Special Features
Synopsis
Includes:
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, Part 2 - Golden Age (1999)
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, Part 3 - Empire of Mind (1999)
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, Part 1 - The Revolution (1999)
The Roman Empire in The First Century, Episode 3: Winds of Change (2001)
The Roman Empire in The First Century, Episode 1: Order from Chaos (2001)
The Roman Empire in The First Century, Episode 2: Years of Trial (2001)
The Roman Empire in The First Century, Episode 4: Years of Eruption (2001)
Egypt's Golden Empire, Episode 1: The Warrior Pharoahs (2002)
Egypt's Golden Empire, Episode 2: Pharaohs of the Sun (2002)
Egypt's Golden Empire, Episode 3: The Last Great Pharoah (2002)
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, Episode 3 - The Medici Popes (2003)
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, Episode 1 - Birth of a Dynasty (2003)
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, Episode 2 - The Magnificent Medici (2003)
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, Episode 4 - Power vs. Truth (2003)
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire, Episode 1 - The Way of the Samurai (2004)
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire, Episode 3 - The Return of the Barbarians (2004)
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire, Episode 2 - The Will of the Shogun (2004)
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, Part 2 - Golden Age
This second episode of Greece: The Crucible of Civilization, directed and written by Cassian Harrison, opens in 490 B.C. when tiny Athens prepares to safeguard its growing economy and infant democracy against an invasion by Persian armies of Darius the Great. Like the previous episode, this episode, "Golden Age," features colorful maps, reenactments, paintings, and exquisite photography to tell its tale. When the Persians arrive for battle, the Greek courier Phidippides runs 140 miles to Sparta in two days to solicit help from its army, says narrator Liam Neeson, quoting the historian Herodotus. But Sparta, Athens' rival, refuses to participate. No matter. The outnumbered Athenians, fighting to uphold their life of freedom, defeat the Persians and send them in humiliation back to Asia. But one Athenian, Themistocles, realizes Athens has not seen the last of the proud Persians. He persuades city leaders to build a fleet of war ships. These ships, called triremes, are "floating missiles" with projecting bows designed specifically to ram enemy vessels. While the Athenians execute their plans, the Persian ruler Darius dies and his son Xerxes succeeds to the throne. Under pressure to take revenge against the Greeks, he assembles an army of two million men. When the terrified Greeks ask the Delphic Oracle for advice, she simply tells them to flee. But Themistocles refuses to panic. Instead, he again petitions the Delphic Oracle, and this time she predicts that a "wooden wall" will protect the Greeks. Neeson then tells how the wily Themistocles saves his city. First, he orders Athens abandoned, installs his fleet at the Aegean island of Salamis, and sends a "traitor" to the Persians to tell them that the Athenians are fleeing and are easy prey for the Persian fleet. When Persian ships move into the strait between Salamis and the Greek mainland, the triremes ram and sink 200 Persian vessels, and Athens wins the war. To protect Greece against future attacks, the Athenian leaders organize the Delian League, made up of 200 city-states. Feeling safe and secure, Athens then turns its attention back to its economy and to other domestic affairs. Soon, the democratic system unleashes the power of the human mind, and Greece enters a Golden Age in which every branch of learning advances and a new leader, Pericles, emerges to take Athens to the zenith of its power. As a fitting symbol of the now mighty city, he builds the aesthetically and architecturally perfect Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, and fosters development of education and the Greek theater of Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, Part 3 - Empire of Mind
This episode is part three of The Greeks: The Crucible of Civilization series, directed and written by Cassian Harrison. It opens in 399 B.C., after the great philosopher Socrates has been sentenced to death and Athens lies in ruins after a war with Sparta. This episode, entitled Empire of the Mind and narrated by actor Liam Neeson, goes back to 431 B.C., to an Athens at the height of its cultural, political, and economic power. Having taken great leaps forward in every field of learning, and with a strong economy that dominates Mediterranean trade, Athens and its 150,000 residents are the envy of their neighbors, in particular, bellicose Sparta. Jealous of Athenian success, the Spartans yearn to spill Athenian blood and dominate the region. Of course, Pericles knows what is coming, and he orders the citizens to abandon open areas and take refuge inside the walls of Athens. The mighty Athenian fleet will provide supplies for the citizens through the port of Piraeus and a walled corridor between that city and Athens. Over time, the navy will prevail, as it had against the Persians, and win yet another victory. Much is at stake -- democracy, freedom, the whole Athenian way of life. As expected, the Spartans invade and burn the open areas around the city. But it is the unexpected that deals the most devastating blow to Athens. Incoming ships with supplies for the walled-in Greeks carry plague-bearing rats feeding on grain. The disease ravages the Athenians, inflicting agony on them and killing one out of every three. The Spartans are of little concern; what matters is surviving until tomorrow. Pericles' esteem plummets even as he himself contracts the plague and eventually dies. Finally in 404 B.C., Athens surrenders. According to the documentary, the people link Socrates to the Athenian defeat and sentence him to death. However, other issues -- notably Socrates' questioning mind that led young people to reject old ideas in favor of new ones -- were of more concern to the jurors who found him guilty. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization, Part 1 - The Revolution
This documentary makes history entertaining as well as educational. Beautifully photographed, it uses reenactments, paintings, maps, pottery, metalwork, and "living statues" to take the viewer on a vicarious journey through ancient Greece. Actor Liam Neeson narrates, and unobtrusive music inspires the imagination. Episode one, The Revolution, begins at the dawn of democracy in 508 B.C., with the revolution of the common people against aristocratic rule. The documentary, directed and written by Cassian Harrison, then travels further back in time to chronicle the key events leading up to the revolution. As the camera roams ancient ruins, the Greek countryside, and old stone roads, the viewer learns that the inhabitants of Greece once lived in mud houses with no sewage and frequently fell prey to disease and warfare. Unable to write, they memorized their works of literature -- more than one million lines, the documentary says -- in order to pass them on to the next generation. Over time, their hardship and learning whetted their appetite for freedom. After rule by tyrants of the aristocratic class and a struggle for power, Cleisthenes (570-507 B.C.), himself an aristocrat, sided with the common people of Athens and brought democracy into being. The camera shows how ordinary citizens, men only, enacted laws by voting with black or white pebbles. From this beginning, western democracy developed and flourished. An actor stands in as Cleisthenes, posing as a flesh-and-blood mannequin, and the viewer has the sense that at any moment he will come alive and repeat the successes, or blunders, of history. The documentary calls upon experts -- such as Josiah Ober, of Princeton University, and Paul Cartledge, of Cambridge University -- to explain and comment on momentous political and other events in Ancient Greece. One extremely important economic development was the exploitation of the olive tree. Narrator Neeson notes that its gift of oil stimulated seafaring trade with other Mediterranean countries so that Athens and other city-states could grow and prosper. All the while during their early maturation into a Mediterranean power, Athens and other city-states had to live with the threat of war from expansionist Sparta as well as the vast Persian Empire. But democracy had taken root, and it proved in the long run to be a greater force than the mightiest of armies. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi
The Roman Empire in The First Century, Episode 3: Winds of Change
No synopsis available.
