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Thousands of years ago,

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an amazing story was first told,

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and it's been a classic ever since -
The Odyssey.

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The epic of the hero
Odysseus's journey home

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is the original adventure story,

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full of battles, gods...

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..and monsters.

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Well, this is a dream come true.

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For way over 40 years,
ever since I was a kid,

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I've been reading
Homer's epic stories.

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And now, finally, this is my chance
to explore the sea,

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the island, caves...

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the places
that inspired The Odyssey.

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I'm sailing the Ionian Sea,

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in the wake of Odysseus,

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facing the challenges
that still lie in wait.

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That's 7.6.

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There you go. That's what happens.
That was full over.

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Exploring the fantastic landscapes
and ancient cities

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that inspired this astonishing tale.

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So, at the time of Julius Caesar,

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this is already
a thousand years old.

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To them, this was ancient history.

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Why do people still love
The Odyssey?

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What does it tell us about the
reality of life in Ancient Greece?

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And is there a chance
that some of it could be true?

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This is the real story
of The Odyssey.

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No matter how many times
you come here,

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this is one of the most spectacular
experiences in the world.

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Climbed up
to the top of the Acropolis,

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looking out over the city of Athens
in Greece.

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And there, in front of you,
bathed in the sunlight...

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..is one of the world's most
beautiful buildings, the Parthenon.

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The Parthenon is one
of the great wonders of the world.

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When you think about Ancient Greece,
you think about this.

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This astonishing temple
was built nearly 2,500 years ago.

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That's nearly 500 years
before the Romans first stepped foot

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in Britain.

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But it was built 500 years after
this book was first written down -

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The Odyssey by Homer.

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This is one of the oldest stories
in human history.

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If the Parthenon was
what Ancient Greece looked like,

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then The Odyssey gave it a voice.

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We've got the amazing ruins.
We've got beautiful artifacts.

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But what The Odyssey gives us
is details about the real life

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of the Ancient Greeks -

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what they did, how they moved about,
what they ate.

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And so that's inspired me
to take this in hand

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and go for an odyssey of my own.

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But to do that,
I can't stay here in Athens.

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I have to get out there,
on the water.

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Looking after me on my voyage
is skipper Tom.

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How are you doing?
Nice to meet you, Dan. Tom.

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Nice to meet you, Tom.
Thanks for having me aboard.

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Odysseus would have slept
in the stern.

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Where do you reckon
I should put my stuff?

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I think you should be
just as Odysseus was.

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DAN LAUGHS
Right, we're gonna cast off.

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We're gonna head out to the sea.
The wine-dark sea.

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Here we go.

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Rowers, to your benches.

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Nicely done.
Thank you.

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OK, just bring it to the stern.
Yeah. Thank you, Dan.

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About 20 minutes, and then
we'll find some open water. Yeah.

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I'll give you a hand through.
There you go. Boom.

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Don't want my dad shouting at me.

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Dan, do me a favour.

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If you can pull that car
all the way forward.

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That's it. Let it out a fair bit,
until she flaps a bit.

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'I've been sailing all my life...

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'..but this is a journey I've been
itching to do for decades.'

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I think I first came across
The Odyssey when I was very young,

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and my mum and dad
read me the story,

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and I just thought it was great -

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the hero Odysseus,
the gods, the monsters,

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the adventures, and all that time
spent voyaging across the sea.

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I couldn't believe
that such an exciting tale

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had been written down
nearly 3,000 years ago.

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Now, most of us have probably heard
of The Odyssey.

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You might have heard the word used

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to describe
a particularly long journey.

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But what is The Odyssey,
the story, all about?

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Essentially, The Odyssey
is a book about getting home.

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The Greeks called it "nostos",

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and that's partly where we get
our word "nostalgia" from.

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Essentially, you've got Odysseus.
He's one of the Greek kings.

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He's been fighting a war
for ten years.

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He's desperate to get back
to his island kingdom of Ithaca,

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to see his wife, Penelope,
and his son, Telemachus.

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And then The Odyssey
is his attempt to get home,

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with all its trials and tribulations

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and deadly adventures.

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And I'm heading to the beginning
of Odysseus's voyage

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to start my own journey.

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200 miles to the east of Athens,
across the Aegean Sea,

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to the site of one of the
great cities of the ancient world,

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and one that many people today
don't realise actually existed.

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Troy.

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This is the place
where that legendary siege raged

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for ten brutal years.

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Greeks versus Trojans

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to reclaim
the beautiful Queen Helen.

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And it was here
that our hero Odysseus

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first made a name for himself.

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Odysseus isn't necessarily

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the bravest or strongest warrior,

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but he's got something else
that makes him

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one of the most important
Greek commanders.

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You can put it how you like, really.

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Cunning, tricky, sly, wise.

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Odysseus has got brains.

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And those brains
were gonna come in handy.

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To break the siege,

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Odysseus came up with
the most famous battlefield trick

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in history - the Trojan Horse.

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Odysseus said that rather than
throwing themselves time and again

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at these mighty Trojan walls,

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the Greeks
should try something different.

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So he built a huge wooden horse

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and left it outside
the gates of Troy.

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The Trojans saw it,
dragged it into the city,

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assuming it was a gift or something.

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What they didn't know
is that the horse was hollow,

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and inside were elite Greek warriors
who burst out,

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killed everyone, opened the gates
and captured the city.

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Now, when early archaeologists
started to excavate this site,

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they got very excited
when they found this ramp here,

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and you can see why.

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That's a ramp leading up
into the Trojan stronghold there.

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And they imagined

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that was where the wooden horse
was dragged up into the city.

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Thanks to Odysseus,
the Greeks were victorious.

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But this was only the beginning
of his story.

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Odysseus gathered his men down here
on the coast near Troy.

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He prepared the ships and filled
them up with booty and provisions.

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And then they got ready
for their triumphant voyage home.

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With a fair wind, he should
have been home in less than a week.

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But of course,
it wouldn't be as simple as that.

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Coming up, I continue sailing
in the wake of Odysseus

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and face some challenges of my own.

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It's a gust off the island there.
Whoa! I see what you mean.

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And discover how he escaped
one of his most fearsome foes,

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the Cyclops.

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DAN SNOW: The Odyssey
is one of the oldest

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and greatest tales in human history.

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The epic of Odysseus's voyage home
after the Trojan War

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has been retold
for thousands of years.

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And now I'm on an odyssey
of my very own,

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through the waters that inspired
this incredible story.

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The Ionian Sea
is off the west coast of Greece

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and is home to many holiday island
favourites like Kefalonia,

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Corfu and Zakynthos.

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But on my journey,
I'm sailing from Lefkas

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and heading south
through the islands.

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Odysseus was sailing home to Ithaca.
But what about me?

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If I'm sailing in the wake of
a fictional hero, where am I going?

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Now, there's a lot of debate

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about where Odysseus's homeland
actually was

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and whether it existed at all.

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But look at this.
This is the modern island of Ithaca.

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Quite a small island
just tucked in here.

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It has the same name as the Ithaca

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that Odysseus
is trying to get home to.

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Despite all sorts of amazing
theories floated over the years,

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we're gonna actually take things
at face value

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and assume that Homer was talking
about a place called Ithaca

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which actually existed,

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and we are gonna head to that island
right now.

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Like Odysseus,
I'm sailing for Ithaca.

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And like Odysseus,
I'm not sailing alone.

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'He left Troy at the head of a fleet
of 12 ships.

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'Maybe as many as 600 men.

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'I don't have quite that many men
with me.

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'But I'm pleased that skipper Tom
has been sailing these waters

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'for the last five years.'

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I mean, you must know these waters
like the back of your hand.

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I'd say so.
By now, I'm getting there.

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There's still... You still learn
different bits every day,

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there're still places
I haven't seen,

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but I know 'em pretty well.

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Are there some things you have
to keep in mind here in the Ionians?

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Just the sheer volume of boats.

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You've got to be very careful,
keep a good lookout for traffic.

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Would have been a lot of traffic
here in Ancient Greek times.

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Fishing boats, trading boats.

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The only way to get around, right?
Exactly. Yeah.

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With our boat set fair,

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what better time
to dust off my copy of The Odyssey

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and read about the beginning
of Odysseus' great voyage?

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The journey
that should have only taken a week

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was quickly turning
into a nightmare.

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Odysseus already lost
a number of men

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after a raid went badly wrong.

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They were blown wildly off course
after a two-week-long storm

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and escaped by the skin
of their teeth

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from a mysterious island,
home to the so-called lotus eaters.

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Odysseus and his men
sailed on, though,

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determined to get home to Ithaca.

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But with their provisions
starting to get low,

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they knew that they would
have to find an island

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where they could stock up.

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And like Odysseus,
me and Tom need to do the same.

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Do you want to be right next
to the sloop?

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We'll see where my anchor pulls me.

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That'll be the deciding factor.
OK. One more metre down.

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That's good, Dan. Lovely.

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And thankfully for me,
it's market day.

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Homer talks about food and drink
a lot in The Odyssey.

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And on this voyage,
I want to take the kind of things

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that Odysseus would have been eating
and drinking.

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00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:32,720
There's lots of nice produce here.
I've got a little list.

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Barley. A lot of barley
in The Odyssey.

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Olive oil. It's on there.

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Meat... wine - a lot of wine -
and honey.

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Kalimera. Some honey, please.

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00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,880
OK. A shot of olive oil.
HE CHUCKLES

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00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:54,960
Mmm!

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00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:58,280
You want a taste?
I'll taste, yeah. I'll taste.

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Let's get 12.
OK. Thank you.

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I'll do scrambled eggs for the crew
in the morning.

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00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,200
OK. Efkaristo. Thank you, guys.
Thank you.

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But before I head back aboard
with my supplies,

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I'm heading
to meet Dr Steve Kershaw,

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an Ancient Greece expert
who can tell me more

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00:13:14,560 --> 00:13:16,880
about the origin story
of The Odyssey

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00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:19,400
and about its author, Homer.

