00:04:31,261
Halfway in time between
the pyramids, and us.
77
00:04:33,158 --> 00:04:35,354
The fourth century BC
was a kind of in between
78
00:04:35,355 --> 00:04:36,761
time in history.
79
00:04:36,762 --> 00:04:39,352
Still remained Athens, there's them.
80
00:04:39,353 --> 00:04:42,350
But then Rome was still
a provincial back water.
81
00:04:42,351 --> 00:04:45,364
But a very unlikely
corner of northern Greece
82
00:04:45,365 --> 00:04:48,258
was about to have a huge impact.
83
00:04:48,259 --> 00:04:49,677
From there was gonna come a man
84
00:04:49,678 --> 00:04:52,652
who would be a real
player on the world stage.
85
00:04:52,653 --> 00:04:54,924
In fact he was somebody,
who was gonna change
86
00:04:54,925 --> 00:04:56,258
the world order.
87
00:04:59,109 --> 00:05:02,356
That man was Alexander the Great.
88
00:05:02,357 --> 00:05:04,504
Great because Alexander's achievements
89
00:05:04,505 --> 00:05:07,156
were truly outstanding.
90
00:05:07,157 --> 00:05:09,312
From provincial Macedonian beginnings,
91
00:05:09,313 --> 00:05:11,561
he united the Greeks of the nation.
92
00:05:11,562 --> 00:05:14,164
Defeated the Persians,
and set about creating
93
00:05:14,165 --> 00:05:18,143
the largest empire the
world had ever seen.
94
00:05:18,144 --> 00:05:20,166
From northern Greece his
territory stretched out
95
00:05:20,167 --> 00:05:23,418
across the Mediterranean,
deep into the Middle East.
96
00:05:23,419 --> 00:05:25,502
And towards North Africa.
97
00:05:28,065 --> 00:05:30,648
Alexander was prodigiously ambitious.
98
00:05:30,649 --> 00:05:33,520
By the age of 24 he was
already cutting his way
99
00:05:33,521 --> 00:05:36,159
through territories of the known world.
100
00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,372
But, he could not rest easy until
101
00:05:38,373 --> 00:05:42,058
he'd laid his hands on
the really big prize.
102
00:05:42,059 --> 00:05:42,892
Egypt.
103
00:05:45,226 --> 00:05:47,765
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
104
00:05:47,766 --> 00:05:49,910
Because this was one of
the most admired and envied
105
00:05:49,911 --> 00:05:53,555
countries in the whole of antiquity.
106
00:05:53,556 --> 00:05:55,223
The Nile River which watered the land gave
107
00:05:55,224 --> 00:05:57,638
it vast agricultural wealth.
108
00:05:57,639 --> 00:06:00,411
Creating a manpower and
resources to cover the land
109
00:06:00,412 --> 00:06:04,175
in glorious artworks and
engineering triumphs.
110
00:06:04,176 --> 00:06:07,615
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
111
00:06:07,616 --> 00:06:09,717
Even the Greeks, who
thought they were culturally
112
00:06:09,718 --> 00:06:12,323
superior to everyone
else, and describe anyone
113
00:06:12,324 --> 00:06:16,442
who wasn't Greek as barbary, barbarians,
114
00:06:16,443 --> 00:06:18,945
respected Egyptian achievements.
115
00:06:18,946 --> 00:06:21,399
The Greeks saw their history said that,
116
00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:26,072
nowhere else in the world were
there more marvelous things.
117
00:06:26,073 --> 00:06:29,073
More works of unspeakable greatness.
118
00:06:31,249 --> 00:06:35,284
Such a rich prize was
irresistible to Alexander.
119
00:06:35,285 --> 00:06:39,591
In 332 BC he invaded Egypt,
and overcame the Persians,
120
00:06:39,592 --> 00:06:41,364
who dominated the Egyptian people
121
00:06:41,365 --> 00:06:43,615
for the past two centuries.
122
00:06:45,132 --> 00:06:47,773
But to seal his victory
he now had to win over
123
00:06:47,774 --> 00:06:50,278
the hearts and minds
of the Egyptian people.
124
00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:52,464
Who's unique religion and culture had been
125
00:06:52,465 --> 00:06:55,715
rooted in the land for over 3000 years.
126
00:07:01,231 --> 00:07:03,288
By the time Alexander arrived in Egypt,
127
00:07:03,289 --> 00:07:06,456
this pyramid was over 2,300 years old.
128
00:07:07,712 --> 00:07:11,769
The didn't think of it as some
kind of antique curiosity,
129
00:07:11,770 --> 00:07:14,685
because this is where a
God king had been buried.
130
00:07:14,686 --> 00:07:17,629
The Egyptians believed that it pulsated
131
00:07:17,630 --> 00:07:20,269
with a sort of sacred power.
132
00:07:20,270 --> 00:07:23,020
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
133
00:07:26,473 --> 00:07:29,368
Confronted with a culture
so alien to his own,
134
00:07:29,369 --> 00:07:32,970
Alexander didn't underestimate
the challenge that faced him.
135
00:07:32,971 --> 00:07:35,844
He realized he had to come
up with an ingenious approach
136
00:07:35,845 --> 00:07:38,759
to get the Egyptians
on his side and accept
137
00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:40,343
his new Greek rule.
138
00:07:41,801 --> 00:07:43,759
Typically when it comes
to making sense of the
139
00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,883
story of Alexandria, the
clues to how he did this
140
00:07:46,884 --> 00:07:50,217
are buried deep beneath the desert sand.
141
00:07:52,048 --> 00:07:53,933
So, had I been walking down
here in Alexander's day
142
00:07:53,934 --> 00:07:55,246
what would we have seen?
143
00:07:55,247 --> 00:07:56,406
You would have seen
something quite different.
144
00:07:56,407 --> 00:07:58,097
It would have been far grander.
145
00:07:58,098 --> 00:08:00,248
You would of had these limestone
beautifully cut blocks.
146
00:08:00,249 --> 00:08:02,064
You would have an inscription,
and there would've
147
00:08:02,065 --> 00:08:06,201
been a big procession
way, lined with sphinxes.
148
00:08:06,202 --> 00:08:07,759
So it would have been quite glamorous.
149
00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:09,709
Not quite what it is now.
150
00:08:09,710 --> 00:08:13,582
Was it typical to have
things underground like this?
151
00:08:13,583 --> 00:08:16,101
For the ancient Egyptians,
yes underground stuff
152
00:08:16,102 --> 00:08:18,225
was the place of rebirth and resurrection,
153
00:08:18,226 --> 00:08:22,043
and anything secret, so
they used it a great deal.
154
00:08:22,044 --> 00:08:24,654
[BETTANY] Thanking a spirit.
155
00:08:24,655 --> 00:08:27,405
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
156
00:08:29,671 --> 00:08:31,937
And that's what Alexander
had to get to grips with.
157
00:08:31,938 --> 00:08:34,987
A culture that not only
believed in life on earth.
158
00:08:34,988 --> 00:08:38,738
But which was obsessed
with life after death.
159
00:08:40,269 --> 00:08:43,076
Wow, I knew there was a
sarcophagus down here,
160
00:08:43,077 --> 00:08:45,035
I had no idea it was this size.
161
00:08:45,036 --> 00:08:46,596
[SALIMA] It is absolutely enormous.
162
00:08:46,597 --> 00:08:50,755
It's sort of really by
size 'cause it weighs more
163
00:08:50,756 --> 00:08:54,191
than 60 tons and it's made
of absolutely solid granite.
164
00:08:54,192 --> 00:08:55,438
[BETTANY] Oh it's got glitter on it.
165
00:08:55,439 --> 00:08:57,356
Yeah, yeah, here see.
166
00:08:58,391 --> 00:09:00,911
This is in fact the name
of who it belongs to.
167
00:09:00,912 --> 00:09:03,434
It's Hapi in glyphs and it's
168
00:09:03,435 --> 00:09:05,931
actually been turned
into Apis by the Greeks.
169
00:09:05,932 --> 00:09:09,533
And so it's Hapi the Great
Bowl God, the Apis bowl.
170
00:09:09,534 --> 00:09:11,156
And this is his sarcophagus.
171
00:09:11,157 --> 00:09:13,052
[BETTANY] So it's a bowl buried in here.
172
00:09:13,053 --> 00:09:13,886
Yeah, it's a bowl.
173
00:09:13,887 --> 00:09:15,482
[BETTANY] I just presumed, that it's
174
00:09:15,483 --> 00:09:16,632
so kind of glorious that
it would be a human.
175
00:09:16,633 --> 00:09:18,929
No it actually is a
bowl burial because this
176
00:09:18,930 --> 00:09:21,531
was a sacred incarnation of
one of the Egyptian Gods.
177
00:09:21,532 --> 00:09:25,032
And so he was buried here after his death.
178
00:09:29,924 --> 00:09:34,822
And here it says Apis, son
of, beloved son of Osiris
179
00:09:34,823 --> 00:09:37,928
may he be given life
eternity and prosperity,
180
00:09:37,929 --> 00:09:40,610
and so on, and it says his
name more and more times,
181
00:09:40,611 --> 00:09:42,584
so you really knew to whom it belonged.
182
00:09:42,585 --> 00:09:44,159
I mean the Egyptians do
do that in their religion,
183
00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,525
don't they, mix up animals
and men very happily?
