All language subtitles for Ancient.Aliens.S19E16.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: It was the cradle
of Western civilization

and a culture that credited
everything to the gods.

RIC RADER:
The Greeks very much believed
the gods were physically

part of our lives.

NARRATOR:
The Greek gods

were said to possess
incredible technology.

HUGH NEWMAN:
The lightning rod of Zeus,

could wipe out whole cities

in one fell swoop.

The trident of Poseidon

could cause earthquakes.

NARRATOR:
The gods imparted
advanced knowledge.

And they even
coupled with humans.

DAVID CHILDRESS:
They’re creating these demigods

and genetically
manipulating humans.

NARRATOR:
Were the Greek gods the product
of our ancestors’ imaginations?

Or were they
otherworldly visitors

directing the course
of humanity?

GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS:
The Greeks clearly said
that the gods were real.

And you have
to ask the question,

are our ancestors talking
about extraterrestrials?

NARRATOR:
There is a doorway

in the universe.

Beyond it is
the promise of truth.

It demands
we question everything

we have ever been taught.

The evidence is all around us.

The future is
right before our eyes.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

♪

NARRATOR:
Greece.

Located in Southeastern Europe

with thousands of islands

throughout the Aegean
and Ionian seas,

this popular tourist destination

is visited by roughly
30 million people each year.

They come not only to experience
Greece’s Mediterranean climate

and idyllic beaches,

but also to walk
amongst the ruins

of a great empire that thrived
more than 2,000 years ago.

The Greek empire, which lasted

from the ninth century
to the second century BC,

made enormous advances
in science and mathematics...

...founded the Olympic games...

...invented democracy
as a system of governance,

and established the foundation
of Western civilization.

We owe virtually

almost every aspect
of our society

to the ancient Greek culture,

what they brought together
at that time.

Certainly,
we in the Western world

are the heirs of ancient Greece,
there’s no doubt about that.

WILLIAM HENRY:
Thinking about
what happened in Greece,

you’ve got some
of the greatest minds ever.

These are the people that

created or opened the gateway

to the Western mind,
to the way we think today.

MICHIO KAKU:
People today know
the names of Aristotle,

Plato and Socrates.

In mathematics and sciences,

people know
the names of Archimedes

and also Pythagoras
of the Pythagorean Theorem.

So it’s amazing that
the ancient Greeks

could illuminate the artistic

and scientific world

for thousands of years to come.

MacGILLIVRAY:
You have the Greek playwrights--

Sophocles, Euripides.

You have the architects...

the architects of the Parthenon,

Ictinus and Callicrates.

And then you have
Hippocrates, with medicine.

The list is never-ending.

NARRATOR:
Perhaps just
as extraordinary as the fact

that the towering
intellectual figures

of ancient Greece
are still known today

is that every one of them

credited their accomplishments
to the gods.

The prevalence of gods

in the lives of human beings

in classical
mythological stories

tells us that the Greeks

very much believed the gods
were a part of our lives.

If you were to build a temple,
right,

you needed
the inspiration of these gods

because you were doing something
that was bigger than human.

So they are the foundation.

They are the inspiration
for human beings

creating works of art
of all stripes

that are far bigger than
human beings themselves.

NARRATOR:
Greek gods like Zeus,

Apollo and Athena remain
household names even today...

...and the myths about their
origins, battles, and adventures

continue to be retold
to modern audiences.

The ancient Greek gods,
in many ways,

are still alive with us today.

No matter where you are
in the world,

everybody knows
who Apollo is, who Zeus is,

who Aphrodite is.

You’ll see it in advertising,

everywhere you look,
you’ll see that

there is this influence

of these characters
from Greek mythology.

When I was growing up,

I followed avidly
the American space program

where you had
the Mercury Program,

the Gemini Program,

the Apollo Program.

It’s all based
on the Greek gods.

NARRATOR:
According to Greek mythology,

before the time of Zeus
and the other iconic Greek gods

that we’re familiar with today,

there was another race
of powerful beings

called the Titans.

MacGILLIVRAY:
For the ancient Greeks,

the Titans were
the first generation of gods.