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00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:24,760
Steve, we call this one
of the oldest stories that survived.

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00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,360
Did it just sort of come out
of nowhere nearly 3,000 years ago?

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How did it all begin?

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No. It's a really, really old tale

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that is the product
of a centuries-long, probably,

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oral tradition
of people handing down this tale

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from person to person to person,
from singer to singer to singer.

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So I'm saying read The Odyssey.
You're saying sing The Odyssey.

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So what's going on here?

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What's the best way to listen to it
or get into it?

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Originally, it's a sung poem.
Huh.

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It's probably accompanied by music,
as well,

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and performed
by professional singers,

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00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:02,960
poets, who were called rhapsodes.

241
00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:05,680
So, rhapsodes, is that where
we get the word, like a rhapsody?

242
00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:08,080
It is indeed. Yeah.
It's exactly the same word.

243
00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,440
"Rapsodos" is a singer of songs.

244
00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:13,320
So this would be
a lifetime of training.

245
00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:15,000
It would be a real calling.
It would indeed.

246
00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:16,360
But we have strong evidence

247
00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:19,440
that people could indeed remember
all of that by heart.

248
00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:27,000
These tales became a feature
of Greek identity.

249
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:28,760
This was more than just poetry.

250
00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:31,840
It was a feature
of what it meant to be Greek,

251
00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:33,120
was to know Homer.

252
00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:37,160
Was Homer a real person
in that case?

253
00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:38,680
This is a major problem.

254
00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,080
It's attributed
to a person called Homer

255
00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,520
who is in the Greek world.

256
00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,000
But in fact,
it's really hard to pin down.

257
00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,640
And I think that's probably
going back to this oral tradition

258
00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,920
of it being handed down
from person to person to person.

259
00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:57,120
And in the end,
it's just attributed to a poet,

260
00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:58,920
a wonderful poet called Homer.

261
00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:09,600
And Homer tells us
that after weeks at sea,

262
00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:12,600
Odysseus and his men
finally found themselves

263
00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:14,800
on a wild, rugged island.

264
00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,320
Desperate for supplies,
they headed inland

265
00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:23,680
and soon found a cave
filled with meat, milk and cheese.

266
00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:31,680
Odysseus's men wanted to swipe what
they could and make a quick getaway,

267
00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:34,360
but Odysseus had other ideas.

268
00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,920
He wanted to stay, make contact
with the local inhabitants

269
00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:42,280
and see if they were interested
in exchanging gifts.

270
00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,400
It turned out to be a terrible plan.

271
00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,520
Because this cave
wasn't home to just anyone.

272
00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:05,320
It was home
to a monstrous one-eyed giant,

273
00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,280
a Cyclops called Polyphemus,

274
00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:11,480
and he wasn't in the mood
to host guests.

275
00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:16,720
The first thing he did
was roll a huge boulder

276
00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,240
over the entrance of the cave,
trapping everyone inside.

277
00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,960
He did his chores,
and during that time,

278
00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,000
he noticed the men quivering
in the shadows.

279
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,200
He snatched two of them up
and gobbled them down.

280
00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:30,960
Odysseus was enraged.

281
00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:33,240
He went for his sword,
but he suddenly realised

282
00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:34,840
if he killed the Cyclops,

283
00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,800
he wouldn't be able to roll the
boulder away from the cave entrance.

284
00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,440
They'd be in there for all eternity.

285
00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:43,880
It would become all of their tombs.

286
00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:46,840
If they were gonna escape,

287
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,680
Odysseus needed to come up
with a cunning plan.

288
00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,840
And thankfully for him and his men,
just like at Troy,

289
00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,240
Odysseus's brains
didn't let him down.

290
00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:02,040
When the Cyclops went out
the following day

291
00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:04,400
to put his sheep out to pasture,

292
00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:08,800
Odysseus and his men picked up
the Cyclops's walking stick

293
00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:11,760
and sharpened the end of it
into a very fine point.

294
00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,240
When he got back, Odysseus
sort of tried to befriend him a bit.

295
00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,960
He told him that his name
was Nobody,

296
00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:22,280
and he also offered him
a lot of very powerful red wine.

297
00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,120
Cyclops was quite pleased with that.

298
00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:28,720
He ate two of Odysseus's men,
drank all the wine and passed out.

299
00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,840
At that point,
Odysseus and the survivors

300
00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,200
picked up
the sharpened walking stick

301
00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,560
and dipped the end into
the red-hot embers of a fire,

302
00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,160
and they rammed it
as hard as they could

303
00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,400
into the Cyclops's one eye.

304
00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:47,320
The eyeball sizzled and popped.

305
00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:49,440
He leapt up screaming.

306
00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,400
His neighbours, other Cyclopes,
came from nearby caves

307
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,640
and shouted, "What's up?"
And he said, "Nobody's hurting me."

308
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,120
So they told him to be quiet
and go back to sleep.

309
00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:03,160
In the morning,
the terribly wounded Cyclops

310
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:05,200
still had to let his sheep go out
and graze.

311
00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,000
So, blinded,
he put his arm across the door

312
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,360
and let the sheep out one by one,

313
00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:13,920
being very careful to make sure
that Odysseus's men couldn't escape.

314
00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:18,320
What he could not see is that
on the underside of the sheep,

315
00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:20,920
clinging to the fleece
around their bellies,

316
00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,280
were Odysseus and his men.

317
00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:27,600
They made it past the Cyclops,
through the entrance to the cave

318
00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:28,920
and got back to their ship.

319
00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,360
But while they were still in earshot
of the shore,

320
00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:36,160
Odysseus had a sudden rush of blood
to the head.

321
00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,600
Just as they're on the verge
of escaping from the Cyclops,

322
00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,160
Odysseus made
another crazy decision.

323
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:49,920
He shouted up
from the deck of his ship,

324
00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:53,040
"Cyclops, my name is not Nobody.

325
00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:56,920
"It is Odysseus of Ithaca."

326
00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:58,160
SIGHS

327
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,520
It must have felt
like the right idea at the time.

328
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:05,960
The trouble is, the Cyclops was
the son of the sea god Poseidon,

329
00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,880
and now he knew Odysseus's name.

330
00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:19,120
The Cyclops
immediately bellowed out,

331
00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:23,520
hoping his father, Poseidon,
god of the oceans, would hear him.

332
00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:30,320
He said, "Father, grant
that Odysseus, sacker of cities,

333
00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:34,280
"may never reach his home
in Ithaca."

334
00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:38,600
Poseidon heard his son's pleas,
and he answered.

335
00:19:41,360 --> 00:19:43,400
What do you want to do? Go round?

336
00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:46,720
I'm gonna bring a double gybe.
Just... Yeah. OK. All right.

337
00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:51,120
The god of the sea cursed Odysseus.

338
00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:54,800
His odyssey had only just begun.

339
00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,880
Coming up, I explore
an enchanted island...

340
00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:02,840
That's brilliant!

341
00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:04,360
How strange.

342
00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:06,480
..and follow Odysseus to a place

343
00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:11,040
where few mortal men
dared to tread - the underworld.

344
00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:16,000
When you're ready, Dan.
Stand by.

345
00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:19,960
Go, go, go, go, go!

346
00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,360
Golden. That'll do. That'll do.
OK.

347
00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:25,240
We might even hit that south side
in one tackle.

348
00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:27,000
We might. It's amazing.

349
00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,080
DAN SNOW: I'm sailing
the glorious Ionian Sea,

350
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:33,440
exploring gorgeous islands,

351
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:37,040
mysterious caves
and incredible coves.

352
00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,960
Following the greatest story
ever told, The Odyssey.

353
00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,280
Just a few weeks into his journey,
Odysseus and his crew

354
00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:47,880
had already been smashed by a storm

355
00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,880
and escaped the clutches
of the Cyclops.

356
00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:57,080
But on they sailed,
desperate to return home to Ithaca.

357
00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:01,480
This is a story of heroes,
gods and monsters,

358
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:03,760
but one of the most important
characters

359
00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,120
is actually the sea itself,

360
00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:09,320
and The Odyssey is filled
with incredible descriptions

361
00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,200
of these waters.

362
00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,000
I've written a list
at the front of my book.

363
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,760
Sometimes, it's "wide".
Other times, "restless".

364
00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,240
He calls it "wine-dark, open,

365
00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:21,520
"broad-backed, barren,

366
00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,520
"boundless, greyish."

367
00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:27,520
And that set me thinking,
because we all think of Greece

368
00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:31,280
and the beaches and the lovely
clear water, its blue seas.

369
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:34,240
Nowhere does Homer call it that.

370
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,080
Homer never describes Odysseus

371
00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:40,520
as just being too hot and having
a lovely time in the sun.

372
00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,520
It is a book about terrible weather.

373
00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:48,600
These seas are a challenge
for sailors in any century,

374
00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:52,240
and sailing these waters
day in, day out,

375
00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:54,200
Tom knows that better than most.

376
00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,120
It's funny, isn't it?
You think of the Greek islands,

377
00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:02,160
you think it's all
just sandy beaches, turquoise water.

378
00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,440
But the winds get wild here,
don't they? They do.

379
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:05,600
They really change on you.

380
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,160
The fact that there's all these
islands means lots of harbours,

381
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:12,560
space to go, but the winds
can twist and turn around. Exactly.

382
00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:14,480
So you get
some weird, flukey conditions.

383
00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:16,160
Especially when you're closer
to shore.

384
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,960
So when you're within, you know,
a kilometre or so of the shore,

385
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,320
you've really got to watch
what's happening,

386
00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:26,120
think about how those coastlines,
and the mountains especially,

387
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:27,480
are gonna affect the wind.

388
00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:29,480
You can see why they'd have thought
it's crazy.