184
00:09:47,526 --> 00:09:49,823
Very much so, for the Egyptians each God
185
00:09:49,824 --> 00:09:52,130
had it's automic animals,
so they're always
186
00:09:52,131 --> 00:09:54,959
closely aligned, which is very
different from the Greeks.
187
00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:56,253
And so how did Alexander deal with that
188
00:09:56,254 --> 00:09:59,190
very alien landscape when he arrived here?
189
00:09:59,191 --> 00:10:02,081
Alexander was brilliant,
I mean he instead of
190
00:10:02,082 --> 00:10:04,384
coming in and saying,
oh, you all are fools,
191
00:10:04,385 --> 00:10:07,880
he instead said, ah, I am
part of this whole thing.
192
00:10:07,881 --> 00:10:10,961
And he came and he made
offerings to the Apis.
193
00:10:10,962 --> 00:10:13,878
He gave money and lands to the temples.
194
00:10:13,879 --> 00:10:17,089
The Egyptians thought, wow,
one of us, we love him.
195
00:10:17,090 --> 00:10:19,671
And then, in this brilliant move,
196
00:10:19,672 --> 00:10:22,809
he also visited a temple
where he was hailed
197
00:10:22,810 --> 00:10:24,991
as the son of a chief Egyptian God.
198
00:10:24,992 --> 00:10:27,609
So he was supposed to be
the divine ruler on earth.
199
00:10:27,610 --> 00:10:29,381
Which fits into the Egyptian belief system
200
00:10:29,382 --> 00:10:32,530
that their pharaoh is divinely
born, and a God on earth.
201
00:10:32,531 --> 00:10:36,156
And so there was Alexander
as a pharaoh really,
202
00:10:36,157 --> 00:10:37,796
and the Egyptians loved him.
203
00:10:37,797 --> 00:10:40,547
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
204
00:10:51,538 --> 00:10:54,830
Alexander was cunning
by choosing to embrace
205
00:10:54,831 --> 00:10:58,056
Egyptian customs, rather
than just dump on them.
206
00:10:58,057 --> 00:11:00,971
He managed to effect the very sympathetic
207
00:11:00,972 --> 00:11:03,971
kind or regime change the Egyptian people
208
00:11:03,972 --> 00:11:08,268
didn't think of him as one
of them, but one of us.
209
00:11:08,269 --> 00:11:12,377
Here he had done remarkably
well, he realized
210
00:11:12,378 --> 00:11:14,595
his grand Egyptian dream
and now he was being
211
00:11:14,596 --> 00:11:18,145
celebrated here, not just
as a conqueror or a king,
212
00:11:18,146 --> 00:11:20,229
but as a true living God.
213
00:11:22,002 --> 00:11:24,752
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
214
00:11:28,562 --> 00:11:30,457
But even that wasn't enough for Alexander,
215
00:11:30,458 --> 00:11:32,871
he didn't just want to
be another in a long line
216
00:11:32,872 --> 00:11:37,059
of pharaoh's he really wanted
to dominate the country
217
00:11:37,060 --> 00:11:39,633
and that meant creating a new city that
218
00:11:39,634 --> 00:11:42,384
would bare his name for all time.
219
00:11:43,810 --> 00:11:47,912
But first he had to find
a suitable location.
220
00:11:47,913 --> 00:11:50,554
The ancient Egyptians had
always looked inwards.
221
00:11:50,555 --> 00:11:53,639
Their key cities centering on the Nile.
222
00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:56,825
But in this Alexander differed.
223
00:11:56,826 --> 00:11:59,290
He also wanted his new city to look back
224
00:11:59,291 --> 00:12:01,571
towards his Greek homeland and outwards
225
00:12:01,572 --> 00:12:03,489
towards his new empire.
226
00:12:05,194 --> 00:12:08,172
And it was said that he had
a very illustrious figure
227
00:12:08,173 --> 00:12:10,173
to guide him on his way.
228
00:12:12,563 --> 00:12:14,087
The ancient author Plutarch
229
00:12:14,088 --> 00:12:15,378
tells us that Alexander was drawn
230
00:12:15,379 --> 00:12:19,195
to this very spot, a place called Pharos
231
00:12:19,196 --> 00:12:21,113
like a prophetic dream.
232
00:12:22,379 --> 00:12:24,971
Then in the night as Alexander lay asleep
233
00:12:24,972 --> 00:12:27,481
he saw a wonderful vision.
234
00:12:27,482 --> 00:12:29,999
A venerable man with shaggy
hair and a beard appeared
235
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:34,308
to stand by his side
and recite these verses,
236
00:12:34,309 --> 00:12:37,853
now, there is an island
in the much dashing sea
237
00:12:37,854 --> 00:12:41,687
in front of Egypt, Pharos
is what men call it.
238
00:12:43,032 --> 00:12:45,199
Alexander believed that the mysterious
239
00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:47,760
visitor was none other than Homer himself
240
00:12:47,761 --> 00:12:50,924
the great epic bard, and as well as being
241
00:12:50,925 --> 00:12:54,680
a hard nosed politician, he
was an incurable romantic.
242
00:12:54,681 --> 00:12:57,348
And so he took his advice
and this is where he
243
00:12:57,349 --> 00:12:59,266
came to plan this city.
244
00:13:02,763 --> 00:13:05,473
But the barren stretch of
coastline Alexander encountered
245
00:13:05,474 --> 00:13:10,259
couldn't be more different
from today's hectic metropolis.
246
00:13:10,260 --> 00:13:14,049
When Alexander got here Pharos
was still just an island,
247
00:13:14,050 --> 00:13:16,124
and there's a tiny little settlement here.
248
00:13:16,125 --> 00:13:19,206
And the coastline of
Egypt was very jagged.
249
00:13:19,207 --> 00:13:21,251
Which meant it was very
difficult for boats to land.
250
00:13:21,252 --> 00:13:24,914
But Alexander had a grand plan that linked
251
00:13:24,915 --> 00:13:27,059
Pharos to the mainland.
252
00:13:27,060 --> 00:13:30,456
And so he built a causeway
running all the way across.
253
00:13:30,457 --> 00:13:32,662
Almost a mile long.
254
00:13:32,663 --> 00:13:34,409
And he extended this straight
255
00:13:34,410 --> 00:13:37,160
here to create a man made harbor.
256
00:13:38,432 --> 00:13:42,432
This would become the
busiest port in the world.
257
00:13:43,391 --> 00:13:45,556
The gateway to one of the richest
258
00:13:45,557 --> 00:13:49,032
and most multicultural cities on earth.
259
00:13:49,033 --> 00:13:51,671
And that was only part of the dream.
260
00:13:51,672 --> 00:13:53,994
Alexander and his successors the Ptolemy's
261
00:13:53,995 --> 00:13:56,572
rampant for knowledge,
knowledge that would
262
00:13:56,573 --> 00:14:01,275
give them the power to
trade, to build, to conquer.
263
00:14:01,276 --> 00:14:04,152
Their ambition was that
Alexandria was to become
264
00:14:04,153 --> 00:14:08,320
the intellectual engine
room of the ancient world.
265
00:14:13,398 --> 00:14:16,148
(MYSTICAL MUSIC)
266
00:14:17,525 --> 00:14:21,501
Ancient Egypt, land of
the mighty Pharaoh's.
267
00:14:21,502 --> 00:14:24,547
Living God kings who's
people built fantastic
268
00:14:24,548 --> 00:14:27,004
monuments in their honor.
269
00:14:27,005 --> 00:14:29,782
A civilization which had been
a key player in the region,
270
00:14:29,783 --> 00:14:31,533
for over 4,000 years.
271
00:14:37,683 --> 00:14:40,850
In the fourth century BC, the
Greek Alexander the Great,
272
00:14:40,851 --> 00:14:43,094
conquered this land, winning over
273
00:14:43,095 --> 00:14:46,595
the Egyptian people,
and making it his own.
274
00:14:46,596 --> 00:14:50,263
Creating a new city in
his name, Alexandria.
275
00:14:53,347 --> 00:14:55,554
Starting from scratch,
Alexander envisioned
276
00:14:55,555 --> 00:14:58,781
a unique model city, strictly laid out
277
00:14:58,782 --> 00:15:00,966
among innovative grid systems.
278
00:15:00,967 --> 00:15:03,258
Where Greek and Egyptian
culture came together
279
00:15:03,259 --> 00:15:07,009
to create one of the
richest places on earth.
280
00:15:12,153 --> 00:15:14,129
Today so little is left above ground
281
00:15:14,130 --> 00:15:17,003
to get a sense of the ancient
city you have to descend
282
00:15:17,004 --> 00:15:21,171
deep beneath the modern metropolis
into a city of the dead.
283
00:15:22,523 --> 00:15:24,769
Wow! I mean they're
fantastic, aren't they?
284
00:15:24,770 --> 00:15:27,166
Well this is typically Alexandrian,
285
00:15:27,167 --> 00:15:29,891
where you've got this mish
mash of different styles.
286
00:15:29,892 --> 00:15:32,977
Look at the Medusa are purely Greek.
287
00:15:32,978 --> 00:15:34,791
The Apep demon were Greek.
288
00:15:34,792 --> 00:15:36,206
But then Egyptian elements,
289
00:15:36,207 --> 00:15:37,040
the frees up there of
290
00:15:37,041 --> 00:15:40,910
copperheads and little
silver discs on top,
291
00:15:40,911 --> 00:15:42,617
all of the Egyptian tradition.
