"Ancient Greece ... the cradle of Western civilization." "For over a thousand years, this strong and charismatic people ... developed the most advanced technological feats ... the world has ever seen." "Then came a new generation thinkers ... they had a reason to build things ... to understand the nature, to create technology." "Engineering works so awesome ... ancient people believed ... which had been constructed by the gods." "one thing What really impresses ... is how those people could raise ... these huge rocks, giant." "These technological marvels ... were stimulated by leaders whose thirst for greatness ... a people united and launched the heights of an empire." "But this brilliant explosion culture and creativity ... succumbed, victim of fierce battles ... who launched brother against brother." "Deadly duels that would the end of a golden era." "September 480 a.c. .." "dawn on the island of Salamis ... and the narrow channel that separated Greece." "The calm sea showed no signs the great battle ..." "I was about to start there." "But at the end of the day, the Mediterranean would be red ... dipped in blood." "At stake is nothing less than the future and the independence of Greece ... a country of islands and city states ... that was beyond the reach of most Empire of the known world ..." "Persia (=Modern Iran) ." "Persia was the super power at that time." "Wealth, great confidence ... the greatest empire multiethnic and multicultural ... that the world had ever seen." "On the horizon, an invading force of epic proportions." "700 ships with 150,000 warriors ... determined to attach Greece to his empire" "But a Greek was watchful and ready for battle." "Your name, Themistocles." "An Athenian admiral and ... which for years was preparing for this moment." "But facing Persia, the greatest power in the world at the time ... would not be an easy thing for Themistocles." "Hello, I'm Peter Weller." "First, the Greek navy fleet was outnumbered two to one." "Second, Themistocles faced a problem almost insoluble ... trying to put together a group of warriors completely different ... and controversial under one command." "The good thing about the development Civic Ancient Greece ... was the city-state." "Each city-state was a type of mini independent country ... a self control, in Greece." "And the bad thing about the development Civic Ancient Greece was ... the city-state." "Because as much as these cities speak the same language ... venerate the same gods, not had an idea of national unity ... and their only priorities were their particular agendas and regional." "At best, they did not get along ... at worst, they were violent with each other." "If there was someone I could join the Athenians ... that someone was Themistocles." "A man who does not came from aristocracy ... and was not ashamed to his countrymen knew it." "He was always an outsider." "He saw himself as an outsider." "And prided its lack of refinement." "He said he could do not know how to sing a lyre ... or sing well, but that knew everything he needed ... to make a city great and free." "It was not the first time Themistocles who faced the Persians." "Ten years earlier, a force smaller Persian ... invaded Greece first ... and fought against the Athenians and its allies ... in the city of Marathon." "Now Themistocles would that experience to Salamis ... its strategy and concentrate in a failure ... it detects that the machine Persian War:" "The Navy." "He knew that the water was not the natural element of the Persians." "Persia had the power of the earth." "In fact, the Persian religion considered salt water demon." "Themistocles wanted the Greeks build a navy different ... of all that the world had ever seen." "Work began immediately in a fast pace ... to construct a fleet of 200 triremes ... the ship most deadly the ancient world." "A trireme has approximately 40m in length." "It is light and smooth." "It has a spur wood covered in bronze ... the water level, and that is the weapon of the trireme." "You can think of the trireme like a guided missile." "The trireme consisted of 170 rowers on three separate levels ... 