389
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:31,320
You get steady wind,
then in certain places,

390
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:32,840
it just goes bonkers.
Bonkers, yeah.

391
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:34,640
It would have been a god
or a spirit on the hill.

392
00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:36,000
You could definitely see why.

393
00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:47,520
Me and Tom have sailed on,
speeding south on the wind,

394
00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:53,360
slipping into this calm, dreamy bay
on the tiny island of Atokos.

395
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,280
Let's do 25, please.

396
00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:12,640
That'll do, Dan, I think.
That'll do.

397
00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:19,960
Odysseus's men were exhausted.

398
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,520
They were traumatised
by everything they've been through.

399
00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:24,800
Of the original fleet of 12 ships,

400
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,720
there was now just one left.

401
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:29,320
So I imagine
they were pretty pleased

402
00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:33,000
when they stumbled
across a safe-looking harbour

403
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,080
on the beautiful island of Aeaea.

404
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:39,640
They rode up to the beach,
dragged the boat ashore,

405
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,000
and could do nothing else

406
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:45,560
but collapse on the sand
next to it, exhausted.

407
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:53,040
For two days, the men rested
on this seemingly deserted island.

408
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:55,680
The only clue
that they were not alone

409
00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:58,240
was some mysterious smoke
rising from inland.

410
00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:01,160
The men split into two groups,

411
00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,520
and one of them went inland
to investigate the smoke,

412
00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:08,480
and what they found
was a sumptuous palace

413
00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:11,840
owned by the sorceress Circe.

414
00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:18,360
The men were entranced
by her beautiful singing,

415
00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:20,560
and she invited them
to feast with her.

416
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,760
But when they'd
completely let their guard down,

417
00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,120
she cast a spell on them,

418
00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:31,360
turning Odysseus's crew
from men into pigs.

419
00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:39,840
Now, Circe's enchanted
island of Aeaea

420
00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,800
is obviously a fantasy location,

421
00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:45,880
but real-life Atokos
is eerily similar.

422
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:51,680
It's small,
it's got a beautiful harbour.

423
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:53,600
There's a path
that leads from that harbour

424
00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:57,480
to a magnificent house
in the middle,

425
00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:01,520
and there is even
a set of wild boar,

426
00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,320
the set of pigs that live here,
a little colony of them.

427
00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:06,080
They even sometimes come for a swim.

428
00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:10,400
'I wonder if they might come out
while I'm here.'

429
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,040
Hey, you piggy, piggy, piggy,
piggies!

430
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:14,480
WHISTLES

431
00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:18,680
PIGS SNORT

432
00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,200
Look at this. Two big pigs
and lots of little piglets.

433
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,760
Oh, the big pigs
are coming to cool down in the sea.

434
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,960
That's brilliant. How strange.

435
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:35,720
Well, there you go.

436
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:37,720
On Circe's magical island,

437
00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,520
there are all sorts of strange,
enchanted animals around.

438
00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:48,320
But these are not the men
of Odysseus's crew.

439
00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:51,760
Thankfully, he heard of their fate
and dashed to their rescue.

440
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:58,160
Odysseus ordered Circe
to turn the pigs back into his men,

441
00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,280
and in fact,
after that slightly awkward start,

442
00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:03,760
Circe became
the most incredible host.

443
00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:07,000
Homer tells us, "In her house,

444
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,720
"she gently bathed them,
rubbing them in oil.

445
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,560
"She had them dressed
in woollen cloaks and tunics,

446
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:16,800
"and they feasted on meat
and sweet, strong wine every day."

447
00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:22,360
They obviously enjoyed themselves,
particularly Odysseus,

448
00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:23,840
who, by this stage,

449
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,440
was romantically involved
with Circe,

450
00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:29,160
because they stayed for a year,

451
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:31,920
and only after a year
did all the men come to Odysseus

452
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:34,200
and go, "Boss, I think we might
have been here long enough.

453
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:35,880
"Should we try and get home?"

454
00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:37,760
PIGS SNORT

455
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,560
And I think it's about time
that I followed them too.

456
00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:51,560
I wonder if some of Odysseus's men
had mixed feelings

457
00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:53,920
on leaving Aeaea behind them.

458
00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:56,200
They definitely had
quite a nice life there

459
00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,040
on that island while it lasted.

460
00:26:58,040 --> 00:26:59,680
But leave they did.

461
00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:01,680
They couldn't head straight home,
though.

462
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:04,920
Circe had sent them off
with quite the instruction.

463
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:08,560
They had to make one of literature's
greatest pit stops.

464
00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:13,600
She told him that they had to go
to Hades to speak to a spirit

465
00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:16,440
who would tell them how to break
the curse of Poseidon

466
00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:19,400
and guide them on the rest
of their journey home.

467
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,880
Next stop for The Odyssey,
the underworld.

468
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:29,160
Some things don't change.

469
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,520
We're still using old muscle power
to get the sails up,

470
00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:33,400
as they would have done
thousands of years ago.

471
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:35,760
OK.
All right.

472
00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:37,960
If you can lock the vang
and pull it on for me.

473
00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:43,200
Circe gave Odysseus
very clear instructions

474
00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:45,600
on how to get
to the land of the dead,

475
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,680
full of landmarks to spot
as he sailed these seas.

476
00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:52,280
Greece is so well-known
for its islands.

477
00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:54,640
They're famous the world over.

478
00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:58,480
Today, we tend to think of the sea
between the islands

479
00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,200
as a bit of a barrier,
a bit of an obstacle.

480
00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:03,480
But thousands of years ago,
the opposite was true -

481
00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:05,360
it was actually a bridge.

482
00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:11,160
They became masters of the sea.

483
00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:15,200
Obviously, there was no sat nav,
nor were there any charts.

484
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:18,760
And the compass, well,
that wouldn't be used for navigation

485
00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:23,160
until around 1,500 years
after The Odyssey was written down.

486
00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:25,640
So Ancient Greek mariners
like Odysseus

487
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,120
had to rely on something
a little more basic...

488
00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:31,280
but reliable nonetheless.

489
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,360
They had to memorise the coastline.

490
00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:37,600
'Skipper Tom
might not have been born here,

491
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:42,080
'but he has sailed the Ionian Sea
with Sunsail more than most now,

492
00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:44,440
'and he's no stranger
to this technique.'

493
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:49,400
You've got access to the charts
but presumably don't use them much,

494
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:50,960
cos you know these waters so well.

495
00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:53,800
To be honest,
I do more navigate visually,

496
00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:56,160
just by where I am
and knowing what's around

497
00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:58,880
through having done it
a couple of times before already.

498
00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:01,160
I suppose all the islands,
looking as they do,

499
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:02,520
they're quite individual.

500
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:04,120
You can sort of tell them
immediately.

501
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:06,800
Yeah, you've got a lot
of different types of terrain

502
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:08,160
around these islands, right?

503
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:10,600
You've got islands like Atokos
and Kalamos,

504
00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:12,400
which are very mountainous,

505
00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:15,400
and then, say, Meganisi behind us
and Kastos,

506
00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:17,080
which are much, much flatter.

507
00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:20,800
So it makes it quite easy
to differentiate between.

508
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,440
The trouble is, I suppose
when you do leave sight of land

509
00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:25,440
or get to a new area,
then you're ignorant.

510
00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,080
Then it's quite dangerous.
Yeah. Very much so.

511
00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:32,560
Probably the biggest difference
between sailing back then

512
00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:35,560
and sailing now is we can do that
and leave sight of land

513
00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:38,440
because we have
the electronic navigation aid.

514
00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:48,000
So, we're just getting ready
to moor up,

515
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,960
exactly as they would have done
in Odysseus's time,

516
00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:53,800
on this mysterious island
that we've arrived at.

517
00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:56,920
No harbours, no marinas back then.

518
00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,160
So it's a matter
of take ropes to the shore,

519
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:03,440
put an anchor down
and make yourself safe and snug

520
00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:05,800
against anything
the weather can throw at you.

521
00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:09,400
This is how, traditionally,
you tie a boat to the land.

522
00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:11,760
How you get off the boat
and head on to the land, isn't it?

523
00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:14,040
Even today in Greece, it's still
how we do things here. Yeah.

524
00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:15,520
Still not the infrastructure

525
00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:18,160
that you have in other places
around the world.

526
00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:20,080
So we're not just doing this
for show. No.

527
00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:22,280
This is how we do it.
Exactly.

528
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:26,840
'Tom has to carefully
back the boat into position,

529
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:31,240
'avoiding any shallow water
before the anchor is dropped.

530
00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:33,120
'And then it's a race
to get the lines out to shore

531
00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:34,520
'as fast as possible.'

532
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,240
It's pretty sketchy.

533
00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:01,040
With the boat securely moored up,

534
00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,920
I can now get on
with some inland exploration.

535
00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,040
Odysseus,
following Circe's instructions,

536
00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:11,160
headed directly to the underworld.

537
00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:14,160
And amazingly,
for the Ancient Greeks,

538
00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:16,360
Hades was a real place...

539
00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:21,640
..a place you could visit.

540
00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:23,840
And that's where I'm heading to.

541
00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:26,200
The river Acheron

542
00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:28,520
flows from the mountains
of northern Greece

543
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:30,480
and out into the Ionian Sea.

544
00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:34,440
And for the Ancient Greeks,

545
00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:37,560
this river led directly
to the underworld.

546
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,920
Well, the path's come to an end,
but I'm gonna keep going.

547
00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:47,760
Ooh! That is cold.

548
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:50,120
Look how beautiful that is, though.

549
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:51,880
Amazing.

550
00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:54,240
Everything feels different
down here.

551
00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:56,600
It's much cooler
than it is out there.

552
00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,560
The plants,
the trees are different.

553
00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:02,080
And you can see why,
to ancient people,

554
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:06,560
this gorge, with its rock
and its icy-cold water

555
00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:08,480
and its strange echoes,

556
00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:12,720
it would have felt like a portal
to the underworld.

