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{\an8}[logo chimes]
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Downloaded from
YTS.BZ
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[logo fizzes]
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.BZ
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[singer vocalising]
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[gentle music]
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[Narrator] For centuries,
the story of the Trojan War
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lived in the realm of myth.
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A tale of gods and heroes
sung by poets, told beside fires
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etched into the imagination
of the Greek world.
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[gentle music continues]
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Yet beneath the
poetry lies history.
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Overlooking the Dardanelles
in northwestern Turkey
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lies the site known as Hisarlik.
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[singer vocalising]
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Here, archaeologists have
uncovered the remains of a city
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that was destroyed and
rebuilt over centuries.
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Among its layers
lies a settlement
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dating to the Late Bronze Age.
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Scarred by fire,
its walls toppled in violence.
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[music intensifies]
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[music fades]
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It is here, in the
aftermath of war
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that the journey
of Odysseus begins.
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His kingdom was Ithaca and
other islands in the Ionian Sea,
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including Cephalonia
and Zakynthos.
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But his was not a
swift return home.
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Instead, the voyage stretched
across ten long years,
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filled with trials,
temptations and terrors.
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A voyage that, whether taken
as myth or distant memory,
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maps itself onto the coasts and
islands of the Mediterranean.
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[waves crashing]
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[gentle music]
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For centuries, scholars
have attempted to identify
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the places where Odysseus
and his men landed.
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Some locations are easily
identified, others less so.
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Indeed, some scholars question
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whether such a voyage
ever took place,
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or was Homer simply
using locations
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that were well
known at the time.
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Long before Homer
composed his epic,
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the Aegean Sea was a major
highway that joined islands
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and even continents.
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Greece as a single nation
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did not exist at the
time of Odysseus.
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Instead, the region we
know as Greece today
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was divided up into
island and city states.
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Seamanship came
naturally to the Greeks.
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This had to do with the
landscape of their surroundings,
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the geographical
position of Greece,
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its climate and its
endless coastline.
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The landscape is mountainous,
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and the farming
area only comprises
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one fifth of the entire nation.
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Hence, it can only
offer a poor harvest.
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Thus, the sea was a way out.
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The endless coastline, which
covers 92% of Greece's borders,
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forms closed inlets,
natural harbours, deep bays,
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golden beaches and hundreds
of picturesque islands.
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It was natural that such
beautiful surroundings
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would inspire the Greeks,
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and would also instil in
them a love for the sea.
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The geographical position
of Greece was an advantage
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because it was
approximately in the middle
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of the ancient Mediterranean,
between Asia and Italy,
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near Egypt and
Libya to the south
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and next to the other Balkan
countries to the north,
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it was at the crossroads of the
most ancient shipping lanes.
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The distances were not great,
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and for thousands of years
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sailors navigated
under clear skies,
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almost always in sight of land.
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It was the beginning
of a maritime tradition
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that has lasted
thousands of years.
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[tense music]
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Homer tells us that the Greeks
sent a fleet of over 1000 ships
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to attack Troy,
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which illustrates the might of
Greek sea power at that time.
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We don't have a single
perfect blueprint
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of a Bronze Age Greek ship.
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Instead, we can assemble the
picture from fragments art,
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archaeology and the
logic of seamanship.
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[dramatic music]
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Most Aegean ships were long and
narrow, built for a mixed life.
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Oars for control and speed.
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A sail for longer passages.
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At sea level,
they sat low in the water
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with high ends like horns
lifting above the waves.
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[dramatic music continues]
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[singer vocalising]
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In the Aegean, wind can be
generous until it isn't.
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Within minutes a
calm, smooth sea state
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can turn into a raging storm
of fierce winds and big waves.
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Bronze Age crews relied
on both sail and oars.
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Oars gave precision,
entering harbours,
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dodging reefs and
fleeing danger.
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The sail gave endurance,
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turning a coastal hop
into a true crossing,
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as well as allowing the
oarsmen an opportunity to rest.
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Most likely, they used a
square sail on a single mast,
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simple, robust and effective
with the right winds.
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[suspenseful music]
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But it demanded skill
to refit quickly,
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to ride gusts and to avoid
being driven onto shore.
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Later, Greeks would call a long
50-oared galley a penteconter,
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which translates as 50-oared.
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The name belongs to a later age,
but the idea is older.
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A long war capable boat,
powered by muscle,
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guided by skill and
shaped by the sea itself.
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The bulk of the crew
consisted of oarsmen
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who were free men recruited
from the general populace
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and compensated with pay or
sometimes land allotments.
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These men were
not simply rowers,
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they were also the
primary infantry force
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who would fight from
the ship or on land
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equipped with shields,
spears and swords
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stored under their benches.
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Responsibility for
the actual navigation
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and steering of the ship
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was in the hands of a
professional helmsman
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using a large steering wheel.
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[music continues]
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A ship like this was
built around one obsession,
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speed and control.
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Long and narrow meant it
sliced through choppy seas.
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The low freeboard kept it light,
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but those raised ends
helped it ride over waves
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and keep the sea from
swamping the boat.
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This was the technology that
would carry Odysseus back
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to his beloved
Penelope on Ithaca.
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[gentle music]
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Homer's poem drew on centuries
of Greek seafaring experience,
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trade, raiding, seasonal
navigation, island hopping
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and the dangers of
storms and straits.
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These traditions were woven
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into the odysseys
mythic journey.
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The poem blends wonder
and supernatural imagery
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with very real sailors lore.
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This is the story of
Odysseus' Odyssey,
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told not only through
Homer's poetry,
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but through the landscapes
of our modern world.
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[dramatic music]
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[tense music]
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The war was over.
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The Greek ships beached
on the sands below
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Troy's ruined walls
prepared to sail.
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Among them was the
vessel of Odysseus.
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[singer vocalising]
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His home lay far to the west,
across the Aegean Sea,
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among the Ionian islands
of modern-day Greece.
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[dramatic music continues]
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But the gods, angered
by the Greek's cruelty
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during the destruction of Troy,
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were going to make sure
that his journey home
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would be anything but safe.
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Among the fleet of
Greek ships,
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there were 12 sailing with
Odysseus back to Ithaca.
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Their journey would follow
long-established routes
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that had been known to mariners
for thousands of years.
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[singer vocalising]
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[dramatic music]
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The first stage of their journey
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carried them along the
Aegean coast towards Thrace.
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We are told that a violent
storm scattered the fleet.
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[wind raging]
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Odysseus and his men
found themselves
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off the rugged
coastline of Thrace,
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part of which today is the
most eastern part of Greece,
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sharing a border with
Bulgaria to the north
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and Turkey to the east.
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Here, Homer tells us,
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the Ithacans first set
foot upon foreign soil.
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Scholars point to
the site of Izmir,
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near the modern town
of Maronia in Greece,
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as the likely place
of Odysseus's landing.
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The land here is marked by
wooded hills, fertile plains
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and a broad view
over the Aegean Sea.
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In the Late Bronze Age,
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this land was occupied
by the Ciconians.
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Raiding of coastal towns and
villages by pirates and traders
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was commonplace during this era.
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After years of war,
followed by weeks at sea,
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the need for fresh supplies
led Odysseus and his men
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to attack the Cicones.
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[fire rages]
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In Homer's account,
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they plundered its stores,
seized livestock
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and, true to the brutal
customs of the age,
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took lives and captives.
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But although Odysseus urged
his men to be cautious
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and show restraint,
his words were ignored.
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As a result, the Ithacans
were caught on the beach
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by Ciconian reinforcements,
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who had been summoned from
the hills and mountains
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that lie behind the coast.
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In the battle that followed,
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the Greeks were driven
back to their ships.
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Six men from each vessel killed,
a heavy toll
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and only the beginning of
greater losses to come.
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The episode
illustrates a pattern
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that recurs throughout
Odysseus's journey,
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the tension between
prudence and recklessness,
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between leadership
and disobedience.
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In Homer's telling, the Cicones
serve as a grim warning.
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[gentle music]
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In historical terms,
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they anchor the Odyssey
in a real landscape.
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Thrace was well known
to the ancient Greeks,
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a frontier land home to tribes
both feared and respected.
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The ruins of Maronia
still stand today,
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with remnants of city walls and
a well-preserved theatre
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overlooking the sea.
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To walk here is to imagine
Odysseus's ships offshore,
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the cries of battle
echoing across the hills.
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The Odyssey's geography may
not be strictly literal,
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but many episodes mirror
real sailing passages.
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Narrow straits,
treacherous coastlines
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and island hopping routes that
traders and raiders used.
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As we follow Odysseus,
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we step into both a
mythological Mediterranean
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and the real one.
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Each island, each promontory
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is both a stage for
gods and monsters,
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and a place still
visible on modern maps.
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[gentle music continues]
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Driven from the
shores of Thrace,
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Odysseus ships turn south,
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skirting the length
of the Aegean
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and slipping past the
familiar coasts of Greece.
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The town of Monemvasia
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is at the northern
end of Cape Maleas,
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the southeastern tip
of the Peloponnese.
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Parts of the town date
back to the Byzantine era,
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but its towering sea walls
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were familiar to sailors
in the Bronze Age.
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Odysseus was now near home.
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All he had to do
was round the Cape
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and sail past Kythera Island,
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and he would be
in the Ionian Sea.
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But Cape Marlis
can be treacherous.
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A violent storm blew
Odysseus off course,
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carrying him south beyond
the islands of the Aegean
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and into the wider
Mediterranean.
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Ten years of adventure
were to follow
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before he would finally
set foot on Ithaca.
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00:18:16,167 --> 00:18:20,267
[gentle music]
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00:18:23,934 --> 00:18:27,400
[singer vocalising]
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Days of uncertain sailing
brought him to a distant shore.
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Here, Homer tells us,
dwelt the lotus eaters.
250
00:18:43,133 --> 00:18:44,534
[waves lapping]
251
00:18:44,901 --> 00:18:47,701
The lotus was no ordinary plant.
252
00:18:47,868 --> 00:18:50,800
Its blossoms,
sweet and intoxicating,
253
00:18:50,801 --> 00:18:53,400
robbed men of their
will to return home.
254
00:18:53,667 --> 00:18:57,066
Those who tasted it
longed only to remain.
255
00:18:57,067 --> 00:19:01,567
Forgetting family duty
and the world beyond.
256
00:19:04,334 --> 00:19:08,000
Where in our world
was this land of the lotus?
257
00:19:08,367 --> 00:19:10,600
Ancient and modern
scholars alike
258
00:19:10,601 --> 00:19:13,234
have suggested the
coast of North Africa.
259
00:19:13,467 --> 00:19:15,867
Many point to the
island of Djerba,
260
00:19:15,868 --> 00:19:17,633
off the coast of Tunisia,
261
00:19:17,634 --> 00:19:21,500
known today for its whitewashed
villages and date palms,
262
00:19:21,501 --> 00:19:23,566
Djerba sits like
a stepping stone
263
00:19:23,567 --> 00:19:25,601
in the southern Mediterranean.
