Mythical Beasts (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Revenge of the Cyclops - full transcript
New discoveries reveal the terrifying evidence of the Cyclops, a one-eyed cannibal that could have been more than just a story.
Narrator: THE CYCLOPS...
A MYTHICAL MAN-EATING GIANT
WITH SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH AND JUST ONE EYE.
HE KILLS HIS GUESTS AND EATS THEM.
Narrator: BUT WHAT WAS
THE REAL-WORLD INSPIRATION
BEHIND THIS TALL TALE?
IT WAS INCOMPREHENSIBLE THAT HUMAN BEINGS
WERE ABLE TO BUILD THIS.
Narrator: WHY WERE THE ANCIENT GREEKS
SO CONVINCED THAT KILLER
CYCLOPES ROAMED THE PLANET?
IF YOU LOOKED AT A SKULL
LIKE THIS AND SAW THIS OPENING,
YOU WOULD ASSUME THAT THIS WAS A CYCLOPS.
Narrator: AND IS THERE MORE TO
THE STORIES OF FEARSOME GIANTS
THAN MEETS THE EYE?
YOU CAN SEE THAT HE HAS A HUGE HEAD.
NOW, INVESTIGATORS USE THE
LATEST SCIENCE AND ARCHEOLOGY
TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND THE
MYTH OF THE FEARSOME CYCLOPS...
AND WHY IT'S STALKED OUR
NIGHTMARES FOR SO LONG.
Narrator: GREECE, THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO,
PEOPLE HERE WARNED OF A
MONSTER WITH SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH.
IT COULD CONSTRUCT HUGE BUILDINGS
AND FORGE POWERFUL WEAPONS.
THE CYCLOPS WAS A
GIANT OF A MAN WITH AN EYE
AS BIG AS A WHEEL, TERRIFYING IN ASPECT.
IT WAS KNOWN FOR BEING SAVAGE.
IT WAS KNOWN FOR BEING A CANNIBAL,
AND IT WOULD EAT PEOPLE,
SIX OF THEM AT A TIME.
Narrator: WHAT INSPIRED
THIS TERRIFYING MYTH?
IS IT MORE THAN JUST A LEGEND?
♪♪
THE FIRST PLACE TO LOOK FOR CLUES
IS IN THE ORIGINAL STORY ITSELF.
AN ANCIENT POEM BY HOMER
TELLS OF A GIANT CYCLOPS
TRAPPING THE HERO ODYSSEUS
AND HIS MEN IN A CAVE.
EVERY DAY, THE BEAST DEVOURS TWO OF THEM.
THERE'S NO ESCAPE FROM
THE TERRIFYING CREATURE.
TODAY, EXPERTS CONTINUE
TO INVESTIGATE THE TRUTH
BEHIND THIS ANCIENT LEGEND.
Narrator: PROFESSOR GEORGIOS
THEODOROU IS A TOP DINOSAUR EXPERT.
HE'S DIGGING A SITE NEAR
THE GREEK TOWN OF PIKERMI
AND THINKS GIANT PREHISTORIC BONES
COULD HAVE HELPED
KICK-START THE CYCLOPS MYTH.
Narrator: THE ANCIENT GREEKS
WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN USED TO ANIMALS
THAT HAD SUCH BIG BONES.
THEY COULDN'T EXPLAIN THEM.
TODAY, THE GREEK ISLANDS
LOOK VERY DIFFERENT
TO HOW THEY DID 3 1/2 MILLION YEARS AGO.
BACK THEN, THIS WASN'T WATER BUT LAND.
THE AEGEAN SEA WAS A VAST
EXPANSE OF FOREST AND GRASSLAND.
GIANT BEASTS LIKE RHINOS
AND GIRAFFES ALL LIVED HERE.
WHEN THESE ANIMALS DIED,
THEIR BONES LAY BURIED FOR
THE ANCIENT GREEKS TO FIND.
THE FRAGMENTS OF THESE
STRANGE AND GIGANTIC SKELETONS
INSPIRED MYTHS AND LEGENDS
OF MONSTROUS GIANTS.
♪♪
IMAGINE WHAT PEOPLE MUST HAVE THOUGHT,
YOU KNOW, COMING UPON A SKELETON OR FOSSILS
THAT THEY HAD NO IDEA OR ANY
PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE ABOUT.
THEY COULD CONSTRUCT ANY IMAGINE
THAT THEY THOUGHT WOULD WORK,
YOU KNOW, AROUND THESE BONES.
Regal: THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND EVOLUTION.
THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND FOSSILS.
THEY WERE SIMPLY FINDING THESE BIG BONES,
AND IT'S NOT A SURPRISE THAT
THEY WOULD TRY TO INTERPRET THEM
IN THE WAY THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD LIFE TO BE.
♪♪
Narrator: HUGE FOSSILS CAN
HELP EXPLAIN A BELIEF IN GIANTS...
BUT WHAT COULD HAVE LED TO THE IDEA
THAT THESE BEASTS HAD
JUST ONE TERRIFYING EYE?
♪♪
COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
DR. JOY REIDENBERG BELIEVES
SHE HAS FOUND EVIDENCE
TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY.
WHAT I HAVE HERE ARE PHOTOGRAPHS
OF AFRICAN ELEPHANT SKULLS.
NOW, THESE ARE ACTUALLY QUITE LA
BUT A SMALLER VERSION
OF THIS ACTUALLY LIVED
IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
AREA MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO,
AND THEY WERE CALLED DWARF ELEPHANTS,
AND THEY WOULD HAVE
BEEN ABOUT HALF THE SIZE
OR MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE BIT SMALLER,
BUT STILL A FAIRLY LARGE ANIMAL.
IF WE LOOK AT THE SKULL FROM THE FRONT,
WHICH IS WHAT THIS VIEW IS HERE,
YOU SEE THIS NICE DOUBLE
OPENING THAT'S FUSED IN THE CENTER.
THIS IS ACTUALLY THE OPENING FOR THE NOSE,
AND ALL AROUND THIS IS WHERE
THE MUSCLES OF THE TRUNK.
THE EYES WOULD HAVE
BEEN ON THE SIDE, VERY LOW,
RIGHT ABOUT HERE.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
SKULL, IT'S NOT OBVIOUS RIGHT AWAY
THAT THIS IS WHERE THE EYE SOCKETS ARE.
IF YOU LOOKED AT A SKULL LIKE THIS
AND SAW THIS DOUBLE OPENING,
YOU WOULD ASSUME THAT THIS WAS A CYCLOPS,
SOMETHING WITH EYES THAT
ARE FUSED IN THE CENTER
OR MAYBE EVEN JUST ONE EYE IN THE CENTER
BUT A VERY, VERY LARGE HEAD,
SO IT'D LOOK LIKE A GIANT HUMAN SKULL
WITH ONLY ONE EYE IN THE MIDDLE.
Narrator: THESE FOSSILIZED
ELEPHANT REMAINS MAY GO SOME WAY
TO EXPLAINING THE BELIEF
IN THE ONE-EYED CYCLOPS.
BUT EXPERTS HAVE FOUND THAT
THERE'S MORE BEHIND THE TALES
OF THESE MUTANT GIANTS.
THESE LEGENDS ARE PROBABLY
BASED ON REAL PEOPLE
WHO SUFFERED FROM THIS DEVASTATING DISEASE.
Narrator: JUST HOW BIG AND
POWERFUL DID THE ANCIENT GREEKS
THINK THESE MUTANT BEASTS WERE,
AND WHY WERE THEY SO CONVINCED
THAT THEY FEASTED ON HUMAN FLESH?
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: ACROSS GREECE,
INVESTIGATORS SEARCH FOR THE ORIGINS
OF A HUGE MONSTER WITH ONE GROTESQUE EYE...
THE CYCLOPS.
WHY DID THE GREEKS BELIEVE IN
GIANTS WITH SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH?
JUST HOW BIG DID THEY THINK THEY WERE?
A CLUE LIES SOUTHWEST OF
ATHENS AMID THE MYSTERIOUS RUINS
OF THE HILLTOP FORTRESS OF MYCENAE.
Kamil: MYCENAE AS A CULTURE
PREDATES ARCHAIC GREECE.
IT IS THOUGHT TO HAVE LASTED AND
FLOURISHED FOR ABOUT 500 YEARS.
Narrator: THEY MYCENEANS ARE LONG GONE,
BUT ALL AROUND THIS RUIN ARE
CLUES TO THE CYCLOPS MYTH.
OVER 3,000 YEARS AGO,
THIS WAS A MIGHTY CITADEL,
SHELTERING BEHIND MASSIVE WALLS.
THE STONES PROTECTING IT WERE COLOSSAL,
IMPOSSIBLE FOR MERE MORTALS TO LIFT.
MYTH HAS IT THAT TO
BUILD THESE MIGHTY WALLS,
THE MYCENEANS RECRUITED A GANG OF GIANTS...
DEFORMED, ONE-EYED BEASTS, THE CYCLOPES.
EACH HAD THE STRENGTH OF MANY MEN,
AND BLOCK BY GIANT BLOCK,
THEY BUILT THE CITADEL,
A FORTRESS UNLIKE ANY SEEN BEFORE.
THE TRUE ORIGINS OF PLACES LIKE MYCENAE
BECAME LOST TO LATER GENERATIONS OF GREEKS.
ARCHAEOLOGIST PROFESSOR
CHRISTOFILIS MAGGIDIS
INVESTIGATES THE CITADEL'S
CONSTRUCTION TO FIND OUT
WHY THEY CLAIM THAT
MONSTERS, NOT MEN, HAD BUILT IT.
I MEAN, THE WALLS MUST
HAVE BEEN ABOUT 12 METERS
IN HEIGHT, 5 TO 8 METERS IN THICKNESS,
BUT IT'S THE SHEER WEIGHT
BASICALLY THAT KEEPS
THE WHOLE THING IN PLACE.
Narrator: THESE WERE THE DAYS
BEFORE THE WINCH OR THE CRANE,
BUT STILL THIS WALL OF MASSIVE BOULDERS
HAS BEEN BUILT TO A HEIGHT OF 40 FEET.
Maggidis: EACH OF THESE BOULDERS
MAY WEIGH A TON OR MORE,
SOMETIMES EVEN 20 TONS.
THAT'S ABOUT A METER AND
A HALF, A METER IN HEIGHT.
Narrator: IT LOOKS LIKE IT WOULD
TAKE SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH
TO CONSTRUCT THESE WALLS.
Maggidis: THE SIZE OF EVERYTHING BUILT,
THE SIZE OF THE FORTIFICATION WALLS,
THE SIZE OF THE FORTRESS ITSELF,
THESE PROPORTIONS WERE UNPRECEDENTED.
IT WAS INCOMPREHENSIBLE THAT HUMAN BEINGS
WERE ABLE TO BUILD THIS.
♪♪
Narrator: THERE WOULD BE NO
STRUCTURE LIKE IT IN GREECE
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
Kerr: THESE PLACES WERE TRULY
AMAZING, JUST BEYOND IMAGINATION.