557
00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:17,840
Now, Odysseus didn't have to go
into the underworld

558
00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:21,040
but rather speak to someone
who was on the other side -

559
00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:24,560
a wise old man named Tiresias.

560
00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:26,360
Only through speaking to him

561
00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,320
could Odysseus learn
how to break the curse of Poseidon.

562
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:33,680
But to do that,
Odysseus would need to perform

563
00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:37,200
a sacred ritual that is written down
in The Odyssey.

564
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,680
So naturally,
I want to give it a go myself.

565
00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:42,240
But I can't do it alone.

566
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:45,400
'So Odyssey expert
Dr Emily Hauser

567
00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:47,280
'has come to give me a hand.'

568
00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:50,280
All right, Emily, what's up first?

569
00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:52,640
Well, first, Dan, we're gonna need
to need to dig a pit,

570
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:54,680
so get digging.
Right here? Right here.

571
00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:56,880
And is it a square?
It's gonna be a square. Yep.

572
00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:01,360
Now, what we're gonna do
once we've done that

573
00:33:01,360 --> 00:33:05,680
is to put some libations in there.
So... What's a libation?

574
00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:06,840
Like an offering, or...?

575
00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:09,200
Yeah, a libation is a ritual liquid,

576
00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:10,840
basically a bit of a tipple
for the gods.

577
00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,240
So, first, we're gonna pour in
some of the honey and the milk.

578
00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:16,080
OK. Here we go.

579
00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:17,440
God, this is exciting.
I know.

580
00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:19,200
Is this the honey?
This is honey and milk.

581
00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,640
This is your first libation
that you're gonna pour in.

582
00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:24,000
All the way, all of it?
All of it, all the way.

583
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,200
And we want it to really soak down
into the ground. Oh!

584
00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:31,920
Right. Our next one is gonna be...
Oh, that smells good.

585
00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:33,760
It's gonna be some sweet wine.
Ooh.

586
00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:35,520
Seems like a waste,
but there we go. Yeah.

587
00:33:35,520 --> 00:33:38,200
No, that's good for the spirits.

588
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,880
And why are we putting these
into the ground?

589
00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,480
Are the spirits down there,
they're not up there? Yeah.

590
00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,880
So, we're trying to summon up
the spirits of the underworld.

591
00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:48,680
And because
the underworld is conceived of

592
00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:51,160
as being kind of down in the ground,
under the earth,

593
00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:54,400
we're gonna get everything
to go seeping down into the ground,

594
00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:55,720
as opposed to what you would do

595
00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:58,000
if you were trying to communicate
with the gods of the sky,

596
00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,480
where you would be burning,

597
00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,160
you'd be creating smoke that
they could sniff in their nostrils.

598
00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:04,000
That makes sense.
Sending smoke up there.

599
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:05,440
We're not going up.
We're going down.

600
00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:07,200
Right, our next and final one

601
00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:09,560
is going to be
just a little bit of water

602
00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:11,280
to pop our final libation on there.
Water. Fine.

603
00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:15,040
And then to finish it off,

604
00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:17,520
we've got a little bit of barley
to sprinkle over the top. OK.

605
00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:20,080
Again, a staple crop.
Another staple. Yeah, exactly.

606
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:21,880
Very common in sacrifices.

607
00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:26,960
So, the last thing
that we'll need to do

608
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:30,920
is you're gonna need
to sacrifice a ram and a yew. OK.

609
00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:33,280
So I'll go and see what I can find.
OK.

610
00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:35,480
Right. Here she comes.
I've got a goat.

611
00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:38,840
If you were
in the Ancient Greek world,

612
00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:40,920
you would be sacrificing the animal

613
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:43,680
in order to get the blood
sinking down into the pit,

614
00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:46,040
under the ground,
to the spirits of the underworld.

615
00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:47,840
Well, now that we've got
to point no return,

616
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:50,400
I'm actually not sure
I want to open the underworld today.

617
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,920
Do you know what? I think she
is far too cute for that. Yeah.

618
00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:55,440
I think we're gonna
have to leave it at that.

619
00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:58,080
The spirits can go hungry
for longer.

620
00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:00,280
BLEATS

621
00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:04,120
Odysseus, however,
did open the underworld

622
00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:05,600
and spoke to Tiresias,

623
00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:08,360
who gave him guidance
for the next leg of his journey.

624
00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:13,520
But what was now very clear
was that his return to Ithaca

625
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:16,680
was going to be long and testing.

626
00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:20,080
Coming up,
I head to one of the greatest cities

627
00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:22,440
from the Ancient Greek world,

628
00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:26,200
and Odysseus's journey
goes from bad...

629
00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:28,760
..to worse.

630
00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:31,040
There you go. That's what happens.

631
00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:33,080
That was full over.

632
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:35,160
DAN SNOW: My journey into The Odyssey

633
00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:36,960
has taken me across the seas,

634
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:41,240
from Troy in Turkey
to Greece's Ionian Islands.

635
00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:44,600
But now I'm heading ashore...

636
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,240
..travelling to an ancient city

637
00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:51,720
that lies at the heart of our story.

638
00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:04,120
It's pretty clear that The Odyssey
is not a true story,

639
00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:08,440
but there are places mentioned
in The Odyssey that are real -

640
00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:10,800
the island of Ithaca, Troy.

641
00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:15,200
And there's also quite a few
mentions of this place here.

642
00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:16,600
One of the most important,

643
00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:19,320
one of the most magnificent cities

644
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,920
in Ancient Greece, Mycenae.

645
00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:29,400
At the time of the Trojan War,

646
00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:33,200
Mycenae was the most powerful
of all the Greek cities,

647
00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,800
home to the legendary king
Agamemnon.

648
00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:40,280
This isn't the later Greek world
of the Parthenon, though,

649
00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:41,520
with its beautiful columns.

650
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:45,840
Mycenae is a chunky fortress,

651
00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:47,720
the perfect place

652
00:36:47,720 --> 00:36:51,040
to explore the spectacular world
of The Odyssey.

653
00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:53,440
'Meeting me by its famous Lion Gate

654
00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:55,920
is ancient historian
Tristan Hughes.'

655
00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:01,360
Look at this. This is
an overwhelming entrance, isn't it?

656
00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:02,480
It's extraordinary.

657
00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:04,040
It is one of the greatest sites
in Greece.

658
00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:05,400
And that is saying something -

659
00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:06,960
there's quite a few sites
to choose from.

660
00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:10,200
But, yes, this place, Mycenae,

661
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:14,000
it enjoyed its height
more than 3,000 years ago,

662
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:17,840
at the time that the story
of The Odyssey is set.

663
00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:20,200
So at the time of Julius Caesar,

664
00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:22,480
this is already
a thousand years old.

665
00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:23,720
More than a thousand years old.

666
00:37:23,720 --> 00:37:27,240
We like to think of great monuments
like the Colosseum and the Parthenon

667
00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:31,560
being ancient, but to them,
THIS was ancient history.

668
00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:33,040
It's just such a dramatic...

669
00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:36,400
You're channelled in,
past this living rock here.

670
00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:39,320
The enormous building blocks,
they're creating such an effect

671
00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:41,680
as they push you through this gate
with the lines above.

672
00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:45,520
They really are. And when people
came here back in ancient times,

673
00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:48,680
and they marvelled at this gateway,

674
00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:51,080
and they looked at the walls,
the stones themselves,

675
00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:53,800
they thought these couldn't
have been built by men.

676
00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:56,240
They must have been built
by the Cyclopes.

677
00:37:56,240 --> 00:37:58,600
Wow. Giants.
Yes. Fantastic.

678
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:02,440
Once you've entered
through the Lion Gate,

679
00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:05,160
you have to climb to the very top
to reach the throne room.

680
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:07,920
And this is a palace with a view.

681
00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:11,760
It's quite the walk.
It's a great walk. Worth it, though.

682
00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:15,720
Look at that view. Extraordinary,
isn't it? It is worth it every time.

683
00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:18,080
I mean, look at that.

684
00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:21,080
So, Greece today,
one big country, all unified.

685
00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:23,440
Not the case back then.
Absolutely not.

686
00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:25,800
So, at the time
that The Odyssey is set,

687
00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:30,120
Greece is divided into many,
many different kingdoms,

688
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:31,960
some more powerful than others.

689
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:34,320
That's why you've got
so many kings knocking around

690
00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:35,440
in The Odyssey, I suppose.
Yeah.

691
00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:37,320
You've got several mentioned
in The Odyssey.

692
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:40,040
You've got Sparta,
and you've also got

693
00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:42,920
what is the capital of Greece today,
you've got Athens.

694
00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:44,960
But in the story of The Odyssey,

695
00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:47,320
who is the most powerful king
of them all?

696
00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:51,320
It's Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae,
who would have resided here.

697
00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:56,000
They are evidence that, yes,
this was a powerful centre,

698
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:59,360
a powerful place,
more than 3,000 years ago.

699
00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:02,160
So you've got Odysseus, king of
the little island of Ithaca. Yeah.

700
00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:04,800
Agamemnon and him,
they're both kings,

701
00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:07,840
but Agamemnon's definitely
a bit above him, isn't he?

702
00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:11,040
So, this is a big topic of debate.

703
00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:14,000
It could be for a time
that maybe the Mycenaean king,

704
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:17,160
the person who ruled from here,
was almost a king of kings

705
00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:19,680
who could command lots of people
to come together

706
00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:22,120
and join him for a raid or two
across the sea.

707
00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:25,280
But as Odysseus is travelling,
he's able to talk to,

708
00:39:25,280 --> 00:39:28,640
he's able to, you know,
have common customs and religion

709
00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:31,000
with the people
he's interacting with.

710
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:34,000
Yes. I'd like to think of it
as that world,

711
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,040
politically divided
with all of these kings,

712
00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:39,520
but culturally pretty similar -

713
00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:43,080
all speaking the same language,
all worshiping the same gods.