They were the six male,
six female gods

who were born
of the Earth, Gaia,

and heaven coming together.

KATHLEEN McGOWAN:
The word "titan" exists
in our language now

and refers to something
that’s big and great.

And that’s what the Titans were.

They were
this generation of gods

that were larger than life.

Ultimately, the Titans
find themselves in a war

with the next
generation of gods,

who we know as the Olympians.

NARRATOR:
The Olympians are represented
by 12 powerful gods

led by Zeus,
who is the God of Thunder,

and the son
of the Titan King Cronus.

Ultimately,

the Titans and the Olympians
are not able to coexist,

and an epic war is waged

called the Titanomachy.

Joining the gods

in this ten-year-long battle
are a number of strange beings,

including humanoid creatures
with hundreds of arms,

and one-eyed giants
called the Cyclops.

In the end, the Olympians
emerge victorious

and establish an earthly base
atop Mount Olympus.

RADER:
There is an actual
Mount Olympus in Greece.

Because it is so high,

it’s ringed in clouds,

and so that’s where
the gods live

that you are not allowed to see.

HENRY:
We’re told it was
shrouded by a mist

so that human eyes
couldn’t see it.

And it was a technology center.

You had Hephaestus there,

the Greek god of smithcraft,
alchemy and technology

that was creating
these extraordinary weapons,

the thunderbolt of Zeus,
and all these magical weapons,

the breastplate of Athena.

He also made robots, assistants.

You couldn’t describe

a better scenario
if you were talking about

extraterrestrials
coming to Earth

and establishing a mountain
compound or sanctuary.

It sounds very much like some
kind of a military compound.

NARRATOR:
Zeus reigned over
all the gods and humans,

and each of the Olympians

had domain over
certain aspects of existence.

Poseidon ruled the sea.

Athena was
the goddess of wisdom.

Apollo’s domain was light,
music and poetry,

as well as healing and prophecy.

Aphrodite was the goddess
of beauty and passion.

And Ares the god of war.

MacGILLIVRAY: The Greek gods
are purely anthropomorphic.

They’re seen to control
natural forces...

...but they’re men and women
up in the infinite ether.

And the Olympian gods

would often come down
and interact with humans.

TSOUKALOS:
The Greek pantheon of gods
were not gods

as we think of them today.

They descended from the sky

and they interacted with humans.

So you have to ask the question,

are we really talking about

bona fide gods

in ancient Greece?

Or was it something else?

Is it possible that
the pantheon of Greek gods

didn’t consist of a figment
of our ancestors’ imagination,

but physical beings

that actually mingled
amongst man back in the day?

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the gods,
who played such a vital role

in the lives of the ancient
Greeks, truly existed?

While it may sound
like a fantastical notion,

ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

it is a very real possibility,

and point to an important site

within the Greek empire

where it was discovered
that at least some aspects

of the ancient myths
are based in real history.

♪

NARRATOR:
Hisarlik, Turkey. 1870.

German businessman
and amateur archaeologist

Heinrich Schliemann
begins excavations

in this small village

which was an important site
within the Greek empire

more than 2,000 years ago.

For years, he has been
obsessed with finding

the legendary city of Troy

that is at the center
of the Trojan War

described in Homer’s epic,
The Iliad.

The story of the Trojan War

is one of the most
important stories

of the Greek mythological cycle.

Our main source is Homer,
but it relies upon much earlier

oral compositions that
probably were going around

in Greek culture
for hundreds of years.

NARRATOR:
According to the legend,
the Trojan War began

when Helen,
wife to King Menelaus

of the Greek
city-state of Sparta,

fell in love
with Trojan Prince Paris

and secretly ran off
with him to Troy.

Her actions sparked
a bloody ten-year war

between the Trojans
and the Greeks.

RADER:
The Greeks were able
to defeat the Trojans

by sneaking this wooden horse

which was full
of Greek soldiers,

into the city of Troy

where they were able
to wreak havoc

and ultimately, you know,
win the war.

DORAN:
One of the aspects of
the stories of the Trojan War

that is quite interesting
is that the gods take sides.

Some are more on
the side of the Trojans,

some are more on
the side of the Greeks.