SO IT MAKES SENSE THAT
SOME PEOPLE WOULD THINK
THAT THEY COULD ONLY BE BUILT BY GIANTS.
Narrator: HOW BIG WOULD
THESE MONSTERS HAVE TO BE
TO BUILD SUCH A HUGE WALL AS THIS?
ANCIENT WRITERS ARE LARGELY SILENT
WHEN IT COMES TO THE PRECISE
PROPORTIONS OF A CYCLOPS.
MATHEMATICIAN DR. KATIE STECKLES
IS GOING TO TRY TO CALCULATE ITS SIZE
WITH THE HELP OF A MODERN-DAY STRONGMAN.
ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WITH GREEK MYTHS
IS THAT THEY'RE NOT VERY
BIG ON EXACT NUMBERS
OR GIVING PRECISE VALUES
FOR THINGS LIKE PEOPLE'S
HEIGHTS OR DISTANCES.
SO WE'RE GOING TO GET
SOME REAL-WORLD VALUES.
Narrator: BOB McSTAY IS A WEIGHT LIFTER
AND USES HEAVY STONES
LIKE THESE IN COMPETITION.
THESE ARE ATLAS STONES, RIGHT?
YEAH. YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, YEAH.
SO WHAT HAVE WE GOT HERE TODAY?
THIS IS A 100 KILO.
Narrator: THAT'S 220 POUNDS OF ATLAS STONE.
THAT WOULD BE MY WARM-UP WEIGHT.
♪♪
ONCE KATIE KNOWS HOW HEAVY
AN ATLAS STONE BOB CAN LIFT,
SHE CAN WORK OUT HOW BIG
THIS CYCLOPS WOULD HAVE TO BE
TO PICK UP THE HUGE STONES
IN THE MYCENAE CITADEL.
THAT'S THE 140-KILOGRAM STONE.
THAT WAS MY LAST WARM-UP
STONE BEFORE THE 160.
BOB TOPS OUT AT 353 POUNDS.
YEAH, THAT'S ABOUT IT.
WITH THIS FIGURE, KATIE
CAN SCALE UP TO CALCULATE
THE SIZE OF THE CYCLOPEAN BUILDERS.
HERE'S OUR ATLAS STONE,
COMPARING THAT TO OUR GIANT
BLOCKS THAT MAKE UP OUR WALL.
Narrator: THE BIGGEST STONES AT
MYCENAE WEIGH UP TO 20 TONS EACH,
125 TIMES MORE THAN BOB'S HEAVIEST.
HOW BIG WOULD BOB NEED TO BE TO LIFT ONE?
WE DON'T NEED TO SCALE BOB UP BY 125 TIMES
BECAUSE WHEN YOU SCALE SOMEONE UP,
THEIR STRENGTH INCREASES MUCH
MORE QUICKLY THAN THEIR HEIGHT.
SO IN FACT, WE ONLY NEED TO SCALE
BOB AROUND ABOUT 11 TIMES,
AND BOB IS EXACTLY 6 FEET TALL,
WHICH MEANS THAT OUR GIANT
BOB IS GOING TO BE 66 FEET TALL.
Narrator: THIS IS A HUGE INCREASE IN SIZE.
66 FEET IS INCREDIBLE.
IT'S THE HEIGHT OF A SEVEN-STORY BUILDING.
IN FACT, IT'S SO HIGH, IT'S PRETTY
MUCH DINOSAUR TERRITORY.
Narrator: THE STRENGTH AND
SIZE OF THE CYCLOPS BUILDERS
WOULD HAVE BEEN AWE-INSPIRING,
BUT IT WASN'T JUST THE GREEKS
WHO THOUGHT SUPERSIZED CREATURES
WERE BUILDING MONSTER STRUCTURES.
IN IRELAND, MYTHS OF GIANT
BUILDERS WERE ALSO RIFE.
♪♪
COULD IT BE BECAUSE REAL-LIFE
GIANTS ONCE WALKED AMONG US?
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: THE CYCLOPS, A TERRIFYING
MYTHICAL MAN-EATING GIANT.
ITS SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH
WAS THOUGHT TO BE BEHIND
SEEMINGLY MONSTER BUILDS.
WHAT CONVINCED THE ANCIENT
GREEKS IT REALLY EXISTED?
IT SEEMS THEY WERE NOT
THE ONLY ONES TO BELIEVE
IN SUPERSIZED BEINGS.
IN NORTHERN IRELAND, A
STRANGE SECTION OF COASTLINE
STRETCHES OUT INTO THE
SEA TOWARDS SCOTLAND...
THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY.
JUST LIKE MYCENAEAN GREECE,
IT WAS ONCE THOUGHT
TO BE THE WORK OF GIANTS.
GEOLOGIST KIRSTIN LEMON INVESTIGATES
THE BIZARRELY SHAPED STONES.
Lemon: THE COLUMNS
THEMSELVES ARE REALLY UNUSUAL.
TO BE HONEST, THEY ACTUALLY LOOK MAN-MADE.
THEY ALL FIT TOGETHER A BIT
LIKE HONEYCOMB FITS TOGETHER.
I SUPPOSE PEOPLE, WHEN THEY FIRST SAW THEM,
THOUGHT, "THEY CAN'T POSSIBLY BE NATURAL.
SURELY THESE ARE MADE BY MAN
AND ONLY SOMEBODY AS BIG AS A GIANT
COULD HAVE POSSIBLY MADE
A ROCK FORMATION LIKE THIS."
Narrator: THE HUGE CAUSEWAY
INSPIRED A GIANT MYTH.
IT TELLS OF FINN McCOOL,
THE BIGGEST GIANT IN IRELAND
WHO PICKS A FIGHT WITH
SCOTTISH GIANT BENANDONNER.
THE GIANTS HAMMER A
CAUSEWAY ACROSS THE SEA,
SO THEY CAN MEET FACE-TO-FACE,
BUT WHEN FINN McCOOL SEES THAT
THE SCOT IS WAY BIGGER THAN HIM,
HE DISGUISES HIMSELF AS HIS OWN BABY.
TERRIFIED OF HOW GIGANTIC
BABY McCOOL'S FATHER MUST BE,
BENANDONNER FLEES BACK ACROSS THE CAUSEWAY,
SMASHING IT TO PIECES.
♪♪
THE STORY OF THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY
IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HUMANS
TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF THE NATURAL WORLD.
YOU HAVE WHAT CLEARLY LOOKS
LIKE A MAN-MADE STRUCTURE,
BUT IT'S OF HUGE PROPORTIONS.
HOW DO WE EXPLAIN THAT?
IT MUST HAVE BEEN MADE BY A GIANT.
Narrator: TODAY, GEOLOGISTS
GIVE US A DIFFERENT EXPLANATION
FOR THIS EXTRAORDINARY-LOOKING PHENOMENON.
THESE UNIFORM ROCKS WERE
MADE FROM VOLCANIC LAVA
THAT CRACKED INTO MULTIPLE SEGMENTS
AS IT COOLED 60 MILLION YEARS AGO.
THE TALE OF HOW FINN
McCOOL CREATED THE CAUSEWAY
MAY ONLY BE A MYTH,
BUT IS THERE STILL MORE TO
OLD LEGENDS OF IRISH GIANTS
THAN MEETS THE EYE?
ENDOCRINOLOGIST DR. MARTA
KORBONITS EXAMINES
THE REMAINS OF WHAT APPEARS
TO BE A SUPERSIZED HUMAN.
THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH OF CHARLES BYRNE.
HE WAS A GIANT LIVING IN THE 18TH CENTURY,
GROWING TO A HEIGHT OF 7-FOOT-7.
Narrator: CHARLES BYRNE WAS BORN IN 1761
AROUND 50 MILES FROM THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY.
YOU CAN SEE THAT HE HAS
LONG BONES IN HIS LEGS
AS WELL AS HIS ARMS,
A VERY LONG TORSO AND A HUGE
HEAD COMPARED A NORMAL SKULL.
HE HAD A DISEASE, WHICH WE CALL GIGANTISM,
AND HE HAD A TUMOR IN HIS
PITUITARY GLAND BEHIND THE EYE,
MAKING TOO MUCH GROWTH HORMONE.
Narrator: CHARLES BYRNE
DIED OF THE COMPLICATIONS
OF GIGANTISM AT THE AGE OF 22.
COULD THIS CONDITION HAVE PLAYED A ROLE
IN CREATING THE MYTH THAT GIANT
CREATURES ONCE LIVED IN IRELAND?
AND COULD THE SAME CONDITION
HAVE EXISTED IN ANCIENT GREECE,
LAND OF THE CYCLOPS?
MARTA LOOKS FOR ANSWERS.
SHE BEGINS BY INVESTIGATING
DNA OF OTHER OVERSIZED PEOPLE.
A FEW YEARS AGO, A FAMILY
WAS REFERRED TO THIS HOSPITAL
BECAUSE TWO MEMBERS OF
THAT FAMILY BOTH HAD GIGANTISM.
ONE OF THEM ACTUALLY WAS
VERY TALL, OVER 2 METERS.
Narrator: MARTA ANALYZES BLOOD SAMPLES
AND ISOLATES THE GENETIC MUTATION
THAT'S BEHIND THE
FAMILY'S EXCESSIVE GROWTH.
IT'S SUCH A RARE DISEASE.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE THAT
THIS FAMILY OF YOUNG GIANTS
LIVING TODAY COULD BE RELATED
TO THE IRISH GIANT CHARLES BYRNE?
Narrator: MARTA LOOKS TO SEE IF
THESE CASES ARE IN FACT CONNECTED
BY SOME KIND OF GIANT GENE
IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD.
IF SO, COULD OTHER MUTANT GIANT GENES
HAVE EXISTED FURTHER AFIELD
AT THE TIME OF THE CYCLOPS MYTH?
THE RESULTS ARE IN.
WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, THE
FAMILIES HAVE THE SAME DISEASE
AND THE SAME MUTATION
AND ARE RELATED TO THE GIANT CHARLES BYRNE.
Narrator: IT TURNS OUT THAT CHARLES
BYRNE AND THE YOUNG FAMILY
SHARED A COMMON ANCESTOR
ABOUT 60 GENERATIONS AGO.
WE FOUND ALTOGETHER 18 FAMILIES
WITH EXACTLY THE SAME MUTATION.
Narrator: OVERSIZED PEOPLE
HERE ARE NOT ISOLATED CASES.
THEY'RE PART OF A PHENOMENON,
ONE THAT STRETCHES BACK FOR CENTURIES.
SO THIS PART OF IRELAND HAS MORE GIANTS,
PROBABLY, THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.
THESE TALES, THESE LEGENDS,
ARE PROBABLY BASED ON REAL PEOPLE
WHO SUFFERED FROM THIS DEVASTATING DISEASE.
Narrator: OVERSIZED PEOPLE HELP
FUEL MYTHS OF GIANTS LIVING HERE.