264
00:19:26,367 --> 00:19:29,500
It is fertile,
rich in vegetation
265
00:19:29,501 --> 00:19:32,734
and long associated with
myths of enchantment.
266
00:19:33,667 --> 00:19:34,999
Standing on its shores,
267
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,533
one can almost imagine
Odysseus's weary crew
268
00:19:38,534 --> 00:19:40,800
finding respite under its trees,
269
00:19:40,801 --> 00:19:43,066
and although the
lotus is not known
270
00:19:43,067 --> 00:19:45,299
for its narcotic qualities,
271
00:19:45,300 --> 00:19:48,100
its cousin, the Blue Lotus, is.
272
00:19:50,067 --> 00:19:53,267
[gentle music]
273
00:19:54,234 --> 00:19:56,533
The symbolism is timeless,
274
00:19:56,534 --> 00:19:59,800
the danger,
not of armed enemies,
275
00:19:59,801 --> 00:20:02,700
but of pleasures that
dissolve ambition,
276
00:20:02,701 --> 00:20:05,234
sapping the strength
to carry on.
277
00:20:06,501 --> 00:20:09,033
Odysseus acted decisively.
278
00:20:09,467 --> 00:20:12,266
He dragged dazed men
back to the ships,
279
00:20:12,267 --> 00:20:14,900
tied them fast
beneath the benches,
280
00:20:14,901 --> 00:20:16,801
and ordered the fleet onward.
281
00:20:17,133 --> 00:20:18,999
For him, the memory of Ithaca,
282
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,132
his wife Penelope,
his son Telemachus,
283
00:20:22,133 --> 00:20:24,400
was too strong to be forgotten.
284
00:20:32,601 --> 00:20:35,132
From the soft coasts
of North Africa
285
00:20:35,133 --> 00:20:36,734
the ships pressed on.
286
00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,801
[tense music]
287
00:20:51,601 --> 00:20:53,999
Soon the horizon
revealed another land,
288
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:58,400
green, rugged, with mountains
rising above the sea.
289
00:20:59,667 --> 00:21:02,300
This was the land
of the Cyclops.
290
00:21:04,901 --> 00:21:08,534
In Homer's tale, the Cyclops
were no ordinary men,
291
00:21:08,934 --> 00:21:12,033
they were one-eyed giants
who lived in caves.
292
00:21:12,534 --> 00:21:18,000
Among them was Polyphemus,
son of Poseidon, the sea god.
293
00:21:20,601 --> 00:21:23,733
Most scholars place the
encounter in Sicily,
294
00:21:23,734 --> 00:21:25,300
near Mount Etna.
295
00:21:26,601 --> 00:21:28,967
The volcano dominates
the landscape.
296
00:21:28,968 --> 00:21:31,132
Its slopes rich in pasture,
297
00:21:31,133 --> 00:21:33,968
its caverns carved
by fire and water.
298
00:21:34,868 --> 00:21:37,500
The ancient Greeks
imagined the Cyclopes
299
00:21:37,501 --> 00:21:39,566
as the smiths of the gods,
300
00:21:39,567 --> 00:21:42,100
labouring beneath
Etna smoking peak.
301
00:21:42,534 --> 00:21:45,999
Even today, the caves that
dot the Sicilian coast
302
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:47,600
fuel the imagination,
303
00:21:47,601 --> 00:21:50,800
as if waiting for the
return of Odysseus ship.
304
00:21:50,801 --> 00:21:52,900
[tense music continues]
305
00:21:52,901 --> 00:21:56,833
It was here that Odysseus
blinded the Cyclops
306
00:21:56,834 --> 00:21:58,867
so that he and his
men could escape
307
00:21:58,868 --> 00:22:01,367
after they had taken
some of his food.
308
00:22:05,767 --> 00:22:07,233
As they slipped away,
309
00:22:07,234 --> 00:22:10,333
Polyphemus called upon
his father Poseidon,
310
00:22:10,334 --> 00:22:12,634
god of the sea, to avenge him.
311
00:22:13,868 --> 00:22:18,200
From that moment on,
Odysseus' fate was sealed.
312
00:22:18,868 --> 00:22:21,167
The sea itself became his enemy.
313
00:22:23,300 --> 00:22:25,534
The legend lives on to this day.
314
00:22:26,334 --> 00:22:28,734
Mount Etna still smoulders.
315
00:22:29,267 --> 00:22:33,467
[tense music continues]
316
00:22:40,968 --> 00:22:43,299
Along the coast near Catania,
317
00:22:43,300 --> 00:22:45,366
stand great black boulders
318
00:22:45,367 --> 00:22:48,000
jagged and towering
above the waves.
319
00:22:48,334 --> 00:22:51,466
They are known as
the Cyclopean Isles,
320
00:22:51,467 --> 00:22:55,634
said to be the stones hurled
by Polyphemus in his rage.
321
00:22:58,434 --> 00:23:00,968
Myth and landscape
are intertwined.
322
00:23:01,667 --> 00:23:04,566
The geology of Sicily
provides a stage
323
00:23:04,567 --> 00:23:08,133
for one of the Odyssey's
most enduring legends.
324
00:23:21,167 --> 00:23:22,666
When Odysseus and his men
325
00:23:22,667 --> 00:23:25,299
escape from the
clutches of the Cyclops,
326
00:23:25,300 --> 00:23:30,000
their ships are battered by
storms stirred up by Poseidon.
327
00:23:36,067 --> 00:23:40,099
The Mediterranean is renowned
for short, violent storms
328
00:23:40,100 --> 00:23:42,500
that seem to spring
up from nowhere,
329
00:23:42,501 --> 00:23:45,200
catching out the
unwary seafarer.
330
00:23:49,868 --> 00:23:53,801
[wind howling]
331
00:23:56,033 --> 00:24:00,000
[singer vocalising]
332
00:24:07,968 --> 00:24:09,933
Odysseus battered fleet
333
00:24:09,934 --> 00:24:13,299
found refuge among
the Aeolian islands
334
00:24:13,300 --> 00:24:15,534
off the northern
coast of Sicily.
335
00:24:20,667 --> 00:24:25,167
[gentle, dramatic music]
336
00:24:27,767 --> 00:24:32,099
These islands Lipari, Vulcano,
Stromboli and others
337
00:24:32,100 --> 00:24:33,700
are volcanic.
338
00:24:33,701 --> 00:24:36,801
Their jagged peaks rising
sharply from the sea.
339
00:24:44,100 --> 00:24:48,032
The Greeks believed that they
were the domain of Aeolus,
340
00:24:48,033 --> 00:24:49,701
keeper of the winds.
341
00:25:04,934 --> 00:25:08,833
Homer tells us Aeolus
welcomed Odysseus warmly,
342
00:25:08,834 --> 00:25:12,801
entertained him for a month and
then sought to aid his journey.
343
00:25:13,167 --> 00:25:15,233
He presented the
hero with a gift,
344
00:25:15,234 --> 00:25:18,766
a great leather sack
bound with silver cord
345
00:25:18,767 --> 00:25:22,734
containing all the winds
of the world, save one.
346
00:25:24,133 --> 00:25:29,534
The west wind was left free
to carry Odysseus home.
347
00:25:32,167 --> 00:25:36,334
For nine days the ships sped
eastwards across the sea.
348
00:25:37,601 --> 00:25:39,801
Ithaca itself came into view.
349
00:25:40,067 --> 00:25:41,900
Its familiar shores,
so near,
350
00:25:41,901 --> 00:25:45,133
the men could see smoke
rising from their hearths.
351
00:25:45,701 --> 00:25:51,167
But curiosity and suspicion
proved their undoing.
352
00:25:53,801 --> 00:25:57,266
While Odysseus slept,
his crew opened the sack,
353
00:25:57,267 --> 00:25:59,867
imagining it filled
with treasure.
354
00:25:59,868 --> 00:26:01,533
[wind howling]
355
00:26:01,534 --> 00:26:04,233
The winds burst forth in a fury,
356
00:26:04,234 --> 00:26:06,700
driving the fleet
back across the sea
357
00:26:06,701 --> 00:26:09,566
all the way to the
Aeolian Islands.
358
00:26:09,567 --> 00:26:11,934
[wind raging]
359
00:26:12,534 --> 00:26:15,734
This time, Aeolus
would not help them.
360
00:26:16,868 --> 00:26:19,700
"The gods are against you,"
he declared,
361
00:26:19,701 --> 00:26:21,701
and cast Odysseus away.
362
00:26:28,801 --> 00:26:32,000
[gentle music]
363
00:26:33,467 --> 00:26:38,200
The Aeolian Islands still
bear the marks of their myth.
364
00:26:40,834 --> 00:26:44,032
On Stromboli, the volcano
erupts with fiery bursts
365
00:26:44,033 --> 00:26:45,533
visible for miles,
366
00:26:45,534 --> 00:26:48,000
like the breath
of Aeolus himself.
367
00:26:48,834 --> 00:26:53,166
On Lipari, ancient quarries
reveal obsidian once traded
368
00:26:53,167 --> 00:26:54,701
across the Mediterranean.
369
00:26:55,834 --> 00:26:57,801
The winds here are real too.
370
00:26:57,968 --> 00:27:02,634
Powerful, changeable, capable of
turning a voyage into disaster.
371
00:27:07,033 --> 00:27:08,766
For sailors, then and now,
372
00:27:08,767 --> 00:27:13,133
this was a story based on the
ever-changing natural world.
373
00:27:15,267 --> 00:27:16,733
Odysseus's journey
374
00:27:16,734 --> 00:27:20,366
has been grounded in the
known world of the time,
375
00:27:20,367 --> 00:27:24,033
but other parts of the story
remain harder to place.
376
00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:26,132
The line between
myth and geography
377
00:27:26,133 --> 00:27:28,267
becomes ever more blurred.
378
00:27:33,334 --> 00:27:35,233
From the Aeolian Islands,
379
00:27:35,234 --> 00:27:36,833
Odysseus and his fleet
380
00:27:36,834 --> 00:27:39,467
were once again at
the mercy of the sea.
381
00:27:41,534 --> 00:27:45,400
The winds drove them toward a
distant and unfamiliar harbour,
382
00:27:45,701 --> 00:27:48,734
a place unlike any
they had seen before.
383
00:27:50,868 --> 00:27:54,501
[tense music]
384
00:28:08,300 --> 00:28:10,933
Homer describes
a narrow entrance
385
00:28:10,934 --> 00:28:13,266
flanked by towering cliffs,
386
00:28:13,267 --> 00:28:15,600
leading into a base so enclosed
387
00:28:15,601 --> 00:28:18,868
that it seemed more like
a lake than the open sea.
388
00:28:19,467 --> 00:28:22,433
Here they encountered
the Laestrygonians,
389
00:28:22,434 --> 00:28:25,567
giants, fierce and merciless.