714
00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:48,360
Mycenae towers over the landscape
even today,

715
00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:51,920
but it's spectacular
below ground too.

716
00:39:58,360 --> 00:40:01,800
Built into the hillside
are royal tombs.

717
00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:07,560
If you thought the Lion Gate

718
00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:09,520
and the fortress above
were impressive,

719
00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:11,640
this just takes your breath away.

720
00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:15,360
The scale of the engineering,
it really is, I think,

721
00:40:15,360 --> 00:40:17,920
on a par with places
like the pyramids in Egypt.

722
00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:21,000
Look at that amazing vaulted roof

723
00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:23,360
and the way
that beautiful masonry...

724
00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:27,680
they all fit in together perfectly,
even after 3,000 years.

725
00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:29,480
The way the sound reverberates,

726
00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:32,200
focusing on this point
right in the middle,

727
00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:35,120
I think tells you just
how impressive the engineering was.

728
00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:37,040
It's a magical place.

729
00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:41,320
We've got really no idea
who this was for.

730
00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:42,960
One thing you can say,

731
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:47,520
whoever was laid to rest in here
was a powerful person.

732
00:40:49,240 --> 00:40:51,200
What I've really taken away
coming here

733
00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:54,760
is that The Odyssey is a story
about mighty kings and princes

734
00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:57,040
and palaces and cities,

735
00:40:57,040 --> 00:41:00,320
and maybe that's not exaggerated.

736
00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:04,840
There's clearly something going on
in the Greek world in this period.

737
00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:07,920
They're capable
of building structures like this.

738
00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:10,440
Why aren't they capable
of launching mighty fleets

739
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:12,720
and armies across the sea?

740
00:41:12,720 --> 00:41:16,160
Somehow... coming here

741
00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:20,760
makes the scale of The Odyssey
seem more real.

742
00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:27,160
Mycenae was much grander than
Odysseus's own kingdom of Ithaca...

743
00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:30,760
..but it gives us an idea
of the kind of place

744
00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:32,960
that he was longing to get back to.

745
00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:37,680
By this stage of his journey,

746
00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:41,640
Odysseus has been trying to get home
for about three years,

747
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:45,640
and he is about to meet
some of his most infamous,

748
00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:48,200
most fearsome foes.

749
00:41:48,200 --> 00:41:51,440
But to tell those stories,
I need to get back on the water.

750
00:41:55,880 --> 00:41:57,520
At this stage of his journey,

751
00:41:57,520 --> 00:42:01,120
Odysseus had been warned
that he and the remains of his crew

752
00:42:01,120 --> 00:42:05,360
were approaching the island
of the deadly sirens.

753
00:42:08,560 --> 00:42:12,560
The story goes that sirens would
sing such an enchanting melody

754
00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:15,480
that it would force sailors,
so desperate to hear more,

755
00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:19,160
to change course
and smash their ships on the rocks.

756
00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:21,760
Odysseus knew the risks,

757
00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:24,440
and so he told his men
to put wax in their ears.

758
00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:27,040
Tom, there you go.
Got some wax earplugs for you there.

759
00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:29,720
But don't put them in just yet,
cos I've got a job for you. Oh, God.

760
00:42:29,720 --> 00:42:34,040
Odysseus, he wanted to hear
what the sirens had to say.

761
00:42:34,040 --> 00:42:35,200
So he came up with a plan.

762
00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:38,520
He would get his men
to lash him to the mast

763
00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:39,840
so he could hear it,

764
00:42:39,840 --> 00:42:43,240
but he wouldn't be able
to swim over to face certain death.

765
00:42:43,240 --> 00:42:45,600
So, Tom, let's head up to the mast.
Yeah.

766
00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:47,880
I need you to lash me tight to it.
Let's give it a go.

767
00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:48,720
DAN CHUCKLES

768
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:52,400
Up at the mast.

769
00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:55,320
Right, here we are, Dan.
Nice and tight.

770
00:42:55,320 --> 00:42:56,680
Oh, that does feel tight. Yeah.

771
00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:59,040
Can still breathe, can't you?
Just about. Just about.

772
00:42:59,040 --> 00:43:02,360
That's where we want it.
Yeah. It's that the sweet spot?

773
00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:08,800
So, Tom, you ever heard the sirens?

774
00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:12,200
You've heard a sweet melody that's
made you want to jump overboard?

775
00:43:12,200 --> 00:43:14,640
Not here. They must have...
They must have moved away.

776
00:43:16,720 --> 00:43:19,600
Some people say it could have been
the sounds of mating seals.

777
00:43:19,600 --> 00:43:21,120
That makes a little bit more sense,

778
00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:24,160
cos we do have a good few monk seals
in the area.

779
00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:26,560
I'm not sure that would make me
want to leap overboard.

780
00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:28,440
No, the sound of mating seals,

781
00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:30,840
it doesn't sound all that appealing
to me either, Dan.

782
00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:32,760
Tied off.
Lovely. OK.

783
00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:35,320
How does it feel?
Now, you go back to the helm.

784
00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:36,960
Stick that wax in your ears, buddy.

785
00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:42,040
Tom, can you hear me?

786
00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:45,120
Hey?

787
00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:47,960
Perfect. Perfect. Keep them in.

788
00:43:51,880 --> 00:43:54,240
The ship neared the island,

789
00:43:54,240 --> 00:43:58,200
and across the waves came
the sweet tones of the sirens.

790
00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:02,600
FEMALE VOICE: 'Stop your ship
and listen to our voices.

791
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:05,560
'All those who pass this way

792
00:44:05,560 --> 00:44:09,480
'hear honeyed song
poured from our mouths.'

793
00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:12,520
They came to the island
of the sirens.

794
00:44:12,520 --> 00:44:15,960
The men rode, earplugs in,
completely unconcerned.

795
00:44:15,960 --> 00:44:19,440
But Odysseus heard
these enchanting melodies.

796
00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:21,840
He was so drawn to them.
And you know what?

797
00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:26,240
They were about him, Odysseus,
his greatness, his epic journey.

798
00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:28,200
And that's why he was so excited.

799
00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:33,360
'Odysseus... come here.

800
00:44:35,120 --> 00:44:37,840
'You are well-known
for many stories.

801
00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:41,400
'Glory of the Greeks.'

802
00:44:43,120 --> 00:44:46,280
He screamed, and he wriggled,
but it was all in vain.

803
00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:49,560
He could not get out of his bonds.
Thank goodness.

804
00:44:49,560 --> 00:44:51,360
And on they sailed,

805
00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:55,280
his crew blissfully unaware
with their earplugs in.

806
00:44:55,280 --> 00:44:58,280
Eventually, the sound of the sirens
died out,

807
00:44:58,280 --> 00:45:01,160
and it was safe for the men
to take their earplugs out,

808
00:45:01,160 --> 00:45:02,720
and they sailed on.

809
00:45:02,720 --> 00:45:07,000
Odysseus had controlled
his impulses, but only just.

810
00:45:09,400 --> 00:45:11,880
Coming up,
the mother of all storms...

811
00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:18,040
..and I head off to the cave
of the goddess Calypso.

812
00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:20,960
It's absolutely massive in here.

813
00:45:22,240 --> 00:45:23,840
DAN SNOW: I'm voyaging in the wake

814
00:45:23,840 --> 00:45:27,400
of the greatest journey ever told,
The Odyssey.

815
00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:31,840
Having narrowly survived
the deadly song of the sirens,

816
00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:36,240
Odysseus and his crew were exhausted
and in need of rest.

817
00:45:36,240 --> 00:45:39,880
They arrived at the island
of the sun god Helios.

818
00:45:39,880 --> 00:45:42,160
Odysseus had been warned
to avoid this place,

819
00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:44,760
but his tired men threatened mutiny.

820
00:45:46,840 --> 00:45:49,760
Odysseus agreed to land
but made them swear

821
00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:53,080
not to eat the cattle or sheep
of the sun god.

822
00:45:53,080 --> 00:45:57,400
The men agreed, but of course,
this wouldn't be The Odyssey

823
00:45:57,400 --> 00:45:59,440
without a twist.

824
00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:02,000
Me and Tom are heading
for a sheltered harbour

825
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:04,200
where we can moor up for the night.

826
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:10,040
That's a very special harbour,
this one. It's called Sivota.

827
00:46:10,040 --> 00:46:12,000
It's a great example
of the kind of harbours you get

828
00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:13,120
in this part of Greece.

829
00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:18,440
It's actually protected 360 degrees
by big, rocky cliffs,

830
00:46:18,440 --> 00:46:21,880
which means that whatever the storm,
massive hurricane,

831
00:46:21,880 --> 00:46:24,440
you come in here,
and you could ride it out.

832
00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:27,280
So, the perfect place
for us to spend the night.

833
00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:33,000
And luckily for me,
a beautiful restaurant beckons.

834
00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:44,040
There is nothing better
after a long day on the water,

835
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:46,440
with the sun beating down
and the wind in your hair,

836
00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:49,400
than tying up your boat
safe and sound in a harbour,

837
00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:53,720
coming to a taverna and enjoying
some of the world's greatest food.

838
00:46:53,720 --> 00:46:55,000
Greek food.

839
00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:56,840
I've got a sample of it here
in front of me.

840
00:46:56,840 --> 00:46:58,480
Absolutely delicious.

841
00:46:58,480 --> 00:47:01,480
And you get a real sense of that
in The Odyssey.

842
00:47:01,480 --> 00:47:04,040
Eating was a highlight
for these guys.

843
00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:06,320
There are so many feasts
in The Odyssey.

844
00:47:06,320 --> 00:47:07,400
Homer describes them.

845
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:09,280
He also describes
what they're eating.

846
00:47:09,280 --> 00:47:15,680
It tends to be bread,
meat, and what he calls sweet wine.

