Dr Michael Scott's "Who Were The Greeks", Episode 2

I am very grateful to the people who put the second episode of “Who WereThe Greeks” on Youtube. Meant that I was able to catch the programme on
Friday afternoon, only a day after it was show on BBC 2. (I have to
interrupt his post and go and hang up my washing, it is Monday after all!
All done, the rest can wait until tomorrow.) In this installment he
continued to show how the Greeks were different to us, but were also
very different to the way we have come to see them.

One of the biggest differences is that the Ancient Greeks painted their
monuments. There were not just the off-cream marble that we now tend to
think of. Assuming that we think about the Ancient World at all. The
fact the monuments were painted makes sense when you think about how
bright the sun is in Greece. I know this is a very simplistic reason.
There are more technical things like: showing the splendour of the gods,
the wealth of Athens, creating awe in the onlooker etc. But on the
basic level if the background is very bright then you need to use
colour to highlight the object in question.

I spent about a day in Athens between flights from Johannesburg, South
Africa to Berlin, Germany some years back. I recall that it was both
extremely hot and bright. I think it is quite amazing when you think
what the Greeks achieved in spite of so much heat. Yes, I know that other
cultures have also achieve much in spite of their locations. It is just
that I know less about them then I do about the Ancient Greeks and
Romans. The point I am trying to make is that I would probably have been
hiding under a tree to avoid the sun, then building the Parthenon.
Perhaps all I can say is that I prefer it a bit cooler.

Dr Scott also looked at the site of the original Olympics at Olympia. This
is obviously a very popular topic as the 2012 Olympic Games in London
are not yet a distant memory. A really magical summer. I lived near
London, last year and it was a truly wonderful time. My favourite part
was seeing so many hyper-masculine athletes crying. I really enjoyed the
very un-British outpouring of male tears.

Dr Scott once again challenged our sanitised view of the ancient
Olympics. Describing the pain, scars and even death of some of the
ancient athletes. All very interesting and thought provoking, done with
his very dry humour. There was also a section on Greek Drama and among
other things Michael (sorry Professor but I am getting tired of referring
to you as Dr Scott) looked at the use of masks in Greek Comedy. The way
the actors were able to show emotions in spite of their somewhat
cumbersome masks. He said the main question that Greek Tragedy asked the
audience was along the lines of: “What should I do in this impossible
situation?”

What would you do in Oedipus's situation, when you discovered that you
had killed your father and married your mother and had children with
her. And contrary to popular understanding of the Oedipus complex, the
poor guy had done it all unknowingly. I wonder how a modern soap opera
would deal with that situation? Perhaps it has been done already, but
then again maybe not. Bit too over the top. Guess that is why we call it
Greek Tragedy.

For me “Who Were The Greeks” once again reinforced my passionate
interest in Ancient History. So now I will just have to wait for
Assistant Professor Scott's next TV programme. Finally, on the topic of
Greek Drama found a really good post written by a Welsh writer.