390
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:28,466
They attack the ships,
391
00:28:28,467 --> 00:28:31,601
destroying all of them
and killing their crews,
392
00:28:32,701 --> 00:28:34,299
all but one.
393
00:28:34,300 --> 00:28:35,867
For a cautious Odysseus
394
00:28:35,868 --> 00:28:39,300
had moored his ship just
outside the harbour.
395
00:28:41,901 --> 00:28:45,601
With desperate speed,
he cut his moorings and fled.
396
00:28:45,901 --> 00:28:49,534
The sole survivor with
his single vessel.
397
00:28:51,934 --> 00:28:53,968
Where was this dreadful harbour?
398
00:28:54,334 --> 00:28:56,801
Scholars have suggested
various sites.
399
00:28:56,968 --> 00:29:00,534
Some point to the rocky
northern coast of Sicily.
400
00:29:00,834 --> 00:29:02,667
Another suggested location
401
00:29:02,834 --> 00:29:06,400
is the modern Bay of
Bonifacio in Corsica.
402
00:29:06,667 --> 00:29:08,533
It certainly fits
Homer's description
403
00:29:08,534 --> 00:29:11,466
of a narrow entrance, with
high cliffs on either side,
404
00:29:11,467 --> 00:29:13,234
leading to a safe harbour.
405
00:29:13,801 --> 00:29:16,132
Or could the legend
of the Laestrygonians
406
00:29:16,133 --> 00:29:18,666
be the result of
ancient Greek mariners
407
00:29:18,667 --> 00:29:20,700
who had seen the
giant sculptures
408
00:29:20,701 --> 00:29:24,601
of the Nuragic civilisation
on Sardinia's west coast.
409
00:29:33,968 --> 00:29:35,566
Following their narrow escape,
410
00:29:35,567 --> 00:29:37,666
Odysseus and his
surviving companions
411
00:29:37,667 --> 00:29:40,299
sailed onward until
they reached an island
412
00:29:40,300 --> 00:29:42,634
that was both
beautiful and perilous.
413
00:29:42,801 --> 00:29:46,067
[gentle music]
414
00:29:50,067 --> 00:29:55,434
This was Aeaea the home
of the enchantress Circe.
415
00:30:00,734 --> 00:30:05,634
Where in our geography
do we find Circe's Aeaea?
416
00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:11,266
One possibility is
the island of Ponza,
417
00:30:11,267 --> 00:30:13,467
off the western coast of Italy.
418
00:30:16,133 --> 00:30:18,733
There, the Monte
Circeo is to be found.
419
00:30:18,734 --> 00:30:21,933
A promontory that juts
into the Tyrrhenian Sea
420
00:30:21,934 --> 00:30:23,501
between Rome and Naples.
421
00:30:23,901 --> 00:30:27,066
The headland rises dramatically
from the surrounding plain,
422
00:30:27,067 --> 00:30:31,700
its cliffs crowned with forest,
its shoreline rich in caves.
423
00:30:31,701 --> 00:30:33,366
To ancient sailors,
424
00:30:33,367 --> 00:30:37,634
it would have seemed an island
isolated and forbidding.
425
00:30:40,067 --> 00:30:43,566
Even today, it bears
the name Circeo,
426
00:30:43,567 --> 00:30:46,367
preserving the memory
of the enchantress.
427
00:30:51,834 --> 00:30:56,100
For a full year, Odysseus
remained on her island.
428
00:30:58,367 --> 00:31:01,399
But at last,
stirred by the call of home,
429
00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:03,634
Odysseus demanded to depart.
430
00:31:05,801 --> 00:31:07,566
As he leaves Circe,
431
00:31:07,567 --> 00:31:10,233
she tells him he must
visit the underworld
432
00:31:10,234 --> 00:31:13,801
if he is to find out if he
will ever return to Ithaca.
433
00:31:18,133 --> 00:31:22,400
[menacing music]
434
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,132
His destination is the
land of the Cimmerians,
435
00:31:28,133 --> 00:31:30,032
a place shrouded in mist
436
00:31:30,033 --> 00:31:32,467
where the living might
speak with the dead.
437
00:31:33,100 --> 00:31:36,399
The Greeks imagined the
entrance to the underworld
438
00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:40,132
as lying at the farthest
western reaches of the earth,
439
00:31:40,133 --> 00:31:42,634
where the sun sinks into ocean.
440
00:31:43,467 --> 00:31:46,133
Yet, Homer's description
is more specific.
441
00:31:46,667 --> 00:31:50,633
Odysseus sails
northward across the sea
442
00:31:50,634 --> 00:31:52,733
until he reaches a dark shore
443
00:31:52,734 --> 00:31:55,767
where the river Acheron
meets the Styx.
444
00:31:57,634 --> 00:31:59,967
[menacing music]
445
00:31:59,968 --> 00:32:03,601
Where might this underworld
be placed in our geography?
446
00:32:04,367 --> 00:32:06,099
Two sites in particular
447
00:32:06,100 --> 00:32:08,701
have long been linked
to Homer's tale.
448
00:32:09,701 --> 00:32:11,733
One is Cape Tainaron,
449
00:32:11,734 --> 00:32:14,434
at the southern tip of
the Peloponnese in Greece.
450
00:32:14,968 --> 00:32:19,032
Here, a cave near the sea
was revered in antiquity
451
00:32:19,033 --> 00:32:21,000
as an entrance to Hades.
452
00:32:22,634 --> 00:32:25,933
Travellers and worshippers
alike came to make offerings,
453
00:32:25,934 --> 00:32:29,067
believing the boundary
between worlds was thin.
454
00:32:33,801 --> 00:32:37,033
[menacing music continues]
455
00:32:38,300 --> 00:32:42,300
The other site lies near
Naples, at Lake Avernus.
456
00:32:42,701 --> 00:32:47,767
This lake sits in a volcanic
crater ringed by dark forest.
457
00:32:48,367 --> 00:32:51,533
Avernus means without birds,
458
00:32:51,534 --> 00:32:53,900
and in Ancient Greece
it was believed
459
00:32:53,901 --> 00:32:57,366
that rising, noxious,
sulphuric fumes
460
00:32:57,367 --> 00:33:00,000
meant that birds
could not fly over it.
461
00:33:00,300 --> 00:33:01,999
This was taken as a sign
462
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:05,066
that this was a place
unfit for living things,
463
00:33:05,067 --> 00:33:07,867
and so connected
to the underworld.
464
00:33:07,868 --> 00:33:09,833
To stand at its shore today,
465
00:33:09,834 --> 00:33:12,633
with the sulphurous
scent of nearby vents,
466
00:33:12,634 --> 00:33:17,100
is to sense why the ancients
saw it as a gateway to death.
467
00:33:21,734 --> 00:33:25,433
Armed with prophecy and
knowledge of what lies ahead,
468
00:33:25,434 --> 00:33:28,132
Odysseus returns
from the underworld
469
00:33:28,133 --> 00:33:31,267
to Aeaea, Cersei's island.
470
00:33:33,868 --> 00:33:37,300
There, the sorceress
offers further counsel.
471
00:33:38,234 --> 00:33:39,833
Ahead lie the sirens,
472
00:33:39,834 --> 00:33:43,299
whose song lures
sailors to their doom,
473
00:33:43,300 --> 00:33:45,700
the Strait of Scylla
and Charybdis,
474
00:33:45,701 --> 00:33:48,399
where death waits
on either side,
475
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,266
and the island of
the sun god Helios,
476
00:33:51,267 --> 00:33:53,634
where the cattle
must not be harmed.
477
00:33:54,434 --> 00:33:59,000
His journey home is shorter
and the dangers more dire.
478
00:33:59,601 --> 00:34:03,000
but Odysseus now knows
what he must face.
479
00:34:07,367 --> 00:34:09,566
Circe had warned
him of the sirens,
480
00:34:09,567 --> 00:34:12,733
whose sweet songs were said to
lure sailors to their deaths
481
00:34:12,734 --> 00:34:14,000
on jagged rocks.
482
00:34:21,601 --> 00:34:25,467
But Homer's story may have some
foundation in the real world.
483
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:32,833
The Sirenese rocks,
today called Li Galli,
484
00:34:32,834 --> 00:34:35,900
are a small group of
islands off the Amalfi Coast
485
00:34:35,901 --> 00:34:39,000
and would have been known
to mariners at the time.
486
00:34:41,634 --> 00:34:44,433
There is also a group of
rocks off the island of Capri
487
00:34:44,434 --> 00:34:46,534
called the Faraglioni Rocks.
488
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:48,333
These stacks are also believed
489
00:34:48,334 --> 00:34:50,267
to have been the
home of the siren.
490
00:34:52,434 --> 00:34:57,466
Odysseus, on Circe's advice,
makes wax earplugs for his men,
491
00:34:57,467 --> 00:34:59,766
but orders them to
tie him to the mast
492
00:34:59,767 --> 00:35:02,399
so that he can hear
the sirens song
493
00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:04,999
with strict orders
not to release him,
494
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:06,800
no matter how he begs.
495
00:35:06,801 --> 00:35:09,999
[menacing music continues]
496
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,667
[wind howling]
497
00:35:23,534 --> 00:35:27,166
Could the magical sounds be the
unfamiliar noises of landfall
498
00:35:27,167 --> 00:35:29,667
after a long, arduous
voyage at sea?
499
00:35:32,167 --> 00:35:35,267
[gentle music]
500
00:35:38,701 --> 00:35:40,233
To sail these waters
501
00:35:40,234 --> 00:35:43,099
with cliffs rising
sharply from the sea,
502
00:35:43,100 --> 00:35:45,366
and the surf breaking
on hidden reefs,
503
00:35:45,367 --> 00:35:48,234
is to understand why
such a myth arose.
504
00:35:50,167 --> 00:35:54,667
Even now, the coast of Amalfi
seems touched by enchantment,
505
00:35:55,033 --> 00:35:58,501
its beauty tinged with peril.
506
00:36:01,133 --> 00:36:05,267
Beyond the sirens lay an even
more treacherous passage.
507
00:36:09,067 --> 00:36:14,033
[tense music]
508
00:36:16,667 --> 00:36:20,733
On one side lurked Scylla,
a monster with six heads,
509
00:36:20,734 --> 00:36:23,334
each snatching sailors
from the decks.
510
00:36:24,601 --> 00:36:26,900
On the other was Charybdis,
511
00:36:26,901 --> 00:36:31,199
a monstrous whirlpool that
seemed to swallow the sea itself
512
00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,267
before spewing
it forth again.
513
00:36:33,767 --> 00:36:36,701
No ship could hope
to pass unscathed.
514
00:36:38,100 --> 00:36:40,434
Odysseus faced a
terrible choice.
515
00:36:40,801 --> 00:36:44,867
To steer closer to Scylla meant
the loss of some of his men,
516
00:36:44,868 --> 00:36:47,267
plucked screaming from the decks
517
00:36:48,501 --> 00:36:52,666
to steer nearer Charybdis
meant risking his entire vessel
518
00:36:52,667 --> 00:36:54,234
swallowed whole.