62 at the highest level, 54 in the middle and 54 on the lower level." "At the lowest level ... rowers sat so low, in the ship's hold ... their oars were only 45cm above the line of the sea." "So, you have a boat, a wooden boat paddle." "So, you have a boat ... a wooden boat paddle." "You can get up to 8, 9 we ... what an incredible speed to the ancient world." "And can strike like a missile." "The rowers, of course, had to learn to work in teams." "They had to learn how paddle together at the same time ... something easy to start doing but very difficult to master." "The fleet of triremes Themistocles' ... was ready in a few years and the exact time." "N the spring of 480." "C. .." "Persia launched a massive attack against Greece." "Themistocles knew that the Persian fleet ... was greater than the fleet Greek, in the proportion of two to one." "Then he engendered a simple plan, but artful ... to keep the Greeks united and leveling forces." "He had to transform disadvantage into advantage ... the fact that fewer vessels the Persians." "So he had to lure the Persians, may say so ... to a battlefield they could not move ... with the entire fleet, for him to actually ... concentrate its power and attack." "So, the best place him to do it ... was in the Straits of Salamis." "Themistocles engendered a ruse ... to lure the Persian fleet the straits of Salamis." "Themistocles was a man very smart ... a great trickster." "He knew that the Persians preferred to win battles ... diplomacy, intimidation and bribing traitors." "On the eve of battle, he sent a trusted servant ... to persian field." "The servant played the traitor ... counting the Persian king that the Greeks were disorganized ... and if the send Persian their ships at night ... could amaze the Greek navy morning." "The Persians took the bait." "Then, at dawn, the Persians discovered, to his shock ... that the Greek fleet, instead of being withdrawing ... was in battle formation ... and that they, the Persians, would have to face them." "So it was a perfect setting battle, planned by Themistocles." "200 triremes moved by 34,000 rowers Greeks ... put themselves in line not giving way ..." "Persians for maneuver the straits." "The trap worked perfectly." "The attacks were maintained by day ... the Greek triremes surrounded the Persian ships ... and then swooped with its front beams." "The Persian officers died in unusual proportions." "The battle was so confused, chaotic and terrifying ... that at the end of the day, even the Greeks were sure they had won." "But the thousands of enemy corpses the beaches of Salamis ... revealed a decisive Greek victory." "Some historical sources claim that the Persians ... lost 200 ships and the Greeks, 40." "The Persians had no drowned ... were killed by Greek soldiers waiting on the beach." "If the Greeks had not won the Battle of Salamis ..." "Greek civilization, or Ancient Greece and values ?" "that we share ... in today's world, could never have existed." "After stunning victory at Salamis, Themistocles was acclaimed hero." "But their personal ambitions began to grow ... hatred of his many political enemies." "It was only a matter of time ... until the wrath of the assembly overflow." "Athens at this time had a practice ... it was called "ostracism" an annual debate ... in which people voted in political ... they thought it was more dangerous to the political process" "And exuded by 10." "In 471 BC, Themistocles was ostracized." "For a stunning irony, was forced to duck for cover ... that both the enemy endeavored to defeat." "He never saw Athens." "Incredibly, he was forced to go to Persia ... where he found refuge and ended his life speaking Persian ... working as administrator to the Persian king ... and helping the Persians to govern western Asia Minor." "Themistocles had played its role in an epic story ... power and achievements that is inspired in a glorious past." "The legendary tales about gods and heroes ... narrated in epics as the "Iliad" and "Odyssey."" "Stories can be myths ... but the achievements of these Greek ancestors were real ... and still remains today." "Around 1300 a.c. ... a people who spoke an ancient form of Greek ... inhabited large parts of Greece." "They were known Mycenaeans as ... and, for years, his wars and scandals, feats and achievements ... were the raw material of legend ... and laid the foundation of Greek civilization." "Mycenae, the capital, was surrounded by a massive citadel ... built over 150 years." "According to the myth, in this city ... the Mycenaeans were led by a king named Agamemnon ... whose epic fights were recorded by the poet Homer ... in the eighth century BC, in two of narrative history's most famous ... the "Iliad" and "Odyssey"." "Well, the "Iliad" was something like the Bible to ancient Greece." "It contained a moral history ..." "She said how you should live." "She described gods ... described religion but also described the people." "She described situations." "She suggested ideal you should seek." "The narratives of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" became famous." "The abduction of Helen by Paris ... the ten-year siege inflicted by Agamemnon to Troy .." "and the giant wooden horse used by the Greeks ... to enter Troy and destroy the city." "Although the exploits of Agamemnon ... during the Trojan War had been heroic ... his return to Mycenae had a very warm welcome." "He was murdered by his wife." "scholars argue Homer was for centuries ... actually wrote or not the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" ... joined stories and songs ... or if it had something to do with the works." "But if the ancient Greeks return today ... they make fun of this story, because for the ancient Greeks ..." "Homer was not only a great folk singer ... or a writer of bestsellers of pulp fiction." "Homer was a historian ... and these legends were not stories ... to tell children the light of oil lamps ... were provable facts." "This is what's left of Mycenae, the city which Homer wrote ... and many, including me ... would like to believe Agamemnon ruled." "These ruins show us the ancient Greeks ... were not only great builders ... but they were able great feats of engineering." "When you approach Mycenaean ... the first thing you see are the walls of the fortress ... which are very impressive ... and immediately cause a feeling of bewilderment." "The walls of the citadel of Mycenae are formed by blocks of stone ... and each weighs about ten tons." "Were placed with such precision ... each stone fits seamlessly into the adjacent block." "But how inspiring view, nothing in Mycenae ... comes close to the colossal main entrance to the citadel ..." "Lion's Gate" "This is the Lion's Gate, the main entrance of the city of Mycenae." "It is one of the youngest impressive of all antiquity." "It is a majestic piece of symbolism." "A majestic piece of engineering." "Two lions, fully erect, with the legs on the base of the column." "Their heads, missing, should be facing out." "Anyone approaching this portal ... know that Mycenae represented one thing:" "Power." "structurally, the portal seems to have technical ... standard construction engineering columns and lintel." "These vertical elements here, these massive pillars ... are the columns which support the lintel ... the horizontal element, which weighs about 12 tons." "But it is above the portal where are the lions ... engineers went a step further." "If you look at this triangle jagged rocks beside the lions ... there is an element we call arc forward." "Suppose you have these four stones." "And instead of piling them ... you try to create an opening outside ... and you steal a little space ... thereby placing them." "Is the bow forward." "If we a little more ambitious ... because it is not large enough ... and try to move stones a little more ... still in progress, we run this risk." "Will fall." "So what's the catch?" "It is simple." "You get to put balance ... after each advanced of these stones." "This triangle ... first, we must say this is a true ..." "Mycenaean innovation." "It's something that we see first ... probably worldwide." "So in that sense ..." "We are facing something very innovative, very new." "The engineers took Mycenaeans the arc advanced a step further." "They applied the idea to create a revolutionary interior space ... with a cover called vault." "The cover was used only in a type of building:" "Tombs." "Like the Egyptians, the Mycenaeans built ... extraordinary structures to house their leaders killed." "These tombs were called "tholoi"." "his buildings left something ... engineers Mycenaeans had never done." "The circular shape is completely absent ... in architectural thinking the Mycenaeans." "they worked lines and right angles." "So, the circle was only for this type of structure." "This makes the idea the symbolism of the circle ... related death even stronger." "Building a "tholoi" was a gigantic enterprise engineering." "The first step was digging the side of a hill." "They dug this trench and it formed the "dromos" ... which in Greek means "road" or "way"." "In this case, is an entrance to the tomb ... and is surrounded on both sides, by these beautiful stones ... aligned side and longitudinally." "3,200 years ago, in 1200. a.c. .." "a visitor would approach that "dromos" ... and would be faced by an unbelievable place ... magnificent and impressive this huge portal." "The portal had two fantastic giant columns ... carved green marble ... with zigzags and spirals throughout its length." "Each of these giant stones is 77cm in height." "And there are 33 circles these stones cone shaped." "Each layer of stone is placed on the last ... will highlight, is what call the style "breakthrough."" "Then they are shaved to become smooth." "For the structure is stable ... you need constant pressure ... from the outside inwards." "Like a barrel ... you need the metal strip ... to keep the parts together." "This pressure comes placing earth." "As built, they put earth around ... much land, and there was a point they ended ... shaped structure of a beehive at the same time ... that built a lot of dirt on top." "Around 1100 a.c. , this Greek civilization ... disintegrated and disappeared suddenly and mysteriously." "There are many theories about it." "I think that protrudes is that new tribes ... new barbarian tribes, came from the steppes ... civilizations of Egypt and attacked and civilizations of Mesopotamia ... causing problems trade routes." "And this led to his downfall." "With the fall of Mycenae, Greece entered the Dark Ages." "For four centuries, their culture fell into a deep slumber." "Then in the eighth century a.c. , the city-state ... started independently to develop and flourish ... each forging their own identity ... competing for superiority economic, military and technological." "A Greek island in particular, Samos ... would see the construction one of the engineering feats ... most impressive the ancient world ... moving mountains to bring water to the people." "Sparta, Athens, Corinth, Thebes." "These are just some of more than one hundred city-states ... that emerged throughout Greece, 400 years after ... the disappearance civilization of Mycenae." "Before the advent democracy in Greece ... many of these city-states were led by a sole ruler ... called a tyrant, in Ancient Greece." "Around 540 a.c. , called a tyrant Polycrates ... ruled the island and city-state of Samos ... in the eastern Aegean." "He had good performance on the international scene ... he made tactical alliances not only with the Persians ... but also with the Egyptians." "He was an ambitious figure." "Polycrates saw the path to power ... as an island Samos was by the sea." "He built a fleet 100 ... triremes terrorizing the neighboring city states ... and taxing ships passing through the region." "Under domain Polycrates Samos, his native island ... became power maritime dominance." "And that was the beginning their wealth and power." "With its wealth recent Polycrates built defensive walls ... around the capital and fell ... solve a problem that plagued many cities ... in the arid Mediterranean climate, drinking water." "Samos was a city lot, very important and powerful." "They needed a lot of water." "And the water was running." "There was a spring bumper ... but it was the 274m, in Monte Castro." "Polycrates and his engineers had to figure out a way ... connecting the city to the source." "Build an aqueduct around Mountain was not an option." "You could build a system of water supply ... around the mountain, but the first thing an enemy would do ... would cut off water and there you are with your fortress ... with its incredible barriers and running out of water." "The solution required something out of the ordinary." "Polycrates sought an engineer called Eupalinos." "This came with a solution ... which meant literally move a mountain ... a tunnel that crossed Monte Castro." "It would be a huge project and extensive." "The time required to make such a tunnel would be enormous." "Therefore, the decision was to make ... tunnel from both sides." "This is a problem mathematical and technical." "As today's engineers made under the Channel ..." "Eupalinos dug tunnels on both sides of the mountain ... for they meet in the middle." "To do so, would making sure that each tunnel ... started at the same time on opposite sides of the mountain." "The tunnels also had to match the horizontal ... otherwise they would next to one another ... like ships in the night." "No sophisticated equipment examination topographic ... was a remarkable challenge engineering." "The theory involved a short walk ... around a large mountain." "Simulating a path from the source to the city ... in short lines perpendicular ..." "Eupalinos could measure each small extension ... to calculate both sides of a right triangle." "With two sides of the triangle known ... the hypotenuse was the path of the tunnel through the mountain." "What made this prodigious engineering feat ... even more impressive that is involved not only a tunnel ... but two." "The main tunnel was dug ... the height and width of about 2 by 2 feet ... to be used only work space ... to dig a second tunnel adjacent and below the main ... and that would serve as the aqueduct." "The tunnel was dug Work on flat ground ... and on the side of the aqueduct and below that." "This second tunnel needed have a slight slope ... allowing smooth flow water toward the city." "The risk of death was permanent ... those dark and dangerous bowels of the mountain." "Once in the mountains ... difficulties must have been enormous ... because the rocks could move unpredictably ... water could sprout suddenly and cause a catastrophe ... then, was a constant danger." "Furthermore, it was dark ... and they needed lighting." "And ever needed to know where they were ... to keep straight." "After minor adjustments ..." "430 00:25:24,689 -- 00:25:26,289 the two teams met halfway ... almost exactly where Eupalinos originally had determined." "The floors of the two tunnels have connected ... with only 60cm difference." "A discrepancy of less than 1% ... 