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE SAME CONDITION
ALSO EXISTED IN GREECE,
AND IF REAL PEOPLE WERE
BEHIND SOME OF THESE TALES,
WHY WAS THE CYCLOPS
CONSIDERED TO BE A MAN-EATER?
COULD THE ANSWER LIE
WITH OUR CAVE-DWELLING ANCESTORS?
VERY SHARP, VERY RHYTHMICAL CUTS,
CLEARLY TO REMOVE FLESH
FROM THE BONE, WAS CANNIBALIZED.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: THE MIGHTY CYCLOPS...
ALL ACROSS ANCIENT GREECE,
PEOPLE TOLD STORIES OF THIS
SUPERSTRENGTH ONE-EYED GIANT.
WHAT WAS THE TRUTH BEHIND
THIS TERRIFYING LEGEND?
WAS THERE EVER A REAL GIANT
THAT USED TO FEAST ON HUMAN FLESH?
ONE OF THE INTERESTING
MOTIFS ABOUT GIANTS IS,
FREQUENTLY THEY'RE CANNIBALISTIC,
OR THEY EAT THE FLESH OF MEN.
ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS
STORIES OF MAN-EATING GIANTS,
AND ONE THAT GETS TOLD TO KIDS TODAY,
IS "JACK AND THE BEANSTALK."
Narrator: IN MANY DIFFERENT CULTURES,
THERE ARE STORIES OF MONSTERS
EATING PEOPLE WHO VENTURE
INTO THE WRONG PLACE.
IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY, THE CYCLOPS
POLYPHEMUS LIVES INSIDE A CAVE.
HE TRAPS ODYSSEUS AND HIS MEN IN HIS HOME,
EATING TWO OF THEM EACH MORNING.
DID MAN-EATING GIANTS
ONCE STALK THE EARTH LIKE
IN THESE OLD FOLKTALES?
FRED COOLIDGE FROM THE
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
AT COLORADO SPRINGS
IS ON THE TRAIL OF A REAL-LIFE MONSTER.
THIS NETWORK OF CAVES IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND
IS A TREASURE TROVE FOR ANTHROPOLOGISTS.
THEY FOUND THOUSANDS
AND THOUSANDS OF ITEMS,
ALL KINDS OF STONE TOOLS.
Narrator: EXPERTS HAVE CONCLUDED
THAT THESE CAVES WERE ONCE INHABITED
BY OUR DISTANT COUSINS... THE NEANDERTHALS.
Coolidge: IT'S FAIR TO SAY
IT'S A NEANDERTHAL CAVE
BECAUSE IT WAS PROBABLY OCCUPIED
FROM ABOUT 90,000 YEARS AGO
TO UP TO ABOUT 40,000 YEARS AGO.
Narrator: LIKE THE CYCLOPS, THE
NEANDERTHAL WAS CAVE-DWELLING.
ANTHROPOLOGISTS USED
TO THINK THAT NEANDERTHALS
WERE A PRIMITIVE STEPPING-STONE
IN THE EVOLUTION OF HOMO SAPIENS,
BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT
BOTH SPECIES SIT SIDE BY SIDE
ON TWO BRANCHES OF THE SAME FAMILY TREE.
THEY EVOLVED TOGETHER
BUT IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
HOMO SAPIENS GREW LEAN AND TALL,
WHEREAS NEANDERTHALS WERE SHORT AND STOCKY
BUT INCREDIBLY STRONG.
Coolidge: THIS IS THE NEANDERTHAL SKULL.
THIS IS KIND OF SCARY, YOU KNOW,
THIS OVERHANGING BROW RIDGE.
THESE PEOPLE WERE VERY,
VERY STRONG, TOUGH IN A FIGHT.
THEY TOOK ABOUT 35%
MORE CALORIES JUST TO WALK
BECAUSE OF THEIR THICK,
STOCKY, HEAVY BODIES,
AND HEAVILY MUSCULATURED.
SO THEY NEEDED MEAT.
EY NEEDED BIG MEAT.
ABOUT 80% OF THEIR DIET WAS MEAT.
Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS
DISCOVERED A GRUESOME TRUTH
ABOUT THE SOURCE OF SOME OF THIS MEAT.
THE EVIDENCE WAS FOUND
ON THE BONES THEMSELVES.
ONE INTERESTING ASPECT OF
THESE BONES, THE STRIATION MARKS,
THE CUTS ON THE BONES
WERE MADE WITH A STONE TOOL,
VERY SHARP ALONG THE
EDGES MADE BY A NEANDERTHAL,
AND THIS WOULD HAVE MADE THESE MARKS.
VERY RHYTHMICAL, CLEARLY TO
REMOVE FLESH FROM THE BONE,
SCRAPED AND EATEN.
Narrator: LIKE THE CYCLOPS, THE
NEANDERTHAL WAS A MAN-EATER.
WE'VE GOT A CLEAR HISTORY
OF NEANDERTHAL CANNIBALISM
ON OTHER NEANDERTHALS
FOR ALMOST 100,000 YEARS.
IN ONE CASE, THE LARGEST
NEANDERTHAL EVER FOUND
WAS CANNIBALIZED ALONG WITH
A BABY AND TWO LITTLE JUVENILES,
AND THEY EVEN SHOW
SCRAPES IN THE BABY'S SKULL
HOW THE TONGUE WAS RIPPED OUT.
Narrator: AMONG THE 80,000 ITEMS
FOUND IN THE DEBRIS OF THIS ANCIENT CAVE,
ARCHAEOLOGISTS MADE A REMARKABLE DISCOVERY,
ONE THAT MIGHT THROW LIGHT ON
THE MYTH OF THE CYCLOPS ITSELF.
THIS IS PART OF A HUMAN JAWBONE WITH TEETH.
Narrator: THE ORIGINAL IS VERY
FRAGILE, SO THIS IS AN EXACT REPLICA.
CLEARLY IDENTIFIED AS HOMO
SAPIENS 41,000 YEARS AGO.
Narrator: THIS EXTRAORDINARY
FIND REVEALS SOMETHING STARTLING
ABOUT OUR ANCESTORS'
HISTORY IN THESE VERY CAVES.
Coolidge: SINCE THIS DATES
TO ABOUT 41,000 YEARS AGO,
IT'S PROOF THAT NEANDERTHALS
AND HOMO SAPIENS
OVERLAPPED IN THIS CAVERN
AND THAT THERE WAS AN INTERACTION
BETWEEN THE TWO TYPES.
Narrator: IT RAISES AN
ASTONISHING POSSIBILITY.
IF OUR ANCESTORS MET NEANDERTHALS,
WERE THESE HULKING FLESH
EATERS THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
OF THE MYTH OF MAN-EATING GIANTS?
IF NEANDERTHALS HAD THIS PREDILECTION,
GREATER PREDILECTION FOR CANNIBALISM,
IT WOULD NOT BE SURPRISING
THAT HOMO SAPIENS
WOULD MAKE UP STORIES, YOU KNOW,
PARTICULARLY TO PROTECT
THEIR YOUNG AND JUVENILES
FROM BEING EATEN AND SAYING,
"STAY AWAY FROM DARK PLACES."
THAT'S WHERE THESE MYTHS
MIGHT HAVE STARTED WITH PEOPLE
IN THE DARK WHO ARE GOING TO EAT YOU.
Narrator: FOR AROUND 5,000 YEARS,
NEANDERTHALS LIVED ALONGSIDE
OUR ANCESTORS IN EUROPE.
ALTHOUGH THE LAST ONES DIED
OUT AROUND 40,000 YEARS AGO,
STORIES OF MAN-EATING CAVE DWELLERS
HAVE SURVIVED FOR MILLENNIA.
BUT THERE WAS MORE TO THE
CYCLOPS THAN A MAN-EATING OGRE.
IT WAS SAID TO BE A
HUGELY SKILLED CRAFTSMAN
WHO CREATED POWERFUL WEAPONS FOR THE GODS.
DID THIS ASPECT OF THE MYTH
ALSO HAVE ITS ORIGINS IN THE REAL WORLD,
AND WHAT CAN IT REVEAL ABOUT
THE MOST WELL-KNOWN FEATURE
OF THE CYCLOPS...
ITS PETRIFYING SINGLE EYE?
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: INVESTIGATORS ARE ON
A QUEST TO UNRAVEL THE TRUTH
BEHIND THE CYCLOPS MYTH.
ITS ORIGINS COULD LIE IN A
WARNING FROM OUR DISTANT PAST.
COULD ANCIENT HISTORY ALSO
EXPLAIN WHY IT WAS THOUGHT
THAT THIS MONSTER ONLY HAD ONE EYE?
THE CYCLOPS MYTHS DESCRIBE HOW THESE BEASTS
WERE BLACKSMITHS WORKING FOR THE GODS.
HEPHAESTUS, THE GOD OF THE FORGE,
HAD HIS WORKSHOP IN THE
VOLCANO OF MOUNT ETNA
ON THE ISLAND OF SICILY.
HIS BLACKSMITHS WERE THREE CYCLOPES.
SHAKING THE EARTH WITH THEIR HAMMER BLOWS,
THEY FORGED WEAPONS FOR THE GODS...
A HELMET OF INVISIBILITY FOR
HADES, GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD,
A TRIDENT FOR POSEIDON, GOD OF THE SEA,
AND FOR ZEUS, THEY FORGED
A DEADLY THUNDERBOLT
WITH THE POWER TO SHAKE THE WORLD.
SO CYCLOPSES WERE ACTUALLY FORGING
THESE AMAZINGLY POWERFUL
LIGHTNING BOLTS WIELDED
AND HURLED BY THE HEAD GOD,
I MEAN, THE MOST POWERFUL DEITY THEY HAD.
SO THEY DEFINITELY HAD A MYSTERIOUS
OR A SUPERNATURAL COMPONENT
TO THEM, A MAGICAL THING.
Narrator: WHY LIES BEHIND THIS
STORY OF THIS HULKING MONSTER
AS THE GODS' BLACKSMITH?
ARCHAEOLOGIST JOANNA PALERMO SPECIALIZES
IN THE GREEK IRON AGE.
IRON BECOMES THE MOST PROMINENT METAL
ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN,
AND SO IT REALLY USHERS
IN A WHOLE NEW AGE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.
Narrator: THE BLACKSMITH WAS
CENTRAL TO THE NEW IRON AGE ECONOMY.
Palermo: BLACKSMITHS WERE SO IMPORTANT.
THIS WAS MANUAL LABOR.
IT WAS DIRTY LABOR, BUT
THESE PEOPLE WERE SO PIVOTAL
TO THE NEW BEGINNINGS OF GREEK SOCIETY.
Narrator: TODAY, JOANNA
INVESTIGATES A WORKING FORGE
THAT USES IRON AGE TECHNIQUES.
SHE WANTS TO SEE WHAT IT
REVEALS ABOUT THE CYCLOPS MYTH.
