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“The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization” Episode Two: “Golden Age”

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“The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization” Episode Two: “Golden Age” Transcript of “The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization” Episode Two: “Golden Age” Transcript of PBS Video - The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization Part 2 - The Golden Age 0:00 – Episode Introduction Greece. The year 490 BC. Here a revolution has begun that will change the world. In a moment of chaos and anarchy, the people of a tiny state named Athens have seized control of their city, and established democracy for the first time in history. But now this tiny state will face a greater challenge. Athens will be pitted against the greatest power of the day, the tyrannical Persian Empire. In a contest spread across land and sea, that will last over a decade, Athenian democracy will be tested in the crucible of war. This is the story of an extraordinary moment in history, and of two men who will change the course of civilization. Themistocles, the military genius of the ancient world. And Pericles, a visionary whose legacy still shapes the world today. This is the story of the Greeks. 1:45 – The Battle of Marathon, 490 BC 490 BC. A lone figure runs across the mountainous terrain of Greece. His name is Pheidippides, citizen of a tiny democracy named Athens. On this day, Pheidippides will make one of the most astonishing athletic feats in history, the inspiration for our modern marathon. But Pheidippides’ quest is not for glory, but survival. His homeland is about to be conQuered by the mighty Persian Empire. In the early fifth century BC, the Persians were the greatest power on the world stage. Their vast empire stretched from India in the east, to Turkey in the west. Now, out on their western frontier, the tiny state of democratic Athens was gaining power. This was a threat the Persians would have to destroy. The Persians lived in a culture of unbending tyranny. At the head of their empire sat Darius, known to the Greeks only as The Great King. Suppliants had to cover their mouths in his presence just to avoid tainting the air he breathed. For Pheidippides and the democratic Athenians, conQuest by Darius and the Persians would mean the destruction of their entire way of life. Barry Strauss: “There is a huge cultural difference between the Greeks and the Persians. The Greeks are a people who emphasize freedom. The Persians would put far more emphasis on obedience. It is a struggle between freedom and slavery.” The Persian force landed at a sandy bay called Marathon, just 26 miles from Athens. News of the invasion spread through the streets like wildfire. This was a city without a standing army. Every male citizen would have to come to defense of his state. The poorer citizens have spears, stakes, bows and arrows, whatever weapons they can find. But the heart of the Athenian force would be the hoplites, men who could afford heavy bronze armor, a shield, a spear, a sword. The Athenians would field a small but determined force. Victor David Hanson: “That’s probably the first time in the history of the Athenian state that the entire population had been mustered, and for them to field 10,000 hoplites, out of a citizenry that might have been only 20 or 30,000, is a level of involvement that’s astounding.” But as they faced the Persians on the battlefield, the Athenians held out little hope of victory. They were outnumbered by two to one. Pheidippides’ desperate mission was to run for help from one of PBS Empires Series, 1999 11 Written and Directed by Cassian Harrison Transcribed by Burke Rogers, June 2014 Transcript of “The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization” Episode Two: “Golden Age” Athens’ local rivals, the Greek state of Sparta. Even as he ran, Pheidippides must have imagined the horror that his fellow Athenians now faced. Barry Strauss: “You’re dodging spears from men in your front, and your men behind. You probably couldn’t see or hear. All you would feel would be pressure. You wouldn’t see the sword plunge that took one of your testicles off. You would see the spear thrust that took your head off. You would have no idea what was going on, just the momentum that carried you ahead. All that you would be aware of is that you had to push forward and keep stabbing and keep on your feet, and you would hope that everybody else would do that.” Pheidippides’ run was to become the stuff of legend. Fired by the terror that his fellow citizens were being slaughtered, he ran 140 miles in just two days. But Pheidippides’ quest would end in failure. Help would be refused. He was left only with the knowledge that his fellow Athenians would have to fight alone. Pheidippides could never have imagined that the Greeks would in fact have won a glorious victory. The Athenians had rushed at their foe in a headlong charge. And the Persians had scattered in the face of their assault. The Athenians slaughtered over 6,00o Persians in one fateful day. The world’s first democracy had survived its first great test. Victor Davis Hanson: “Every Athenian knew that he had voted to fight and that this reflected the majority vote of the citizens, and that this was not true of the Persians. Whatever you want to say about democracy, it fields the most patriotic , enthusiastic and often large armies.” 