NARRATOR:
At the time of
Heinrich Schliemann’s

1870 excavation,

mainstream scholars
had long maintained

that the ancient Greek story
was a work of fiction

and that Troy never existed.

Heinrich Schliemann was
this extraordinary character

who, I guess, he must’ve been
quite rebellious as a child

because he wouldn’t accept
the given facts.

When Heinrich Schliemann
was growing up,

all of Greek mythology
was mythology.

And Heinrich Schliemann
refused to believe that.

ROBERT SCHOCH:
In modern times,
most scholars thought that

Homer and his writing
about the Trojan War

was just a good story.

Academic scholars just
did not take Troy seriously.

However, Heinrich Schliemann
took Homer seriously.

NARRATOR:
Details from The Iliad
had convinced Schliemann

that the remnants of Troy
would be found

in the Turkish village
of Hisarlik

beneath a 65-foot-tall
earthen mound.

In May 1873, Schliemann
uncovered a hoard of gold,

valuable artifacts
and jewelry that matched up

with the riches
mentioned in The Iliad,

and declared that
the search was over--

He had discovered
the city of Troy.

Lo and behold, he found Troy.

He found a site which matched
everything described in Homer.

So he brought to life
the concept that we can

look at some of these
ancient myths

and realize that there’s

a genuine historical
basis to it.

For hundreds of years,
people thought that

the Greeks had achievements
in architecture and sciences,

but when it comes to history,

the story of the Trojan War,
the Trojan Horse,

"Nope. It’s all myth."

But then archaeologists
found it.

They found the ruins of Troy.

And we know there was
the Trojan War

just like the way
the ancients called it.

NEWMAN:
When it comes to places
like Troy in Turkey,

it does really suggest that

these myths and legends
and epic tales

may have some reality to them.

MacGILLIVRAY:
Heinrich Schliemann
opened a whole new chapter

in the history books for us.

What had
previously been mythology

was now tangible archaeology.

NARRATOR:
For ancient astronaut theorists,

the discovery of Troy is
highly significant

because it opens the possibility
that other aspects

of Greek mythology are
also based in history.

TSOUKALOS:
Are these stories a true history

that we’ve misinterpreted
as just fantasy?

The ancient Greek gods were

physical beings that actually
mingled amongst man

in the ancient mythologies.

The ancient astronaut theory
proposes that these encounters

actually happened in real life.

They were here,
not spiritual beings,

they were here with their body.

You can touch them.

They were talking,
they were building,

they were doing something,
they were not spiritual beings.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible,

as ancient astronaut
theorists suggest,

that Greek mythology
is based on actual events

and encounters
with otherworldly beings?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by examining just how
the Greek gods were described.

McGOWAN:
The gods in the Greek
mythology are all very,

very human in their attributes.

The Greek gods are, are jealous.

They’re angry.
They’re passionate.

They hate each other.
They love each other.

MacGILLIVRAY: They kill,
they attack each other,

they attack humans, especially.

They have children
out of wedlock.

They wage wars with each other.
They trick each other.

There’s nothing
entirely divine about them

other than they have
specific powers.

NARRATOR:
In the Greek myths,
the powers of the gods

often come in the forms
of magical devices, weapons,

and flying machines.

They have airships,

they have superpowers
and weapons.

It would seem that the gods
are using technology.

VON DANIKEN:
In my opinion,

it was the technology
of extraterrestrials.

And it is not just a fiction.

It’s not just fantasy.
It’s not just the imagination.

It is a true story.

The old Greek gods
were extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that
the Greek gods were alien beings

who came to Earth
thousands of years ago?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes,

and suggest the stories
about them

reveal even more profound truths

about the origins
of the human race.

NARRATOR: The Greek Island
of Crete.

1900.

A team of British
archaeologists,

led by Sir Arthur Evans,

begins excavating the ruins
of an ancient palace.

In their efforts to
unearth the sprawling complex,

they come across a structure

eerily matching
one of the most fearsome places

in all of Greek mythology--

The Labyrinth of King Minos.

According to the legend,

the elaborate maze
of the labyrinth

was constructed by order
of King Minos

to entrap a monstrous creature
known as the Minotaur.