BLACKSMITH ROD HUGHES IS
MAKING A REPLICA IRON AGE SWORD
USING THE METHODS FROM
OVER 3,000 YEARS AGO.
Hughes: YOU HAVE TO GET A VERY
LARGE LUNK OF MATERIAL SUITABLY HOT
FOR LONG ENOUGH TO BE
ABLE TO CHANGE ITS SHAPE
AND CHANGING ITS SHAPE BY APPLYING FORCE.
Narrator: THE MELTING POINT OF IRON
IS OVER 2,700 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
ANCIENT GREEK FURNACES COULDN'T
REACH TEMPERATURES THAT HIGH,
SO BRUTE FORCE WAS NEEDED TO
BEAT THE HOT METAL INTO SHAPE.
SO FROM WHAT I CAN SEE, IT'S A
VERY, VERY PHYSICAL PROCESS.
IT REQUIRES REPETITIVE HAMMERING.
YOU HAVE TO BE PHYSICAL WITH THE TOOLS
IN ORDER TO GET IRON TO
BEHAVE THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO.
Narrator: IN ANCIENT GREECE, ONLY
THE STRONGEST MEN WOULD HAVE
BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING
IN THIS WAY DAY IN, DAY OUT.
Hughes: THERE'D BE DUST TO DAWN
MOVING VERY HEAVY BITS OF METAL
AND THEN GRINDING AND SHAPING.
IT'S JUST VERY, VERY ARDUOUS.
Narrator: THE WORK OF THE
BLACKSMITH WAS NOT JUST TOUGH,
IT WAS DANGEROUS.
IT COULD MAIM AND EVEN BLIND.
SOME SCHOLARS HAVE SUGGESTED
THAT ANCIENT BLACKSMITHS
WOULD HAVE WARN AN EYE
PATCH TO PROTECT THEIR VISION
FROM SPARKS COMING UP FROM THE FORGE.
IN THE DAYS, THEY WOULD HAVE NO GOGGLES.
THEY WOULD HAVE SPARKS FLYING AROUND,
STRAY SPARK HITTING THEM IN THE EYES.
Narrator: BEING A BLACKSMITH
WAS LOUD AND DIRTY WORK.
THE FORGE WAS LOCATED
AWAY FROM THE CITY CENTER.
THE BLACKSMITHS WERE POWERFUL AND STRONG,
BUT WORKING WITH RED-HOT
METAL WAS DANGEROUS
CAUSING MANY BURNS AND SCARS.
SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT
TO PROTECT THEIR EYES
FROM FLYING SPARKS,
THE BLACKSMITHS WORE AN EYE PATCH.
THEY LOOKED LIKE
ONE-EYED, HULKING MONSTERS.
IT MAY BE THAT THE IRON AGE BLACKSMITH
WAS THE REAL-LIFE
INSPIRATION FOR THE CYCLOPS.
THE CYCLOPS ARE IMBUED WITH
THE ATTRIBUTES OF STRENGTH
AND BRUTE FORCE, ELEMENTS
THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN
PIVOTAL TO WORK WITH
IN THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP.
Narrator: DOES THE IRON AGE
FORGE HOLD OTHER CLUES
ABOUT THE MYTH OF THE CYCLOPS,
THE OUTSIDER BEAST WITH
SUPERNATURAL POWERS?
Regal: ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE
TO REMEMBER ABOUT THESE MONSTER
LEGENDS IS THEY'RE COMING OUT OF A PLACE
WHERE HUMANS HAVE ONLY RECENTLY
LEARNED HOW TO DO METALWORK.
THESE TECHNIQUES WOULD
HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY SECRETIVE
AMONGST THE PEOPLE WHO PRACTICED THEM.
Narrator: THE BLACKSMITH'S MAGIC WAS
TO TURN AN ORDINARY LOOKING ROCK
OF IRON ORE INTO SOMETHING THAT
WOULD INSPIRE FEAR AND WONDER.
Regal: ONE WAY TO EXPLAIN FOR
PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T KNOW THIS ALMOST
MAGICAL ART OF TAKING THESE
STRANGE STONES IN THE GROUND
AND MAKING THEM INTO A
SHIELD OR A PLATE OR A SWORD
OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT
WOULD BE TO CREATE THE IDEA
OF MYTHICAL CREATURES DOING IT.
Narrator: LIKE NEVER BEFORE,
NEW IRON WEAPONS TRANSFORM
THE POTENTIAL OF THE ANCIENT
GREEKS ON THE BATTLE FIELD.
Palomer: OVER THE EARLY IRON AGE,
WE DEVELOP A WHOLE NEW FORM OF WARFARE,
AND ONE OF THEIR KEY
ITEMS IS NOT JUST THE SPEAR
BUT THE SWORD THAT CAME ALONG WITH IT.
THEY BOTH WOULD BE MADE OUT OF IRON.
Narrator: THE CYCLOPS WAS A
SUPREMELY SKILLED WEAPON MAKER,
BUT IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY,
HE'S OFTEN PORTRAYED AS A
HULKING MONSTER OF LITTLE BRAIN.
THE CYCLOPS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
REALLY REPRESENTED BRUTE FORCE,
AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE
CYCLOPS IN THE "ODYSSEY,"
THERE'S SOMETHING VERY PRIMAL ABOUT IT,
PRE-CIVILIZATIONAL ABOUT IT.
THE KIND OF ANTITHESIS OF CULTURE,
THAT SORT OF BARBARIAN-LIKE
STATE OF EXISTENCE.
AH!
Narrator: SO WHY IS THE CYCLOPS
ALWAYS A MONSTER AND NEVER A HERO?
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: THE ANCIENT
GREEKS THOUGHT THE CYCLOPS
WAS A TERRIFYING ONE-EYED BEAST
WITH A TASTE FOR HUMAN FLESH.
DESPITE HIS MANY SKILLS,
THIS GIANT IS DEPICTED AS
SLOW-WITTED AND EASILY TRICKED.
IN HOMER'S EPIC POEM, THE
"ODYSSEY," A GIANT CYCLOPS
TRAPS ODYSSEUS IN HIS CAVE
AND THEN EATS HIS MEN TWO AT A TIME.
BUT ODYSSEUS CLEVERLY
PLIES THE CYCLOPS WITH WINE
AND PRETENDS TO JOIN IN
UNTIL THE GIANT FALLS OVER BLIND DRUNK.
ODYSSEUS HEATS A MASSIVE
SPLINTER FROM THE CYCLOPS' CLUB
AND STABS HIM IN THE EYE.
WITH THE BEAST BLINDED AND OUTWITTED,
THE HERO AND HIS MEN CAN ESCAPE.
ODYSSEUS IS ABLE TO OUTWIT
THE CYCLOPS THROUGH BRAINPOWER
RATHER THAN BRUTE FORCE OR EVEN MAGIC.
Narrator: SO WHY IS THE
CYCLOPS ALWAYS A LOSER?
ARCHAEOLOGIST CHRISTOFILIS MAGGIDIS
BELIEVES IT COULD HAVE BEEN A
DEVICE TO PROMOTE THE POWER
AND SOPHISTICATION OF GREEK SOCIETY.
THE CYCLOPS WERE BELIEVED
TO BE MYTHICAL CREATURES
THAT WERE EXCELLENT IN
METALSMITH, GREAT BUILDERS,
BUT WITH CRUDE FORCE, CRUDE
POWER, WITHOUT REFINEMENT,
WITHOUT TOO, YOU KNOW,
MUCH OF THE AESTHETICS
THAT WERE SO HIGHLY
VALUED BY THE LATER GREEKS.
Narrator: THE ANCIENT GREEKS
USED MYTHS AND LEGENDS
TO REINFORCE THE IDEALS THEY HELD DEAR.
MYTHS OFTEN ARE CONVEYING
POWERFUL MESSAGES ABOUT SOCIETY.
THEY'RE LETTING PEOPLE KNOW
WHAT IS CONSIDERED RIGHT AND WRONG,
WHO'S RIGHTEOUS, WHO'S SINFUL,
WHO IS CONSIDERED THE HERO,
AND WHO IS CONSIDERED THE MONSTER.
Narrator: CHRISTOFILIS THINKS
THAT THE PARTHENON OF ATHENS,
THE MOST FAMOUS TEMPLE IN ANCIENT GREECE,
COULD HOLD THE SECRET TO UNDERSTANDING
HOW THE GREEKS REALLY VIEWED THE CYCLOPS.
Maggidis: THIS IS A GREAT VANTAGE POINT.
WE CAN ACTUALLY COMPARE, YOU KNOW,
THE TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES
IN MASONRY AND ARCHITECTURE,
THE EMBODIMENT OF CRUDE STRENGTH AND FORCE
IN THE CYCLOPEAN WALL AND PERFECTION
AND HIGH-END AESTHETICS
ON THE PARTHENON OF ATHENS.
Narrator: THE PARTHENON
IS DESIGNED WITH PRECISION
AND BEAUTY IN MIND.
EVERY AESTHETIC DETAIL HAS BEEN CONSIDERED.
THE STRUCTURAL COLUMNS
ARE TAPERED AND TILTED,
ENHANCING THE VIEW FROM A DISTANCE.
WITH ARCHITECTURAL BRILLIANCE,
THE ANCIENT GREEKS HAVE DESIGNED
THE PARTHENON TO LOOK
PERFECT FROM EVERY ANGLE.
Maggidis: THE ATHENIAN
ACROPOLIS IS GENERALLY REGARDED
AS THE PINNACLE OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE.
IT EPITOMIZES THE ANCIENT GREEK SPIRIT.
IT REFLECTS AND SYMBOLIZES
ALL THE GREAT IDEALS
BY WHICH WE LIVE TODAY
...PHILOSOPHY, THEATRE,
INTELLECT, SCIENCE, ART,
AND ABOVE ALL, DEMOCRACY.
Narrator: THE IDEALS BUILT INTO
THE VERY FABRIC OF THE PARTHENON
REPRESENT EVERYTHING THAT THE HULKING, UGLY
AND SLOW-WITTED CYCLOPS WAS NOT.
THE BARBARIAN CYCLOPS IS
ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE
AND ENDURING MONSTERS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY.
BUT FOR ALL ITS BRUTISH POWER,
HUMAN INGENUITY OUTWITTED IT IN THE END.
EXPERTS HAVE SHOWN THE
CYCLOPS IS NOT JUST MYTH ALONE.
ELEPHANT FOSSILS, REAL-LIFE GIANTS,
AND IRON AGE BLACKSMITHS MAY HAVE
ALL BEEN REAL-WORLD INSPIRATIONS
BEHIND ITS POWERFUL LEGEND.
AND OUR CLOSE RELATIVES, THE NEANDERTHAL,
COULD HAVE BEEN THE REASON IT WAS THOUGHT
TO BE A MAN-EATER.
THE ANCIENT GREEKS CREATED
THE MONSTROUS CYCLOPS
TO SHOW HOW THEIR VALUES OF BEAUTY
AND INTELLECT REIGN SUPREME.