519
00:36:55,501 --> 00:37:00,000
Guided by Circe's warning,
he chose the lesser evil.
520
00:37:00,567 --> 00:37:02,299
He steered towards Scylla.
521
00:37:02,300 --> 00:37:05,200
[tense music continues]
522
00:37:18,234 --> 00:37:20,399
Scholars place
Scylla and Charybdis
523
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:22,233
at the Strait of Messina,
524
00:37:22,234 --> 00:37:25,267
between Sicily and the
toe of Italy's boot.
525
00:37:25,701 --> 00:37:30,367
Here the waters are narrow,
funnelled between steep coasts.
526
00:37:30,634 --> 00:37:34,067
Powerful currents swirl,
forming eddies,
527
00:37:34,300 --> 00:37:37,133
whirlpools sometimes churn.
528
00:37:39,801 --> 00:37:41,399
Although the changing seabed
529
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:44,800
means they are not as
dangerous as they once were,
530
00:37:44,801 --> 00:37:48,433
sailors today know the
challenge of this crossing,
531
00:37:48,434 --> 00:37:52,601
where tides and winds
conspire to trap the unwary.
532
00:37:53,100 --> 00:37:57,234
singer vocalising]
533
00:38:01,167 --> 00:38:02,600
To the ancient Greeks,
534
00:38:02,601 --> 00:38:05,867
such natural hazards
became living monsters,
535
00:38:05,868 --> 00:38:09,167
embodiments of the
sea's merciless power.
536
00:38:19,801 --> 00:38:23,333
Having passed the strait,
Odysseus and his weary crew
537
00:38:23,334 --> 00:38:26,000
reached an island
bathed in sunlight.
538
00:38:26,467 --> 00:38:27,933
This was Thrinacia,
539
00:38:27,934 --> 00:38:31,367
the pastureland of
Helios, the sun god.
540
00:38:31,834 --> 00:38:34,033
Here, sacred cattle grazed.
541
00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:38,701
Immortal creatures watched over
by the daughters of Helios.
542
00:38:39,167 --> 00:38:40,533
Circe had warned them,
543
00:38:40,534 --> 00:38:43,067
as had Tiresias
in the underworld,
544
00:38:43,234 --> 00:38:46,200
to harm these cattle
was to court disaster.
545
00:38:47,133 --> 00:38:49,999
Odysseus swore his
men to restraint,
546
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:53,801
but storms trapped them
on the island for a month,
547
00:38:53,968 --> 00:38:57,733
supplies dwindled and hunger
gnawed at their strength.
548
00:38:57,734 --> 00:39:00,132
While Odysseus
prayed in solitude,
549
00:39:00,133 --> 00:39:02,800
his men, driven by desperation,
550
00:39:02,801 --> 00:39:04,634
slaughtered the sacred herd.
551
00:39:04,901 --> 00:39:08,701
They roasted the flesh,
defying the will of the gods.
552
00:39:09,267 --> 00:39:12,234
When Odysseus returned,
it was too late.
553
00:39:12,634 --> 00:39:15,199
The scent of cooking
meat filled the air,
554
00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:17,367
and the wrath of
Helios was kindled.
555
00:39:18,133 --> 00:39:22,299
The sun god appealed to Zeus,
demanding punishment
556
00:39:22,300 --> 00:39:24,601
and punishment came swiftly.
557
00:39:26,534 --> 00:39:28,833
[dramatic music]
558
00:39:28,834 --> 00:39:31,399
When the crew once
more went to sea,
559
00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:33,167
a storm descended.
560
00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:46,100
Thunder split the sky.
561
00:39:46,868 --> 00:39:50,734
Lightning shattered the mast
and the ship was torn apart.
562
00:39:51,033 --> 00:39:54,801
Every man was drowned,
save Odysseus alone.
563
00:39:56,434 --> 00:39:58,099
Clinging to the wreckage,
564
00:39:58,100 --> 00:40:02,434
he was borne across the waves,
helpless toward his next trial.
565
00:40:04,534 --> 00:40:08,400
[sombre music]
566
00:40:10,267 --> 00:40:12,634
Where might Thrinacia be found?
567
00:40:13,234 --> 00:40:15,633
Many traditions
place it in Sicily,
568
00:40:15,634 --> 00:40:18,299
whose fertile plains
and sunny pastures
569
00:40:18,300 --> 00:40:20,667
suit the image of Helios cattle.
570
00:40:20,934 --> 00:40:22,733
Others suggest Malta,
571
00:40:22,734 --> 00:40:26,234
or one of the smaller islands
of the central Mediterranean.
572
00:40:30,467 --> 00:40:32,801
The story carries a clear moral.
573
00:40:33,267 --> 00:40:36,466
Disobedience to divine
warning brings ruin,
574
00:40:36,467 --> 00:40:40,166
and hunger, whether for
food, for wealth or for power
575
00:40:40,167 --> 00:40:43,067
can drive men to their doom.
576
00:40:45,667 --> 00:40:50,466
Themes of the Sirens,
Scylla and Helios, together,
577
00:40:50,467 --> 00:40:55,100
these episodes mark the
climax of Odysseus's trials.
578
00:40:56,300 --> 00:40:58,334
The Sirens embody temptation.
579
00:40:58,667 --> 00:41:02,400
Knowledge without wisdom,
desire without restraint.
580
00:41:03,334 --> 00:41:07,032
Scylla and Charybdis
embody inevitability,
581
00:41:07,033 --> 00:41:11,266
the reality that some choices
in life have no good outcome,
582
00:41:11,267 --> 00:41:13,434
only the lesser of evils.
583
00:41:17,834 --> 00:41:21,199
The cattle of Helios
embody disobedience,
584
00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:23,900
the fatal flaw of Odysseus crew,
585
00:41:23,901 --> 00:41:26,700
whose recklessness leads
to their destruction.
586
00:41:26,701 --> 00:41:30,467
[sombre music continues]
587
00:41:31,434 --> 00:41:35,233
Odysseus himself survives,
but at a terrible cost,
588
00:41:35,234 --> 00:41:37,501
the loss of all his companions.
589
00:41:38,067 --> 00:41:41,234
From this point onward,
he sails alone.
590
00:41:48,834 --> 00:41:51,566
The journey through
southern Italy and Sicily
591
00:41:51,567 --> 00:41:55,601
reveals how Homer wove
real geography into myth.
592
00:41:57,834 --> 00:41:59,767
The Siren islands off Capri.
593
00:42:02,300 --> 00:42:06,133
The whirlpools of Messina,
the pastures of Sicily.
594
00:42:06,501 --> 00:42:09,801
Each corresponds to features
sailors would have known.
595
00:42:10,767 --> 00:42:13,400
Yet, Homer transformed
them into something more.
596
00:42:13,701 --> 00:42:16,766
He took the natural dangers
and wonders of the sea
597
00:42:16,767 --> 00:42:20,734
and gave them faces,
voices and divine meaning.
598
00:42:21,267 --> 00:42:22,833
For the ancient Greeks,
599
00:42:22,834 --> 00:42:25,700
the Mediterranean was not
merely water and land,
600
00:42:25,701 --> 00:42:29,300
it was alive, shaped
by gods and monsters.
601
00:42:30,767 --> 00:42:33,700
To sail, it was to enter a
world where every current,
602
00:42:33,701 --> 00:42:37,467
every storm was the
will of a higher power.
603
00:42:39,567 --> 00:42:43,300
In this sense, the Odyssey is
not only a tale of adventure,
604
00:42:43,501 --> 00:42:47,200
but a reflection of how the
Greeks understood their world.
605
00:42:49,300 --> 00:42:51,366
[tense music]
606
00:42:51,367 --> 00:42:53,199
Shipwrecked and alone,
607
00:42:53,200 --> 00:42:57,200
Odysseus was carried by the
waves to the shore of Ogygia.
608
00:42:59,834 --> 00:43:04,233
There, exhausted,
he collapsed beneath the trees
609
00:43:04,234 --> 00:43:07,100
and was discovered
by the nymph Calypso.
610
00:43:08,734 --> 00:43:11,666
Calypso was a goddess
of great beauty
611
00:43:11,667 --> 00:43:14,701
who dwelled in
solitude on her island.
612
00:43:17,501 --> 00:43:19,500
She welcomed Odysseus,
613
00:43:19,501 --> 00:43:22,467
tended his wounds and
offered him shelter.
614
00:43:22,767 --> 00:43:25,534
More than that,
she offered him love.
615
00:43:25,901 --> 00:43:29,434
For seven years,
Odysseus remained with her.
616
00:43:29,834 --> 00:43:33,566
Calypso promised him
immortality if he would stay,
617
00:43:33,567 --> 00:43:37,601
never again to endure hardship,
never again to suffer loss.
618
00:43:37,968 --> 00:43:41,834
But for all her beauty and
all the comfort of her island,
619
00:43:42,033 --> 00:43:44,400
Odysseus longed only for home.
620
00:43:44,601 --> 00:43:47,733
His heart yearned for
Penelope at home on Ithaca.
621
00:43:47,734 --> 00:43:50,400
[waves crashing]
622
00:43:51,901 --> 00:43:55,233
In the end, the gods
themselves intervened.
623
00:43:55,234 --> 00:43:58,133
Calypso was ordered
to let Odysseus go.
624
00:43:59,567 --> 00:44:03,234
With bitterness,
yet with grace she obeyed.
625
00:44:03,501 --> 00:44:06,266
She gave Odysseus
tools to build a raft
626
00:44:06,267 --> 00:44:08,033
and provisions for the voyage.
627
00:44:08,734 --> 00:44:12,300
And so once more
he set out to see.
628
00:44:16,300 --> 00:44:18,334
Where was Calypso's Island?
629
00:44:19,033 --> 00:44:22,700
Ancient commentators placed
Ogygia far to the west,
630
00:44:22,701 --> 00:44:24,968
at the very edge
of the known world.
631
00:44:25,701 --> 00:44:29,968
Many today associate it with
the Maltese island of Gozo.
632
00:44:30,934 --> 00:44:34,132
There, a cave known
as Calypso's Cave
633
00:44:34,133 --> 00:44:36,099
overlooks the Mediterranean,
634
00:44:36,100 --> 00:44:38,734
linked by tradition
to Homer's tale.
635
00:44:39,267 --> 00:44:41,534
[dramatic music]
636
00:44:41,701 --> 00:44:45,833
Odysseus raft did not carry
him far before Poseidon,
637
00:44:45,834 --> 00:44:48,100
still wrathful, struck again.
638
00:44:50,334 --> 00:44:52,299
The sea God unleashed storms
639
00:44:52,300 --> 00:44:54,433
that shattered the
fragile vessel,
640
00:44:54,434 --> 00:44:57,334
casting Odysseus once
more into the deep.
641
00:44:57,834 --> 00:45:00,434
Yet, fate was not
finished with him.