McGOWAN:
This legend of the Minotaur

is one of the most important

and prevalent legends

of the ancient Greek mythology.

One day, King Minos of Crete
angers the god Poseidon.

Poseidon, being angry at Minos,

casts a spell
over his wife Pasiphae,

that she might fall in love
with this great white bull.

And through
the mating of the bull,

the Minotaur is born.

The Minotaur is half human
and half bull as a result.

And he is ferocious,

and he feeds
on the flesh of humans.

ANDREW COLLINS:
The legend of King Minos

and the labyrinth

is something that was seen
to be a fable

until the explorations
of the palace in Crete.

What Arthur Evans uncovered
was an entire palace

that seemed to be dedicated over

to a bull cult.

There were frescos showing
people leaping over bulls.

There were bulls’ horns,

bulls’ heads everywhere.

McGOWAN:
The palace is
an elaborate structure,

with moving walls and mazes
actually built into the palace.

It became very clear

upon looking at the structure
of this palace,

that this was
the original labyrinth.

NARRATOR:
If the structure found in Crete

really is the fabled
labyrinth of King Minos,

then is it possible
that the story of the Minotaur

is based on actual events?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes,

but suggest that what is
described in the legend

is not literally
a bull mating with a human.

The story of the Minotaur
is an astounding story

of the creation
of a hybrid being.

And what’s interesting
about this is that Daedalus,

this genius engineer,

crafts this
cow-shaped container,

that Minos’s wife is to enter
into this container

and mate with this sacred bull.

This sounds like some kind of

genetics lab
that’s been created here

for the specific purpose
to mate a human

with a sacred bull.

The Minotaur is
the result of that mating.

So when we peel back
the layers of this story,

we can easily interpret this

as an example
of ancient gene splicing.

MICHAEL CARTER:
There are plenty of myths

that talk about these hybrids
in the tales of Greece.

There was a centaur,
half horse, half man...

If we look at the mermaid--
a woman and part fish--

with genetics,
with experimentation,

maybe these beings

really did walk the Earth,

and our ancestors were depicting

what they saw around them.

NARRATOR:
In the Greek
mythological tradition,

there are many
instances of the gods

creating hybrid animals

and even more that involve
their manipulation of humans,

including the creation
of the human race.

According to Greek mythology,

the Titan Prometheus formed
figurines of humans out of mud,

and the Olympian Athena
breathed life into them.

It is also said that Prometheus
brought us civilization.

That he gave us writing,

he gave us language,
he gave us arithmetic.

NARRATOR:
The Greek myths go on to speak

of mortals
and immortals comingling

to create hybrids who were
half human and half god.

MacGILLIVRAY:
These sexual interactions
would produce

what they called the demigods,

somebody who was
half man, half god,

or half woman, half god.

And these demigods became
very, very powerful

in their own right.

NARRATOR:
Much like the myths
of ancient Greece,

stories of humans mixed
with the bloodlines of gods

appear in many cultures
throughout the ancient world...

...from the deities known
as the Anunnaki

depicted
in early Sumerian writings,

to the biblical book of Enoch,

which tells of fallen angels,
called the Watchers,

who mated with humans
to create the Nephilim.

CARTER:
We are told
that the sons of God

came down to Earth
and mated with Earth women.

Now, this is in all mythology,

whether it’s Greek,
whether it’s Sumerian,

uh, whether it’s Hindu.

And so,
we have to ask ourselves,

these are new human beings
that are being created.

How is this happening?

NARRATOR:
According to ancient
astronaut theorists,

the parallels in these accounts

may be evidence of
extraterrestrials

intentionally mingling
their DNA with mankind.

The Greek gods can be placed

in the same category

as the Anunnaki,
the guardians of the sky,

and the so-called Watchers.

They’re all the same.

Meaning extraterrestrials
observed humankind

and also guided our development.

We have the curious stories

of the Greek gods

creating these heroes
or demigods.

And so we can kind of see here

how the gods
or the extraterrestrials are

genetically manipulating humans.