292
00:15:42,618 --> 00:15:44,283
And this was just the
tomb for one family.
293
00:15:44,284 --> 00:15:45,996
Well one family we
presume, we're not sure.
294
00:15:45,997 --> 00:15:47,367
There's three sarcophagi in there,
295
00:15:47,368 --> 00:15:49,058
no bodies were ever found.
296
00:15:49,059 --> 00:15:52,373
The tomb robbers got here long
before the archeologists did.
297
00:15:52,374 --> 00:15:53,534
[BETTANY] They might
not have left any bodies,
298
00:15:53,535 --> 00:15:55,232
but they've got some
pretty life like guardians,
299
00:15:55,233 --> 00:15:56,066
I'll assume.
300
00:15:56,067 --> 00:15:57,477
Well archeologists over
the years have presumed that
301
00:15:57,478 --> 00:15:59,558
the statues on either side of the entrance
302
00:15:59,559 --> 00:16:01,598
represent the owners of the tomb.
303
00:16:01,599 --> 00:16:03,577
But what's interesting about
them is that if you look
304
00:16:03,578 --> 00:16:05,553
at the head of this over here.
305
00:16:05,554 --> 00:16:08,575
The face is detailed, the
hairstyle is pure Roman Greco,
306
00:16:08,576 --> 00:16:09,779
Greco Roman tradition, and yet the body,
307
00:16:09,780 --> 00:16:12,818
stiff, one leg forward, arms to the side,
308
00:16:12,819 --> 00:16:14,147
typical of Egyptian statue.
309
00:16:14,148 --> 00:16:16,208
It's quite ugly in a way,
the way the two of them
310
00:16:16,209 --> 00:16:17,311
are stuck together, though.
311
00:16:17,312 --> 00:16:18,689
It's not particularly well done, no,
312
00:16:18,690 --> 00:16:20,210
but that's part of the
charm of this place.
313
00:16:20,211 --> 00:16:21,666
Is we're picking, we're
mixing and matching.
314
00:16:21,667 --> 00:16:23,105
We're being purely
Alexandrian, we're taking
315
00:16:23,106 --> 00:16:24,541
what we want sticking it together.
316
00:16:24,542 --> 00:16:26,877
We're not melding,
creating a new art form.
317
00:16:26,878 --> 00:16:29,177
We're just, we're open to everything.
318
00:16:29,178 --> 00:16:31,081
We're very receptive and
there's a great example,
319
00:16:31,082 --> 00:16:32,974
just inside the doorways here.
320
00:16:32,975 --> 00:16:34,723
To the left you get another really good
321
00:16:34,724 --> 00:16:36,546
example of this as well.
322
00:16:36,547 --> 00:16:37,547
Oh yes.
323
00:16:37,548 --> 00:16:39,018
'Cause this is the Anubis figure.
324
00:16:39,019 --> 00:16:41,117
Anubis was the Egyptian Gods of embalming,
325
00:16:41,118 --> 00:16:42,098
the dog headed figure.
326
00:16:42,099 --> 00:16:44,509
But look how he's dressed, he's
dressed as a Roman soldier,
327
00:16:44,510 --> 00:16:47,859
but with his Egyptian
head, guarding whoever's
328
00:16:47,860 --> 00:16:49,343
buried within this tomb.
329
00:16:49,344 --> 00:16:51,949
It's fantastic, just like
top and tails, isn't it?
330
00:16:51,950 --> 00:16:53,966
He's got a very Egyptian head,
and this kind of Roman body.
331
00:16:53,967 --> 00:16:54,800
[COLIN] Roman coat.
332
00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:55,665
[BETTANY] This little Roman skirt.
333
00:16:55,665 --> 00:16:56,639
[COLIN] Just mix and match.
334
00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:59,097
The only thing I think
though is that throughout
335
00:16:59,098 --> 00:17:01,718
the ancient world you do get
this exchange of cultures
336
00:17:01,719 --> 00:17:06,159
in Catalans you've got
eastern cults, and the Romans
337
00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:07,701
are very good at taking
on the east as well.
338
00:17:07,702 --> 00:17:10,905
So why is Alexandria
particularly good at that?
339
00:17:10,906 --> 00:17:12,595
I think because
Alexandria was a new town,
340
00:17:12,596 --> 00:17:16,284
and it had to create its own legitimacy.
341
00:17:16,285 --> 00:17:18,480
It was a new town on an
very, very ancient land.
342
00:17:18,481 --> 00:17:20,391
Which had a certain weight
343
00:17:20,392 --> 00:17:21,555
within the ancient world, as well.
344
00:17:21,556 --> 00:17:23,401
I mean Egypt, the Greeks
were in awe of Egypt.
345
00:17:23,402 --> 00:17:25,987
So there was all this sort of
cultural baggage here already.
346
00:17:25,988 --> 00:17:29,319
But they also brought
with them their notions
347
00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:31,838
of Hellenic culture, Greek
culture, and by doing that,
348
00:17:31,839 --> 00:17:34,213
it drapes itself in the mantle of Egypt,
349
00:17:34,214 --> 00:17:38,720
but at the same time brought
with it its Greek notions.
350
00:17:38,721 --> 00:17:40,012
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
351
00:17:40,013 --> 00:17:42,158
It was also an extremely wealthy town.
352
00:17:42,159 --> 00:17:43,478
And it's a port town.
353
00:17:43,479 --> 00:17:45,694
And they were always open to influences.
354
00:17:45,695 --> 00:17:48,445
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
355
00:17:54,989 --> 00:17:55,857
What you have to remember,
356
00:17:55,858 --> 00:17:58,515
is that this was no ordinary city.
357
00:17:58,516 --> 00:18:00,877
And it hadn't grown up organically,
358
00:18:00,878 --> 00:18:02,977
as the Bronze Age, or the Classical Age.
359
00:18:02,978 --> 00:18:05,980
Like so many of the great
cities of antiquity.
360
00:18:05,981 --> 00:18:10,517
This was if you like, a kind
of high minded new town,
361
00:18:10,518 --> 00:18:12,256
the brain child of a visionary,
362
00:18:12,257 --> 00:18:14,972
and highly educated man.
363
00:18:14,973 --> 00:18:18,368
From the age of 13
Alexander had been taught
364
00:18:18,369 --> 00:18:21,743
day in, day out by the
great philosopher Aristotle.
365
00:18:21,744 --> 00:18:23,738
And a spirit of inquiry was infused
366
00:18:23,739 --> 00:18:25,933
in every cell of his body.
367
00:18:25,934 --> 00:18:28,767
And when he founded
Alexandria he passed that
368
00:18:28,768 --> 00:18:32,009
spirit on into the very DNA of the city.
369
00:18:32,010 --> 00:18:34,428
This was a place where knowledge was
370
00:18:34,429 --> 00:18:37,762
as valuable a currency as grain or gold.
371
00:18:39,980 --> 00:18:42,563
(UPBEAT MUSIC)
372
00:18:47,348 --> 00:18:49,251
And in a precious archaeological oasis
373
00:18:49,252 --> 00:18:51,978
in the heart of the city Kom el-Dikka,
374
00:18:51,979 --> 00:18:56,574
archeologists have begun to
find the evidence to prove it.
375
00:18:56,575 --> 00:18:58,753
A Polish team had been
working on a discovery
376
00:18:58,754 --> 00:19:00,276
which revealed exactly where
377
00:19:00,277 --> 00:19:04,001
Alexandria's ideas were played out.
378
00:19:04,002 --> 00:19:06,700
Here we are, in one
of the lecture halls.
379
00:19:06,701 --> 00:19:08,750
Probably it was one lecturer from
380
00:19:08,751 --> 00:19:10,238
the campus from the university.
381
00:19:10,239 --> 00:19:12,625
It's really interesting, so
you've got the lecture room
382
00:19:12,626 --> 00:19:14,102
right on the main street.
383
00:19:14,103 --> 00:19:15,865
Yes it was at the
center of the social life
384
00:19:15,866 --> 00:19:17,877
in the late Alexandria.
385
00:19:17,878 --> 00:19:22,045
And now we are here, various
inventors in the classrooms.
386
00:19:22,887 --> 00:19:26,032
And where the branch was
developed for the students.
387
00:19:26,033 --> 00:19:28,379
And here we have the main chair,
388
00:19:28,380 --> 00:19:33,294
that must seat for the,
probably for the teacher.
389
00:19:33,295 --> 00:19:35,216
You can just imagine how intimate this
390
00:19:35,217 --> 00:19:36,620
lecture hall would've been.
391
00:19:36,621 --> 00:19:39,689
Fitting just 30 students, studying law,
392
00:19:39,690 --> 00:19:41,523
rhetoric, and science.
393
00:19:44,829 --> 00:19:47,326
And here we have a
single block of stone.
394
00:19:47,327 --> 00:19:50,231
Probably was kind of platform, or kind of
395
00:19:50,232 --> 00:19:52,551
podium for the student reclamation.
396
00:19:52,552 --> 00:19:55,228
Okay, so the students
have to do a kind of,
397
00:19:55,229 --> 00:19:56,708
Demonstration.
398
00:19:56,709 --> 00:19:58,823
I'm going to be a teacher.
