d 4 JOANNA: I'm two thirds of the way up the highest mountain in Greece. It's Mount Olympus, where the Ancient Greeks believed that the gods had their dwelling place and their fortress, where they feasted on nectar and ambrosia, and meted out punishments and blessings upon the mere mortals thousands of feet below. In this episode, I'm going to be discovering the stories and the legends of Ancient Greece. Stories that you may know, may half remember, or maybe you don't know at all. JOANNA: The 52 peaks of Mount Olympus tower over the Aegean Sea, and on a clear day can be seen from miles away. Because the highest peak of the mountain rises to almost 10,000ft, and is often covered in cloud, the Ancient Greeks believed it reached all the way to the heavens. With Eleni, my guide and translator, I'm now on my way to a refuge or hostel several hours' hike from the base of the mountain, where climbers can rest before attempting to summit Olympus. The refuge is run by Maria Zolota and her husband, Dionysus, named after one of the Greek gods. Kalimera. Maria? Yes. Joanna. Nice to meet you, Joanna. Hello. Dionysus? Hi, welcome. (All exchange greetings) Thank you. So, where are we here? Now, let me see here. We are here. We're here, Refuge A. Refuge A - 2,100m. Wow! And here is the summit. Yes. The highest point, Mytikas. Mount Olympus. My gosh. The home of the gods. Yes. So, when was the refuge built? In 1930. The very first part, it was actually a room with a fireplace and few mattresses on the floor. Slowly, slowly, got bigger. This is heavy great stones. It is. Everything comes up by mules, everything you see here. Gosh. And the paths are quite narrow and perilous. Yes. It must have taken quite some building. Yes. Extraordinary. Yes. This was a holy mountain, wasn't it? It was only climbed, what, just over 100 years ago for the first time. The first official climb was in 1913. What's it like living up here with the gods just above you? Do you think the gods are still up there? I think so. (Laughs) And we can feel Zeus sometimes when he's in a bad mood. So, what happens, weather changes? The weather changes. Lightnings and thunderstorms. Really? It could hail in the summer, then we say, 'Zeus is in a bad mood today.' Respect. (Both chuckle) JOANNA: Climbing Mount Olympus can be a challenge, even for the physically fit. But tomorrow this mountain is going to be host to one of the toughest marathons in Europe. The next day before dawn, we're at Dion, at the foot of Mount Olympus, for the start of the marathon. Kalimera, kalimera! The Macedonia region of Greece was where Alexander the Great was born, and during his reign Greeks came to Dion to sacrifice to the Olympian gods. Sport was very important in Ancient Greece, because Greek armies had to be fit enough to march long distances carrying heavy armour. Today, competitors from 22 countries are gathering to take part in this gruelling race. This is slightly different, this Olympic marathon, because it's about a mile longer, but whereas marathons which we're used to watching in London and New York and wherever, they seem to just go across, roughly, a little bit up, a little bit down, this one goes rocketing up ` you can't see it from here - right up over Mount Olympus. I mean, you rise from something like absolute sea level, which we're at the moment, sort of 3,000m, and you just go straight up, straight up elevation, and you run along just under the chin of the very summit, and all round. It's terribly long and, anyway, everybody's looking very fit. (Exhales) JOANNA: Amongst the six hundred odd runners from all over the world who are taking part this year, is Dionysus, Maria's husband from the refuge. Morning! So, how are you feeling? Good. Good? And this is good weather? It's good. It's not so hot. I think it's good to run. STARTER: Tessera, tria, dio, ena! (Speaks Greek) (Crowd cheers) JOANNA: The runners have a time limit of 10 hours to complete the 27 mile race, and last year's winner did it in 4 hours and 47 minutes. Once all the runners have set off, Eleni and I head to Prionya, a base camp on the other side of Mount Olympus, which is about three quarters of the way through the marathon's course. By the time we get there, two runners have already run up one side of the mountain and down the other to pass this point. Two people? Two people, yeah. In 3 hours, 34 minutes, 90 seconds. This is fast? Yeah, it's very fast. What is it usually at this place? About 20 minutes later. (Man claps) JOANNA: We're here in time to see the third runner pass through. (Crowd claps) It's called 'running with the gods'. It really looked extraordinary. He just came leaping down here, he hardly made a noise. Just flying down. Extraordinary. That blond hair and white things. He might have been Hermes. (Crowd claps) JOANNA: The modern day marathon is inspired by a great battle which took place in 490BC in the town of Marathon, which happens to be roughly 26 miles from Athens. During the 5th century BC, the Greeks were at war with the Persians right up here in the north. And during the battle of Marathon ` this is the city of Marathon there - the Athenians needed some more troops to help them. So, a runner called Pheidippides or Philippides, depending on how you spell his name, ran round here all the way to Sparta, to ask the Spartan Army if they'd assist. And they wouldn't - they said they were otherwise engaged. So, he ran all the way back again. That's 150 miles, and he did it in two days, there and back. Phenomenal. Now, legend has it that he then went back to Marathon. The battle of Marathon was won by the Athenians. The Persians were repulsed. They say that Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens, a distance of 26 miles, arrived in Athens and said, 'We have conquered them. We are victorious. Nike!' and then fell down dead of a heart attack. In actual fact, the truth is... ..no less phenomenal, which is that the army who had just had this incredible battle, which was really, really rigorous, masses of bloodshed, terribly injured people ` they marched that 26 miles in an incredibly short time. However that journey was made, either by one man or by a victorious army, that is what is celebrated in the marathon. JOANNA: Now 'Nike', the Greek word for victory, is more associated with a sports brand than a battle. I'm terribly jealous of them, actually, because I'm not a distance runner and I'm not a mountain runner, and I'm not into anything like this and I've left it too late, unless in some incarnation... I'll have to do it next time round and start earlier. (Crowd claps) Dionysus! Well done. How are you doing? Everything OK. Good, good! JOANNA: The marathon was eventually won by Frenchman Michel Rabat in a record time of 4 hours and 35 minutes. Dionysus finished with a good time of 7 hours and 31 minutes. (Crowd claps) Zeus lived on Mount Olympus with 11 other principal gods. However, nine of his daughters, the Muses, were born in a mountain gorge. They were thought to inspire all artistic creation, and from them we derive the words 'music', 'museum' and 'amusement'. Varvara! Hello, Joanna. Yassas. Yasu. JOANNA: Varvara Bouboua is meeting me at the entrance of the gorge of the Muses. She's knowledgeable about the myths and legends surrounding these fabulous women. Oh, Varvara! Look at this, look at this. Whoa. Varvara, tell me what made people think that the nine Muses... Yes, this place, the landscape is enchanting. JOANNA: Greek myth tells how Zeus slept here with one of his many lovers, Mnemosyne, for nine consecutive nights. The result of their liaison was nine daughters ` the Muses. The nine daughters of Zeus chose this place to be their home, and bathed in these waters. People imagined them as very beautiful young women, with long blonde hair and big blue eyes... So, it could be us. This is us. This is us a little bit further on. Yes, yes. (Laughs) And they were all dressed up in white fine-woven silk veils, and they danced near the lakes and rivers in the glades. (River runs) JOANNA: It's so beautiful. JOANNA, VOICE-OVER: Legend has it that if you drink from the waters here, you will be inspired. Is this water, sort of, sacred water... ..or holy water? Yes, yes. But you have to be careful because the waters fall asleep for an hour. Then, it flows very quietly and noiseless. If you want to drink some, you have to wake it up first, by shaking it with your hand. And if you don't? It gets very angry, and it can drive you mad. (Laughs) It can drive you mad. Well, I think... Shake it with your hand first. We don't know if it sleeps or not. Can I have some water now from it? Is it awake? It won't drive me mad? It is. That's good. Uh-huh! So, Varvara, this is where the Muses were? Yes. They were Calliope - the Muse of epic poetry. Erato. Clio ` history. Erato, which is love poetry. Efterpe - music, of course. Very good. Melpomene - drama, theatre. Drama, yes. Polyhymnia - poetry. Mmm. Terpsichore - dance. Dance. Thalia - comedy. Yes. Urania - astronomy. Yes. What did they do? They danced, they sang. The elderly say that in old times people could see them dancing and singing under the moonlight. When Christianity was established... very easily over through the 12 gods of Olympus. Yet the worship of the Muses remained in people's imagination, and they gave them the name 'psuches', fairies. Fairies. So, the Muses were turned into fairies so that they continued... Yes, they continued to live. They lingered on. They haven't gone. This place feels absolutely alive with spirits. Yes. JOANNA: My guide, Eleni, has invited me to her home village, Nea Agathoupolis, to