Museum secrets National Archeological Museum of Athens
Athens The world's most important museum dedicated to the history of ancient Greece, the National Archaeological Museum boasts 11,000 exhibits from 7000 BC to the Roman conquest. In this episode, we accelerate an ancient warship to ramming speed to discover why Athenian democracy beat Persian tyranny, then visit a king's grave to reveal how bogus archeology helped fuel the pseudo-historical ravings of Adolf Hitler. We suit volunteers in armor made of bronze and armor made of linen, and then shoot arrows at them to discover which is better. (Spoiler: Alexander the Great preferred linen.) We visit the cave where Plato and Pythagoras secretly imbibed psychedelic chemicals, then go underground to face our fears in the labyrinth that inspired the myth of the Minotaur. And finally, we meet an engineer who has spent a lifetime recreating an ancient gadget called the Antikythera Mechanism to reveal its mysterious purpose.
Primary Title
- Museum secrets
Secondary Title
- National Archeological Museum of Athens
Date Broadcast
- Saturday 25 August 2012
Start Time
- 18 : 30
Finish Time
- 19 : 30
Duration
- 60:00
Series
- 2
Episode
- 9
Channel
- BBC Knowledge
Broadcaster
- Sky Network Television
Programme Description
- Athens The world's most important museum dedicated to the history of ancient Greece, the National Archaeological Museum boasts 11,000 exhibits from 7000 BC to the Roman conquest. In this episode, we accelerate an ancient warship to ramming speed to discover why Athenian democracy beat Persian tyranny, then visit a king's grave to reveal how bogus archeology helped fuel the pseudo-historical ravings of Adolf Hitler. We suit volunteers in armor made of bronze and armor made of linen, and then shoot arrows at them to discover which is better. (Spoiler: Alexander the Great preferred linen.) We visit the cave where Plato and Pythagoras secretly imbibed psychedelic chemicals, then go underground to face our fears in the labyrinth that inspired the myth of the Minotaur. And finally, we meet an engineer who has spent a lifetime recreating an ancient gadget called the Antikythera Mechanism to reveal its mysterious purpose.
Classification
- Unknown
Owning Collection
- Television Vault
Broadcast Platform
- Television
Languages
- English
Captions
Live Broadcast
- No
Rights Statement
- Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Subjects
- Ethnikon Archaiologikon Mouseion (Greece)
- Athens (Greece)--Antiquities
Genres
- Art
- Documentary
- History
Hosts
- Colm Feore (Narrator)
Contributors
- Kensington Communications Inc. (Production Unit)
- Stephen Milton (Producer)
- David New (Director)
- David New (Writer)
Subjects
- Ethnikon Archaiologikon Mouseion (Greece)
- Athens (Greece)--Antiquities