NARRATOR:
Could the Greek stories
of the demigods

serve as evidence
of an extraterrestrial agenda

to genetically evolve and guide

the development of humankind?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes,

and they suggest even more
compelling evidence

that there was
an otherworldly presence

in ancient Greece

can be found by examining
the country’s oldest structures,

which were said
to have been built

by a race of giants.

NARRATOR:
The ancient Greek story
of King Minos first appears

in Homer’s epic poem The Iliad,

and takes place around 2500 BC,

roughly 1,300 years before
the rise of the Greek empire.

According to Greek mythology,
this is "the golden age,"

the time when humans shared
the Earth with the gods--

as well as many other strange
creatures like the Minotaur.

You’re talking about
tons of giants,

tons of monsters,
tons of scary beings.

Cyclopes,

you’ve got hybrids of monsters,

but they’re all
existing together

somehow in the same place.

NARRATOR:
In the ancient texts,

Greece was home
to an advanced society

during this
so-called golden age,

and ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

remnants of that civilization

may be located
near the city of Argos,

where there are ruins

of a mysterious
megalithic structure

that is unlike
any other structure in Greece.

MacGILLIVRAY:
Outside of Argos there’s
a really beautifully built

pyramidal building
at Hellinikon,

which is a total mystery.

Really, really,
very, very mysterious.

The architecture looks
archaic...

...and it’s unique
in that sense.

It’s a place where you can
actually go into the pyramid.

SCHOCH:
The pyramid of Hellinikon
is quite small.

It’s maybe only 23 feet

by 30 feet
by maybe 12 feet tall.

But it’s incredibly interesting.

We don’t really know
what its purpose was,

and even more controversial

is the dating of it.

NARRATOR:
In 1995, scientists working
at the Academy of Athens

dated samples from the site

using a new
and experimental method called

optical thermoluminescence.

The results were staggering.

The pyramid at Hellinikon,

according to their results...

...is one of the oldest
pyramids on Earth.

The Pyramid of Hellinikon

dates to 2720 BC.

NEWMAN:
The Hellinikon Pyramid
is thought to be

originally built
by the Mycenaeans, but...

if the dating is correct
of 2720 BC,

then this is
over a thousand years older.

So we have to question
who really built this.

NARRATOR:
The dating of the Pyramid
of Hellinikon places it

in the same era
as the so-called golden age

when gods and strange creatures
were said to exist on Earth.

Curiously,
just eight miles to the north

is another structure
that does not match

the construction style
of the Greek empire,

but features masonry
strikingly similar

to that of the Pyramid
of Hellinikon.

Standing within the ancient site
of Mycenae is an incredible

megalithic structure
called the Treasury of Atreus.

The Treasury of Atreus
at Mycenae was

this massive structure...

...built into the hillside
with huge blocks,

conglomerate stone
being brought into place,

including the lintel
that goes over the threshold

going into the tomb
which weighs 250 tons.

What’s telling about Mycenae
is that we have

multiple
construction styles there.

And the oldest one is
the most sophisticated.

And the same
masonry style exists

at the Pyramid of Hellinikon,

about a ten-minute drive
from present-day Mycenae.

So, clearly, the two were part
of the same kingdom at the time.

NARRATOR:
For ancient astronaut theorists,

the notion that these
megalithic structures could both

date back more than
4,700 years is extraordinary.

But even more intriguing
is the fact

that the Greek stories say
they were built

by a race of
giant humanoid beings

who lived during the golden age.

MacGILLIVRAY:
According to the ancient Greeks,

the Treasury of Atreus
at Mycenae

was created by the cyclopes.

Huge, giant builders
that had a single, circular eye

in the middle of their forehead,
and they were credited

with lifting these
huge blocks into place.

NARRATOR:
In Greek mythology, the cyclops
were related to the Titans,

the first generation of gods,
and were master craftsman.

They created Zeus’s thunderbolt,
Poseidon’s trident,

and Hades’ cap of invisibility.

And they were credited
with building

the ancient megaliths of Greece.

NEWMAN:
The cyclops were
thought to be master masons

and advanced metallurgists,

and also were able
to quarry stone

in a profoundly brilliant way.

If you look around
the site of Mycenae,

you see amazing construction
all over the site.