attend an annual fortune-telling festival, which traces its roots back to worship of the ancient Greek gods and a pagan fertility rite. But, before we attend the festival, we're going to meet Eleni's grandmother, who herself has a reputation in the family for being able to foretell the future. Evil eye to stop the... ELENI: ..negative energy. Yassas! Ah, yassas. JOANNA: Nitsa, Eleni's granny, has offered to read my fortune from the coffee grounds, a Greek tradition in the way we turn to the horoscopes in our daily papers. Well, should we have a coffee? Oh, that looks gorgeous. Thank you so much. JOANNA: Eleni's warned me that it's very bad luck to say 'thank you' at the end of a coffee cup reading. She's asking if you like the Greek coffee? Very much. Poli orea. Very, very good. (Laughs) How am I doing? Do I want to take a little bit more? A little bit more drinking? (Speaks Greek) I just pour it in here? Like this. And now this goes there. (Chuckles) The other thing that they do, is do this three times. What's that? It's like doing the cross. I'm so aware of the fact that I might not have done it. I might have been able to affect my future by the way that I... I could perhaps have done more of it. I was being a bit timid. Whereas, if I'd given it... Anyway, we'll see. ELENI: That could be either... travel? A trip you want to make? Or some kind of job? Some project, which keeps being blocked. Project, yes. The same thing. Keeps being blocked, and it's blocked here, see? And she sees that happening... in seven. That could be seven days, seven weeks... Seven years? Not seven years. Not seven years? Seven weeks? Seven minutes! A kind of career peak just now. How lovely. I won't say 'thank you', I'm not going to say 'thank you', but I'm going to say... (Speaks Greek) (All laugh) 4 ALL: Yassas! JOANNA: On the village green, Eleni's introducing me to some of the members of the local women's association, who have organised the fortune-telling festival, including her mother. My mum, Tula. Tula. Items which have been collected from all the women in the village, are placed in a pot of water, or Klidonas. Later on, each object will be drawn from the pot, and a poem or rhyme read out - sometimes quite rude - supposed to foretell the future of the owner. I saw all sorts of things going in there, earrings, bracelets, several rings ` Eleni put in her beautiful, very valuable diamond ring... six Euros. I put in my plastic hair clip. But there were all kinds ` I saw some buttons, I saw... Well, quite a handful of little bits and pieces, toys, key fobs, all kinds of small things. It's just going to be fascinating because presumably each one comes out and has its own little rhyme attached to it, vulgar or not. I can't wait to see how this works. JOANNA: As the sun goes down, the entire population of the village gathers in eager anticipation of what has become an annual entertainment. (Crowd mumbles) (Crowd laughs, claps) Eleni's mother is vice-president of the women's association, and master of ceremonies. (Crowd laughs) Is that mine?! (All laugh) JOANNA: It's very vulgar... Afto einai diko mou. It is mine! ..but this mixed crowd finds it funny and completely inoffensive. The Greek sense of humour has much in common with Chaucer. Oh, my God, that's my mum! Please, stop! Shut your mouth. JOANNA: Although the Klidonas festival, celebrated throughout the region, originates in the worship of ancient Greek gods, today it seems to be more of an excuse for a party. (Greek music) (All clap) The garlands that decorated the village doors in May are taken down, dry and dusty at the end of harvest, and thrown onto the bonfire to symbolise the end of the farmers' year. Whoa! Whoa! Look how daring they are! Yeah. Ooh, little boys! (Both laugh) JOANNA: To ward off evil spirits and celebrate the future, boys from the village leap the bonfire, quite often singeing their hair and clothes. It's just strangely scary. The idea of the lost shoe and the burnt trouser. You know, everything. Put these on now, you come with me. No, don't jump. Just throw it into the fire. We have to jump. You have to jump? OK, try it! (Boy exclaims) Oh, no! Oh, no. Change your mind. Oh, my God! Oh, my God! BOTH: Whoa! (All cheer) No, no, no. Ooh! Whoa! Oh, my God. Oh, boy. There's a smell of burnt hair now, I tell you. Will you jump? Take my hand, take my hand. One, two, three! Woo! (Crowd cheers) JOANNA: Though Greece is on the eve of bankruptcy, it feels as though this community needs its ancient traditions now more than ever. They hold the country together through good times and bad. Just down the road is Greece's second city, Thessaloniki. Over the years it's been home to pagan, Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths. Famed for its Byzantine churches, which were adapted to mosques