847
00:47:16,840 --> 00:47:18,040
In fact, it's meat,

848
00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:20,560
more specifically beef,
like this here,

849
00:47:20,560 --> 00:47:23,600
that gives us
one of the most tragic,

850
00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:26,880
one of the most traumatic moments,
of The Odyssey.

851
00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:29,560
Odysseus's stop
on the island of the sun god

852
00:47:29,560 --> 00:47:31,960
was only supposed to be a quick one,

853
00:47:31,960 --> 00:47:35,600
but the weather changed once again,

854
00:47:35,600 --> 00:47:39,320
and Odysseus and his men
were trapped on the island.

855
00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:42,160
They ate all the supplies
they brought with them.

856
00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:44,720
Then they started hunting
across the island for birds.

857
00:47:44,720 --> 00:47:46,760
They picked the place clean.

858
00:47:46,760 --> 00:47:49,520
They fished in the seas
around the island.

859
00:47:49,520 --> 00:47:53,080
But still,
the bad weather continued.

860
00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:56,600
One day, it got to the point
where they were facing starvation.

861
00:47:56,600 --> 00:47:58,000
They were desperate.

862
00:47:58,000 --> 00:48:01,320
They were going to die
of malnutrition on this island.

863
00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:04,720
And when Odysseus went off
for a bit of quiet time by himself,

864
00:48:04,720 --> 00:48:07,920
the rest of them came together
and hatched a plot.

865
00:48:07,920 --> 00:48:10,960
They agreed
that they would rather anything

866
00:48:10,960 --> 00:48:14,840
than die a slow death of hunger
on this island.

867
00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:17,280
They were gonna take their chance
with the wrath of the gods.

868
00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:20,440
All these delicious-looking cows
wandering around,

869
00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:22,760
it was too much temptation.

870
00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:25,240
They sharpened their blades

871
00:48:25,240 --> 00:48:29,120
and got ready to cook up
some barbecued beef.

872
00:48:37,680 --> 00:48:39,480
That was delicious.

873
00:48:39,480 --> 00:48:41,840
I can see why they did it.

874
00:48:41,840 --> 00:48:44,040
I'd throw my life away
for a decent bit of beef.

875
00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:46,640
And they said, "You know what?

876
00:48:46,640 --> 00:48:49,000
"We're gonna sacrifice
to the sun god when we get back,

877
00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:50,560
"build the biggest temple
you've ever seen,

878
00:48:50,560 --> 00:48:52,120
"sacrifice all our best animals.

879
00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:54,760
"He'll be fine with it.
He'll be fine with it."

880
00:48:54,760 --> 00:48:56,520
SIGHS

881
00:48:56,520 --> 00:48:57,880
But he wasn't.

882
00:49:02,640 --> 00:49:05,440
Helios appealed to Zeus,
king of the gods,

883
00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:09,760
and he vowed to destroy Odysseus
and his remaining crew.

884
00:49:13,080 --> 00:49:15,440
After a few days,
the weather improved enough

885
00:49:15,440 --> 00:49:17,800
for Odysseus's men
to put back out to sea,

886
00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:19,680
but Odysseus did so
with a heavy heart

887
00:49:19,680 --> 00:49:22,440
because he knew what was coming.

888
00:49:22,440 --> 00:49:27,360
And indeed, divine retaliation
was swift and terrible.

889
00:49:27,360 --> 00:49:29,120
I'll let Odysseus
pick up the story here

890
00:49:29,120 --> 00:49:32,080
because he describes it
in The Odyssey.

891
00:49:32,080 --> 00:49:35,880
MALE VOICE: 'Zeus made a mass
of dark-blue storm clouds

892
00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:37,400
'hang over our ship.

893
00:49:37,400 --> 00:49:39,960
'Then came the winds,
shrieking noisily,

894
00:49:39,960 --> 00:49:43,240
'rushing with torrential tempest.'

895
00:49:43,240 --> 00:49:45,120
That's a bit of a gust
off the island there.

896
00:49:45,120 --> 00:49:46,840
Whoa! I see what you mean.

897
00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:51,640
'Zeus thundered and hurled
lightning bolts to strike the ship.

898
00:49:51,640 --> 00:49:55,880
'All the men fell overboard,
and they were swept away.'

899
00:49:59,320 --> 00:50:02,640
And that was it for Odysseus's crew.

900
00:50:02,640 --> 00:50:05,680
None of them
would ever see Ithaca again.

901
00:50:09,400 --> 00:50:11,760
But Odysseus
didn't share their fate.

902
00:50:11,760 --> 00:50:13,680
He managed to grab
onto some wreckage

903
00:50:13,680 --> 00:50:15,560
and survive this terrible ordeal.

904
00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:18,800
Unlike his crew,

905
00:50:18,800 --> 00:50:21,880
who had been fatally punished
for offending the gods.

906
00:50:27,280 --> 00:50:30,520
Throughout The Odyssey,
the gods play a huge role

907
00:50:30,520 --> 00:50:33,760
in the day-to-day lives
of ordinary people.

908
00:50:33,760 --> 00:50:38,160
'I'm meeting with Greek goddess
expert Dr Tulsi Parikh

909
00:50:38,160 --> 00:50:40,440
'to see if this is
how Ancient Greek people

910
00:50:40,440 --> 00:50:42,800
'actually saw the world.'

911
00:50:42,800 --> 00:50:45,720
So, the gods play a massive part
in The Odyssey.

912
00:50:45,720 --> 00:50:46,960
Is that just storytelling,

913
00:50:46,960 --> 00:50:49,720
or do you think this is something
that the Greeks would have believed?

914
00:50:49,720 --> 00:50:51,240
I think it's a bit of both, really.

915
00:50:51,240 --> 00:50:53,640
The gods are so important
in The Odyssey,

916
00:50:53,640 --> 00:50:55,960
and they really kind of steer
the events and the outcomes,

917
00:50:55,960 --> 00:50:57,120
good and bad.

918
00:50:57,120 --> 00:51:00,320
But it's based in the belief
that the gods were everywhere.

919
00:51:00,320 --> 00:51:04,040
They were really present
in the lives of everyone,

920
00:51:04,040 --> 00:51:06,840
so from jobs to relationships,

921
00:51:06,840 --> 00:51:09,200
marriage to health.

922
00:51:09,200 --> 00:51:13,120
But the gods are a bit like humans
in that they change their minds,

923
00:51:13,120 --> 00:51:15,160
they are jealous and angry.

924
00:51:15,160 --> 00:51:16,880
They're not very godlike,
in some way.

925
00:51:16,880 --> 00:51:18,600
They're just extremely powerful.

926
00:51:18,600 --> 00:51:20,280
Yeah. I think that's the main thing.

927
00:51:20,280 --> 00:51:22,640
That's the main difference
between the gods and humans.

928
00:51:22,640 --> 00:51:24,280
They're immortal,
and they're powerful,

929
00:51:24,280 --> 00:51:25,920
but they still do have
those emotions -

930
00:51:25,920 --> 00:51:27,320
the jealousy, the rage.

931
00:51:27,320 --> 00:51:30,840
But those are the things
that humans fear and avoid.

932
00:51:30,840 --> 00:51:34,040
It's very important to keep
their gods happy and on your side.

933
00:51:34,040 --> 00:51:36,720
So when there's bad weather
or there's a coincidence,

934
00:51:36,720 --> 00:51:39,000
it seems like the Ancient Greeks
suddenly go,

935
00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:40,320
"Oh, it must be the gods."

936
00:51:40,320 --> 00:51:41,960
Whereas, we might say
it's coincidence,

937
00:51:41,960 --> 00:51:43,480
or it's science, whatever.
Exactly.

938
00:51:43,480 --> 00:51:45,280
The Ancient Greeks
see the gods everywhere.

939
00:51:45,280 --> 00:51:48,120
So a storm, a shipwreck,

940
00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:52,440
anything that happens
that is either good or very bad

941
00:51:52,440 --> 00:51:53,640
must be the gods.

942
00:51:53,640 --> 00:51:55,400
There's a bit in The Odyssey
where it said,

943
00:51:55,400 --> 00:51:57,080
"You've got to be careful
who you're mean to

944
00:51:57,080 --> 00:51:58,600
"cos it could be a god in disguise."

945
00:51:58,600 --> 00:52:01,440
So they occasionally just pop on
a disguise and walk among us.

946
00:52:01,440 --> 00:52:03,800
I mean, we see that a lot
in myths and stories.

947
00:52:03,800 --> 00:52:05,280
Whether this happened,

948
00:52:05,280 --> 00:52:08,960
or people believe this was happening
in daily life,

949
00:52:08,960 --> 00:52:10,080
very difficult to know.

950
00:52:10,080 --> 00:52:12,440
I would definitely go around
saying, "Hey, be nice to me.

951
00:52:12,440 --> 00:52:13,440
"I could be Apollo."
Exactly.

952
00:52:20,080 --> 00:52:24,120
For Odysseus, it must have
seemed like the end of the road.

953
00:52:24,120 --> 00:52:26,600
He would surely never see
his homeland again.

954
00:52:29,280 --> 00:52:32,240
Just me and my little boat now
in the middle of the Ionian.

955
00:52:32,240 --> 00:52:34,000
This reminds me
of the part in The Odyssey

956
00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:37,680
where, finally, Zeus has smashed
them with his lightning bolts...

957
00:52:39,320 --> 00:52:42,600
..and this is really, I think,
Odysseus's lowest point.

958
00:52:42,600 --> 00:52:46,400
'But then, on the horizon,
a speck of land appeared.'

959
00:52:48,040 --> 00:52:51,400
As for me, well,
I'm arriving at Meganisi,

960
00:52:51,400 --> 00:52:53,760
another island that feels
like it has been plucked

961
00:52:53,760 --> 00:52:55,960
right out of the pages
of The Odyssey.