9:50 – Themistocles and the Construction of the Athenian Fleet The Athenians returned to their city to celebrate their victory. But amongst them was one for whom the war with Persia had only just begun, an Athenian general named Themistocles. Themistocles had fought on the battlefield at Marathon. He was typical of a new generation of Athenian leaders, a man who had risen to power through democracy. Barry Strauss: “Themistocles is a fascinating character, very much an example of the effect of democracy in Athens. It’s relatively clear that he doesn’t come from the inner circle of the landed aristocracy that traditionally ruled in Athens.” Tony Podlecki: “There were stories told about his feeling rather touchy about the fact that he hadn’t had a traditional aristocratic upbringing, for example, in music and poetry, and that might have even given him a spur to show that he could do as well as someone would had gone to all the right schools, as it were.” Themistocles’ opinion of his common origins was blunt and straightforward: “I may not know how to play the lyre of flute, but I do know how to make a city great.” Themistocles had learned the skills of leadership here, the democratic assembly of Athens. Here, any Athenian could stand before his fellow citizens and try to convince them to follow his leadership. From this very podium, Themistocles would now show himself to be one of history’s greatest leaders, the savior of his city. For Themistocles alone recognized that the Persians might still be a danger, and that next time victory for the Athenians might not prove so easy. PBS Empires Series, 1999 12 Written and Directed by Cassian Harrison Transcribed by Burke Rogers, June 2014 Transcript of “The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization” Episode Two: “Golden Age” Tony Podlecki: “Themistocles realized that the Persians, if they came again, it would be in a way that made sure that they weren’t going to be defeated by land again. There was no way that the Athenians could rely on traditional hoplite fighting techniques.” Themistocles began to form a bold new strategy, employing the most advanced weapon of the day, the trireme. Triremes had been developed by the Greek state of Corinth, the ancient world’s finest shipbuilders. Stacking 170 oarsmen on three levels, their combination of light weight and raw power gave them astonishing and maneuverability. There was nothing else like them on the water. Barry Strauss: “In contemporary terms, a trireme is a missile. The object of a trireme is to ram the enemy ship. It is a very narrow, very light, very sleek, very fast weapon.” But these triremes were also exceedingly expensive. Themistocles’ vision of a vast Athenian navy might never have come to pass if it had not been for one stroke of luck. In the year 483 BC, the Athenians discovered a great vein of silver in their territory, worth a hundred talents, a vast amount in the ancient world. The Athenians wanted to divide these new found riches among themselves. But then Themistocles stood up in the Assembly. He wanted to spend the money on ships. But he also knew that this would be a hard proposal to sell. And so Themistocles played a complex bluff. Barry Strauss: “His argument is not that the money should be used to build a fleet against Persia. But rather it should be used to build a fleet against Athens’ local rival, the Greek city-state of Aegina. The reason Themistocles does this is that he knew it would simply be too upsetting to remind people of the Persian threat. It’s a difficult argument to make, and a tribute to his political skills that he’s able to do it.” Themistocles convinced the Athenians to build the greatest naval force in Greece. And not a moment too soon. 15:20 – The Persian Invasion and Themistocles’ Strategy The great Persian king Darius died in 486 BC, and his son Xerxes assumed his father’s throne. Xerxes’ first action was to vow vengeance for his father’s defeat at the hands of the Athenians. Xerxes: “On my father’s behalf, and on behalf of all my subjects, I will not rest until I have taken Athens and burnt it to the ground.” Barry Strauss: “As an imperial power, the Persians cannot allow regional states like this to beat them with impunity.” Xerxes began to gather his forces.
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