The Roman Empire in The First Century, Episode 1: Order from Chaos
No synopsis available.
The Roman Empire in The First Century, Episode 2: Years of Trial
No synopsis available.
The Roman Empire in The First Century, Episode 4: Years of Eruption
No synopsis available.
Egypt's Golden Empire, Episode 1: The Warrior Pharoahs
No synopsis available.
Egypt's Golden Empire, Episode 2: Pharaohs of the Sun
No synopsis available.
Egypt's Golden Empire, Episode 3: The Last Great Pharoah
No synopsis available.
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, Episode 3 - The Medici Popes
Episode three of The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance is entitled "The Medici Popes." Although kicked out of Florence, the Medici gain power in the Vatican. In 1513, senior Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici takes the highest position under the name Pope Leo X. He spends extravagantly and issues numerous papal indulgences (official forgiveness of sins) for money across Europe; consequently, he is denounced by a German monk named Martin Luther. The next Medici in line is Giovanni's cousin Giulio who becomes Pope Clement VII. He commissions Michelangelo to build tombs for the family, but deals badly with the fallout from Leo's papacy and the growing Lutheran threat. In 1527, Charles V declares war on Rome and German soldiers overrun the city. Though some political power is lost, Catherine de' Medici gains it back when she marries the King of France in 1533. The Medici series was first shown on PBS in February of 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, Episode 1 - Birth of a Dynasty
Produced in association with Lion Television in the U.K., The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance is a four-part documentary miniseries about the famous financiers of Western art history. Episode one, "Birth of a Dynasty," starts with the family's beginnings in Tuscany during the 15th century. Cosimo de' Medici inherits the world's largest bank from his father and sets up his headquarters in Florence. He makes powerful friends and political allies while cultivating his passions for classical education and the arts. His engineer friend Filippo Brunelleschi builds his greatest achievement, an octagonal ribbed dome on the top of the Florence cathedral. Cosimo also makes friends with Donatello (considered the founder of modern sculpture) and Fra Filippo Lippi (a great influence of Florentine painting). Cosimo de' Medici passes on in 1464 and is honored by being declared Pater Patriae (Father of the Fatherland). The Medici series was first broadcast on PBS in February 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, Episode 2 - The Magnificent Medici
Episode two of The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance is entitled "The Magnificent Medici." With Cosimo de' Medici dead, his grandson Lorenzo is left to run things. When Lorenzo's brother gets murdered, revenge is swiftly made by his supporters. Florence grows in political and cultural significance. Michelangelo, Botticelli, and da Vinci completed some of their most famous work during this period. When Lorenzo dies, the family is denounced by an outspoken Dominican preacher named Girolamo Savonarola. The aristocratic Medici are forced out of Florence in 1494 and Savonarola orders sweeping reforms. Many works of art are destroyed because of their decadence. The Medici series was first broadcast on PBS in February 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, Episode 4 - Power vs. Truth
Episode four of The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance is entitled "Power vs. Truth." When Alessandro de' Medici is murdered, his teenaged cousin Cosimo de' Medici II becomes the Duke of Florence and commissions architect Giorgio Vasari to build the Medici family offices. In 1550, Vasari also writes Lives of the Most Imminent Italian Architects, Painters, and Sculptors, considered the primary reference book on Renaissance art history. The Medici also make friends with scientist Galileo Galilei, who further develops the recently invented telescope and becomes a main figure in the birth of astronomy. His beliefs -- especially the idea that the Earth travels around the sun -- aren't in line with the Catholics, so he is forced to go before the leaders in Rome. The Medici turn on him and the Renaissance era fades, paving the way for the Age of Reason. The Medici series was first shown on PBS in February of 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire, Episode 1 - The Way of the Samurai
No synopsis available.
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire, Episode 3 - The Return of the Barbarians
No synopsis available.
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire, Episode 2 - The Will of the Shogun
No synopsis available.