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♪♪
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♪♪
A MYTHICAL MAN-EATING GIANT
WITH SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH AND JUST ONE EYE.
HE KILLS HIS GUESTS AND EATS THEM.
Narrator: BUT WHAT WAS
THE REAL-WORLD INSPIRATION
BEHIND THIS TALL TALE?
IT WAS INCOMPREHENSIBLE THAT HUMAN BEINGS
WERE ABLE TO BUILD THIS.
Narrator: WHY WERE THE ANCIENT GREEKS
SO CONVINCED THAT KILLER
CYCLOPES ROAMED THE PLANET?
IF YOU LOOKED AT A SKULL
LIKE THIS AND SAW THIS OPENING,
YOU WOULD ASSUME THAT THIS WAS A CYCLOPS.
Narrator: AND IS THERE MORE TO
THE STORIES OF FEARSOME GIANTS
THAN MEETS THE EYE?
YOU CAN SEE THAT HE HAS A HUGE HEAD.
NOW, INVESTIGATORS USE THE
LATEST SCIENCE AND ARCHEOLOGY
TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH BEHIND THE
MYTH OF THE FEARSOME CYCLOPS...
AND WHY IT'S STALKED OUR
NIGHTMARES FOR SO LONG.
Narrator: GREECE, THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO,
PEOPLE HERE WARNED OF A
MONSTER WITH SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH.
IT COULD CONSTRUCT HUGE BUILDINGS
AND FORGE POWERFUL WEAPONS.
THE CYCLOPS WAS A
GIANT OF A MAN WITH AN EYE
AS BIG AS A WHEEL, TERRIFYING IN ASPECT.
IT WAS KNOWN FOR BEING SAVAGE.
IT WAS KNOWN FOR BEING A CANNIBAL,
AND IT WOULD EAT PEOPLE,
SIX OF THEM AT A TIME.
Narrator: WHAT INSPIRED
THIS TERRIFYING MYTH?
IS IT MORE THAN JUST A LEGEND?
♪♪
THE FIRST PLACE TO LOOK FOR CLUES
IS IN THE ORIGINAL STORY ITSELF.
AN ANCIENT POEM BY HOMER
TELLS OF A GIANT CYCLOPS
TRAPPING THE HERO ODYSSEUS
AND HIS MEN IN A CAVE.
EVERY DAY, THE BEAST DEVOURS TWO OF THEM.
THERE'S NO ESCAPE FROM
THE TERRIFYING CREATURE.
TODAY, EXPERTS CONTINUE
TO INVESTIGATE THE TRUTH
BEHIND THIS ANCIENT LEGEND.
Narrator: PROFESSOR GEORGIOS
THEODOROU IS A TOP DINOSAUR EXPERT.
HE'S DIGGING A SITE NEAR
THE GREEK TOWN OF PIKERMI
AND THINKS GIANT PREHISTORIC BONES
COULD HAVE HELPED
KICK-START THE CYCLOPS MYTH.
Narrator: THE ANCIENT GREEKS
WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN USED TO ANIMALS
THAT HAD SUCH BIG BONES.
THEY COULDN'T EXPLAIN THEM.
TODAY, THE GREEK ISLANDS
LOOK VERY DIFFERENT
TO HOW THEY DID 3 1/2 MILLION YEARS AGO.
BACK THEN, THIS WASN'T WATER BUT LAND.
THE AEGEAN SEA WAS A VAST
EXPANSE OF FOREST AND GRASSLAND.
GIANT BEASTS LIKE RHINOS
AND GIRAFFES ALL LIVED HERE.
WHEN THESE ANIMALS DIED,
THEIR BONES LAY BURIED FOR
THE ANCIENT GREEKS TO FIND.
THE FRAGMENTS OF THESE
STRANGE AND GIGANTIC SKELETONS
INSPIRED MYTHS AND LEGENDS
OF MONSTROUS GIANTS.
♪♪
IMAGINE WHAT PEOPLE MUST HAVE THOUGHT,
YOU KNOW, COMING UPON A SKELETON OR FOSSILS
THAT THEY HAD NO IDEA OR ANY
PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE ABOUT.
THEY COULD CONSTRUCT ANY IMAGINE
THAT THEY THOUGHT WOULD WORK,
YOU KNOW, AROUND THESE BONES.
Regal: THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND EVOLUTION.
THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND FOSSILS.
THEY WERE SIMPLY FINDING THESE BIG BONES,
AND IT'S NOT A SURPRISE THAT
THEY WOULD TRY TO INTERPRET THEM
IN THE WAY THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD LIFE TO BE.
♪♪
Narrator: HUGE FOSSILS CAN
HELP EXPLAIN A BELIEF IN GIANTS...
BUT WHAT COULD HAVE LED TO THE IDEA
THAT THESE BEASTS HAD
JUST ONE TERRIFYING EYE?
♪♪
COMPARATIVE ANATOMIST
DR. JOY REIDENBERG BELIEVES
SHE HAS FOUND EVIDENCE
TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY.
WHAT I HAVE HERE ARE PHOTOGRAPHS
OF AFRICAN ELEPHANT SKULLS.
NOW, THESE ARE ACTUALLY QUITE LA
BUT A SMALLER VERSION
OF THIS ACTUALLY LIVED
IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
AREA MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO,
AND THEY WERE CALLED DWARF ELEPHANTS,
AND THEY WOULD HAVE
BEEN ABOUT HALF THE SIZE
OR MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE BIT SMALLER,
BUT STILL A FAIRLY LARGE ANIMAL.
IF WE LOOK AT THE SKULL FROM THE FRONT,
WHICH IS WHAT THIS VIEW IS HERE,
YOU SEE THIS NICE DOUBLE
OPENING THAT'S FUSED IN THE CENTER.
THIS IS ACTUALLY THE OPENING FOR THE NOSE,
AND ALL AROUND THIS IS WHERE
THE MUSCLES OF THE TRUNK.
THE EYES WOULD HAVE
BEEN ON THE SIDE, VERY LOW,
RIGHT ABOUT HERE.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
SKULL, IT'S NOT OBVIOUS RIGHT AWAY
THAT THIS IS WHERE THE EYE SOCKETS ARE.
IF YOU LOOKED AT A SKULL LIKE THIS
AND SAW THIS DOUBLE OPENING,
YOU WOULD ASSUME THAT THIS WAS A CYCLOPS,
SOMETHING WITH EYES THAT
ARE FUSED IN THE CENTER
OR MAYBE EVEN JUST ONE EYE IN THE CENTER
BUT A VERY, VERY LARGE HEAD,
SO IT'D LOOK LIKE A GIANT HUMAN SKULL
WITH ONLY ONE EYE IN THE MIDDLE.
Narrator: THESE FOSSILIZED
ELEPHANT REMAINS MAY GO SOME WAY
TO EXPLAINING THE BELIEF
IN THE ONE-EYED CYCLOPS.
BUT EXPERTS HAVE FOUND THAT
THERE'S MORE BEHIND THE TALES
OF THESE MUTANT GIANTS.
THESE LEGENDS ARE PROBABLY
BASED ON REAL PEOPLE
WHO SUFFERED FROM THIS DEVASTATING DISEASE.
Narrator: JUST HOW BIG AND
POWERFUL DID THE ANCIENT GREEKS
THINK THESE MUTANT BEASTS WERE,
AND WHY WERE THEY SO CONVINCED
THAT THEY FEASTED ON HUMAN FLESH?
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: ACROSS GREECE,
INVESTIGATORS SEARCH FOR THE ORIGINS
OF A HUGE MONSTER WITH ONE GROTESQUE EYE...
THE CYCLOPS.
WHY DID THE GREEKS BELIEVE IN
GIANTS WITH SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH?
JUST HOW BIG DID THEY THINK THEY WERE?
A CLUE LIES SOUTHWEST OF
ATHENS AMID THE MYSTERIOUS RUINS
OF THE HILLTOP FORTRESS OF MYCENAE.
Kamil: MYCENAE AS A CULTURE
PREDATES ARCHAIC GREECE.
IT IS THOUGHT TO HAVE LASTED AND
FLOURISHED FOR ABOUT 500 YEARS.
Narrator: THEY MYCENEANS ARE LONG GONE,
BUT ALL AROUND THIS RUIN ARE
CLUES TO THE CYCLOPS MYTH.
OVER 3,000 YEARS AGO,
THIS WAS A MIGHTY CITADEL,
SHELTERING BEHIND MASSIVE WALLS.
THE STONES PROTECTING IT WERE COLOSSAL,
IMPOSSIBLE FOR MERE MORTALS TO LIFT.
MYTH HAS IT THAT TO
BUILD THESE MIGHTY WALLS,
THE MYCENEANS RECRUITED A GANG OF GIANTS...
DEFORMED, ONE-EYED BEASTS, THE CYCLOPES.
EACH HAD THE STRENGTH OF MANY MEN,
AND BLOCK BY GIANT BLOCK,
THEY BUILT THE CITADEL,
A FORTRESS UNLIKE ANY SEEN BEFORE.
THE TRUE ORIGINS OF PLACES LIKE MYCENAE
BECAME LOST TO LATER GENERATIONS OF GREEKS.
ARCHAEOLOGIST PROFESSOR
CHRISTOFILIS MAGGIDIS
INVESTIGATES THE CITADEL'S
CONSTRUCTION TO FIND OUT
WHY THEY CLAIM THAT
MONSTERS, NOT MEN, HAD BUILT IT.
I MEAN, THE WALLS MUST
HAVE BEEN ABOUT 12 METERS
IN HEIGHT, 5 TO 8 METERS IN THICKNESS,
BUT IT'S THE SHEER WEIGHT
BASICALLY THAT KEEPS
THE WHOLE THING IN PLACE.
Narrator: THESE WERE THE DAYS
BEFORE THE WINCH OR THE CRANE,
BUT STILL THIS WALL OF MASSIVE BOULDERS
HAS BEEN BUILT TO A HEIGHT OF 40 FEET.
Maggidis: EACH OF THESE BOULDERS
MAY WEIGH A TON OR MORE,
SOMETIMES EVEN 20 TONS.
THAT'S ABOUT A METER AND
A HALF, A METER IN HEIGHT.
Narrator: IT LOOKS LIKE IT WOULD
TAKE SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH
TO CONSTRUCT THESE WALLS.
Maggidis: THE SIZE OF EVERYTHING BUILT,
THE SIZE OF THE FORTIFICATION WALLS,
THE SIZE OF THE FORTRESS ITSELF,
THESE PROPORTIONS WERE UNPRECEDENTED.
IT WAS INCOMPREHENSIBLE THAT HUMAN BEINGS
WERE ABLE TO BUILD THIS.
♪♪
Narrator: THERE WOULD BE NO
STRUCTURE LIKE IT IN GREECE
FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
Kerr: THESE PLACES WERE TRULY
AMAZING, JUST BEYOND IMAGINATION.