399
00:19:58,824 --> 00:20:02,107
So if I'm sitting here, so I'm a teacher,
400
00:20:02,108 --> 00:20:03,858
sorry, comfortably on your steps, and then
401
00:20:03,859 --> 00:20:05,048
the student would be there
402
00:20:05,049 --> 00:20:06,521
giving their paper or presentation.
403
00:20:06,522 --> 00:20:07,651
[EMANUELA] Yes, exactly.
404
00:20:07,652 --> 00:20:09,624
[BETTANY] Did it get hot here?
405
00:20:09,625 --> 00:20:12,437
The little house were covered probably
406
00:20:12,438 --> 00:20:15,366
by the flat roof, we
don't have any indication.
407
00:20:15,367 --> 00:20:16,970
But probably, they are going
408
00:20:16,971 --> 00:20:20,122
to be high as up to five,
come up to five meters.
409
00:20:20,123 --> 00:20:22,016
At the level of the columns.
410
00:20:22,017 --> 00:20:24,229
[BETTANY] How many teacher
rooms like this are there?
411
00:20:24,230 --> 00:20:26,969
[EMANUELA] So far we
found 20 lecture halls.
412
00:20:26,970 --> 00:20:30,018
Probably it was a lot bigger.
413
00:20:30,019 --> 00:20:32,452
These teaching rooms were
a hot house of knowledge
414
00:20:32,453 --> 00:20:35,449
in the very heart of Alexandria.
415
00:20:35,450 --> 00:20:38,365
This was in no way a city of ivory towers,
416
00:20:38,366 --> 00:20:42,533
it was stuffing with provocative,
and cutting edge ideas.
417
00:20:45,299 --> 00:20:47,721
It's rumored that if you wanted
to acquire the intellectual
418
00:20:47,722 --> 00:20:50,956
tools to unlock the
mysteries of the universe,
419
00:20:50,957 --> 00:20:53,707
to allow them to rule the world.
420
00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,128
It was where the mathematician
Eratosthenes proved that
421
00:20:57,129 --> 00:20:59,539
the earth was round,
and accurately measured
422
00:20:59,540 --> 00:21:01,040
its circumference.
423
00:21:01,968 --> 00:21:05,094
For a 1,000 years ahead of his
time, Aristarchus suggested
424
00:21:05,095 --> 00:21:07,134
that the earth moved around the sun.
425
00:21:07,135 --> 00:21:09,185
And where the greatest minds, and most
426
00:21:09,186 --> 00:21:11,798
extraordinary thinkers
attempt to map their
427
00:21:11,799 --> 00:21:13,632
way through the stars.
428
00:21:17,764 --> 00:21:19,814
Now I've got to confess Alexandria has got
429
00:21:19,815 --> 00:21:21,436
a particular allure for me.
430
00:21:21,437 --> 00:21:22,785
For one reason.
431
00:21:22,786 --> 00:21:26,683
And it's a rather wonderful
and sincerious woman called
432
00:21:26,684 --> 00:21:31,126
Hypatia, now Hypatia ran her
own philosophy school here,
433
00:21:31,127 --> 00:21:35,210
and by all accounts, she
was quite extraordinary.
434
00:21:36,302 --> 00:21:38,650
Hypatia was born at around 350 AD.
435
00:21:38,651 --> 00:21:41,395
The very fact she was a woman in a world
436
00:21:41,396 --> 00:21:46,321
dominated by men, makes her
achievements doubly exceptional.
437
00:21:46,322 --> 00:21:49,516
For over 40 years she made
ground breaking advances
438
00:21:49,517 --> 00:21:52,934
in algebra, and revolutionized astronomy.
439
00:21:55,009 --> 00:21:57,216
And correspondence from
a fellow philosopher
440
00:21:57,217 --> 00:22:01,632
really sums up just how
much she was valued.
441
00:22:01,633 --> 00:22:03,656
It's a collection of
letters written to her
442
00:22:03,657 --> 00:22:06,802
by one of her former
students called Synesius.
443
00:22:06,803 --> 00:22:10,094
And the language he used
is very, very intimate.
444
00:22:10,095 --> 00:22:12,778
So you get a real sense of her character.
445
00:22:12,779 --> 00:22:15,473
And just how respected she was.
446
00:22:15,474 --> 00:22:18,173
And Synesius says that
nothing in the world
447
00:22:18,174 --> 00:22:21,274
is more wonderful than her,
and that even in Hades,
448
00:22:21,275 --> 00:22:24,775
she is the only thing that he'll remember.
449
00:22:28,700 --> 00:22:31,998
Actually she's been
remembered by some others too.
450
00:22:31,999 --> 00:22:35,235
A crater on the moon's
surface bares here name.
451
00:22:35,236 --> 00:22:38,996
A journal of philosophy is called Hypatia.
452
00:22:38,997 --> 00:22:43,752
And she's just been immortalized
in a new film, Agora.
453
00:22:43,753 --> 00:22:46,503
(MYSTICAL MUSIC)
454
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,153
Imagine Hypatia working
late into the night,
455
00:22:51,154 --> 00:22:55,408
the same as Alexandrian
street lamps burning outside.
456
00:22:55,409 --> 00:22:59,564
Her staring up into the
night sky for inspiration.
457
00:22:59,565 --> 00:23:02,713
She was philosopher in the
true sense of the word,
458
00:23:02,714 --> 00:23:07,436
in that she was a philo
sophia, a lover of wisdom.
459
00:23:07,437 --> 00:23:09,485
What's really interesting
about Hypatia though,
460
00:23:09,486 --> 00:23:12,402
as with so many of her
Alexandrian colleagues,
461
00:23:12,403 --> 00:23:15,156
is that she didn't just
feel an abstract thought,
462
00:23:15,157 --> 00:23:18,855
but she had a very practical
application for her ideas.
463
00:23:18,856 --> 00:23:20,972
And for instance she used her mathematics,
464
00:23:20,973 --> 00:23:25,114
and her geometry to
redesign this amazing gizmo.
465
00:23:25,115 --> 00:23:27,529
And it was really kind
of a multi functional
466
00:23:27,530 --> 00:23:30,441
kind of instrument, a sort of
Ipod of her day if you like.
467
00:23:30,442 --> 00:23:34,386
Only in her day it had a
much more romantic name,
468
00:23:34,387 --> 00:23:37,365
'cause this was called a astrolabe,
469
00:23:37,366 --> 00:23:40,652
and literally that means,
a catcher of the stars.
470
00:23:40,653 --> 00:23:43,403
(MYSTICAL MUSIC)
471
00:23:53,222 --> 00:23:55,519
One of the things that was
worked on here in Alexandria,
472
00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,236
and perfected was this amazing
instrument the astrolabe.
473
00:23:58,237 --> 00:23:59,645
You're clutching one.
474
00:23:59,646 --> 00:24:01,921
What did it allow people to do?
475
00:24:01,922 --> 00:24:03,556
The astrolabe has many functions.
476
00:24:03,557 --> 00:24:06,369
Telling the time of the
day, telling you latitude,
477
00:24:06,370 --> 00:24:10,700
to altitude, it can measure
height of mountains.
478
00:24:10,701 --> 00:24:13,177
It can measure the width of rivers.
479
00:24:13,178 --> 00:24:15,627
But I'll tell you how to
measure the time of the day.
480
00:24:15,628 --> 00:24:19,165
Okay, now here is the astrolabe,
and here is the pointer.
481
00:24:19,166 --> 00:24:20,731
This is what we call the pointer.
482
00:24:20,732 --> 00:24:24,294
We align these two holes
pointing to a star.
483
00:24:24,295 --> 00:24:26,946
When we align these two
holes like it's pointing
484
00:24:26,947 --> 00:24:29,722
we get a reading, with
the pointer right here.
485
00:24:29,723 --> 00:24:32,480
We take this reading
here, which is a letter
486
00:24:32,481 --> 00:24:34,801
in Arabic letters, but
for them it's a number.
487
00:24:34,802 --> 00:24:38,783
We take this number,
we turn the astrolabe,
488
00:24:38,784 --> 00:24:41,759
and we have this finder here, we point,
489
00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:43,950
the pointer here, to the number
490
00:24:43,951 --> 00:24:45,906
that we have taken from the back.
491
00:24:45,907 --> 00:24:48,017
And when I point it to
here, we get the reading.
492
00:24:48,018 --> 00:24:49,919
You see that pointer here?
493
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:53,179
It will point to the degrees,
the degrees of the sun
494
00:24:53,180 --> 00:24:57,437
has risen, or the star has
risen from the horizon.
495
00:24:57,438 --> 00:25:00,271
360 degrees, is equal to 24 hours,
496
00:25:03,144 --> 00:25:07,996
so each, one hour is 15
degrees, so if we have here
497
00:25:07,997 --> 00:25:11,830
number of degrees, I can
know the time of day.
498
00:25:16,853 --> 00:25:18,734
It's a very powerful instrument,
499
00:25:18,735 --> 00:25:21,084
because it allows you to
do all kinds of things.
500
00:25:21,085 --> 00:25:22,529
But if you know the night sky.
501
00:25:22,530 --> 00:25:24,013
If you know your latitude, if you know the
502
00:25:24,014 --> 00:25:26,966
height of a mountain, you
can explore, you can trade.
503
00:25:26,967 --> 00:25:31,134
[HODA] It has actually
changed the way they function.
504
00:25:37,653 --> 00:25:41,454
Alexandria did sponsor
pure reason, pure thought,
505
00:25:41,455 --> 00:25:43,561
ideas just for ideas sake.