642
00:45:05,033 --> 00:45:09,634
[singer vocalising]
643
00:45:12,300 --> 00:45:14,132
Clinging to broken timbers,
644
00:45:14,133 --> 00:45:15,666
he was carried across the waves
645
00:45:15,667 --> 00:45:18,066
until he reached the
shore of Scheria,
646
00:45:18,067 --> 00:45:19,801
the land of the Phaeacians.
647
00:45:23,934 --> 00:45:27,634
Here at last his
fortunes turned.
648
00:45:30,167 --> 00:45:33,266
The Phaeacians were
a seafaring people
649
00:45:33,267 --> 00:45:35,367
famed for their fast ships.
650
00:45:37,734 --> 00:45:40,366
On the beach,
Odysseus collapsed,
651
00:45:40,367 --> 00:45:42,234
weary beyond measure.
652
00:45:44,634 --> 00:45:48,400
There he was discovered by the
daughter of the local king.
653
00:45:48,968 --> 00:45:50,567
Her name was Nausicaa.
654
00:45:51,868 --> 00:45:53,500
Despite his terrible state,
655
00:45:53,501 --> 00:45:56,033
she led him back to
her father's palace.
656
00:45:58,634 --> 00:46:02,968
Fed, clothed and honoured,
he told the tale of his journey.
657
00:46:03,567 --> 00:46:07,600
His odyssey was a tale of
wonder, terror and loss.
658
00:46:07,601 --> 00:46:10,467
[choir singing]
659
00:46:10,667 --> 00:46:12,267
Moved by what he heard,
660
00:46:12,434 --> 00:46:14,800
the king ordered that
Odysseus be taken home
661
00:46:14,801 --> 00:46:16,467
in one of his ships.
662
00:46:18,100 --> 00:46:22,234
The Phaeacian ship bore him
swiftly across the Ionian Sea,
663
00:46:22,534 --> 00:46:25,434
faster than any known
craft could sail.
664
00:46:26,334 --> 00:46:29,132
In this final gift
of hospitality,
665
00:46:29,133 --> 00:46:31,501
Odysseus found deliverance.
666
00:46:35,234 --> 00:46:36,867
The land of the Phaeacians
667
00:46:36,868 --> 00:46:41,066
has been most often identified
with Corfu or Kerkyra,
668
00:46:41,067 --> 00:46:43,334
off the north-west
coast of Greece.
669
00:46:50,634 --> 00:46:55,000
[singer vocalising]
670
00:47:06,501 --> 00:47:08,900
The island, lush and green,
671
00:47:08,901 --> 00:47:13,400
lies on the very route by which
Odysseus would return to Ithaca.
672
00:47:13,734 --> 00:47:15,700
Its harbours and
hills seem fitting
673
00:47:15,701 --> 00:47:19,701
for a people who embodied
seafaring skill and generosity.
674
00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:30,466
Even today, Corfu embraces
its link to the Odyssey,
675
00:47:30,467 --> 00:47:35,167
claiming the legacy of that
final, fateful stop before home.
676
00:47:38,701 --> 00:47:42,767
[upbeat music]
677
00:47:52,734 --> 00:47:57,367
[tense music]
678
00:48:04,601 --> 00:48:07,500
Odysseus had been away
from Ithaca for 20 years,
679
00:48:07,501 --> 00:48:10,266
ten years at war, followed
by another ten years
680
00:48:10,267 --> 00:48:11,734
on his journey home.
681
00:48:13,501 --> 00:48:15,933
The Phaeacian ship
carrying Odysseus
682
00:48:15,934 --> 00:48:19,033
arrived off Ithaca
in the dead of night.
683
00:48:22,734 --> 00:48:24,132
As Odysseus slept,
684
00:48:24,133 --> 00:48:27,434
he was carried ashore and
left on a sandy beach.
685
00:48:29,367 --> 00:48:32,434
Legend has it that
this was Dexa Beach,
686
00:48:33,734 --> 00:48:36,834
but as the story goes,
he was in danger.
687
00:48:37,300 --> 00:48:39,000
As he had been away for so long,
688
00:48:39,167 --> 00:48:42,367
others conspired to seize
his kingdom and his wife.
689
00:48:45,100 --> 00:48:47,066
To help him, the goddess Athena
690
00:48:47,067 --> 00:48:49,534
disguises Odysseus as a beggar.
691
00:48:51,868 --> 00:48:54,533
Dozens of men feasted
on his wealth,
692
00:48:54,534 --> 00:48:57,199
pressed his wife,
Penelope, to remarry,
693
00:48:57,200 --> 00:48:59,767
and plotted against
his son Telemachus.
694
00:49:02,067 --> 00:49:05,367
To reveal himself too soon
would be to invite death,
695
00:49:05,834 --> 00:49:10,968
but his faithful old dog, Argos
recognised him before dying.
696
00:49:12,133 --> 00:49:15,967
Disguised as a beggar,
Odysseus entered his palace.
697
00:49:15,968 --> 00:49:19,534
[tense music continues]
698
00:49:20,501 --> 00:49:22,567
Penelope was under
great pressure.
699
00:49:23,801 --> 00:49:26,199
She decided that
whoever could string
700
00:49:26,200 --> 00:49:28,867
and accurately
fire Odysseus's bow
701
00:49:28,868 --> 00:49:30,234
would win her hand.
702
00:49:34,467 --> 00:49:37,267
One by one, the rivals failed.
703
00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:41,700
Then the beggar took up the bow.
704
00:49:41,701 --> 00:49:44,734
With ease, he strung it
and let fly the arrow.
705
00:49:48,467 --> 00:49:50,833
[waves crashing]
706
00:49:50,834 --> 00:49:54,267
[singer vocalising]
707
00:50:00,667 --> 00:50:03,366
The Odyssey, which began
with the fall of Troy
708
00:50:03,367 --> 00:50:06,032
on the shores of
northwestern Turkey,
709
00:50:06,033 --> 00:50:08,167
ends here on Ithaca.
710
00:50:15,868 --> 00:50:19,400
It is a quiet island,
only accessible by sea.
711
00:50:19,734 --> 00:50:22,167
Its hills rise
above clear waters.
712
00:50:22,367 --> 00:50:26,434
Its small harbours provide
shelter from the wind.
713
00:50:29,200 --> 00:50:32,333
To walk its paths is
to step into myth.
714
00:50:32,334 --> 00:50:35,833
To imagine Odysseus at
last embracing Penelope,
715
00:50:35,834 --> 00:50:37,767
the long ordeal ended.
716
00:50:48,501 --> 00:50:50,633
The final chapters
of The Odyssey
717
00:50:50,634 --> 00:50:54,033
embody both endurance
and restoration.
718
00:50:55,100 --> 00:50:57,800
Calypso offered immortality,
719
00:50:57,801 --> 00:51:01,434
yet Odysseus chose
mortality and home.
720
00:51:01,734 --> 00:51:04,166
The Phaeacians
offered safe passage,
721
00:51:04,167 --> 00:51:05,733
proving that hospitality,
722
00:51:05,734 --> 00:51:08,333
the sacred bond
between guest and host
723
00:51:08,334 --> 00:51:10,033
was not lost in the world.
724
00:51:11,000 --> 00:51:15,533
And in Ithaca, the trials of
disguise, patience and justice
725
00:51:15,534 --> 00:51:17,767
brought the story full circle.
726
00:51:21,968 --> 00:51:24,500
Odysseus is no flawless hero.
727
00:51:24,501 --> 00:51:27,933
He is cunning, proud,
often reckless,
728
00:51:27,934 --> 00:51:30,032
but he is also steadfast,
729
00:51:30,033 --> 00:51:32,934
unwilling to abandon
the longing for home.
730
00:51:33,667 --> 00:51:37,900
It is that longing, Nostos,
as the Greeks called it,
731
00:51:37,901 --> 00:51:40,501
that lies at the
heart of the Odyssey.
732
00:51:44,734 --> 00:51:48,167
Odysseus was now home,
his journey over.
733
00:51:50,300 --> 00:51:52,166
[gentle music]
734
00:51:52,167 --> 00:51:54,266
The story of Odysseus' journey
735
00:51:54,267 --> 00:51:56,467
has travelled down
through the millennia.
736
00:51:58,467 --> 00:52:01,099
It has inspired poets
and playwrights,
737
00:52:01,100 --> 00:52:02,934
artists and adventurers.
738
00:52:03,467 --> 00:52:05,133
It has shaped our language.
739
00:52:05,567 --> 00:52:07,199
Words like Odyssey itself
740
00:52:07,200 --> 00:52:09,433
now mean any long
and eventful journey,
741
00:52:09,434 --> 00:52:11,299
not just to distant shores,
742
00:52:11,300 --> 00:52:14,100
but facing a series
of life's challenges.
743
00:52:21,868 --> 00:52:25,200
[engine roars]
744
00:52:27,133 --> 00:52:30,700
Today, millions of people
criss-cross the Mediterranean
745
00:52:30,701 --> 00:52:33,901
in journeys that are measured
in hours rather than years.
746
00:52:34,234 --> 00:52:37,701
[gentle music continues]
747
00:52:43,067 --> 00:52:45,867
For the many tourists who
arrive in the Greek islands,
748
00:52:45,868 --> 00:52:49,601
it is an opportunity to relax
in beautiful surroundings.
749
00:52:51,701 --> 00:52:55,233
It is easy to understand
why Odysseus yearned so much
750
00:52:55,234 --> 00:52:56,567
to return home.
751
00:53:05,701 --> 00:53:09,399
For some visitors, there is
the opportunity to explore
752
00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:11,434
thousands of years of history.
753
00:53:23,534 --> 00:53:26,600
Advances in archaeology
have revealed locations
754
00:53:26,601 --> 00:53:29,433
directly attributable
to the time of Odysseus,
755
00:53:29,434 --> 00:53:31,434
and even to the man himself.
756
00:53:32,334 --> 00:53:34,033
But how much is there to see?
757
00:53:34,667 --> 00:53:37,533
The location and even the
very existence of the city
758
00:53:37,534 --> 00:53:39,900
that inspired Homer's
greatest works
759
00:53:39,901 --> 00:53:43,067
have been the source of
disputes throughout the ages.
760
00:53:47,367 --> 00:53:48,999
But Hisarlik,
761
00:53:49,000 --> 00:53:52,666
overlooking the mouth of the
Dardanelles in northwest Turkey,
762
00:53:52,667 --> 00:53:54,266
is now widely recognised
763
00:53:54,267 --> 00:53:56,933
as the site of the
ancient city of Troy.
764
00:53:56,934 --> 00:54:00,100
[gentle music continues]
765
00:54:01,534 --> 00:54:04,600
Ruins were first uncovered
by German businessman
766
00:54:04,601 --> 00:54:10,634
and enthusiastic archaeologist
Heinrich Schliemann in 1869.