962
00:52:58,000 --> 00:52:59,840
It's absolutely massive in here.

963
00:52:59,840 --> 00:53:02,720
ECHOING: The sound is extraordinary.

964
00:53:02,720 --> 00:53:05,240
Odysseus of Ithaca!

965
00:53:05,240 --> 00:53:06,560
Whoo!

966
00:53:08,840 --> 00:53:10,680
OK, I'm landing on the beach.

967
00:53:14,400 --> 00:53:15,680
GRUNTS

968
00:53:17,960 --> 00:53:20,840
By this point of The Odyssey,

969
00:53:20,840 --> 00:53:24,560
Odysseus is now completely alone.

970
00:53:24,560 --> 00:53:27,160
He's lost his crew.
He's lost his ship.

971
00:53:27,160 --> 00:53:31,560
But he does get washed up
on yet another island.

972
00:53:31,560 --> 00:53:37,160
This one...
home to the divine Calypso.

973
00:53:39,080 --> 00:53:41,600
Calypso was a beautiful nymph

974
00:53:41,600 --> 00:53:44,560
living on the paradise-like island
of Ogygia.

975
00:53:45,760 --> 00:53:48,360
She quickly fell in love
with Odysseus

976
00:53:48,360 --> 00:53:51,440
and made sure
that despite his desire to leave,

977
00:53:51,440 --> 00:53:53,280
he couldn't.

978
00:53:53,280 --> 00:53:55,840
Calypso kept Odysseus prisoner.

979
00:53:55,840 --> 00:54:01,400
He slept alongside her in her cave
for seven years.

980
00:54:01,400 --> 00:54:06,800
By day, The Odyssey reports
that he would go down to the shore.

981
00:54:06,800 --> 00:54:09,440
His eyes were always tearful.

982
00:54:09,440 --> 00:54:13,360
'He wept sweet life away
in the longing to go back home.

983
00:54:13,360 --> 00:54:15,120
'He had no choice.

984
00:54:15,120 --> 00:54:18,600
'He spent his nights with her
inside a hollow cave.'

985
00:54:20,960 --> 00:54:24,480
Odysseus must have felt
like he was going nowhere

986
00:54:24,480 --> 00:54:26,360
and his life was slipping away.

987
00:54:29,600 --> 00:54:33,200
Eventually, after seven long years,

988
00:54:33,200 --> 00:54:35,920
the goddess Athena
came to Odysseus's rescue

989
00:54:35,920 --> 00:54:37,440
and organised his release.

990
00:54:40,920 --> 00:54:42,240
After more adventures,

991
00:54:42,240 --> 00:54:44,520
he eventually found himself
on a ship

992
00:54:44,520 --> 00:54:47,120
that sailed him home to Ithaca.

993
00:54:47,120 --> 00:54:50,040
After ten long years of voyaging,

994
00:54:50,040 --> 00:54:52,440
his own crew were all dead,

995
00:54:52,440 --> 00:54:54,800
but his homeland was in sight.

996
00:54:54,800 --> 00:54:58,680
Right. We're getting close.
We're almost there, Dan.

997
00:54:58,680 --> 00:55:01,320
Feels good to get to Ithaca.
This is the northern end, is it?

998
00:55:01,320 --> 00:55:03,680
This is pretty much
as north as we can go.

999
00:55:03,680 --> 00:55:05,200
There's a little bit more
extending past,

1000
00:55:05,200 --> 00:55:07,400
but we're pretty much
as north as you can get.

1001
00:55:09,080 --> 00:55:11,840
We're mooring up for the night
just off shore,

1002
00:55:11,840 --> 00:55:14,840
ready to explore Ithaca tomorrow.

1003
00:55:14,840 --> 00:55:17,360
I'm getting a bit carried away now.
I mean, I know it is a myth,

1004
00:55:17,360 --> 00:55:21,280
but wouldn't it be great if there
was a little bit of truth to it?

1005
00:55:21,280 --> 00:55:23,960
If this was Odysseus's island

1006
00:55:23,960 --> 00:55:27,400
and this is where he came back in
after 20 years.

1007
00:55:29,800 --> 00:55:32,760
Ah, there we go.

1008
00:55:32,760 --> 00:55:34,440
Ithaca.

1009
00:55:36,960 --> 00:55:38,160
Ah.

1010
00:55:48,200 --> 00:55:50,280
It's nice and early.

1011
00:55:50,280 --> 00:55:52,560
You often wake up early on boats,
whether you like it or not.

1012
00:55:52,560 --> 00:55:53,760
Luckily, I do like it,

1013
00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:58,000
particularly cos you get to look
at these beautiful sunrises.

1014
00:55:59,680 --> 00:56:02,520
We can guess that Homer
would have loved a dawn like this

1015
00:56:02,520 --> 00:56:04,880
because he's often referring
to them,

1016
00:56:04,880 --> 00:56:07,240
and he uses different expressions
which are fantastic.

1017
00:56:07,240 --> 00:56:11,960
He says, "Dawn rose
and filled the sky with blossom."

1018
00:56:11,960 --> 00:56:15,600
Or, "Dawn, with her pinky fingers,
rose from the sea."

1019
00:56:15,600 --> 00:56:20,000
So it's easy to imagine Odysseus,
thousands of years ago,

1020
00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:23,360
watching sunrises just like this
in these waters.

1021
00:56:24,560 --> 00:56:26,440
But I can't admire this sunrise
for long.

1022
00:56:28,440 --> 00:56:32,760
It's time to go ashore
like Odysseus and explore Ithaca.

1023
00:56:35,120 --> 00:56:40,000
Ithaca is absolutely covered
in caves,

1024
00:56:40,000 --> 00:56:42,280
and because
of its famous connection

1025
00:56:42,280 --> 00:56:43,720
to The Odyssey,

1026
00:56:43,720 --> 00:56:48,320
every single one of these caves
has been given a legendary status.

1027
00:56:48,320 --> 00:56:51,640
This one is said by some people
to be where Eumaeus lived.

1028
00:56:51,640 --> 00:56:56,320
Now, Eumaeus is the swineherd
of the King of Ithaca,

1029
00:56:56,320 --> 00:56:58,280
the person who looks after
all his pigs.

1030
00:56:58,280 --> 00:57:00,800
He's a lowly servant, a slave even.

1031
00:57:00,800 --> 00:57:04,160
But Odysseus decided
that he could be trusted,

1032
00:57:04,160 --> 00:57:06,520
and so when he first arrives
at Ithaca,

1033
00:57:06,520 --> 00:57:08,960
he actually goes
and stays with Eumaeus,

1034
00:57:08,960 --> 00:57:12,240
judges the lay of the land,
sees what you can find out,

1035
00:57:12,240 --> 00:57:14,160
and then starts to hatch a plan

1036
00:57:14,160 --> 00:57:16,360
about how he's gonna win back
his kingdom.

1037
00:57:20,160 --> 00:57:22,760
Eventually,
Odysseus decides to find out

1038
00:57:22,760 --> 00:57:25,120
what's going on at the palace.

1039
00:57:25,120 --> 00:57:29,360
I'm climbing up to investigate
some very mysterious ruins.

1040
00:57:31,800 --> 00:57:34,720
You just get a sense
of how rocky Ithaca is.

1041
00:57:34,720 --> 00:57:38,560
Up quite high now, and look here.

1042
00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:41,840
We've got some big,
nicely shaped stones there,

1043
00:57:41,840 --> 00:57:43,240
so I think we're getting
to the start

1044
00:57:43,240 --> 00:57:44,920
of the archaeological site.

1045
00:57:44,920 --> 00:57:47,120
Let's keep pushing on up there.

1046
00:57:52,880 --> 00:57:54,280
Here we go. This is getting...

1047
00:57:54,280 --> 00:57:56,200
Oh, yeah,
much more substantial here.

1048
00:57:56,200 --> 00:57:58,000
You can see, look,
we've got some buildings

1049
00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:00,000
from different periods
and different styles,

1050
00:58:00,000 --> 00:58:02,400
but this one's majestic here.
Very palatial.

1051
00:58:02,400 --> 00:58:06,800
That does remind me, in some ways,
of the Lion Gate at Mycenae.

1052
00:58:06,800 --> 00:58:08,520
But also, look at this position.

1053
00:58:08,520 --> 00:58:10,880
If you're trying
to dominate an island,

1054
00:58:10,880 --> 00:58:13,240
well, you're dominating physically
the landscape here.

1055
00:58:13,240 --> 00:58:14,880
You can see the sea down there,
other islands,

1056
00:58:14,880 --> 00:58:16,760
the sea over in that direction.

1057
00:58:16,760 --> 00:58:19,120
It's quite the place.

1058
00:58:19,120 --> 00:58:23,440
And it's not for nothing that
this place was known for centuries

1059
00:58:23,440 --> 00:58:25,200
as the palace of Odysseus.

1060
00:58:29,880 --> 00:58:33,080
It's nothing like
the monumental scale of Mycenae,

1061
00:58:33,080 --> 00:58:35,480
but the large stone blocks
are similar.

1062
00:58:36,720 --> 00:58:39,600
Clearly, this was once
a wealthy place,

1063
00:58:39,600 --> 00:58:42,480
maybe even the home of a local king.

1064
00:58:44,880 --> 00:58:47,920
You can see why Odysseus was so keen
to get home.

1065
00:58:50,400 --> 00:58:53,480
It's a spectacular stretch
of wall here.

1066
00:58:55,360 --> 00:58:58,080
I'm pretty sure I'm not
the first history-loving tourist

1067
00:58:58,080 --> 00:59:01,800
to come here and wonder whether,
just possibly,

1068
00:59:01,800 --> 00:59:06,200
this place could be connected
with Odysseus.

1069
00:59:06,200 --> 00:59:09,160
I do feel a little bit silly
about the fact

1070
00:59:09,160 --> 00:59:12,960
that I just, deep down, would love
this to have been Odysseus's palace.