506
00:25:43,562 --> 00:25:47,631
But it also an immensely
busy, and practical place.
507
00:25:47,632 --> 00:25:50,182
The astrolabe for example
was very beautiful,
508
00:25:50,183 --> 00:25:52,562
but when it was applied
it allowed men to trade,
509
00:25:52,563 --> 00:25:55,061
and travel and to conquer.
510
00:25:55,062 --> 00:25:58,026
The whole city was very
enterprising and outward looking.
511
00:25:58,027 --> 00:26:00,612
And that ethos was directly in line with
512
00:26:00,613 --> 00:26:03,170
the vision of its founder.
513
00:26:03,171 --> 00:26:05,725
Alexander had created a unique city.
514
00:26:05,726 --> 00:26:08,186
A central point between east and west,
515
00:26:08,187 --> 00:26:11,444
where the greatest thinkers
not only explored pure thought,
516
00:26:11,445 --> 00:26:13,766
but applied their ideas to become
517
00:26:13,767 --> 00:26:16,737
real players on the world stage.
518
00:26:16,738 --> 00:26:20,953
The scale of Alexandria's
intellectual ambition was immense.
519
00:26:20,954 --> 00:26:24,826
To house within its walls, all knowledge.
520
00:26:24,827 --> 00:26:27,082
And with that knowledge make its rulers
521
00:26:27,083 --> 00:26:29,916
the most powerful people on earth.
522
00:26:34,908 --> 00:26:37,658
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
523
00:26:41,192 --> 00:26:43,848
Although ancient Alexandria
is virtually invisible,
524
00:26:43,849 --> 00:26:45,782
the ghosts of its presence are there
525
00:26:45,783 --> 00:26:48,533
in the layout of the modern city.
526
00:26:49,453 --> 00:26:51,238
I'll tell you what is very exciting,
527
00:26:51,239 --> 00:26:53,317
and because the modern city is laid out
528
00:26:53,318 --> 00:26:55,369
on the ancient grid
plan, when you walk down
529
00:26:55,370 --> 00:26:57,899
these streets you are typically walking
530
00:26:57,900 --> 00:26:59,795
in the footsteps of Hypatia and all those
531
00:26:59,796 --> 00:27:01,377
other fantastic philosophers.
532
00:27:01,378 --> 00:27:05,045
And that seems like a
very good place to be.
533
00:27:08,159 --> 00:27:10,909
(STREET CHATTER)
534
00:27:20,489 --> 00:27:23,645
As a cultural melting pot
with intellectual ambition,
535
00:27:23,646 --> 00:27:25,080
ancient Alexandria became
536
00:27:25,081 --> 00:27:28,070
a unique environment for scholarship.
537
00:27:28,071 --> 00:27:30,719
A place where the
extraordinary thinker Hypatia,
538
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,028
schooled in Greek thought could also draw
539
00:27:33,029 --> 00:27:35,558
on Egyptian wisdom and Babylonian science
540
00:27:35,559 --> 00:27:38,269
to help her map the stars.
541
00:27:38,270 --> 00:27:40,247
Where a wealth of traditions
from around the world
542
00:27:40,248 --> 00:27:43,062
combined enabling the greatest thinkers
543
00:27:43,063 --> 00:27:47,485
to make scientific advances
achievable nowhere else.
544
00:27:47,486 --> 00:27:51,968
Creating a new Egypt and a
model for society in the future.
545
00:27:51,969 --> 00:27:54,719
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
546
00:28:01,490 --> 00:28:03,238
One of the great characters
of medical history
547
00:28:03,239 --> 00:28:06,315
came from Alexandria, he
was a man called Galen.
548
00:28:06,316 --> 00:28:08,193
And even though he traveled right across
549
00:28:08,194 --> 00:28:10,754
the eastern Mediterranean,
it was the cosmopolitan
550
00:28:10,755 --> 00:28:12,860
conditions of this city that allowed him
551
00:28:12,861 --> 00:28:15,712
to make quite extraordinary advances.
552
00:28:15,713 --> 00:28:18,038
And in fact is was here he
made scientific breakthroughs
553
00:28:18,039 --> 00:28:21,956
that wouldn't be vetted
for another 1600 years.
554
00:28:27,325 --> 00:28:29,308
So what's all these treasures,
that you are removing
555
00:28:29,309 --> 00:28:30,760
from the tubs here.
556
00:28:30,761 --> 00:28:32,113
[DAVID] They are a variety of things,
557
00:28:32,114 --> 00:28:34,364
there's a brain of a horse.
558
00:28:35,285 --> 00:28:36,785
And this one with,
559
00:28:37,705 --> 00:28:40,995
the spinal cord attached, is a dog.
560
00:28:40,996 --> 00:28:41,829
Oh it's lovely.
561
00:28:41,830 --> 00:28:43,855
Now I'll have you know I
am a very strict vegetarian
562
00:28:43,856 --> 00:28:46,312
this is way beyond my life experiences.
563
00:28:46,313 --> 00:28:49,162
It's alright, I'm not
expecting you to eat them.
564
00:28:49,163 --> 00:28:49,996
It's alright.
565
00:28:49,997 --> 00:28:54,166
Explain to me so you're
a veterinary anatomist,
566
00:28:54,167 --> 00:28:56,770
so why have you got a
particular interest in Galen?
567
00:28:56,771 --> 00:28:58,450
It's really because of the brain,
568
00:28:58,451 --> 00:29:01,578
because I think Galen
was the central mover
569
00:29:01,579 --> 00:29:03,324
in the history of studying the brain.
570
00:29:03,325 --> 00:29:05,629
He was the first person
to realize what it was.
571
00:29:05,630 --> 00:29:06,774
And what it did.
572
00:29:06,775 --> 00:29:09,463
And why was Alexandria
such a key city for him?
573
00:29:09,464 --> 00:29:11,354
In the European part of
the Mediterranean world,
574
00:29:11,355 --> 00:29:13,776
there were taboos, and
then eventually laws,
575
00:29:13,777 --> 00:29:16,289
against chopping up dead people.
576
00:29:16,290 --> 00:29:17,758
Dissecting dead people, which made
577
00:29:17,759 --> 00:29:19,442
life very difficult of
him, so he had to use
578
00:29:19,443 --> 00:29:23,668
animals, like these, where
really what he wanted to know,
579
00:29:23,669 --> 00:29:25,316
he wanted to know about what was
580
00:29:25,317 --> 00:29:28,384
going on in humans, and this
was much easier in Egypt.
581
00:29:28,385 --> 00:29:30,504
'Cause the Egyptians have
much more of a tradition.
582
00:29:30,505 --> 00:29:32,750
And partly because of
mummification, they have much
583
00:29:32,751 --> 00:29:34,334
more of a tradition of dealing
584
00:29:34,335 --> 00:29:36,864
with parts of dead human people.
585
00:29:36,865 --> 00:29:38,526
And perhaps not worrying about it so much.
586
00:29:38,527 --> 00:29:41,329
But the brain wasn't
particularly very important
587
00:29:41,330 --> 00:29:43,139
to the Egyptians, there
are stories of them,
588
00:29:43,140 --> 00:29:44,841
when they're doing the
mummification and then
589
00:29:44,842 --> 00:29:47,593
pulling the brain out through
the nose, for instance.
590
00:29:47,594 --> 00:29:49,466
We don't know whether
that, it was Herodotus
591
00:29:49,467 --> 00:29:51,207
who said that, we don't know
whether that's actually true.
592
00:29:51,208 --> 00:29:53,130
You'd need an enormous nose
to get a brain out through.
593
00:29:53,131 --> 00:29:55,668
But it's certainly true
the thing with Egyptian's
594
00:29:55,669 --> 00:29:58,194
and the Greeks have in common
neither of them thought
595
00:29:58,195 --> 00:29:59,231
the brain was very important.
596
00:29:59,232 --> 00:30:01,587
Until Galen came along,
then Aristotle said
597
00:30:01,588 --> 00:30:03,470
it's probably just the
radiator for the heart.
598
00:30:03,471 --> 00:30:05,523
The heart creates all
this heat, and the brain
599
00:30:05,524 --> 00:30:09,005
is just a way of radiating
it away out of the body.
600
00:30:09,006 --> 00:30:10,591
And so why was Galen different?
601
00:30:10,592 --> 00:30:12,679
How did he come to realize that there
602
00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:13,724
was something else going on?
603
00:30:13,725 --> 00:30:14,878
Because he looked at the brain.
604
00:30:14,879 --> 00:30:15,712
You look at the human brain,
605
00:30:15,713 --> 00:30:17,176
look at animal brains,
606
00:30:17,177 --> 00:30:19,898
and he said well if you look at them,
607
00:30:19,899 --> 00:30:21,580
they're incredibly complicated.
608
00:30:21,581 --> 00:30:23,637
He said for example, here's
the cerebrum at the front
609
00:30:23,638 --> 00:30:25,441
with all its folds, and
here's the cerebellum
610
00:30:25,442 --> 00:30:28,035
at the back where you can find the folds.
611
00:30:28,036 --> 00:30:30,565
You look on the inside and you see
612
00:30:30,566 --> 00:30:32,616
you've got the brain stem down there,
613
00:30:32,617 --> 00:30:34,354
it's even more complicated.