767
00:54:13,434 --> 00:54:15,233
In more recent times,
768
00:54:15,234 --> 00:54:17,800
further excavations have
revealed that the site
769
00:54:17,801 --> 00:54:19,533
was a very important city,
770
00:54:19,534 --> 00:54:22,466
perhaps because its location
guarding the Dardanelles
771
00:54:22,467 --> 00:54:25,333
meant it was effectively the
gateway to the Black Sea
772
00:54:25,334 --> 00:54:28,267
and thus an important
trade route.
773
00:54:29,801 --> 00:54:31,500
[dramatic music]
774
00:54:31,501 --> 00:54:34,299
There is also evidence that
at least part of the city
775
00:54:34,300 --> 00:54:36,466
was destroyed by
fire and violence
776
00:54:36,467 --> 00:54:38,967
sometime during the
Late Bronze Age,
777
00:54:38,968 --> 00:54:42,300
the period in which
Homer's Odyssey is set.
778
00:54:44,701 --> 00:54:48,100
For anyone planning to follow
in the footsteps of Odysseus,
779
00:54:48,367 --> 00:54:50,734
this is where the
journey begins.
780
00:55:04,200 --> 00:55:06,433
Travelling north
across the Aegean Sea
781
00:55:06,434 --> 00:55:08,734
lies the ancient
kingdom of Thrace.
782
00:55:09,334 --> 00:55:11,399
Today it shares its borders
783
00:55:11,400 --> 00:55:13,634
with Bulgaria,
Turkey and Greece.
784
00:55:15,501 --> 00:55:19,601
It is a mountainous region rich
in forests and dramatic gorges.
785
00:55:32,567 --> 00:55:35,767
It is also a region rich
in archaeological sites.
786
00:55:39,801 --> 00:55:42,766
Coastal paths cross the
rocky cliffs and beaches
787
00:55:42,767 --> 00:55:44,267
on the southern shores.
788
00:55:45,434 --> 00:55:48,399
In Homer's poem,
it is called Ismaros,
789
00:55:48,400 --> 00:55:49,833
home of the Cicones,
790
00:55:49,834 --> 00:55:52,200
attacked by Odysseus
and his men.
791
00:55:54,667 --> 00:55:57,366
The nearest major
settlement is Maroneia,
792
00:55:57,367 --> 00:55:58,999
famed for its strong wines,
793
00:55:59,000 --> 00:56:02,032
which Odysseus uses to
send the Cyclops to sleep
794
00:56:02,033 --> 00:56:04,100
so that he and his
men can escape.
795
00:56:04,734 --> 00:56:06,900
Today, there are the
remains of a theatre
796
00:56:06,901 --> 00:56:10,801
and stone ruins that link
the town to its ancient past.
797
00:56:13,367 --> 00:56:16,032
Who knows what else lies
just below the surface,
798
00:56:16,033 --> 00:56:17,634
waiting to be discovered.
799
00:56:20,534 --> 00:56:22,634
[waves lapping]
800
00:56:23,300 --> 00:56:24,900
But it is back on Ithaca
801
00:56:24,901 --> 00:56:28,767
that you will find the strongest
evidence of Odysseus' existence.
802
00:56:29,901 --> 00:56:33,267
[singer vocalising]
803
00:56:36,734 --> 00:56:38,199
Across Ithaca,
804
00:56:38,200 --> 00:56:41,666
local tradition has pinned
Homeric names to springs,
805
00:56:41,667 --> 00:56:44,500
ridges and ruins,
abandoned hill villages
806
00:56:44,501 --> 00:56:46,867
that look down
over the same bays,
807
00:56:46,868 --> 00:56:49,868
perhaps where Odysseus
may have scanned the sea.
808
00:56:50,601 --> 00:56:53,500
Some of these identifications
are scholarly,
809
00:56:53,501 --> 00:56:55,867
others are frankly romantic,
810
00:56:55,868 --> 00:56:59,132
but together they form
a kind of mythic overlay
811
00:56:59,133 --> 00:57:02,132
on a very real island
where every path
812
00:57:02,133 --> 00:57:04,634
can become a line
of the Odyssey.
813
00:57:07,434 --> 00:57:11,366
In the park in Stavros,
the main town of Ithaca,
814
00:57:11,367 --> 00:57:13,367
there is a statue to Odysseus.
815
00:57:13,834 --> 00:57:17,067
The inscription means
prayer to Odysseus.
816
00:57:17,467 --> 00:57:20,666
It comes from a dedicatory
inscription found on fragments
817
00:57:20,667 --> 00:57:23,133
during archaeological
investigations.
818
00:57:23,467 --> 00:57:25,266
The fragments dated from between
819
00:57:25,267 --> 00:57:27,900
the second and
first centuries BC,
820
00:57:27,901 --> 00:57:30,399
and is considered one
of the most important
821
00:57:30,400 --> 00:57:32,267
findings in Ithaca,
822
00:57:32,434 --> 00:57:33,967
as it demonstrates that Odysseus
823
00:57:33,968 --> 00:57:36,634
was worshipped as a
god for many years.
824
00:57:38,767 --> 00:57:41,066
There are locations
that have associations
825
00:57:41,067 --> 00:57:42,801
with Homer's epic story.
826
00:57:43,634 --> 00:57:47,233
For example, Phrixus on
the northeast of the island
827
00:57:47,234 --> 00:57:48,600
is thought by some scholars
828
00:57:48,601 --> 00:57:50,901
to be the ancient
port of Rheithron.
829
00:57:51,901 --> 00:57:55,333
Meanwhile, Rhesus' Cave
on the south of the island
830
00:57:55,334 --> 00:57:58,868
is traditionally believed to be
where Eumaeus kept his animals.
831
00:57:59,100 --> 00:58:00,600
Eumaeus, being the first person
832
00:58:00,601 --> 00:58:03,200
Odysseus meets on
his return to Ithaca.
833
00:58:04,400 --> 00:58:08,099
And then there is Mount Neritos,
Ithaca's tallest mountain,
834
00:58:08,100 --> 00:58:11,900
and the distinctive landmark
that the goddess Athena uses
835
00:58:11,901 --> 00:58:15,267
to convince Odysseus that
he is back on Ithaca.
836
00:58:16,901 --> 00:58:20,766
What we do have is a cluster
of archaeological sites
837
00:58:20,767 --> 00:58:25,333
and cult places that show how
strongly later Greeks believed
838
00:58:25,334 --> 00:58:29,000
that a king called Odysseus
once ruled these hills.
839
00:58:30,300 --> 00:58:35,199
Above the northern village of
Exogi lies Agios Athanasios,
840
00:58:35,200 --> 00:58:37,467
long known as the
School of Homer.
841
00:58:39,901 --> 00:58:41,500
In the 1990s,
842
00:58:41,501 --> 00:58:45,166
archaeologists uncovered
a substantial complex here.
843
00:58:45,167 --> 00:58:49,333
Terraces, walls, floors and
Mycenaean-period constructions
844
00:58:49,334 --> 00:58:50,934
on a commanding ridge.
845
00:58:51,734 --> 00:58:55,433
Some researchers now argue
this was a Mycenaean citadel
846
00:58:55,434 --> 00:58:58,600
that fits Homer's description
of Odysseus Palace,
847
00:58:58,601 --> 00:59:02,066
a fortified residence
with nearby spring
848
00:59:02,067 --> 00:59:04,200
and views over
the northern bays.
849
00:59:06,400 --> 00:59:10,000
Recent excavations
have added a new twist.
850
00:59:11,367 --> 00:59:12,933
At this same site,
851
00:59:12,934 --> 00:59:15,767
scholars have identified
a Hellenistic sanctuary.
852
00:59:16,067 --> 00:59:21,167
The Odysseum, a hero shrine
dedicated to Odysseus himself,
853
00:59:21,534 --> 00:59:25,534
complete with ritual structures,
inscriptions and offerings.
854
00:59:27,267 --> 00:59:28,766
One fragment of a roof tile
855
00:59:28,767 --> 00:59:31,467
even seems to preserve
part of his name.
856
00:59:33,167 --> 00:59:37,099
In other words, centuries
after the poems were composed,
857
00:59:37,100 --> 00:59:40,667
people came up here to
worship Odysseus as a hero.
858
00:59:42,801 --> 00:59:45,466
So whether or not this
was his actual house,
859
00:59:45,467 --> 00:59:47,466
the ruins you see are real,
860
00:59:47,467 --> 00:59:49,433
and they belonged to
people who believed
861
00:59:49,434 --> 00:59:51,200
they were living in his shadow.
862
00:59:53,868 --> 00:59:56,333
Further north on Pilikata Hill,
863
00:59:56,334 --> 00:59:59,166
archaeologists from the
British School at Athens
864
00:59:59,167 --> 01:00:01,367
dug into another
major settlement.
865
01:00:02,534 --> 01:00:06,566
The hill shows continuous
occupation from early prehistory
866
01:00:06,567 --> 01:00:08,633
down into the Mycenaean age,
867
01:00:08,634 --> 01:00:11,801
the era usually associated
with the Trojan War.
868
01:00:14,400 --> 01:00:18,033
Coins and cults don't
prove a man existed,
869
01:00:18,901 --> 01:00:20,867
but they do show something else.
870
01:00:20,868 --> 01:00:22,434
Ithacans claimed him.
871
01:00:23,534 --> 01:00:26,999
They minted his image,
guarded his supposed palace
872
01:00:27,000 --> 01:00:31,100
and turned their landscape into
a living commentary on Homer.
873
01:00:35,701 --> 01:00:38,300
[gentle music]
874
01:00:38,634 --> 01:00:42,633
Today, life on Ithaca moves
at a slightly slower pace
875
01:00:42,634 --> 01:00:45,734
than its sisters,
Cephalonia and Zakynthos.
876
01:00:46,267 --> 01:00:48,633
Indeed, of the larger
Ionian Islands,
877
01:00:48,634 --> 01:00:51,267
Ithaca is the only one
without an airport.
878
01:00:51,467 --> 01:00:53,666
Instead,
it maintains its connection
879
01:00:53,667 --> 01:00:56,132
to the outside world
via the sea.
880
01:00:56,133 --> 01:01:00,266
A regular ferry service runs
from Sami on Kefalonia to Vathi,
881
01:01:00,267 --> 01:01:01,701
Ithaca's capital.
882
01:01:02,934 --> 01:01:04,500
On arriving in Vathi,
883
01:01:04,501 --> 01:01:07,567
you learn very quickly that
this is Odysseus Island.
884
01:01:07,934 --> 01:01:11,534
A large statue to him stands
in a square facing the sea.
885
01:01:12,801 --> 01:01:15,299
Nearby there is also
a statue of Homer.
886
01:01:15,300 --> 01:01:18,133
[gentle music continues]
887
01:01:19,033 --> 01:01:21,867
The island is rich in
small coves and bays
888
01:01:21,868 --> 01:01:23,399
with crystal clear water.