1.066m length of the tunnel." "this awesome engineering feat ... may have been the luminous moment the reign of Polycrates." "But his political fortunes would not be so bright." "The Persian governor, on the coast of Asia Minor ... decided that that degree of autonomy that Polycrates enjoyed ... was not appropriate for the development of Persian power." "He was arrested ... brutally tortured and crucified." "Polycrates was only one among many tyrants ... who ruled the city-state Ancient Greek ... between 800 and 500 a.C. .." "The power of the few over the many ... was the only form of government that humans knew." "But this was about to change." "The city-state of Athens would change the course of history." "The visionary leader that would make it happen ..." "Pericles was called." "His legacy would be an eternal monument Athenian Acropolis ... that rose above the clouds." "A striking example precision engineering ... called Parthenon." "In 480 BC, when Themistocles defeated the Persians ... at the battle of Salamis, he saved not only Athens ... but also their young democracy ... he was born 25 years ago." "For Athens, the time the sole ruler over." "Athens was rich in military power ... treasures, technology and ideas." "was ready for its golden ... and a man to lead you there." "His name was Pericles ... an intellectual Democrat and clarified that supported the arts." "an intellectual Democrat que clarified and supported the arts." "through other means, including threats ... bribery and brute force." "Pericles came from a family aristocrats of Athens." "A family type already expected of him ... 's career leader political and military." "Began his climb to power when he was elected, still young ... for the post of "strategists" in a group of ten men ... who commanded the army and defining foreign policy." "born politician and gifted speaker ..." "Pericles soon became the statesman most influential and powerful of Athens." "Pericles was the typical political animal." "This man was a politician." "He could talk and persuade." "He was completely dedicated what he did." "Pericles became leader Athens in 461." "A.C. .." "Thanks to the fleet of triremes that Themistocles built ... the Athenian navy beat remained ... in the eastern Mediterranean." "But, despite defeat the Persian Empire in Salamis ... always looming threat another invasion." "At 478 a.C. .." "Athens and the city-states of the Aegean ... formed an alliance for mutual defense called Delian League ... version of NATO the ancient world." "In 450 BC, Athens had become ... undisputed leader of the Delian League ... which was a source money for the city-state." "And Pericles as leader undisputed Athens ... found ways to make the best use of that money ... in large public buildings, to better reflect ... greatness and magnitude Athens." "Legend has it that Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea ... and Athena, goddess of wisdom ... came to the Acropolis to compete the patronage of the city ... that would be decided by the people." "Poseidon thrust his trident on the ground and a spring appeared." "Athena thrust his spear and emerged an olive ... suggested that not only food for the Greeks ... but also a product for trade." "Thus, it became Athena the patron goddess of the city." "Over the centuries, There were many temples to Athena ... most were destroyed." "But it was Pericles who gave the world the most notable example ..." "Greek Architecture of all antiquity:" "The Parthenon." "Pericles decided to rebuild the Parthenon on the Acropolis ... using the foundations of an ancient temple of Athena." "It took thousands workers and skilled craftsmen ... to create this magnificent temple." "It cost more than any other building designed by the Greeks ... thirty million drachmas, the equivalent of billions of dollars." "This is an incredible amount." "But remember that it was a great development of the State." "The construction of the giant project began in the 447." "C. .." "the Parthenon should