Greece: home of sun, sand, sea, and most recently Mama Mia. It's a place to relax drinking ice-cold coffee while playing tavli (backgammon). It's a place of history; a place to indulge the senses. It's also a place in which to delve into a rich smorgasbord of religious traditions and marvel at the genius and ingenuity of human kind. This program shows that Greece is a place to talk, dance, laugh, cry and ultimately, understand what it is to be human. In this episode, Michael starts his journey in the second largest city of Greece, Thessaloniki, rich in history and culture. This bustling modern metropolis is a fusion of Greek and Balkan influence thanks to its position in the north of Greece.
And now we are in Athens No city sums up more the wonderfully textured history of Greece than its modern capital, Athens. Where now more than half Greece’s population lives it abounds in ancient ruins.
The Greeks are a nation with sea water in their blood. Greece has more coastline than any other nation on earth. From its earliest history, th eislands have been part of a connected network of communities that spanned the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Michael is on the island of Syros, in the bay of Grammata, only reachable by boat. The Cycladic Islands are a refuge from today's fast flowing world: the only things on the horizon are gorgeous sandy beaches, beautiful architecture dressed in white and blue, a traditional island lifestyle, Greek folk music, and spectacular sunsets.
This final episode explores the Dodecanese Islands. After traveling through the islands, Michael ends his journey on the island of Symi. From Symi, he reflects on the Greece he has seen: a place at the edge of worlds and yet so often at the very centre of attention, fought over and occupied by many, but also distinctively Greek, somewhere you can escape the real world and simultaneously come face to face with some of history's hardest truths.
Michael Scott starts his journey at the Corinth Canal, an amazing feat of engineering that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. From here, he travels to Ancient Corinth and the fortress atop Acrocorinth overlooking the ancient city ruins. No site is more stunning than the proud walls of this Byzantine and Venetian fortress sitting astride the towering hulk of this Corinthian acropolis. From Corinth, he heads to the Peloponnese, named after the mythical character Pelops.
What really went on at the ancient Greek oracle at Delphi, how did it get its awesome reputation and why is it still influential today? Michael Scott of Cambridge University uncovers the secrets of the most famous oracle in the ancient world. A vital force in ancient history for a thousand years, it is now one of Greece's most beautiful tourist sites, but in its time it has been a gateway into the supernatural, a cockpit of political conflict, and a beacon for internationalism. And at its heart was the famous inscription which still inspires visitors today - 'Know Thyself'.