889
01:01:23,400 --> 01:01:26,399
Most can only be accessed
by boat or on foot,
890
01:01:26,400 --> 01:01:29,334
which just adds to the
sense of ancient mystery.
891
01:01:33,634 --> 01:01:37,500
Take Kioni on Ithaca's
northeast coast as an example,
892
01:01:37,501 --> 01:01:39,900
Kioni lies tucked
into the shoreline
893
01:01:39,901 --> 01:01:41,701
like a secret kept for sailors.
894
01:01:42,067 --> 01:01:45,566
A harbour that doesn't announce
itself only receives you
895
01:01:45,567 --> 01:01:47,533
quietly, safely,
896
01:01:47,534 --> 01:01:50,334
like the last pages
of a long voyage.
897
01:01:52,834 --> 01:01:56,132
Kioni is built around the
simplest idea in island life,
898
01:01:56,133 --> 01:01:57,466
shelter.
899
01:01:57,467 --> 01:01:59,733
The bay curves
like a cupped hand,
900
01:01:59,734 --> 01:02:02,567
and the village wraps the
shoreline in a neat ribbon.
901
01:02:04,767 --> 01:02:07,333
In the Odyssey,
the world is full of hazards,
902
01:02:07,334 --> 01:02:09,967
weather, distance,
strangers and pride,
903
01:02:09,968 --> 01:02:12,833
but the longing that drives
the journey is simple,
904
01:02:12,834 --> 01:02:14,667
Landfall and home.
905
01:02:15,834 --> 01:02:18,999
Kioni isn't home in the
literal sense of the epic,
906
01:02:19,000 --> 01:02:20,266
Homer doesn't mention it,
907
01:02:20,267 --> 01:02:22,133
but it carries the same feeling.
908
01:02:22,467 --> 01:02:26,399
From above Kioni looks like an
anchorage shaped like a cradle,
909
01:02:26,400 --> 01:02:28,967
and you can imagine
the ancient logic of it
910
01:02:28,968 --> 01:02:31,667
why a sailor would choose
this curve of coast.
911
01:02:31,834 --> 01:02:34,733
Why a crew would fall
silent as the wind dies
912
01:02:34,734 --> 01:02:36,533
and the sea smooths out.
913
01:02:36,534 --> 01:02:39,099
For sailors,
it's a perfect pause.
914
01:02:39,100 --> 01:02:41,199
A place to anchor, refuel
915
01:02:41,200 --> 01:02:43,968
and let the island's
pace reset your own.
916
01:02:44,133 --> 01:02:47,100
[gentle music continues]
917
01:02:47,534 --> 01:02:50,800
Although Homer refers to
Ithaca as Odysseus's kingdom,
918
01:02:50,801 --> 01:02:52,933
many scholars believe
that it included
919
01:02:52,934 --> 01:02:55,968
the surrounding islands of
Cephalonia and Zakynthos.
920
01:02:56,534 --> 01:02:58,833
Indeed, there are
theories that the kingdom
921
01:02:58,834 --> 01:03:01,367
may have been centred
more on Cephalonia.
922
01:03:07,734 --> 01:03:09,733
Not far from the
harbour at Sami,
923
01:03:09,734 --> 01:03:11,867
you will find the
Melissani Cave,
924
01:03:11,868 --> 01:03:14,267
known locally as the
cave of the nymph.
925
01:03:14,434 --> 01:03:16,967
It looks quite modest
from the outside,
926
01:03:16,968 --> 01:03:18,366
but as you descend,
927
01:03:18,367 --> 01:03:21,199
it reveals a part
geological marvel,
928
01:03:21,200 --> 01:03:22,667
part natural theatre.
929
01:03:23,234 --> 01:03:24,967
The lake is freshwater
930
01:03:24,968 --> 01:03:26,733
fed by subterranean flows
931
01:03:26,734 --> 01:03:29,466
that pass through the
island's limestone.
932
01:03:29,467 --> 01:03:31,099
For thousands of years,
933
01:03:31,100 --> 01:03:32,700
slightly acidic rainwater
934
01:03:32,701 --> 01:03:35,199
percolated down through
cracks in the rock,
935
01:03:35,200 --> 01:03:37,333
widening them,
hollowing chambers,
936
01:03:37,334 --> 01:03:39,734
shaping this cave
in slow motion.
937
01:03:40,434 --> 01:03:42,933
At some point, the
ceiling collapsed,
938
01:03:42,934 --> 01:03:44,633
not enough to destroy the cave,
939
01:03:44,634 --> 01:03:46,434
but just enough
to invite the sun.
940
01:03:47,000 --> 01:03:49,399
When sunlight hits
the opening overhead,
941
01:03:49,400 --> 01:03:53,234
especially around midday,
the lake transforms.
942
01:03:53,400 --> 01:03:56,766
a bright column of light
slides across the water,
943
01:03:56,767 --> 01:03:59,801
and the whole cave seems
to illuminate from within.
944
01:04:00,467 --> 01:04:01,867
In the ancient imagination,
945
01:04:01,868 --> 01:04:04,467
caves like this
weren't empty spaces.
946
01:04:04,701 --> 01:04:08,266
They were thresholds to places
where the ordinary human world
947
01:04:08,267 --> 01:04:10,300
met with the world of gods.
948
01:04:12,234 --> 01:04:14,867
Archaeological finds
in and around the site
949
01:04:14,868 --> 01:04:18,600
have included objects associated
with ancient worship,
950
01:04:18,601 --> 01:04:20,800
suggesting the cave
may have been regarded
951
01:04:20,801 --> 01:04:22,634
as sacred in antiquity.
952
01:04:23,267 --> 01:04:25,566
It has been argued that
this is where Odysseus
953
01:04:25,567 --> 01:04:28,633
may have hidden his treasure
on his return to Ithaca.
954
01:04:28,634 --> 01:04:31,601
[gentle music continues]
955
01:04:34,400 --> 01:04:35,867
In Homer's Odyssey,
956
01:04:35,868 --> 01:04:38,266
Odysseus doesn't
rule only one island,
957
01:04:38,267 --> 01:04:39,767
he rules a network.
958
01:04:39,968 --> 01:04:43,032
The poem names Same among
the islands of his realm,
959
01:04:43,033 --> 01:04:45,634
alongside Ithaca and Zakynthos.
960
01:04:46,300 --> 01:04:48,933
However, the geography
lines up in detail,
961
01:04:48,934 --> 01:04:52,834
Kefalonia sits squarely inside
that Odyssean seascape,
962
01:04:53,000 --> 01:04:56,733
so when you stand above
Assos, sea on every side,
963
01:04:56,734 --> 01:05:00,033
it's easy to imagine the
logic of an island kingdom.
964
01:05:00,400 --> 01:05:03,132
Harbours like this are your
gateways, your shelters,
965
01:05:03,133 --> 01:05:08,000
your last refuge in bad weather
and your first sight of home.
966
01:05:09,801 --> 01:05:12,933
Assos feels like a harbour
designed for an epic.
967
01:05:12,934 --> 01:05:16,666
A narrow hook of land,
a sheltered bowl of water,
968
01:05:16,667 --> 01:05:19,733
and steep hills
rising fast behind it.
969
01:05:19,734 --> 01:05:23,100
Perfect for anchoring,
hiding, watching.
970
01:05:26,801 --> 01:05:29,166
The fortress above the
village is Venetian,
971
01:05:29,167 --> 01:05:31,299
built in the late 1500s,
972
01:05:31,300 --> 01:05:33,733
but it amplifies a
much older truth.
973
01:05:33,734 --> 01:05:36,666
In the Ionian, whoever
controls the high ground
974
01:05:36,667 --> 01:05:38,299
controls the sea lanes,
975
01:05:38,300 --> 01:05:40,199
and that's pure odyssey,
976
01:05:40,200 --> 01:05:42,766
a world where coastlines
are read like maps
977
01:05:42,767 --> 01:05:46,367
and every headland might
mean safety or danger.
978
01:05:55,100 --> 01:05:57,767
[dramatic music]
979
01:05:58,167 --> 01:06:01,634
The Ionian Islands sit close
enough to feel like neighbours,
980
01:06:01,868 --> 01:06:04,968
yet the sea between them
can still decide your fate.
981
01:06:05,367 --> 01:06:08,467
And that is exactly the
geography of Homer's Odyssey.
982
01:06:09,667 --> 01:06:13,766
Short crossings,
sudden storms, hidden coves
983
01:06:13,767 --> 01:06:17,132
and the constant question
of where home waters end
984
01:06:17,133 --> 01:06:18,701
and danger begins.
985
01:06:19,234 --> 01:06:22,833
In the poem,
Zakynthos isn't a random stop
986
01:06:22,834 --> 01:06:24,933
on Odysseus's wanderings,
987
01:06:24,934 --> 01:06:28,033
it belongs to the world
he's trying to get back to.
988
01:06:29,133 --> 01:06:34,367
Today, Zakynthos, or Zante, is
a popular holiday destination,
989
01:06:34,801 --> 01:06:37,266
famous for its
turquoise waters,
990
01:06:37,267 --> 01:06:39,399
dramatic cliffs
and sandy beaches,
991
01:06:39,400 --> 01:06:42,267
as well as a vibrant nightlife.
992
01:06:44,901 --> 01:06:47,933
The Ionian islands may
be tiny dots on the map,
993
01:06:47,934 --> 01:06:51,300
but in the Odyssey they
represent something much bigger.
994
01:06:51,501 --> 01:06:54,166
Because these islands
aren't just scenery,
995
01:06:54,167 --> 01:06:55,501
they're home coordinates.
996
01:06:55,868 --> 01:06:58,600
Ithaca and its neighbours,
named in the poem
997
01:06:58,601 --> 01:07:00,734
mark the world
Odysseus belongs to.
998
01:07:00,901 --> 01:07:04,333
The network of sea lanes,
alliances and rivalries
999
01:07:04,334 --> 01:07:06,601
that keeps turning
even while he's gone.
1000
01:07:07,000 --> 01:07:10,067
And that's what makes them
powerful for storytelling.
1001
01:07:12,334 --> 01:07:15,132
The Ionian is small
enough to feel knowable.
1002
01:07:15,133 --> 01:07:17,199
Short crossings,
familiar headlands,
1003
01:07:17,200 --> 01:07:19,000
harbours you can recognise.
1004
01:07:19,367 --> 01:07:21,766
It teaches you how
the ancient sea works.
1005
01:07:21,767 --> 01:07:24,299
Where you can land,
where you can hide a ship,
1006
01:07:24,300 --> 01:07:27,033
where you can watch the
horizon before you commit.
1007
01:07:28,834 --> 01:07:31,933
But once the poem leaves
these home waters,
1008
01:07:31,934 --> 01:07:33,701
the same logic scales up.
1009
01:07:34,334 --> 01:07:37,266
The map widens from
local island politics
1010
01:07:37,267 --> 01:07:41,100
to the open-ended, half real,
half mythic Mediterranean.