during the 400 years Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire, it's once again a Christian city. But the people of Thessaloniki have just elected a radical and controversial mayor. It's not just his tattoos and earring, it's his liberal conviction that has earned him a huge following. Kalimera. Welcome, miss. Kalimera. Thank you. (Speaks in Greek) Kalimera. Good day, madam. Very good. Welcome. I'm so pleased to meet you. You didn't keep me waiting. There are some things today that... Busy day. Busy. Please excuse me. Please. Yes. Yes. You have Turkish... Why do you have a Turkish aeroplane here? Wasn't there one before? No. You believe in this, don't you? Keeping on good terms with neighbours? JOANNA: Despite a general strike that day, prompted by the economic crisis, Mayor Boutaris offers to show me around the city. We're starting in the old Turkish quarter. JOANNA: Like much of the rest of the country, this area of the city is economically depressed, but the mayor has major plans to rejuvenate it. (Crowd claps) Turkey? They are Turks. Beautiful vegetables. Poli orea. It's like walking about with a film star. These great, grand buildings remind me of Paris, somehow. JOANNA: As well as its Muslim and Christian heritage, Thessaloniki was home to a large Jewish community, many of whom were deported to concentration camps during the Second World War. This is Jewish. This one there, this one there. JOANNA: During the Holocaust, a reported 50,000 Jews were deported by train to the death camps, from a city square which is now a car park. JOANNA: Mayor Boutaris now plans, not only to scrap the car park, and re-instate the old square, but also to relocate a monument to the victims to a more prominent position. A huge strand of the culture torn out. (Bike rings bell) JOANNA: Many of the mayor's most ardent supporters are drawn from the youthful student population of the city... ..which, today, is famous for its vibrant nightlife. This is such a beautiful city. It's so full of life. So full of young people - there are two universities here. I'm just going to meet one of the world-famous cocktail-makers. He's going to be operating inside here. Just want to see what he can make. JOANNA: Two years ago, Telis won an international competition and was proclaimed the best barman in the world. Telis? Joanna. Yassas. Yasu. Oh, this is exciting. How are you? I'm very well, but this looks more like a cookery class than cocktails. It is a little bit of cooking, a little bit of cocktails. It's a mixture. OK. They have dill inside. He's preparing his award-winning cocktails for me tonight, based on famous Greek dishes. Two and a half spoons... The 'starter' is inspired by tzatziki, a dish of yoghurt and cucumber, allegedly enjoyed by Cleopatra and Alexander the Great. And now... Tzatziki. Dill. A peel of cucumber. Oh, that looks just beautiful! So, Joanna, this is the... ..tzatziki martini. Enjoy it. Thank you. I might just have to take a sip. I know I'll wanna finish it. But I have a feeling I shouldn't. (Laughs) That's absolutely beautiful. It's parsley... JOANNA: For the main course, Telis prepares a Greek salad with parsley, olives and peppers. And, of course, the obligatory dose of vodka. The secret to his success lies in a special topping. What I'm gonna do now is take from the refrigerator... ..a siphon. A si... You could put out a fire with that. (Laughs) Whoa! Egg white, tomato, water, feta cheese. Exactly, and we garnish with a cherry tomato from Santorini. From Santorini, of course. They have the best cherry tomatoes. Look at that. Well, I better start it before it dimples away into nothing! (Laughs) It's a typical Greek salad. That's exquisite. Thank you very much. JOANNA: For pudding, Telis's final offering is based on Baklava, an Ottoman Turkish sweet made with pistachio, honey and cinnamon. You want to help me? You could just say, 'Sugar sugar, sugar sugar,' (Laughs) Very good. What do you think about James Bond when he said, 'Shaken, not stirred?' What do you feel about that? I notice you shake. You don't stir, do you? It depends. If you want it... ..shaken, it's OK with me. If you want stirred, it's OK. It's after dinner. It's kicking... It's kicking you. Just in case the evening's gone a bit slowly, in case she's not giving you the look that you love... ..this comes unadorned, suddenly... Well, it's got a bit of adornment round here. And also, after dinner you don't mind if bits get stuck in your teeth. Before dinner, you're trying to look your best. Look at that colour. It's the colour of a moonstone. Sort of opal colour. Enjoy. If I drunk all one of these on my own, I would be feeling pretty happy. JOANNA: In ancient times, brown bears would have roamed these hills. Today, there are only about 150 bears living in the wild in