have two-thirds of a football field." "Its external dimensions:" "70m long ... by 31m in length." "The first challenge was removed marble ... from a quarry on the mountain, 16km." "Altogether, it would take 30 000 tons ... the delicate white stone." "The quarry workers used the natural cracks ... to remove the mountain giant blocks of marble." "The first step is to locate these cracks ... and calculate if the piece of marble ... is sufficient for the specific objective." "The second step is to put wedges within these cracks ... horizontal and vertical." "The Eram with iron." "Why?" "Because a large energy was applied ... for hammering all simultaneously with the ... to the fragility the material itself ... help to break down." "With flipcharts ready ... groups of men used levers, ropes and pulleys ... to maneuver the marble ... and prepare it for transport to the Acropolis." "Accidents were frequent." "There was a huge risk ... one of the sliding blocks ... illing people that were below." "Cut and carry the Marble Mountain ... was only half the battle the construction of the Parthenon." "Engineers now had to answer the question ... how to lift those monsters Ten tons of marble ... and erect the largest temple the world has ever seen?" "447 to July." "A.C. .." "the construction of a magnificent temple started on the Athenian Acropolis." "The Parthenon was the great project of Pericles ... a dynamic leader and ambitious Athens which would ... a Golden Age ever seen in Ancient Greece." "It was a statement ..." ""We are the most powerful city." "We are the cauldron of democracy and free thought." "We have the best people." "We have the best army, the best navy, are the leaders. "" "The Parthenon differ from most the temples of the time ... consisting of a building hex-style ... portico with six columns and thirteen side columns." "The Parthenon would be an octa-style, eight columns of seventeen." "This makes the construction very different ... because they all have basically the same proportions." "To make it larger, just increase the ratio." "To make it more extensive, have to give an extra dimension." "The columns provided a main support for the structure." "Each column consisted eleven barrels ... stacked one above the other." "How were carved, fit perfectly ... when placed in the column." "For this, the top each drum was divided ... in four concentric circles, with each ring flattened or not ... depending on the intensity required for setting ... to fit with the next drum." "In the center of each drum, the masons opened a rectangular cutout ... 15cm in size and 7 to 10 cm depth." "Then the carpenters inseriam pegs into slots ... that served to align and centralize the barrel from above." "The next challenge was to raise the very heavy drums ... especially the session higher." "A single column of the Parthenon ... weighs between 63 and 119 tons." "A crane is a tool extremely simple." "Has only one stem ... and a series of pulleys ... which, as we know, enables ... lift a weight, let's say ... 10 tons with a balance of 100k." "Engineers held the stone the crane in several ways." "The most commonly used method was to tie the end of the rope ... on the top a hook metal in S. .." "signing strings shorter the bottom of the hook ... and snare them in small buttons that were left ... raw marble in precisely with this goal." "Typically, they were left 4 buttons or the drum boulder ... evenly distributing the force needed to lift the object." "The walls of the indoor spaces should be placed ... with great accuracy ... because builders Greeks did not use mortar." "To keep together the ends of each block ..." "To keep together the ends of each block ......" "Then insert iron rods to keep them together." "With speakers and the blocks in position ... the buttons used to hoist them were drawn and brands flattened." "There is a saying that there is no straight lines Parthenon." "This means that architects incorporated ... a series of optical illusions when built." "Begins with the steps, rises from the speakers ... to the pediment, the triangular point on top of the construction." "Let's take a look the steps." "They seem to be straight, but not." "Looking closely ... they arch in the center and retreat at the tips." "This trick goes to the columns." "This column is the Doric ... there is no basis, seems to leave directly from the stone." "Each column has 20 splines ... which means that the column rippling as you pass by it." "Then, the column is arcuate in the center, and then back at the top." "This process is called "entasis"." "These long lines, the level of the horizon ... tend to bend." "So to eliminate this