So, is there some reality
to these stories?

Is there actual giants

who were involved
in the construction

of sites like Mycenae?

NARRATOR:
As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

the Pyramid of Hellinikon

and the Treasury of Atreus
provide further evidence

that the golden age of the gods
was more than just a myth.

This idea is not something

that was just
pulled out of thin air.

In fact, it also connects
to other stories of gods

around the world.

Many of the ancient Egyptian
texts that have been translated

speak of a so-called
golden age of ancient Egypt

at a time when human beings
mingled side by side

with the so-called gods.

Now, this is something
that has been recorded orally

and also in a written language

for thousands of years,
around the world.

And you have
to ask the question,

are our ancestors
all talking about the same

visiting extraterrestrials?

NARRATOR:
Is it possible
that the structures

like the Treasury of Atreus

and the Pyramid of Hellinikon
were built during a time

when humans shared the Earth

with visitors
from another world?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by examining another
mysterious megalithic site,

where the Greeks claimed

they could speak directly
to the gods.

NARRATOR:
Located on the slopes
of Mount Parnassus,

this site was a religious center

throughout the entire timeline
of the Greek empire.

When Homer wrote The Iliad
in the eighth century BC,

when Socrates established
Western philosophy

in the fifth century BC,

and when Alexander the Great
conquered Egypt

in the fourth century BC,

Delphi was the place
where people went

to communicate directly
with the gods.

Delphi is this extraordinarily
powerful place.

I mean, you can feel it
when you go there today.

Delphi became hugely important
throughout classical antiquity.

Everybody,
especially the ruling elite,

would go and they would
pose a question.

Nobody would go to war,

nobody would even start
a trade excursion,

nobody would do anything,

without going
and consulting the oracle.

And the oracle would

channel basically an answer
then from the gods.

NARRATOR:
The oracle was a high priestess
known as the Pythia,

who held court
at the Temple of Apollo,

which lies
mostly in ruins today.

According to ancient texts,

those seeking counsel
from the gods

were put in a meditative state

before entering the innermost
sanctuary of the temple,

where they would offer gifts

and present their questions
to the oracle.

The way the oracle at Delphi
functioned was...

...the Pythia, the priestess
sat over a crevice which was

within the Temple of Apollo.

She would inhale whatever fumes
were coming up from the crevice,

and she would then get
an answer from Apollo,

a divine answer from above.

JONATHAN YOUNG:
There was a crack
in the stone there,

and there was a kind of vapor
of gas that was coming,

which put her
into an altered state.

Although we do not know
what the altered state was like,

maybe she was
tapping into something.

HENRY:
Current research
on the Pythia at Delphi

is asking the question,
was there perhaps

some kind of psychedelic
connection there?

NARRATOR:
According to ancient
astronaut theorists,

the notion that chemically
altering the mind

might facilitate a connection
with otherworldly beings

is supported by experiments
with a powerful hallucinogen

called dimethyltryptamine,
or DMT.

Between 1990 and 1995,

scientists at the University
of New Mexico

administered DMT
to 60 volunteers

and were surprised to find

that many of them had
very similar visions,

including encounters

with strange beings
who reportedly said,

"Now we can
communicate with you."

HENRY:
Recent research suggests
that hallucinogenic experiences

actually open portals
of communication

with otherworldly beings.

And perhaps this is what was
going on back at Delphi as well.

NARRATOR:
In the Greek
mythological tradition,

Zeus not only chose
the exact location

where the Pythia would receive
messages from the gods--

he also placed
a mysterious object

at the oracle
called the omphalos.

Just what the omphalos was
remains a mystery,

since it reportedly
disappeared in 395 AD.

But a Roman replica of the stone

has been preserved
at the Museum of Delphi,

supporting the notion
that it truly existed.

McGOWAN:
It’s a fascinating stone,
it’s very beautiful.

And it, it appears to be covered
in a type of crisscross pattern.

It’s possible
that the omphalos stone was

some type
of communication device

between the people on the ground
and the people in the sky.

CHILDRESS:
The ancient Greeks built
their famous temple at Delphi

around this omphalos stone,

and it was the power center
of the world.