614
00:30:34,355 --> 00:30:35,563
So it's got all these different bits
615
00:30:35,564 --> 00:30:36,860
so it doesn't look like something that's
616
00:30:36,861 --> 00:30:38,922
just there to radiate heat away.
617
00:30:38,923 --> 00:30:42,583
So it must be doing something,
more complicated than that.
618
00:30:42,584 --> 00:30:44,990
The other thing he noticed about it was,
619
00:30:44,991 --> 00:30:46,736
first of all if you look at the brain,
620
00:30:46,737 --> 00:30:48,770
it has the sensors attached to it,
621
00:30:48,771 --> 00:30:50,342
if you,
622
00:30:50,343 --> 00:30:51,891
dissect a brain,
623
00:30:51,892 --> 00:30:54,071
I'll get this out, this is a sheep brain.
624
00:30:54,072 --> 00:30:57,144
With the eyes, still attached.
625
00:30:57,145 --> 00:30:58,106
Yeah, it's lovely, thank you.
626
00:30:58,107 --> 00:30:59,880
And that then got him thinking,
627
00:30:59,881 --> 00:31:02,453
he said well the brain is connected
628
00:31:02,454 --> 00:31:05,875
to the special sensors by
these large thick nerves,
629
00:31:05,876 --> 00:31:07,393
he said that must mean something.
630
00:31:07,394 --> 00:31:09,663
And he had this wonderful phrase he used,
631
00:31:09,664 --> 00:31:11,849
where he said, the brain
is surrounded by the
632
00:31:11,850 --> 00:31:15,500
special sense organs as if
they are the servants of gods,
633
00:31:15,501 --> 00:31:17,497
of the great king.
634
00:31:17,498 --> 00:31:20,280
So he'd already elevated the
brains, being in position
635
00:31:20,281 --> 00:31:23,971
of a king, in control
of the special senses.
636
00:31:23,972 --> 00:31:25,560
I'm glad he added a little bit of poetry
637
00:31:25,561 --> 00:31:26,735
to something instead of just being clever.
638
00:31:26,736 --> 00:31:28,387
(LAUGHING)
639
00:31:28,388 --> 00:31:30,544
So he demonstrated not only is the brain
640
00:31:30,545 --> 00:31:32,975
where all the sensory
information comes in,
641
00:31:32,976 --> 00:31:35,036
but also where all the nerves radiate
642
00:31:35,037 --> 00:31:36,935
out to the body, to move the body.
643
00:31:36,936 --> 00:31:38,824
So, what he's really saying, the brain,
644
00:31:38,825 --> 00:31:41,006
takes the information in, processes it,
645
00:31:41,007 --> 00:31:42,812
puts it out, and really the brain
646
00:31:42,813 --> 00:31:44,616
is where you think, it's where you are.
647
00:31:44,617 --> 00:31:48,259
Really he was the first
person to show that.
648
00:31:48,260 --> 00:31:50,110
That is immensely important.
649
00:31:50,111 --> 00:31:53,412
If you prove just how
powerful the brain is
650
00:31:53,413 --> 00:31:55,506
that's gonna revolutionize what people
651
00:31:55,507 --> 00:31:57,273
think about the human body, and I mean
652
00:31:57,274 --> 00:31:58,845
all sorts of things,
the human soul as well.
653
00:31:58,846 --> 00:32:01,010
[DAVID] He completely
changed the way we think
654
00:32:01,011 --> 00:32:03,284
about the body, and especially the brain.
655
00:32:03,285 --> 00:32:06,035
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
656
00:32:13,146 --> 00:32:14,940
Alexandria created a buzzing environment
657
00:32:14,941 --> 00:32:17,377
where men like Galen
and women like Hypatia
658
00:32:17,378 --> 00:32:19,487
could meet like minds and begin
659
00:32:19,488 --> 00:32:22,571
to feel the workings of the universe.
660
00:32:27,373 --> 00:32:30,697
Because these thinkers
weren't working in isolation.
661
00:32:30,698 --> 00:32:34,329
And that's possibly Alexander's
greatest achievement.
662
00:32:34,330 --> 00:32:36,301
It has created an
environment where great minds
663
00:32:36,302 --> 00:32:39,368
could gather, discuss,
and develop their ideas.
664
00:32:39,369 --> 00:32:43,536
The largest store of knowledge
the world had ever known.
665
00:32:48,350 --> 00:32:50,966
Like so much of ancient
Alexandria its libraries
666
00:32:50,967 --> 00:32:53,501
have long since disappeared, but modern
667
00:32:53,502 --> 00:32:55,485
Alexandrians have begun to acknowledge
668
00:32:55,486 --> 00:32:57,672
their amazing heritage
with a new state of the art
669
00:32:57,673 --> 00:33:01,256
library, capturing its
predecessors spirit.
670
00:33:03,226 --> 00:33:04,998
There have been collections
of texts and books
671
00:33:04,999 --> 00:33:07,447
in other ancient cities, but the ambition
672
00:33:07,448 --> 00:33:11,275
of the library here,
was quite extraordinary.
673
00:33:11,276 --> 00:33:15,386
Alexandria wanted to be the
depository of all knowledge
674
00:33:15,387 --> 00:33:19,368
on earth, and so a copy
of every single book
675
00:33:19,369 --> 00:33:22,933
in the world was to be stored here.
676
00:33:22,934 --> 00:33:25,351
(SOFT MUSIC)
677
00:33:28,469 --> 00:33:31,502
Every word of literature, tragedy, comedy,
678
00:33:31,503 --> 00:33:35,692
and poetry, every history,
every scientific treaty,
679
00:33:35,693 --> 00:33:39,400
from math to medicine,
physics, to astronomy.
680
00:33:39,401 --> 00:33:43,096
And not just Greek texts but
works from around the world.
681
00:33:43,097 --> 00:33:47,014
In Hebrew, Latin,
Babylonian, and later Arabic.
682
00:33:48,055 --> 00:33:50,374
Even today putting
together such a selection
683
00:33:50,375 --> 00:33:52,361
would be quite a feat,
684
00:33:52,362 --> 00:33:55,569
but this was the age
before mass publishing.
685
00:33:55,570 --> 00:33:58,354
Each work existed as a
hand written papyrus.
686
00:33:58,355 --> 00:34:01,156
And that scroll might
be the only copy of that
687
00:34:01,157 --> 00:34:03,407
papyrus in the whole world.
688
00:34:05,751 --> 00:34:08,634
Today the majority of the
teeny fragments that remain
689
00:34:08,635 --> 00:34:11,659
now survive not in Alexandria,
690
00:34:11,660 --> 00:34:14,581
but another bastion of learning,
691
00:34:14,582 --> 00:34:16,232
Oxford University.
692
00:34:16,233 --> 00:34:18,816
(UPBEAT MUSIC)
693
00:34:20,746 --> 00:34:21,979
How many of these texts would
694
00:34:21,980 --> 00:34:23,629
there have been in the library?
695
00:34:23,630 --> 00:34:25,892
Oh, I reckon half a million.
696
00:34:25,893 --> 00:34:29,468
Everything from Homer,
some of the earliest,
697
00:34:29,469 --> 00:34:32,259
Greek papyri were texts
of the Homeric poems,
698
00:34:32,260 --> 00:34:34,214
the Iliad, and the Odyssey.
699
00:34:34,215 --> 00:34:38,215
To Plato philosophy written
in Greek on papyrus.
700
00:34:39,503 --> 00:34:43,670
To in the later period, Arabic,
and even earlier, Hebrew.
701
00:34:46,047 --> 00:34:48,323
But the scale of
ambition is extraordinary.
702
00:34:48,324 --> 00:34:52,405
So how physically, how did they
get the work into the city?
703
00:34:52,406 --> 00:34:54,693
They were sending
people out to all parts
704
00:34:54,694 --> 00:34:58,259
of the Mediterranean, they
had a list of the nine
705
00:34:58,260 --> 00:35:01,702
conautical lyric poets that
they wanted their works of.
706
00:35:01,703 --> 00:35:04,255
And they sent people to the festivals
707
00:35:04,256 --> 00:35:05,989
where their works had been composed.
708
00:35:05,990 --> 00:35:08,289
Olympia and Delphi, and they borrowed
709
00:35:08,290 --> 00:35:11,552
the official copy of
the Athenian Tragedies,
710
00:35:11,553 --> 00:35:12,767
form the Athenians, so that they could
711
00:35:12,768 --> 00:35:15,807
make a copy of it, then they
refused to give it back.
712
00:35:15,808 --> 00:35:18,537
So they were in some ways acting like
713
00:35:18,538 --> 00:35:20,804
bathcorian book collectors,
in other ways acting like
714
00:35:20,805 --> 00:35:25,024
an institution building up
a fundamental collection
715
00:35:25,025 --> 00:35:26,839
for scholars to work on.
716
00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:29,150
But if you've got this
massive volume of work,
717
00:35:29,151 --> 00:35:30,959
how were they keeping track of it all?
718
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:32,210
How are they organizing it?
719
00:35:32,211 --> 00:35:35,744
They developed a
system, which was really
720
00:35:35,745 --> 00:35:37,555
the invention of the modern book catalog.
721
00:35:37,556 --> 00:35:39,926
The Alexandrian Scholar Colenicus,
722
00:35:39,927 --> 00:35:41,451
invented the very first book catalog
723
00:35:41,452 --> 00:35:43,308
which simply had an entry for author,
724
00:35:43,309 --> 00:35:46,537
title, genre, type of
work, in this case, comedy.