Greece. We're on our way to a sanctuary founded by Mayor Boutaris, for rescued and orphaned bears close to the mountain town of Nymfeo. Melina Avgerinou gave up her career as an actress to work full-time with the rescued bears. Melina. Hello. Hello, I'm Joanna. Welcome, I'm Melina. Nice to meet you. How good to meet you. You're just on time for the feeding process of the bears. Oh, excellent. Can we go and see? Yes, let's go, let's go this way. JOANNA: The Arcturos sanctuary takes its name from a star, which in Greek mythology, Zeus placed in the heavens to protect the constellations, the Great Bear and the Little Bear. We have 13 bears and they are all ex-captive animals, like dancing bears and circus bears, zoo bears. They must know you, they know your voice. This is Katarina, nine years old. Katarina! The last confiscation of dancing bears happened in 1997, and this was when the phenomenon was considered solved in Greece. We still have this phenomenon in other Balkan countries, neighbour countries, like Albania or Serbia. So, even though we solved the phenomenon in Greece, it means nothing, because a bear that lives in Greece might cross the borders and go to Albania. How do they make a bear dance? Because it's by cruelty, isn't it? Yes, the first factor is starvation. They leave the animals not fed for some days, so they will have a motive to dance. The most common thing that they make them do is they make them walk on hot, metal sheets. At the same time, he is hitting the tambourine, so they do this movement that looks a little bit like dancing, but this is a reflex to them, so it's something that they do to actually avoid pain. Look at this person coming right close up. I think this is the first time I've been so close to such an extraordinarily huge and, well, wild animal, who's here of his own accord. I know food is probably the ulterior motive, because it's before feeding time, but this extraordinary creature. And apart from being abandoned, because his mother was probably killed, people have been nothing but good to this bear. JOANNA: At Arcturos, the bears are fed on past-its-sell-by-date food, which has been donated by local businesses, and on crates of windfall apples. The safest and most effective way of feeding them is in a rather grim-looking block, which nevertheless allows the bears to be separate while they eat, and keeps the staff safe. They are, after all, still very dangerous wild animals. So, it is a bit like prisoner in cell block H, but for this reason, it couldn't be better, really, could it? Because they've come in of their own accord, they go out of their own accord, you can see that it's open there. Mm-hmm. Even though the doors might look a little bit like cages, if you see inside, the dens are like big rooms. We can close the bears inside and they can be comfortable. We need to feed every bear in its den, because otherwise they would fight with each other. Yes. How carefully they've thought this out, so that each creature has a sense of as much possible security and freedom, and independence. And yet they have to be able to monitor them, to make sure that they're safe and well, and getting the right stuff, not bullying each other, not injured. And all these, which look like fences and compounds is actually only a way of guiding them into where the feeding area is. I really want to support things like this, I think it's just brilliant. And poor old Greece at the moment, on its knees financially. The first things that go always are the ecological things, and the animal organisations, and charities in general. Be too awful to think that they couldn't go on looking after these creatures. JOANNA: The Pindos National Park is one of the few places in Greece where wild bears are to be found. With more than 400 species of flowers and plants, it's also one of the most important areas for the protection of wild plants. Tolis Dianelos has made it his life's work to find out how these plants were used for healing, and in religious rituals during ancient times. Yassas, Tolis. Joanna. Hello. How good to meet you. So, what, it helped to heal, to close the... How extraordinary. Tolis, before we go, I've seen this flower all over Greece. What is this? This is white flower, it's conium maculatum. It's a famous flower in Greece. Well, this is extraordinary because this is the famous hemlock. Socrates was... ..well, he was criticised for not worshipping the gods that the Athenians worshipped. He just didn't recognise them, and also for corrupting the youth. And so, he was put on trial, in I think it was in about 399BC, and he was tried and he was found guilty - the vote was something like 280 to 220. They said, 'What would you like?' He was allowed to choose his own sentence. I mean, he could have chosen exile. But he got a bit lippy and he