effect ... they are curved across ... and the result is again ... more harmonious and you see the lines." "If they were totally straight ... in perfect angles, you would see that." "The main function of the Parthenon was sheltering ... the monumental statue of Athena." "The Parthenon was a construction extremely expensive ... but the statue inside had a cost almost equal ... to the actual construction." "If it was not more expensive." "The statue of Athena was about 10, 11m in height." "About 30-35 feet." "And it was made ?" "of gold and ivory." "Hundreds of sculptors created figures that were alive ..." "This demonstrates that there talent not only in construction." "The most famous work the construction of the temple ... was the frieze that runs inner walls." "It was carved in low relief ... very close to the figures Background." "Portrays Panatenéia, a celebration to the goddess Athena ... held every four years." "What survived the Parthenon ... were the remains of white marble construction." "In antiquity, addition to the carvings ... many parts of the construction were decorated with paintings." "However, not all citizens were delighted with the Parthenon." "Some considered the project estimation of Pericles horrible ... and a simple monument to his own glory." "Many Athenians hated the Parthenon and the temples." "659 00:39:29,734 -- 00:39:33,471 They thought the disgusting and terrible." "Plato hated them." "Plato hated them." "these new constructions that incorporated new features ... felt that they broke with the past." "The murmurs discontent in Athens ... not limited to the Parthenon." "As Pericles continued expand the domain of Athens ... rivals began conspiring against him." "Before long, they began to launch attacks on their allies." "Topping the list was a beautiful and cultivated ... called Aspasia, member of the elite caste hetaira ... and companion of Pericles." "The courtesans were heteras of high class ... often compared to geishas ... gives Japanese culture." "The heteras circulated refined environments ... cultural life of Athens and Greek." "In Athens, women should submit to the domination of men ..." "Aspasia was the exception but the rule." "Pericles treated her as an equal ... and his companion quickly became part of the Athenian elite." "They have become a couple known ... and the perplexity ... scandal and the Athenian people ..." "Pericles was still seen kissing Aspasia in public." "And of course, demonstrations Public displays of affection ... were not expected in Classical Athens." "In 432 BC, after nearly 15 years of construction ... the Parthenon was completed." "This tribute to Athena Pericles did what I wanted ... disclose the power of Athens to the world." "disclose the power of Athens to the world." "was already in decline ... and Sparta, the longtime nemesis Athens, on the rise." "When Athens established the system of alliances ... or as some like to call it, "Athenian Empire" ... what actually became ... the Spartans began suspicious of the Athenians ... and, finally, about 430 ... feel threatened by them." "In 431 a.c. , Sparta attacked Athens." "For two long years, Athens resisted the siege of Sparta ... but the luminous city of Pericles was about ... to suffer the attack an invisible enemy." "After a few years ... because of overpopulation in Athens ... a disease that seemed to come Near Eastern ... attacked the Athenian people." "It is known as the "Great Athenian Plague"." "Many people died due to the plague." "Pericles, with more then 60 years, survived the plague ... but was physically weakened ... and he weighed about guilt the misery of the city." "In 429, the plague and the war ... eclipsing his beloved city ..." "Pericles died." "The bloody conflict between Athens and Sparta ... known as the Peloponnesian War ... continued for 25 more years." "Then in 404 BC, Athens succumbed." "At the end of the Peloponnesian War ... the time of Pericles and the domain Athens had ended." "But the wonders of culture Greek and engineering survived." "Ironically, the two largely responsible ... the legacy of the classical era Athenians were not." "The names of these two men ... would be synonymous not only of conquest, but of Hellenism." "The spread of the Greek ideal culture and values ?" "... throughout the world to this day." "One was Philip II, Macedonia ... and his son, a man who would envy all those generals and emperors ..." "Julius Caesar to Napoleon and George Patton." "A man who would travel most of the world ... who knew in his few 33 years." "A student of Aristotle, who proclaimed himself God ..." "Alexander the Great." "I'm Peter Weller, for the History Channel."