1071
00:59:12,960 --> 00:59:16,480
But I feel better because we know

1072
00:59:16,480 --> 00:59:18,840
from the things that archaeologists
have found here

1073
00:59:18,840 --> 00:59:20,560
that for thousands of years,
visitors like me

1074
00:59:20,560 --> 00:59:22,400
have been doing
exactly the same thing.

1075
00:59:22,400 --> 00:59:25,880
Ancient Greeks, Ancient Romans,
people ever since have been coming.

1076
00:59:25,880 --> 00:59:30,280
They've been leaving trinkets
with the name of Odysseus on them.

1077
00:59:30,280 --> 00:59:34,240
This has always been a place
where people have come,

1078
00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:37,320
wanting to connect
with the greatest story ever told.

1079
00:59:37,320 --> 00:59:41,920
Coming up,
The Odyssey's bloody homecoming,

1080
00:59:41,920 --> 00:59:45,440
and I get to the end
of my own odyssey.

1081
00:59:48,680 --> 00:59:51,160
DAN SNOW: I've sailed across
the glorious Ionian Sea,

1082
00:59:51,160 --> 00:59:53,640
following the story of The Odyssey,

1083
00:59:53,640 --> 00:59:56,040
loving every moment.

1084
00:59:56,040 --> 01:00:00,440
Now I'm on Ithaca,
Odysseus's home island,

1085
01:00:00,440 --> 01:00:03,320
and the story is about to reach
its famous conclusion.

1086
01:00:05,320 --> 01:00:07,680
Starting with our wily hero

1087
01:00:07,680 --> 01:00:11,520
patiently plotting
how to safely reclaim his throne.

1088
01:00:13,880 --> 01:00:15,720
Odysseus decided
to approach the palace,

1089
01:00:15,720 --> 01:00:17,280
to go up and have
a little snoop around,

1090
01:00:17,280 --> 01:00:20,280
work out what to do next,
disguised as a beggar.

1091
01:00:20,280 --> 01:00:25,200
But as he got close,
he was recognised not by a human

1092
01:00:25,200 --> 01:00:29,600
but, very movingly,
by his old dog Argos,

1093
01:00:29,600 --> 01:00:34,040
who he'd last seen as a puppy
20 years before.

1094
01:00:34,040 --> 01:00:36,520
Now Argos is old,
he's been neglected.

1095
01:00:36,520 --> 01:00:38,840
He's actually lying on a dung hill.

1096
01:00:38,840 --> 01:00:40,880
But his ears go back.

1097
01:00:40,880 --> 01:00:43,960
He recognises that his master
has finally, finally returned.

1098
01:00:43,960 --> 01:00:46,240
He gives a joyous yelp.

1099
01:00:46,240 --> 01:00:48,480
At that same moment, he dies.

1100
01:00:52,280 --> 01:00:53,400
I think, for Odysseus,

1101
01:00:53,400 --> 01:00:55,800
this is a real moment
where it just hits him.

1102
01:00:55,800 --> 01:01:00,160
How much life here at home
he's missed out on

1103
01:01:00,160 --> 01:01:03,200
during his decades-long journey.

1104
01:01:05,920 --> 01:01:09,200
And Odysseus hasn't got back
a moment too soon,

1105
01:01:09,200 --> 01:01:12,600
because the crisis that has gripped
his household for decades

1106
01:01:12,600 --> 01:01:15,240
is about to come to a head.

1107
01:01:15,240 --> 01:01:18,880
Bear in mind Odysseus has been away
for 20 years.

1108
01:01:18,880 --> 01:01:22,320
Everyone assumes he's dead,
fish food.

1109
01:01:22,320 --> 01:01:24,920
And so all the eligible lads

1110
01:01:24,920 --> 01:01:27,200
from this island
and the surrounding islands

1111
01:01:27,200 --> 01:01:28,920
have come to Odysseus's palace

1112
01:01:28,920 --> 01:01:32,240
trying to marry his widow, Penelope.

1113
01:01:32,240 --> 01:01:34,720
So Penelope and her young son
Telemachus

1114
01:01:34,720 --> 01:01:37,640
are surrounded on every side
by these suitors.

1115
01:01:37,640 --> 01:01:40,520
And by the way, while they're
asking her to marry them,

1116
01:01:40,520 --> 01:01:42,880
they're eating all the food,
they're banqueting.

1117
01:01:42,880 --> 01:01:45,240
They're taking advantage
of that hospitality.

1118
01:01:45,240 --> 01:01:49,080
So if Odysseus is gonna get
his wife back, get his happy ending,

1119
01:01:49,080 --> 01:01:51,960
it looks like his biggest battle
is yet to come.

1120
01:01:51,960 --> 01:01:55,880
But surprisingly, it wasn't
something that Odysseus did

1121
01:01:55,880 --> 01:01:58,240
that would spark
his triumphant comeback.

1122
01:01:58,240 --> 01:02:01,720
Instead, it was his wife.

1123
01:02:01,720 --> 01:02:05,560
Penelope announced that there
would be an archery competition.

1124
01:02:05,560 --> 01:02:09,800
She had 12 battle axes lined up,
one behind the other.

1125
01:02:11,160 --> 01:02:12,840
Each of them had a hole in it,

1126
01:02:12,840 --> 01:02:17,280
and she demanded that the suitors
all have a go at shooting an arrow

1127
01:02:17,280 --> 01:02:19,560
through all of those holes.

1128
01:02:19,560 --> 01:02:20,800
To make it even harder,

1129
01:02:20,800 --> 01:02:25,200
she said that they had to use
Odysseus's great bow.

1130
01:02:25,200 --> 01:02:27,560
This was a weapon that only someone

1131
01:02:27,560 --> 01:02:32,280
with the strength and skill
of a hero would be able to wield.

1132
01:02:32,280 --> 01:02:35,640
Whichever suitor proved successful,

1133
01:02:35,640 --> 01:02:38,120
that man would have her hand
in marriage.

1134
01:02:46,960 --> 01:02:51,280
Suitor after suitor failed
to even string the bow,

1135
01:02:51,280 --> 01:02:53,040
let alone complete the challenge.

1136
01:02:55,560 --> 01:02:57,440
Until finally, Odysseus,

1137
01:02:57,440 --> 01:03:00,600
disguised as a lowly beggar,
stepped forward.

1138
01:03:03,120 --> 01:03:06,040
Odysseus took up the bow.

1139
01:03:06,040 --> 01:03:09,080
There were gales of laughter
from the suitors

1140
01:03:09,080 --> 01:03:11,080
as they scoffed at the idea

1141
01:03:11,080 --> 01:03:15,480
that this beggar would be the one
to complete Penelope's challenge.

1142
01:03:15,480 --> 01:03:19,320
But he calmly strung the bow

1143
01:03:19,320 --> 01:03:21,880
and prepared to shoot.

1144
01:03:42,640 --> 01:03:45,800
The arrow whistled
through all the arrowheads.

1145
01:03:45,800 --> 01:03:50,040
The suitors stood there
in stunned silence.

1146
01:03:54,720 --> 01:03:57,640
But before the suitors could react
to this incredible feat,

1147
01:03:57,640 --> 01:04:00,360
Odysseus knocked another arrow

1148
01:04:00,360 --> 01:04:04,600
and turned to the men who had
laid siege to his home for years...

1149
01:04:05,520 --> 01:04:08,840
..and he launched a barrage
of arrows at them.

1150
01:04:08,840 --> 01:04:11,840
The palace becomes a battlefield.

1151
01:04:11,840 --> 01:04:13,360
Telemachus joins his father,

1152
01:04:13,360 --> 01:04:16,520
and father and son
fight side by side

1153
01:04:16,520 --> 01:04:21,280
against the men who have been
tormenting the family,

1154
01:04:21,280 --> 01:04:24,720
who have been eating up,
devouring their wealth.

1155
01:04:24,720 --> 01:04:27,600
It ends with Odysseus and his son

1156
01:04:27,600 --> 01:04:31,920
surrounded by mounds of corpses,

1157
01:04:31,920 --> 01:04:35,840
splashing through blood shin-deep.

1158
01:04:39,240 --> 01:04:42,600
Silence reigned over the island
once again.

1159
01:04:45,160 --> 01:04:48,960
Finally, Odysseus was home
with his wife and son,

1160
01:04:48,960 --> 01:04:52,120
reclaiming his palace and throne.

1161
01:04:52,120 --> 01:04:58,480
Behind him lay a trail of death
and destruction from Troy to Ithaca.

1162
01:04:58,480 --> 01:05:01,120
His odyssey was over.

1163
01:05:03,680 --> 01:05:08,640
It has been the greatest experience,
sailing the waters of The Odyssey,

1164
01:05:08,640 --> 01:05:12,400
visiting these islands,
exploring the caves...

1165
01:05:14,480 --> 01:05:17,760
..ancient palaces and tombs.

1166
01:05:17,760 --> 01:05:21,480
It's brought this great tale
to life.

1167
01:05:24,320 --> 01:05:26,160
The wonderful thing
about The Odyssey

1168
01:05:26,160 --> 01:05:28,560
is that it's an unbeatable story.
It's got it all.

1169
01:05:28,560 --> 01:05:32,360
It's got gods and monsters
and fighting and romance,

1170
01:05:32,360 --> 01:05:36,760
a climactic battle, and then
a happy ending for the hero.

1171
01:05:36,760 --> 01:05:40,640
But as well as that,
it is a time machine,

1172
01:05:40,640 --> 01:05:43,480
and it takes us back to the people

1173
01:05:43,480 --> 01:05:47,160
who lived in this landscape
and sailed these seas

1174
01:05:47,160 --> 01:05:49,360
3,000 years ago.

1175
01:05:52,360 --> 01:05:56,600
It has been one of the
greatest experiences.