said, 'What about praising me up a bit, or maybe giving me a small fine?' or something, and they just... They lost it a bit then, and said, 'You die.' And in those days they recommended that you took... It was a kind of euthanasia. The kind of thing that's being debated at the moment, as if you want to die. But anyway... You had to take this hemlock, and so he was sent to jail and he drank it. Apparently, it's not painful. It just gradually... Not pleasant. Paralyses you all the way up until it paralyses your lungs, your heart, and so you stop breathing and you die. Socrates. One of the great names. Hemlock, his downfall. JOANNA: In the first century AD, Christianity began to replace the old Greek Gods and myths. Classical Greek civilisation as we know it was coming to an end. But, after 1200 years, the Christian faith itself was threatened by the arrival of the Muslim Turks, who ruled Greece from the 15th to the 19th century. However, the Christian population was still devout and growing, needing places of worship. In the town of Velventos, northern Greece, is a church which, unusually, was built by permission of the Muslim ruler of this region in an astounding 40 days. The local priest today is Papa Dimitrios Tsianakis. Papa Dimitrios. Poli orea. This is so beautiful! DIMITRIOS: Yes. (Gasps) All Biblical stories around the edge. It's coming right round to the crucifixion. It's got all the Bible painted here. Tell me how this church came to be built, Papa. JOANNA: It took a further three years to complete the elaborate paintings and ornate carvings which decorate the church. This is extraordinary, Father, because to construct a building like this in 40 days is a miracle. Paintings go right up to the ceiling. The ceiling itself is decorated. Until quite recently, women and men were separated in Greek churches. The women's gallery is on the first floor. Oh, look, Eleni, all the saints, they're all women. ELENI: Yes. Oh, look, look at this huge painting on this domed ceiling. This is the Dormition of Mary. What does a 'dormition' mean? Dormition of Mary is when Mary died, but, of course, she didn't die, according to testimony - she slept and she was raised to heaven. And there's a gruesome scene at the bottom of the bier where she's lying. The angel is cutting the hands off somebody. What happened there? It's somebody that tried to stop the coffin that Mary is placed on. It was raising to go up to heaven and he tried to stop it, so the angel chopped off his hands. (Crickets chirp) JOANNA: With my bags packed and ready to go, and just when I thought Greece couldn't be any more surprising, we come across one of the most extraordinary places in the country. These incredible rock formations were made by river sediment when the area was underwater millions of years ago. Weathering by water, wind and extremes of temperature then moulded them into the kind of bizarre shapes we see today. In the 14th century, Christian monks fled into the hills to avoid persecution from the Turks. They built 24 monasteries on top of these phenomenal rocks, and everything - monks, materials and supplies - had to be winched up on ropes. I've travelled pretty widely, but I don't think I've ever been to a more extraordinary place than this. This is Meteora, which means literally, 'suspended in the air', and I can't think of a better place to end my fantastic journey through this country. JOANNA: Greece has given us our democratic political system, which is the envy of the world. It's always extraordinary to come to a building that you know so well from pictures and drawings and imitations around the world. Just to come and stand in it, and to be in this great temple. JOANNA: She's given us our theatrical tradition. (Sings 'Ave Maria') It's just so odd as life goes by, that you get to meet some of these great gods. (Crowd claps) JOANNA: And her hospitality is second to none. Her scientists gave us the basis for modern medicine and astrology. Her philosophers formed the way we think. Without her, there would be no Olympic games, the greatest international sporting event of all time. (Gasps) Look, look, look - this is the stadium. Look at the size of this place! JOANNA: The sea has defined her history, and today, she remains one of the great maritime nations of the world. The sea is what they became masters at. They ruled the ancient sea. And then, with the great Greek shipping magnates, they ruled the modern seas as well. JOANNA: Over the centuries, she's been invaded and occupied by so many foreign powers, and yet has somehow remained Greek through and through. No country has had a more lasting impact on the rest of the world than Greece herself. But, although the days are dark for Greece at the moment, and the nights are long, she will survive triumphantly to see another dawn.