And this omphalos stone was
also supposed to be a vehicle

for communicating with the gods.

So you have to wonder,
was it really

some special stone
that could help people

communicate
with extraterrestrials?

NARRATOR:
Is it possible
that the ancient Greeks

were given specific instructions

on where to build
the Temple of Apollo

by an otherworldly visitor?

One who utilized both
the vapors from the Earth

and some mysterious
technological device

to facilitate
a means of communication?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes

and suggest that Delphi’s
otherworldly connection

was established long before
the rise of the Greek empire,

during the so-called golden age

when the gods were said
to be present on Earth.

As evidence,
they point to mysterious ruins

that feature the same type
of cyclopean masonry

found at Mycenae
and the Pyramid of Hellinikon.

Officially, Delphi is dated
to about the sixth century BC,

but there are earlier
constructions at the site.

And these are the gigantic
cyclopean and polygonal walls

that are not just
in the main part of the site.

If you actually
look around carefully,

you find them half buried down

near the entrance
at the lowest levels,

and it really does suggest

that the site could be
much, much older.

And this was used for
not hundreds,

possibly thousands of years.

NARRATOR:
According to the ancient Greeks,
figures like Zeus,

Athena and Apollo
continued to guide them

well beyond the golden age.

And ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

these otherworldly beings

inspired an extraordinary
moment in history

that would shape the world
for centuries to come.

NARRATOR: Starting with
the harnessing of fire

hundreds of thousands
of years ago,

there have been moments
in human history

of sudden and
significant advancement...

...like the Renaissance,

the Industrial Revolution,

and the founding
of the United States.

But some scholars believe

the most significant
period of all

occurred in Athens
around 2,500 years ago.

In the span of
a single lifetime,

dozens of history’s
most brilliant minds emerged

and achieved
monumental advancements

that would reverberate
through the ages.

It was a time known as
the Greek miracle.

It goes almost without saying

that without ancient Greece,

and without the so-called
Greek miracle,

civilization today
would not be the same.

NEWMAN:
Some of the most profound
philosophers lived at this time.

Plato, for instance, he created
these remarkable 3D geometries.

The dodecahedron.

Pythagoras related
the harmony of the cosmos

and all within it

to mathematical formulas
and geometry.

And different philosophers
came up with different ideas

looking at this much more
kind of practical way

of understanding life
and the cosmos.

TSOUKALOS:
You had Socrates,
Hippocrates, Aristotle,

Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus,

and the list goes on.

They all lived at the same time.

So my question is...

...is it possible that
they had a direct connection

with the physical
extraterrestrials

that were monitoring Earth
at that time?

And my answer to that
is a resounding yes.

NARRATOR:
Whether the Greek miracle
happened by chance

or by extraterrestrial design,
one thing is certain--

the accomplishments
of the ancient Greeks

helped to shape the world
for centuries to come.

We see and we experience

the gifts of the ancient Greeks

every day in our modern lives

in the 21st century.

They gave us everything
from democracy

to the most extraordinary
architecture and art.

We see it in our nation’s
capital, in Washington, D.C.

The extraordinary
Greek temple architecture.

KAKU:
You go to Paris,
you go to London,

all the architecture comes
from ancient Greece.

And then you learned about
the mathematics

that made these monuments
possible.

All of that
coming from ancient Greece.

MacGILLIVRAY:
Anybody who does science
will be still using terms

that were coined in archaic
and classical Greece.

We’re still using

ancient Greek words
and concepts.

So the Western world is very,

very much indebted to,
to ancient Greece.

CHILDRESS:
If it’s true that
almost everything

of the Western world
that we have today

has its birthplace
in ancient Greece,

then perhaps it would mean

that modern civilization itself
can be traced back

to these extraterrestrials,

these gods of Olympus.

NARRATOR: Could it be
that the incredible

mythological tales
of ancient Greece

tell the story
of humankind’s true origins?

And that the world
we live in today is the product

of extraterrestrial visitation

that took place
thousands of years ago?

Perhaps we will
receive the answer

when visitors descend
from the sky once again,

and we come face-to-face
with our alien ancestors.

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