SO IT MAKES SENSE THAT
SOME PEOPLE WOULD THINK
THAT THEY COULD ONLY BE BUILT BY GIANTS.
Narrator: HOW BIG WOULD
THESE MONSTERS HAVE TO BE
TO BUILD SUCH A HUGE WALL AS THIS?
ANCIENT WRITERS ARE LARGELY SILENT
WHEN IT COMES TO THE PRECISE
PROPORTIONS OF A CYCLOPS.
MATHEMATICIAN DR. KATIE STECKLES
IS GOING TO TRY TO CALCULATE ITS SIZE
WITH THE HELP OF A MODERN-DAY STRONGMAN.
ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WITH GREEK MYTHS
IS THAT THEY'RE NOT VERY
BIG ON EXACT NUMBERS
OR GIVING PRECISE VALUES
FOR THINGS LIKE PEOPLE'S
HEIGHTS OR DISTANCES.
SO WE'RE GOING TO GET
SOME REAL-WORLD VALUES.
Narrator: BOB McSTAY IS A WEIGHT LIFTER
AND USES HEAVY STONES
LIKE THESE IN COMPETITION.
THESE ARE ATLAS STONES, RIGHT?
YEAH. YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, YEAH.
SO WHAT HAVE WE GOT HERE TODAY?
THIS IS A 100 KILO.
Narrator: THAT'S 220 POUNDS OF ATLAS STONE.
THAT WOULD BE MY WARM-UP WEIGHT.
♪♪
ONCE KATIE KNOWS HOW HEAVY
AN ATLAS STONE BOB CAN LIFT,
SHE CAN WORK OUT HOW BIG
THIS CYCLOPS WOULD HAVE TO BE
TO PICK UP THE HUGE STONES
IN THE MYCENAE CITADEL.
THAT'S THE 140-KILOGRAM STONE.
THAT WAS MY LAST WARM-UP
STONE BEFORE THE 160.
BOB TOPS OUT AT 353 POUNDS.
YEAH, THAT'S ABOUT IT.
WITH THIS FIGURE, KATIE
CAN SCALE UP TO CALCULATE
THE SIZE OF THE CYCLOPEAN BUILDERS.
HERE'S OUR ATLAS STONE,
COMPARING THAT TO OUR GIANT
BLOCKS THAT MAKE UP OUR WALL.
Narrator: THE BIGGEST STONES AT
MYCENAE WEIGH UP TO 20 TONS EACH,
125 TIMES MORE THAN BOB'S HEAVIEST.
HOW BIG WOULD BOB NEED TO BE TO LIFT ONE?
WE DON'T NEED TO SCALE BOB UP BY 125 TIMES
BECAUSE WHEN YOU SCALE SOMEONE UP,
THEIR STRENGTH INCREASES MUCH
MORE QUICKLY THAN THEIR HEIGHT.
SO IN FACT, WE ONLY NEED TO SCALE
BOB AROUND ABOUT 11 TIMES,
AND BOB IS EXACTLY 6 FEET TALL,
WHICH MEANS THAT OUR GIANT
BOB IS GOING TO BE 66 FEET TALL.
Narrator: THIS IS A HUGE INCREASE IN SIZE.
66 FEET IS INCREDIBLE.
IT'S THE HEIGHT OF A SEVEN-STORY BUILDING.
IN FACT, IT'S SO HIGH, IT'S PRETTY
MUCH DINOSAUR TERRITORY.
Narrator: THE STRENGTH AND
SIZE OF THE CYCLOPS BUILDERS
WOULD HAVE BEEN AWE-INSPIRING,
BUT IT WASN'T JUST THE GREEKS
WHO THOUGHT SUPERSIZED CREATURES
WERE BUILDING MONSTER STRUCTURES.
IN IRELAND, MYTHS OF GIANT
BUILDERS WERE ALSO RIFE.
♪♪
COULD IT BE BECAUSE REAL-LIFE
GIANTS ONCE WALKED AMONG US?
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Narrator: THE CYCLOPS, A TERRIFYING
MYTHICAL MAN-EATING GIANT.
ITS SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH
WAS THOUGHT TO BE BEHIND
SEEMINGLY MONSTER BUILDS.
WHAT CONVINCED THE ANCIENT
GREEKS IT REALLY EXISTED?
IT SEEMS THEY WERE NOT
THE ONLY ONES TO BELIEVE
IN SUPERSIZED BEINGS.
IN NORTHERN IRELAND, A
STRANGE SECTION OF COASTLINE
STRETCHES OUT INTO THE
SEA TOWARDS SCOTLAND...
THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY.
JUST LIKE MYCENAEAN GREECE,
IT WAS ONCE THOUGHT
TO BE THE WORK OF GIANTS.
GEOLOGIST KIRSTIN LEMON INVESTIGATES
THE BIZARRELY SHAPED STONES.
Lemon: THE COLUMNS
THEMSELVES ARE REALLY UNUSUAL.
TO BE HONEST, THEY ACTUALLY LOOK MAN-MADE.
THEY ALL FIT TOGETHER A BIT
LIKE HONEYCOMB FITS TOGETHER.
I SUPPOSE PEOPLE, WHEN THEY FIRST SAW THEM,
THOUGHT, "THEY CAN'T POSSIBLY BE NATURAL.
SURELY THESE ARE MADE BY MAN
AND ONLY SOMEBODY AS BIG AS A GIANT
COULD HAVE POSSIBLY MADE
A ROCK FORMATION LIKE THIS."
Narrator: THE HUGE CAUSEWAY
INSPIRED A GIANT MYTH.
IT TELLS OF FINN McCOOL,
THE BIGGEST GIANT IN IRELAND
WHO PICKS A FIGHT WITH
SCOTTISH GIANT BENANDONNER.
THE GIANTS HAMMER A
CAUSEWAY ACROSS THE SEA,
SO THEY CAN MEET FACE-TO-FACE,
BUT WHEN FINN McCOOL SEES THAT
THE SCOT IS WAY BIGGER THAN HIM,
HE DISGUISES HIMSELF AS HIS OWN BABY.
TERRIFIED OF HOW GIGANTIC
BABY McCOOL'S FATHER MUST BE,
BENANDONNER FLEES BACK ACROSS THE CAUSEWAY,
SMASHING IT TO PIECES.
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THE STORY OF THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY
IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HUMANS
TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF THE NATURAL WORLD.
YOU HAVE WHAT CLEARLY LOOKS
LIKE A MAN-MADE STRUCTURE,
BUT IT'S OF HUGE PROPORTIONS.
HOW DO WE EXPLAIN THAT?
IT MUST HAVE BEEN MADE BY A GIANT.
Narrator: TODAY, GEOLOGISTS
GIVE US A DIFFERENT EXPLANATION
FOR THIS EXTRAORDINARY-LOOKING PHENOMENON.
THESE UNIFORM ROCKS WERE
MADE FROM VOLCANIC LAVA
THAT CRACKED INTO MULTIPLE SEGMENTS
AS IT COOLED 60 MILLION YEARS AGO.
THE TALE OF HOW FINN
McCOOL CREATED THE CAUSEWAY
MAY ONLY BE A MYTH,
BUT IS THERE STILL MORE TO
OLD LEGENDS OF IRISH GIANTS
THAN MEETS THE EYE?
ENDOCRINOLOGIST DR. MARTA
KORBONITS EXAMINES
THE REMAINS OF WHAT APPEARS
TO BE A SUPERSIZED HUMAN.
THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH OF CHARLES BYRNE.
HE WAS A GIANT LIVING IN THE 18TH CENTURY,
GROWING TO A HEIGHT OF 7-FOOT-7.
Narrator: CHARLES BYRNE WAS BORN IN 1761
AROUND 50 MILES FROM THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY.
YOU CAN SEE THAT HE HAS
LONG BONES IN HIS LEGS
AS WELL AS HIS ARMS,
A VERY LONG TORSO AND A HUGE
HEAD COMPARED A NORMAL SKULL.
HE HAD A DISEASE, WHICH WE CALL GIGANTISM,
AND HE HAD A TUMOR IN HIS
PITUITARY GLAND BEHIND THE EYE,
MAKING TOO MUCH GROWTH HORMONE.
Narrator: CHARLES BYRNE
DIED OF THE COMPLICATIONS
OF GIGANTISM AT THE AGE OF 22.
COULD THIS CONDITION HAVE PLAYED A ROLE
IN CREATING THE MYTH THAT GIANT
CREATURES ONCE LIVED IN IRELAND?
AND COULD THE SAME CONDITION
HAVE EXISTED IN ANCIENT GREECE,
LAND OF THE CYCLOPS?
MARTA LOOKS FOR ANSWERS.
SHE BEGINS BY INVESTIGATING
DNA OF OTHER OVERSIZED PEOPLE.
A FEW YEARS AGO, A FAMILY
WAS REFERRED TO THIS HOSPITAL
BECAUSE TWO MEMBERS OF
THAT FAMILY BOTH HAD GIGANTISM.
ONE OF THEM ACTUALLY WAS
VERY TALL, OVER 2 METERS.
Narrator: MARTA ANALYZES BLOOD SAMPLES
AND ISOLATES THE GENETIC MUTATION
THAT'S BEHIND THE
FAMILY'S EXCESSIVE GROWTH.
IT'S SUCH A RARE DISEASE.
WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE THAT
THIS FAMILY OF YOUNG GIANTS
LIVING TODAY COULD BE RELATED
TO THE IRISH GIANT CHARLES BYRNE?
Narrator: MARTA LOOKS TO SEE IF
THESE CASES ARE IN FACT CONNECTED
BY SOME KIND OF GIANT GENE
IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD.
IF SO, COULD OTHER MUTANT GIANT GENES
HAVE EXISTED FURTHER AFIELD
AT THE TIME OF THE CYCLOPS MYTH?
THE RESULTS ARE IN.
WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, THE
FAMILIES HAVE THE SAME DISEASE
AND THE SAME MUTATION
AND ARE RELATED TO THE GIANT CHARLES BYRNE.
Narrator: IT TURNS OUT THAT CHARLES
BYRNE AND THE YOUNG FAMILY
SHARED A COMMON ANCESTOR
ABOUT 60 GENERATIONS AGO.
WE FOUND ALTOGETHER 18 FAMILIES
WITH EXACTLY THE SAME MUTATION.
Narrator: OVERSIZED PEOPLE
HERE ARE NOT ISOLATED CASES.
THEY'RE PART OF A PHENOMENON,
ONE THAT STRETCHES BACK FOR CENTURIES.
SO THIS PART OF IRELAND HAS MORE GIANTS,
PROBABLY, THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.
THESE TALES, THESE LEGENDS,
ARE PROBABLY BASED ON REAL PEOPLE
WHO SUFFERED FROM THIS DEVASTATING DISEASE.
Narrator: OVERSIZED PEOPLE HELP
FUEL MYTHS OF GIANTS LIVING HERE.