725
00:35:46,538 --> 00:35:51,264
And also the total for the
number of lines at the end.
726
00:35:51,265 --> 00:35:53,806
Scribes were paid by the
number of lines they copied
727
00:35:53,807 --> 00:35:56,419
so here you can see the
name of the comic poet
728
00:35:56,420 --> 00:35:57,503
Aristophanes.
729
00:35:58,949 --> 00:36:00,315
You can just about make it out.
730
00:36:00,316 --> 00:36:03,239
Stoph, oh yeah, stophonof.
731
00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:06,676
In Alexandria are they
mainly copying material,
732
00:36:06,677 --> 00:36:09,151
or are they actually
adding material or are they
733
00:36:09,152 --> 00:36:11,229
are you getting new
scholarship there as well?
734
00:36:11,230 --> 00:36:13,521
Absolutely, they're
constantly commenting
735
00:36:13,522 --> 00:36:15,933
on them, this is a copy
of Plato's Republic,
736
00:36:15,934 --> 00:36:18,339
in which there's a tiny hand that's been
737
00:36:18,340 --> 00:36:21,073
writing a marginal
commentary, into the margin.
738
00:36:21,074 --> 00:36:24,464
Explaining and correcting the text.
739
00:36:24,465 --> 00:36:27,499
So you get the feeling
of kind of buzzing hive
740
00:36:27,500 --> 00:36:30,965
of readers and scholars working
and operating on the text.
741
00:36:30,966 --> 00:36:31,929
Very impressive, isn't it?
742
00:36:31,930 --> 00:36:33,395
So you've got this genius Plato,
743
00:36:33,396 --> 00:36:35,036
and you've got somebody
else centuries later
744
00:36:35,037 --> 00:36:36,954
adding their own ideas.
745
00:36:37,994 --> 00:36:39,725
Access to information enabled the
746
00:36:39,726 --> 00:36:43,809
Alexandrians to revolutionize
scientific thought.
747
00:36:45,235 --> 00:36:47,297
But they also studied theology.
748
00:36:47,298 --> 00:36:49,973
It was in Alexandria that the Hebrew bible
749
00:36:49,974 --> 00:36:52,627
was first translated into Greek.
750
00:36:52,628 --> 00:36:55,378
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
751
00:36:56,975 --> 00:36:59,522
By understanding a wealth
of cultures and beliefs,
752
00:36:59,523 --> 00:37:02,940
they had the power to master and control.
753
00:37:08,258 --> 00:37:10,218
They were so intent on
obtaining all of the knowledge
754
00:37:10,219 --> 00:37:12,370
in the world, that laws were passed
755
00:37:12,371 --> 00:37:14,485
so that no book could leave the city.
756
00:37:14,486 --> 00:37:16,371
And even ships entering its harbor were
757
00:37:16,372 --> 00:37:18,898
searched to see if new
texts could be found
758
00:37:18,899 --> 00:37:21,732
to be added to its famous library.
759
00:37:24,961 --> 00:37:26,513
The modern library of Alexandria has got
760
00:37:26,514 --> 00:37:28,932
500,000 books, which is actually almost
761
00:37:28,933 --> 00:37:31,367
the same number they had
in the ancient library.
762
00:37:31,368 --> 00:37:34,385
But what they've also got
here is this mega computer,
763
00:37:34,386 --> 00:37:38,571
which every few days
saves all the information
764
00:37:38,572 --> 00:37:40,387
on the world wide web.
765
00:37:40,388 --> 00:37:43,708
In the 21st century we're
just so use to that ease
766
00:37:43,709 --> 00:37:45,680
of access to information where everything
767
00:37:45,681 --> 00:37:47,104
is stored electronically.
768
00:37:47,105 --> 00:37:49,563
But in the ancient library they often held
769
00:37:49,564 --> 00:37:52,641
the single existing copy of a book.
770
00:37:52,642 --> 00:37:54,634
So just imagine if that was lost.
771
00:37:54,635 --> 00:37:57,135
We'd lose those ideas forever.
772
00:38:01,306 --> 00:38:05,496
And tragically that's exactly
what happened in Alexandria.
773
00:38:05,497 --> 00:38:07,173
Knowledge had made the
city an intellectual
774
00:38:07,174 --> 00:38:10,428
powerhouse of antiquity
it had made thinkers
775
00:38:10,429 --> 00:38:13,704
like Hypatia powerful
forces within the city.
776
00:38:13,705 --> 00:38:16,041
It was an environment where new thoughts
777
00:38:16,042 --> 00:38:18,895
could flourish and evolve
where anyone from anywhere
778
00:38:18,896 --> 00:38:20,896
could voice their ideas.
779
00:38:22,128 --> 00:38:24,506
So perhaps it was inevitable
that at some point,
780
00:38:24,507 --> 00:38:27,315
some ideas would come into conflict,
781
00:38:27,316 --> 00:38:30,844
and for the ancient world,
Alexandria its libraries,
782
00:38:30,845 --> 00:38:35,012
and for Hypatia herself, the
result would be catastrophic.
783
00:38:36,083 --> 00:38:38,833
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
784
00:38:43,835 --> 00:38:46,585
(MYSTICAL MUSIC)
785
00:38:49,169 --> 00:38:50,844
By the end of the fourth century AD,
786
00:38:50,845 --> 00:38:55,022
Alexandria had been flourishing
for nearly 700 years.
787
00:38:55,023 --> 00:38:57,760
Producing extraordinary
thinkers like the philosopher,
788
00:38:57,761 --> 00:38:59,928
and mathematician Hypatia.
789
00:39:01,896 --> 00:39:04,775
It was an immensely powerful city.
790
00:39:04,776 --> 00:39:06,561
Second only to Rome in might.
791
00:39:06,562 --> 00:39:09,966
Yet its power wasn't
built from military force,
792
00:39:09,967 --> 00:39:12,042
but on the strength of ideas.
793
00:39:12,043 --> 00:39:16,210
And the ambition to house all
the knowledge in the world.
794
00:39:17,937 --> 00:39:19,241
And that included beliefs
795
00:39:19,242 --> 00:39:21,362
from the latest school of thinking.
796
00:39:21,363 --> 00:39:24,446
The fledgling religion, Christianity.
797
00:39:25,481 --> 00:39:27,760
Alexandria was always attracted
in cutting edge thought,
798
00:39:27,761 --> 00:39:29,821
and men who were at the top of their game.
799
00:39:29,822 --> 00:39:33,039
So it should be no surprise
that from the first century AD
800
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:36,340
the key leaders of a new
religion should want to come here
801
00:39:36,341 --> 00:39:38,424
and play out their ideas.
802
00:39:41,893 --> 00:39:43,951
Only a few years after Christ's ascension
803
00:39:43,952 --> 00:39:46,469
the gospel writer Mark came to Alexandria
804
00:39:46,470 --> 00:39:51,296
to spread the news, bringing
Christianity into Africa.
805
00:39:51,297 --> 00:39:53,683
As one of the most forward
thinking places on earth,
806
00:39:53,684 --> 00:39:56,522
with its tradition fusing
eastern and western cultures
807
00:39:56,523 --> 00:39:58,596
Alexandria was an ideal place
808
00:39:58,597 --> 00:40:00,830
for Christianity to gain a foothold.
809
00:40:00,831 --> 00:40:03,581
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
810
00:40:05,703 --> 00:40:06,819
(YELLING)
811
00:40:06,820 --> 00:40:09,114
But reconciling a multi faith environment
812
00:40:09,115 --> 00:40:11,031
with a religion who's followers believed
813
00:40:11,032 --> 00:40:14,114
exclusively in one God, proved a testing
814
00:40:14,115 --> 00:40:16,691
challenge for the city.
815
00:40:16,692 --> 00:40:18,621
St. Mark himself died
at the hands of pagans
816
00:40:18,622 --> 00:40:20,701
for preaching his faith.
817
00:40:20,702 --> 00:40:24,754
It was a forte of the violence to come.
818
00:40:24,755 --> 00:40:26,947
Yet, for centuries, Christians and pagans
819
00:40:26,948 --> 00:40:29,510
did manage to live alongside one another,
820
00:40:29,511 --> 00:40:31,344
happily, productively.
821
00:40:33,397 --> 00:40:35,723
The very early Christians
spent a great deal of time
822
00:40:35,724 --> 00:40:39,625
and energy trying to square
pagan and Christian thought.
823
00:40:39,626 --> 00:40:42,952
For instance one of the most
prolific early church fathers
824
00:40:42,953 --> 00:40:46,829
who lived in Alexandria said
that the works of Plato,
825
00:40:46,830 --> 00:40:50,967
and Aristotle, and the stoics
were science tinged with
826
00:40:50,968 --> 00:40:54,683
piety as long as they were righteous.
827
00:40:54,684 --> 00:40:57,247
Now in a world like
that, where Christianity
828
00:40:57,248 --> 00:41:00,335
is just another stream
of thought, then Hypatia
829
00:41:00,336 --> 00:41:02,823
has a very secure place.
830
00:41:02,824 --> 00:41:05,227
But the problem came when the Christians
831
00:41:05,228 --> 00:41:09,624
wanted not just spiritual,
but temporal power,
832
00:41:09,625 --> 00:41:12,665
and then all that tolerance and piety
833
00:41:12,666 --> 00:41:16,130
becomes muddied with power politicking.