1011
01:07:41,267 --> 01:07:43,900
Foreign coasts, strange islands,
1012
01:07:43,901 --> 01:07:45,566
storms that reroute destiny,
1013
01:07:45,567 --> 01:07:48,534
and places that feel like
the edge of the world.
1014
01:08:00,801 --> 01:08:03,933
Homer's Odyssey has been
adapted for film and television
1015
01:08:03,934 --> 01:08:05,667
several times over the years,
1016
01:08:07,434 --> 01:08:09,533
Bringing the poem to
life on the screen
1017
01:08:09,534 --> 01:08:11,132
presents several challenges,
1018
01:08:11,133 --> 01:08:15,367
not least how to visualise
the mythical passages.
1019
01:08:17,968 --> 01:08:21,132
It's what makes directors go
hunting for real coastlines
1020
01:08:21,133 --> 01:08:22,567
that feel ancient,
1021
01:08:22,734 --> 01:08:25,600
places with the right light,
the right sea colour
1022
01:08:25,601 --> 01:08:28,933
and landscapes that can
pass for a Bronze Age world.
1023
01:08:28,934 --> 01:08:31,901
[gentle music]
1024
01:08:32,367 --> 01:08:34,199
In the latest version
of The Odyssey,
1025
01:08:34,200 --> 01:08:37,733
director Christopher Nolan
brings Homer's tale to life
1026
01:08:37,734 --> 01:08:41,767
using real coastlines,
real ruins, and real weather.
1027
01:08:45,801 --> 01:08:48,633
The production travelled
across multiple countries
1028
01:08:48,634 --> 01:08:50,933
to make the journey
feel physically hard,
1029
01:08:50,934 --> 01:08:54,601
geographically varied and
crucially, believable.
1030
01:08:59,133 --> 01:09:00,900
The production began in Morocco,
1031
01:09:00,901 --> 01:09:03,733
using the fortified
earth-toned architecture
1032
01:09:03,734 --> 01:09:07,367
around Ait Benhaddou
to represent Troy.
1033
01:09:10,000 --> 01:09:13,166
Built as a fortified
settlement on the caravan route
1034
01:09:13,167 --> 01:09:15,800
linking Saharan
trade with Marrakech.
1035
01:09:15,801 --> 01:09:19,133
It is a location filmmakers
often choose when they want
1036
01:09:19,300 --> 01:09:21,567
ancient scale without
modern clutter.
1037
01:09:23,701 --> 01:09:27,167
The origins of the village
date back to the 11th century,
1038
01:09:27,367 --> 01:09:30,099
although most of the earthen
structures we see today
1039
01:09:30,100 --> 01:09:33,968
were either rebuilt or built
during the 17th century.
1040
01:09:34,834 --> 01:09:37,833
So although it is almost
2000 years younger
1041
01:09:37,834 --> 01:09:40,433
than the city of Troy
destroyed by the Greeks,
1042
01:09:40,434 --> 01:09:42,733
the dense,
historic-looking structures
1043
01:09:42,734 --> 01:09:46,234
can be read as a Bronze Age
cityscape on camera.
1044
01:09:48,934 --> 01:09:50,433
Moving on to Greece,
1045
01:09:50,434 --> 01:09:52,800
the production visited
several locations
1046
01:09:52,801 --> 01:09:55,466
in the Messenia region
of the Peloponnese,
1047
01:09:55,467 --> 01:09:57,734
in the south-western
part of the mainland.
1048
01:09:58,000 --> 01:10:01,132
It is a captivating area
of unspoilt landscapes
1049
01:10:01,133 --> 01:10:05,267
and rich history that dates
back to the time of Odysseus.
1050
01:10:06,801 --> 01:10:09,867
Voidokilia beach was one of
several pristine beaches
1051
01:10:09,868 --> 01:10:11,334
used as a location.
1052
01:10:11,501 --> 01:10:13,600
Voidokilia is extraordinary
1053
01:10:13,601 --> 01:10:17,333
in that it is an almost perfect
shape of the symbol Omega,
1054
01:10:17,334 --> 01:10:19,701
the last letter of
the Greek alphabet.
1055
01:10:22,234 --> 01:10:24,501
Above the beach
is Nestor's cave.
1056
01:10:24,868 --> 01:10:26,700
This is one of several
sites in the area
1057
01:10:26,701 --> 01:10:29,801
that have revealed
Bronze Age archaeology.
1058
01:10:32,467 --> 01:10:34,032
The cave provides the location
1059
01:10:34,033 --> 01:10:37,868
for Odysseus' terrifying
encounter with the Cyclops.
1060
01:10:38,400 --> 01:10:41,767
[gentle music continues]
1061
01:10:42,167 --> 01:10:44,199
While the production
was in Messenia,
1062
01:10:44,200 --> 01:10:46,467
scenes were filmed
at Methoni Castle.
1063
01:10:52,033 --> 01:10:55,366
It is a 13th century castle
built by the Venetians
1064
01:10:55,367 --> 01:10:57,434
during their
occupancy of the area.
1065
01:10:59,901 --> 01:11:02,333
The castle's most
cinematic feature
1066
01:11:02,334 --> 01:11:04,601
is its relationship
with the sea.
1067
01:11:06,133 --> 01:11:09,800
You approach across exposed
stone with water on both sides,
1068
01:11:09,801 --> 01:11:12,900
and then out there sits
the little offshore tower
1069
01:11:12,901 --> 01:11:14,501
like a punctuation mark.
1070
01:11:15,534 --> 01:11:18,800
It's an image that instantly
communicates isolation,
1071
01:11:18,801 --> 01:11:21,366
vigilance and the
feeling of standing
1072
01:11:21,367 --> 01:11:23,167
at the end of the known map.
1073
01:11:33,200 --> 01:11:36,534
[gentle music]
1074
01:11:39,300 --> 01:11:41,333
Another key location
in the Peloponnese
1075
01:11:41,334 --> 01:11:44,567
was the ancient
fortress at Acrocorinth.
1076
01:11:46,100 --> 01:11:47,566
From its commanding position
1077
01:11:47,567 --> 01:11:49,800
overlooking the
Peloponnese peninsula,
1078
01:11:49,801 --> 01:11:53,300
it is the largest Acropolis
in mainland Greece.
1079
01:11:54,367 --> 01:11:56,700
Its dramatic
mountain top setting
1080
01:11:56,701 --> 01:12:00,300
providing a grand, authentic
backdrop for the epic.
1081
01:12:05,534 --> 01:12:08,032
The Aeolian Islands off
the coast of Sicily,
1082
01:12:08,033 --> 01:12:11,333
provided the locations for some
of the island's scenes,
1083
01:12:11,334 --> 01:12:16,234
including Vulcano, which doubled
up as Aeolia, home of the winds.
1084
01:12:18,734 --> 01:12:21,967
Other locations included
the island of Favignana,
1085
01:12:21,968 --> 01:12:23,434
off Sicily's west coast.
1086
01:12:23,701 --> 01:12:26,999
Cala Rossa is renowned for
its clear turquoise water
1087
01:12:27,000 --> 01:12:29,466
against the strange
but beautiful backdrop
1088
01:12:29,467 --> 01:12:30,901
of standing stones,
1089
01:12:31,100 --> 01:12:33,299
the legacy of old
quarry workings.
1090
01:12:33,300 --> 01:12:37,100
[bright music]
1091
01:12:47,100 --> 01:12:51,299
For the colder, harsher end of
the Odyssey's emotional palette,
1092
01:12:51,300 --> 01:12:53,166
the production went to Scotland,
1093
01:12:53,167 --> 01:12:55,500
including Findlater Castle
in Moray
1094
01:12:55,501 --> 01:12:57,701
and nearby coastal locations.
1095
01:13:01,400 --> 01:13:02,801
The ruined cliff top fortress
1096
01:13:02,968 --> 01:13:06,633
gives an instant sense
of isolation, danger
1097
01:13:06,634 --> 01:13:08,199
and the feeling
that you've sailed
1098
01:13:08,200 --> 01:13:09,634
beyond the edges of the map.
1099
01:13:09,968 --> 01:13:13,766
This sense is reinforced by
the dense forest at Culbin,
1100
01:13:13,767 --> 01:13:16,733
which extends all the way
down to the shoreline.
1101
01:13:16,734 --> 01:13:19,701
[waves lapping]
1102
01:13:25,133 --> 01:13:28,667
[gentle music]
1103
01:13:33,133 --> 01:13:37,033
[menacing music]
1104
01:13:38,701 --> 01:13:41,967
Odysseus voyage to
Hades, the underworld
1105
01:13:41,968 --> 01:13:46,000
was made believable in Iceland's
breathtaking landscape.
1106
01:13:50,167 --> 01:13:52,634
[dramatic music]
1107
01:13:53,200 --> 01:13:57,601
The contrast with warm, bright
Greece could not be more stark.
1108
01:13:58,000 --> 01:14:01,733
The landscape gave the journey
a harsher, more elemental edge
1109
01:14:01,734 --> 01:14:04,601
than the Mediterranean
locations could provide.
1110
01:14:06,801 --> 01:14:09,666
There are the glacial
and volcanic landscapes
1111
01:14:09,667 --> 01:14:13,167
where the world looks
drained of warmth and time.
1112
01:14:17,834 --> 01:14:20,833
The vastness and
drama of the landscape
1113
01:14:20,834 --> 01:14:22,466
provide a fitting backdrop
1114
01:14:22,467 --> 01:14:25,467
for a key turning point
in Odysseus journey,
1115
01:14:26,367 --> 01:14:28,166
not just in his
physical journey,
1116
01:14:28,167 --> 01:14:31,767
but in how he conducts
himself as a man from now on.
1117
01:14:33,100 --> 01:14:37,000
[dramatic music continues]
1118
01:14:45,801 --> 01:14:50,334
To follow Odysseus is to
follow both a story and a sea.
1119
01:14:52,067 --> 01:14:53,967
It is to glimpse
how the ancients
1120
01:14:53,968 --> 01:14:55,633
made sense of their world,
1121
01:14:55,634 --> 01:14:59,667
and how we in turn still
search for meaning in myth.
1122
01:15:00,701 --> 01:15:04,600
The Odyssey is not only a
tale of gods and monsters,
1123
01:15:04,601 --> 01:15:07,800
it is a tale of longing,
of resilience,
1124
01:15:07,801 --> 01:15:10,934
of the human spirit's
refusal to surrender.
1125
01:15:11,667 --> 01:15:15,734
Across 3000 years,
its song endures.
1126
01:15:17,501 --> 01:15:20,066
And whether we sail
the Mediterranean
1127
01:15:20,067 --> 01:15:22,500
or simply trace its
coasts on a map,
1128
01:15:22,501 --> 01:15:25,967
we are reminded that
the journey of Odysseus,
1129
01:15:25,968 --> 01:15:30,100
like all great journeys,
is, in the end, our own.
1130
01:15:31,834 --> 01:15:35,267
{\an8}[dramatic music continues]