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE SAME CONDITION
ALSO EXISTED IN GREECE,
AND IF REAL PEOPLE WERE
BEHIND SOME OF THESE TALES,
WHY WAS THE CYCLOPS
CONSIDERED TO BE A MAN-EATER?
COULD THE ANSWER LIE
WITH OUR CAVE-DWELLING ANCESTORS?
VERY SHARP, VERY RHYTHMICAL CUTS,
CLEARLY TO REMOVE FLESH
FROM THE BONE, WAS CANNIBALIZED.
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Narrator: THE MIGHTY CYCLOPS...
ALL ACROSS ANCIENT GREECE,
PEOPLE TOLD STORIES OF THIS
SUPERSTRENGTH ONE-EYED GIANT.
WHAT WAS THE TRUTH BEHIND
THIS TERRIFYING LEGEND?
WAS THERE EVER A REAL GIANT
THAT USED TO FEAST ON HUMAN FLESH?
ONE OF THE INTERESTING
MOTIFS ABOUT GIANTS IS,
FREQUENTLY THEY'RE CANNIBALISTIC,
OR THEY EAT THE FLESH OF MEN.
ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS
STORIES OF MAN-EATING GIANTS,
AND ONE THAT GETS TOLD TO KIDS TODAY,
IS "JACK AND THE BEANSTALK."
Narrator: IN MANY DIFFERENT CULTURES,
THERE ARE STORIES OF MONSTERS
EATING PEOPLE WHO VENTURE
INTO THE WRONG PLACE.
IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY, THE CYCLOPS
POLYPHEMUS LIVES INSIDE A CAVE.
HE TRAPS ODYSSEUS AND HIS MEN IN HIS HOME,
EATING TWO OF THEM EACH MORNING.
DID MAN-EATING GIANTS
ONCE STALK THE EARTH LIKE
IN THESE OLD FOLKTALES?
FRED COOLIDGE FROM THE
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
AT COLORADO SPRINGS
IS ON THE TRAIL OF A REAL-LIFE MONSTER.
THIS NETWORK OF CAVES IN SOUTHERN ENGLAND
IS A TREASURE TROVE FOR ANTHROPOLOGISTS.
THEY FOUND THOUSANDS
AND THOUSANDS OF ITEMS,
ALL KINDS OF STONE TOOLS.
Narrator: EXPERTS HAVE CONCLUDED
THAT THESE CAVES WERE ONCE INHABITED
BY OUR DISTANT COUSINS... THE NEANDERTHALS.
Coolidge: IT'S FAIR TO SAY
IT'S A NEANDERTHAL CAVE
BECAUSE IT WAS PROBABLY OCCUPIED
FROM ABOUT 90,000 YEARS AGO
TO UP TO ABOUT 40,000 YEARS AGO.
Narrator: LIKE THE CYCLOPS, THE
NEANDERTHAL WAS CAVE-DWELLING.
ANTHROPOLOGISTS USED
TO THINK THAT NEANDERTHALS
WERE A PRIMITIVE STEPPING-STONE
IN THE EVOLUTION OF HOMO SAPIENS,
BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT
BOTH SPECIES SIT SIDE BY SIDE
ON TWO BRANCHES OF THE SAME FAMILY TREE.
THEY EVOLVED TOGETHER
BUT IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
HOMO SAPIENS GREW LEAN AND TALL,
WHEREAS NEANDERTHALS WERE SHORT AND STOCKY
BUT INCREDIBLY STRONG.
Coolidge: THIS IS THE NEANDERTHAL SKULL.
THIS IS KIND OF SCARY, YOU KNOW,
THIS OVERHANGING BROW RIDGE.
THESE PEOPLE WERE VERY,
VERY STRONG, TOUGH IN A FIGHT.
THEY TOOK ABOUT 35%
MORE CALORIES JUST TO WALK
BECAUSE OF THEIR THICK,
STOCKY, HEAVY BODIES,
AND HEAVILY MUSCULATURED.
SO THEY NEEDED MEAT.
EY NEEDED BIG MEAT.
ABOUT 80% OF THEIR DIET WAS MEAT.
Narrator: ARCHAEOLOGISTS
DISCOVERED A GRUESOME TRUTH
ABOUT THE SOURCE OF SOME OF THIS MEAT.
THE EVIDENCE WAS FOUND
ON THE BONES THEMSELVES.
ONE INTERESTING ASPECT OF
THESE BONES, THE STRIATION MARKS,
THE CUTS ON THE BONES
WERE MADE WITH A STONE TOOL,
VERY SHARP ALONG THE
EDGES MADE BY A NEANDERTHAL,
AND THIS WOULD HAVE MADE THESE MARKS.
VERY RHYTHMICAL, CLEARLY TO
REMOVE FLESH FROM THE BONE,
SCRAPED AND EATEN.
Narrator: LIKE THE CYCLOPS, THE
NEANDERTHAL WAS A MAN-EATER.
WE'VE GOT A CLEAR HISTORY
OF NEANDERTHAL CANNIBALISM
ON OTHER NEANDERTHALS
FOR ALMOST 100,000 YEARS.
IN ONE CASE, THE LARGEST
NEANDERTHAL EVER FOUND
WAS CANNIBALIZED ALONG WITH
A BABY AND TWO LITTLE JUVENILES,
AND THEY EVEN SHOW
SCRAPES IN THE BABY'S SKULL
HOW THE TONGUE WAS RIPPED OUT.
Narrator: AMONG THE 80,000 ITEMS
FOUND IN THE DEBRIS OF THIS ANCIENT CAVE,
ARCHAEOLOGISTS MADE A REMARKABLE DISCOVERY,
ONE THAT MIGHT THROW LIGHT ON
THE MYTH OF THE CYCLOPS ITSELF.
THIS IS PART OF A HUMAN JAWBONE WITH TEETH.
Narrator: THE ORIGINAL IS VERY
FRAGILE, SO THIS IS AN EXACT REPLICA.
CLEARLY IDENTIFIED AS HOMO
SAPIENS 41,000 YEARS AGO.
Narrator: THIS EXTRAORDINARY
FIND REVEALS SOMETHING STARTLING
ABOUT OUR ANCESTORS'
HISTORY IN THESE VERY CAVES.
Coolidge: SINCE THIS DATES
TO ABOUT 41,000 YEARS AGO,
IT'S PROOF THAT NEANDERTHALS
AND HOMO SAPIENS
OVERLAPPED IN THIS CAVERN
AND THAT THERE WAS AN INTERACTION
BETWEEN THE TWO TYPES.
Narrator: IT RAISES AN
ASTONISHING POSSIBILITY.
IF OUR ANCESTORS MET NEANDERTHALS,
WERE THESE HULKING FLESH
EATERS THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
OF THE MYTH OF MAN-EATING GIANTS?
IF NEANDERTHALS HAD THIS PREDILECTION,
GREATER PREDILECTION FOR CANNIBALISM,
IT WOULD NOT BE SURPRISING
THAT HOMO SAPIENS
WOULD MAKE UP STORIES, YOU KNOW,
PARTICULARLY TO PROTECT
THEIR YOUNG AND JUVENILES
FROM BEING EATEN AND SAYING,
"STAY AWAY FROM DARK PLACES."
THAT'S WHERE THESE MYTHS
MIGHT HAVE STARTED WITH PEOPLE
IN THE DARK WHO ARE GOING TO EAT YOU.
Narrator: FOR AROUND 5,000 YEARS,
NEANDERTHALS LIVED ALONGSIDE
OUR ANCESTORS IN EUROPE.
ALTHOUGH THE LAST ONES DIED
OUT AROUND 40,000 YEARS AGO,
STORIES OF MAN-EATING CAVE DWELLERS
HAVE SURVIVED FOR MILLENNIA.
BUT THERE WAS MORE TO THE
CYCLOPS THAN A MAN-EATING OGRE.
IT WAS SAID TO BE A
HUGELY SKILLED CRAFTSMAN
WHO CREATED POWERFUL WEAPONS FOR THE GODS.
DID THIS ASPECT OF THE MYTH
ALSO HAVE ITS ORIGINS IN THE REAL WORLD,
AND WHAT CAN IT REVEAL ABOUT
THE MOST WELL-KNOWN FEATURE
OF THE CYCLOPS...
ITS PETRIFYING SINGLE EYE?
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Narrator: INVESTIGATORS ARE ON
A QUEST TO UNRAVEL THE TRUTH
BEHIND THE CYCLOPS MYTH.
ITS ORIGINS COULD LIE IN A
WARNING FROM OUR DISTANT PAST.
COULD ANCIENT HISTORY ALSO
EXPLAIN WHY IT WAS THOUGHT
THAT THIS MONSTER ONLY HAD ONE EYE?
THE CYCLOPS MYTHS DESCRIBE HOW THESE BEASTS
WERE BLACKSMITHS WORKING FOR THE GODS.
HEPHAESTUS, THE GOD OF THE FORGE,
HAD HIS WORKSHOP IN THE
VOLCANO OF MOUNT ETNA
ON THE ISLAND OF SICILY.
HIS BLACKSMITHS WERE THREE CYCLOPES.
SHAKING THE EARTH WITH THEIR HAMMER BLOWS,
THEY FORGED WEAPONS FOR THE GODS...
A HELMET OF INVISIBILITY FOR
HADES, GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD,
A TRIDENT FOR POSEIDON, GOD OF THE SEA,
AND FOR ZEUS, THEY FORGED
A DEADLY THUNDERBOLT
WITH THE POWER TO SHAKE THE WORLD.
SO CYCLOPSES WERE ACTUALLY FORGING
THESE AMAZINGLY POWERFUL
LIGHTNING BOLTS WIELDED
AND HURLED BY THE HEAD GOD,
I MEAN, THE MOST POWERFUL DEITY THEY HAD.
SO THEY DEFINITELY HAD A MYSTERIOUS
OR A SUPERNATURAL COMPONENT
TO THEM, A MAGICAL THING.
Narrator: WHY LIES BEHIND THIS
STORY OF THIS HULKING MONSTER
AS THE GODS' BLACKSMITH?
ARCHAEOLOGIST JOANNA PALERMO SPECIALIZES
IN THE GREEK IRON AGE.
IRON BECOMES THE MOST PROMINENT METAL
ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN,
AND SO IT REALLY USHERS
IN A WHOLE NEW AGE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.
Narrator: THE BLACKSMITH WAS
CENTRAL TO THE NEW IRON AGE ECONOMY.
Palermo: BLACKSMITHS WERE SO IMPORTANT.
THIS WAS MANUAL LABOR.
IT WAS DIRTY LABOR, BUT
THESE PEOPLE WERE SO PIVOTAL
TO THE NEW BEGINNINGS OF GREEK SOCIETY.
Narrator: TODAY, JOANNA
INVESTIGATES A WORKING FORGE
THAT USES IRON AGE TECHNIQUES.
SHE WANTS TO SEE WHAT IT
REVEALS ABOUT THE CYCLOPS MYTH.
BLACKSMITH ROD HUGHES IS
MAKING A REPLICA IRON AGE SWORD
USING THE METHODS FROM
OVER 3,000 YEARS AGO.