834
00:41:16,131 --> 00:41:19,719
And unfortunately for Hypatia,
she'd come into conflict
835
00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:23,509
with one of the greatest
political operators of the day.
836
00:41:23,510 --> 00:41:25,436
(CHATTER)
837
00:41:25,437 --> 00:41:27,718
Hypatia herself wasn't anti Christianity,
838
00:41:27,719 --> 00:41:30,206
many of her students
were in fact Christians.
839
00:41:30,207 --> 00:41:33,669
But the problem came
when a new bishop Cyril
840
00:41:33,670 --> 00:41:35,753
was ordained in the city.
841
00:41:37,499 --> 00:41:40,028
Cyril not only wanted spiritual authority
842
00:41:40,029 --> 00:41:43,628
but power on earth, and
he didn't want to share
843
00:41:43,629 --> 00:41:47,367
it with pagans, his arrival would change
844
00:41:47,368 --> 00:41:49,951
the face of Alexandria forever.
845
00:41:51,669 --> 00:41:54,856
You walk into somewhere
like the Cesareum
846
00:41:54,857 --> 00:41:57,099
and you see what originally we built as
847
00:41:57,100 --> 00:41:59,831
a Egyptian and Greek temple,
848
00:41:59,832 --> 00:42:02,040
with all the heads
removed from the statues.
849
00:42:02,041 --> 00:42:04,209
And the cult statue has
gone and in its place
850
00:42:04,210 --> 00:42:07,155
you have a huge cross looking down.
851
00:42:07,156 --> 00:42:10,806
And you see how people like
Cyril could change a world.
852
00:42:10,807 --> 00:42:12,743
He is a man seeking power,
853
00:42:12,744 --> 00:42:14,886
and he wishes to gain control not just
854
00:42:14,887 --> 00:42:17,456
the religious state he really wants to run
855
00:42:17,457 --> 00:42:20,024
a theocracy, be in charge of everything.
856
00:42:20,025 --> 00:42:23,710
Hypatia is a wealthy educated pagan.
857
00:42:23,711 --> 00:42:25,794
To him, that means witch.
858
00:42:29,150 --> 00:42:30,789
He puts around rumors about all of the
859
00:42:30,790 --> 00:42:32,521
objects she makes for astronomy,
860
00:42:32,522 --> 00:42:36,689
her instruments, clearly
they're used for divination.
861
00:42:39,298 --> 00:42:41,095
They're for finding out what will
862
00:42:41,096 --> 00:42:42,569
happen in the future, it is black magic.
863
00:42:42,570 --> 00:42:44,903
And as such, she has to die.
864
00:42:46,113 --> 00:42:47,434
And in one contemporary account,
865
00:42:47,435 --> 00:42:49,266
we learn that it was Hypatia's work
866
00:42:49,267 --> 00:42:51,054
with the astrolabe in particular,
867
00:42:51,055 --> 00:42:53,722
that sparked hatred against her.
868
00:42:59,452 --> 00:43:00,978
Spurred on by one of their leaders,
869
00:43:00,979 --> 00:43:04,146
the blood of the Christian mob was up.
870
00:43:06,990 --> 00:43:10,123
They started to seek Hypatia
out through the city,
871
00:43:10,124 --> 00:43:13,389
and found her driving through
these streets on her way home.
872
00:43:13,390 --> 00:43:15,557
(YELLING)
873
00:43:18,353 --> 00:43:19,369
They dragged her out of her
874
00:43:19,370 --> 00:43:22,375
carriage and ripped off her clothes.
875
00:43:22,376 --> 00:43:24,390
For a high born woman like her,
876
00:43:24,391 --> 00:43:27,173
this would have been a
terrible public disgrace,
877
00:43:27,174 --> 00:43:30,660
but then things got even uglier.
878
00:43:30,661 --> 00:43:33,326
They pulled her into the
cesareum, which had been a temple
879
00:43:33,327 --> 00:43:35,701
and recently converted to a church,
880
00:43:35,702 --> 00:43:38,449
and there picking up
anything they could find,
881
00:43:38,450 --> 00:43:40,970
we're told they were abstrocka which are
882
00:43:40,971 --> 00:43:43,354
probably broken pots,
or broken roof tiles.
883
00:43:43,355 --> 00:43:45,938
They started to flay her alive.
884
00:43:47,378 --> 00:43:51,310
Once she was dead they pulled
her body limb from limb.
885
00:43:51,311 --> 00:43:54,001
And then they took her
dismembered body parts
886
00:43:54,002 --> 00:43:58,169
to the edge of the city and
they burned them on a pyre.
887
00:44:00,715 --> 00:44:03,632
In effect this was a witches death.
888
00:44:05,632 --> 00:44:07,799
(YELLING)
889
00:44:17,367 --> 00:44:21,450
Hypatia's tragedy, was
the tragedy of Alexandria.
890
00:44:22,756 --> 00:44:24,923
(YELLING)
891
00:44:30,664 --> 00:44:34,414
The destruction of its
spectacular monuments.
892
00:44:36,476 --> 00:44:40,760
The desecration of its
extraordinary libraries.
893
00:44:40,761 --> 00:44:43,992
And with that the heartbreaking demise
894
00:44:43,993 --> 00:44:46,968
of the wealth of knowledge which
895
00:44:46,969 --> 00:44:50,052
had made it great for over 700 years.
896
00:44:52,651 --> 00:44:55,281
There are a few lines, desperately sad,
897
00:44:55,282 --> 00:44:57,072
written by a pagan who was wandering
898
00:44:57,073 --> 00:44:58,818
through the streets of Alexandria,
899
00:44:58,819 --> 00:45:02,679
watching the world he
knew crumble around him.
900
00:45:02,680 --> 00:45:04,847
(YELLING)
901
00:45:07,858 --> 00:45:10,359
Is it true that we Greeks are really dead,
902
00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:12,027
and only seem alive?
903
00:45:13,893 --> 00:45:15,710
And in our fallen state we imagine
904
00:45:15,711 --> 00:45:19,378
that a dream is life,
or are we truly alive,
905
00:45:21,161 --> 00:45:23,161
and is life itself dead?
906
00:45:24,907 --> 00:45:29,074
For some Alexander's dream was
becoming a living nightmare.
907
00:45:30,669 --> 00:45:33,524
After centuries of
onslaught only one percent
908
00:45:33,525 --> 00:45:36,287
of Alexandria's vast book collection
909
00:45:36,288 --> 00:45:39,205
has survived into the modern world.
910
00:45:49,477 --> 00:45:52,056
Rather bizarrely one of the survivors
911
00:45:52,057 --> 00:45:54,364
of Alexandria's destruction ended up here.
912
00:45:54,365 --> 00:45:57,557
It's that massive lump of red granite.
913
00:45:57,558 --> 00:45:59,538
The obulus that we very
affectionately now,
914
00:45:59,539 --> 00:46:01,818
call Cleopatra's needle.
915
00:46:01,819 --> 00:46:04,838
And it was brought here
from Egypt in 1878.
916
00:46:04,839 --> 00:46:06,837
But in its hay day it stood just
917
00:46:06,838 --> 00:46:08,563
at the edge of the cesareum,
918
00:46:08,564 --> 00:46:10,236
so it was only a stones throw away from
919
00:46:10,237 --> 00:46:12,226
where Hypatia was killed.
920
00:46:12,227 --> 00:46:14,394
(CHATTER)
921
00:46:21,451 --> 00:46:24,533
I think that in many ways
Hypatia was an incarnation
922
00:46:24,534 --> 00:46:26,620
of Alexander's dream.
923
00:46:26,621 --> 00:46:29,993
She was living proof
that knowledge is power.
924
00:46:29,994 --> 00:46:31,939
She was immensely knowledgeable,
925
00:46:31,940 --> 00:46:33,989
and therefore the extraordinary city
926
00:46:33,990 --> 00:46:37,641
that she lived in allowed her
a huge amount of influence.
927
00:46:37,642 --> 00:46:41,079
But the key word here is extraordinary,
928
00:46:41,080 --> 00:46:45,282
because Alexandria was
a city less ordinary.
929
00:46:45,283 --> 00:46:48,033
(MYSTICAL MUSIC)
930
00:46:49,145 --> 00:46:52,899
And perhaps its ambition
that dream to acquire
931
00:46:52,900 --> 00:46:55,569
and to partake all the
knowledge of the world
932
00:46:55,570 --> 00:46:57,987
was just too perfect to last.
933
00:47:01,369 --> 00:47:02,955
We should bare that in mind, because it is
934
00:47:02,956 --> 00:47:05,274
of course a very modern
dream, I mean after all
935
00:47:05,275 --> 00:47:07,266
that is what the world wide web does.
936
00:47:07,267 --> 00:47:10,580
And so when we know that Alexandria failed
937
00:47:10,581 --> 00:47:13,871
and as a result a whole
epot failed, we should
938
00:47:13,872 --> 00:47:15,955
take a very careful note.
939
00:47:20,857 --> 00:47:25,228
For that reason we mustn't
bury the memory of Alexandria,
940
00:47:25,229 --> 00:47:26,646
but celebrate it.
941
00:47:28,079 --> 00:47:30,829
(MYSTICAL MUSIC)
942
00:47:35,290 --> 00:47:37,873
(UPBEAT MUSIC)
75281
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.