Empires: The Greeks – Crucible of Civilization

The Greeks – Crucible of Civilization is a part of the Empires documentary series’ sequence, documenting famous historical events.

Guided by narrator Liam Neeson, this time we’ll visit ancient Greece and meet some of the more prolific historical Greek people who helped shape our modern world.

The ancient Greeks, they were people who were glorious, arrogant, valiant and headstrong. Originally calling their home Hellás, these were the men and women who laid the very foundation of western civilization.

Their monuments still recall some of the most extraordinary centuries in history.

A time which saw the birth of visionary science, new politics, groundbreaking philosophy, literature, art and architecture. All of them shaping our future.

The ancient Greek achieved all of this against a backdrop of war and conflict.

They would vanquish armies, navies, empires, many time their size, and build an empire of their own which stretched across the mediterranean.

For one brief moment mighty ships of the Greek ruled the seas, their prosperity unequalled.

Their achievements still echo in our modern day society, by men and women who’s voices we can still hear and whose lives we can still follow.

Men such as Themistocles, one of the world’s greatest military generals. Pericles, a politician, visionary and genius – and Socrates, perhaps the most famous philosopher in history.

This is the story of these astonishing individuals of the rise and fall of a civilization that changed the world.