Hughes: YOU HAVE TO GET A VERY
LARGE LUNK OF MATERIAL SUITABLY HOT
FOR LONG ENOUGH TO BE
ABLE TO CHANGE ITS SHAPE
AND CHANGING ITS SHAPE BY APPLYING FORCE.
Narrator: THE MELTING POINT OF IRON
IS OVER 2,700 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
ANCIENT GREEK FURNACES COULDN'T
REACH TEMPERATURES THAT HIGH,
SO BRUTE FORCE WAS NEEDED TO
BEAT THE HOT METAL INTO SHAPE.
SO FROM WHAT I CAN SEE, IT'S A
VERY, VERY PHYSICAL PROCESS.
IT REQUIRES REPETITIVE HAMMERING.
YOU HAVE TO BE PHYSICAL WITH THE TOOLS
IN ORDER TO GET IRON TO
BEHAVE THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO.
Narrator: IN ANCIENT GREECE, ONLY
THE STRONGEST MEN WOULD HAVE
BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING
IN THIS WAY DAY IN, DAY OUT.
Hughes: THERE'D BE DUST TO DAWN
MOVING VERY HEAVY BITS OF METAL
AND THEN GRINDING AND SHAPING.
IT'S JUST VERY, VERY ARDUOUS.
Narrator: THE WORK OF THE
BLACKSMITH WAS NOT JUST TOUGH,
IT WAS DANGEROUS.
IT COULD MAIM AND EVEN BLIND.
SOME SCHOLARS HAVE SUGGESTED
THAT ANCIENT BLACKSMITHS
WOULD HAVE WARN AN EYE
PATCH TO PROTECT THEIR VISION
FROM SPARKS COMING UP FROM THE FORGE.
IN THE DAYS, THEY WOULD HAVE NO GOGGLES.
THEY WOULD HAVE SPARKS FLYING AROUND,
STRAY SPARK HITTING THEM IN THE EYES.
Narrator: BEING A BLACKSMITH
WAS LOUD AND DIRTY WORK.
THE FORGE WAS LOCATED
AWAY FROM THE CITY CENTER.
THE BLACKSMITHS WERE POWERFUL AND STRONG,
BUT WORKING WITH RED-HOT
METAL WAS DANGEROUS
CAUSING MANY BURNS AND SCARS.
SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT
TO PROTECT THEIR EYES
FROM FLYING SPARKS,
THE BLACKSMITHS WORE AN EYE PATCH.
THEY LOOKED LIKE
ONE-EYED, HULKING MONSTERS.
IT MAY BE THAT THE IRON AGE BLACKSMITH
WAS THE REAL-LIFE
INSPIRATION FOR THE CYCLOPS.
THE CYCLOPS ARE IMBUED WITH
THE ATTRIBUTES OF STRENGTH
AND BRUTE FORCE, ELEMENTS
THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN
PIVOTAL TO WORK WITH
IN THE BLACKSMITH'S SHOP.
Narrator: DOES THE IRON AGE
FORGE HOLD OTHER CLUES
ABOUT THE MYTH OF THE CYCLOPS,
THE OUTSIDER BEAST WITH
SUPERNATURAL POWERS?
Regal: ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE
TO REMEMBER ABOUT THESE MONSTER
LEGENDS IS THEY'RE COMING OUT OF A PLACE
WHERE HUMANS HAVE ONLY RECENTLY
LEARNED HOW TO DO METALWORK.
THESE TECHNIQUES WOULD
HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY SECRETIVE
AMONGST THE PEOPLE WHO PRACTICED THEM.
Narrator: THE BLACKSMITH'S MAGIC WAS
TO TURN AN ORDINARY LOOKING ROCK
OF IRON ORE INTO SOMETHING THAT
WOULD INSPIRE FEAR AND WONDER.
Regal: ONE WAY TO EXPLAIN FOR
PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T KNOW THIS ALMOST
MAGICAL ART OF TAKING THESE
STRANGE STONES IN THE GROUND
AND MAKING THEM INTO A
SHIELD OR A PLATE OR A SWORD
OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT
WOULD BE TO CREATE THE IDEA
OF MYTHICAL CREATURES DOING IT.
Narrator: LIKE NEVER BEFORE,
NEW IRON WEAPONS TRANSFORM
THE POTENTIAL OF THE ANCIENT
GREEKS ON THE BATTLE FIELD.
Palomer: OVER THE EARLY IRON AGE,
WE DEVELOP A WHOLE NEW FORM OF WARFARE,
AND ONE OF THEIR KEY
ITEMS IS NOT JUST THE SPEAR
BUT THE SWORD THAT CAME ALONG WITH IT.
THEY BOTH WOULD BE MADE OUT OF IRON.
Narrator: THE CYCLOPS WAS A
SUPREMELY SKILLED WEAPON MAKER,
BUT IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY,
HE'S OFTEN PORTRAYED AS A
HULKING MONSTER OF LITTLE BRAIN.
THE CYCLOPS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
REALLY REPRESENTED BRUTE FORCE,
AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE
CYCLOPS IN THE "ODYSSEY,"
THERE'S SOMETHING VERY PRIMAL ABOUT IT,
PRE-CIVILIZATIONAL ABOUT IT.
THE KIND OF ANTITHESIS OF CULTURE,
THAT SORT OF BARBARIAN-LIKE
STATE OF EXISTENCE.
AH!
Narrator: SO WHY IS THE CYCLOPS
ALWAYS A MONSTER AND NEVER A HERO?
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Narrator: THE ANCIENT
GREEKS THOUGHT THE CYCLOPS
WAS A TERRIFYING ONE-EYED BEAST
WITH A TASTE FOR HUMAN FLESH.
DESPITE HIS MANY SKILLS,
THIS GIANT IS DEPICTED AS
SLOW-WITTED AND EASILY TRICKED.
IN HOMER'S EPIC POEM, THE
"ODYSSEY," A GIANT CYCLOPS
TRAPS ODYSSEUS IN HIS CAVE
AND THEN EATS HIS MEN TWO AT A TIME.
BUT ODYSSEUS CLEVERLY
PLIES THE CYCLOPS WITH WINE
AND PRETENDS TO JOIN IN
UNTIL THE GIANT FALLS OVER BLIND DRUNK.
ODYSSEUS HEATS A MASSIVE
SPLINTER FROM THE CYCLOPS' CLUB
AND STABS HIM IN THE EYE.
WITH THE BEAST BLINDED AND OUTWITTED,
THE HERO AND HIS MEN CAN ESCAPE.
ODYSSEUS IS ABLE TO OUTWIT
THE CYCLOPS THROUGH BRAINPOWER
RATHER THAN BRUTE FORCE OR EVEN MAGIC.
Narrator: SO WHY IS THE
CYCLOPS ALWAYS A LOSER?
ARCHAEOLOGIST CHRISTOFILIS MAGGIDIS
BELIEVES IT COULD HAVE BEEN A
DEVICE TO PROMOTE THE POWER
AND SOPHISTICATION OF GREEK SOCIETY.
THE CYCLOPS WERE BELIEVED
TO BE MYTHICAL CREATURES
THAT WERE EXCELLENT IN
METALSMITH, GREAT BUILDERS,
BUT WITH CRUDE FORCE, CRUDE
POWER, WITHOUT REFINEMENT,
WITHOUT TOO, YOU KNOW,
MUCH OF THE AESTHETICS
THAT WERE SO HIGHLY
VALUED BY THE LATER GREEKS.
Narrator: THE ANCIENT GREEKS
USED MYTHS AND LEGENDS
TO REINFORCE THE IDEALS THEY HELD DEAR.
MYTHS OFTEN ARE CONVEYING
POWERFUL MESSAGES ABOUT SOCIETY.
THEY'RE LETTING PEOPLE KNOW
WHAT IS CONSIDERED RIGHT AND WRONG,
WHO'S RIGHTEOUS, WHO'S SINFUL,
WHO IS CONSIDERED THE HERO,
AND WHO IS CONSIDERED THE MONSTER.
Narrator: CHRISTOFILIS THINKS
THAT THE PARTHENON OF ATHENS,
THE MOST FAMOUS TEMPLE IN ANCIENT GREECE,
COULD HOLD THE SECRET TO UNDERSTANDING
HOW THE GREEKS REALLY VIEWED THE CYCLOPS.
Maggidis: THIS IS A GREAT VANTAGE POINT.
WE CAN ACTUALLY COMPARE, YOU KNOW,
THE TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES
IN MASONRY AND ARCHITECTURE,
THE EMBODIMENT OF CRUDE STRENGTH AND FORCE
IN THE CYCLOPEAN WALL AND PERFECTION
AND HIGH-END AESTHETICS
ON THE PARTHENON OF ATHENS.
Narrator: THE PARTHENON
IS DESIGNED WITH PRECISION
AND BEAUTY IN MIND.
EVERY AESTHETIC DETAIL HAS BEEN CONSIDERED.
THE STRUCTURAL COLUMNS
ARE TAPERED AND TILTED,
ENHANCING THE VIEW FROM A DISTANCE.
WITH ARCHITECTURAL BRILLIANCE,
THE ANCIENT GREEKS HAVE DESIGNED
THE PARTHENON TO LOOK
PERFECT FROM EVERY ANGLE.
Maggidis: THE ATHENIAN
ACROPOLIS IS GENERALLY REGARDED
AS THE PINNACLE OF WORLD ARCHITECTURE.
IT EPITOMIZES THE ANCIENT GREEK SPIRIT.
IT REFLECTS AND SYMBOLIZES
ALL THE GREAT IDEALS
BY WHICH WE LIVE TODAY
...PHILOSOPHY, THEATRE,
INTELLECT, SCIENCE, ART,
AND ABOVE ALL, DEMOCRACY.
Narrator: THE IDEALS BUILT INTO
THE VERY FABRIC OF THE PARTHENON
REPRESENT EVERYTHING THAT THE HULKING, UGLY
AND SLOW-WITTED CYCLOPS WAS NOT.
THE BARBARIAN CYCLOPS IS
ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE
AND ENDURING MONSTERS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY.
BUT FOR ALL ITS BRUTISH POWER,
HUMAN INGENUITY OUTWITTED IT IN THE END.
EXPERTS HAVE SHOWN THE
CYCLOPS IS NOT JUST MYTH ALONE.
ELEPHANT FOSSILS, REAL-LIFE GIANTS,
AND IRON AGE BLACKSMITHS MAY HAVE
ALL BEEN REAL-WORLD INSPIRATIONS
BEHIND ITS POWERFUL LEGEND.
AND OUR CLOSE RELATIVES, THE NEANDERTHAL,
COULD HAVE BEEN THE REASON IT WAS THOUGHT
TO BE A MAN-EATER.
THE ANCIENT GREEKS CREATED
THE MONSTROUS CYCLOPS
TO SHOW HOW THEIR VALUES OF BEAUTY
AND INTELLECT REIGN SUPREME.
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