A Talking Picture Page #2

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Anyway, punishment or not,

everyone was burnt to death,

and the city was destroyed,

as we're going to see now.

- Now?

- Yes, now.

It's all in ruins.

Like I told you.

Behind these columns

are the remains of the second

most important temple of the city,

the Temple of Apollo.

Look.

See, here it is in ruins,

and this is what it was like before.

- You see?

- Yes.

The main square as we see it today,

and Vesuvius.

And look now.

- Here's the square before the catastrophe.

- There was no grass.

No, only these stones.

That lady getting on board now

seems to be famous.

Who? I didn't notice.

She's gone now.

This hill in front of us

is called the Acropolis.

Let's climb up and take a closer look.

See how beautiful it must have been.

This temple was dedicated

to the goddess who protected Athens.

What did people do here?

They worshipped their gods.

Now let's go to the other side.

Look up there.

Can you see?

It's enormous, isn't it?

It almost seems to touch the clouds.

Are you French, madam?

No, we're Portuguese, Father.

But we speak a little French.

You speak perfectly.

You have a lovely little girl.

If I can help in any way,

I'm at your service.

Excuse my boldness,

but when I saw you,

I just had to speak to you.

Don't stand on ceremony.

Please speak.

This is the first time

I've met an Orthodox priest.

We are Roman Catholics.

I teach history at Lisbon University,

and I was trying

to explain to my daughter

what the Acropolis is.

You did well to ask me.

I'm at your disposal

for whatever you may need.

That's very kind of you.

The Acropolis is a real treasure.

Someone once said,

"Never have my eyes seen

such a glorious sight

as this little mount. "

I'm sure anyone who comes here

would say the same.

But as you are probably aware,

the most important monument

in Greece

is the Parthenon over there.

Inside stood

a colossal ivory statue of Athena

draped in gold robes.

It was 33 feet high.

Athena is the goddess of wisdom,

the goddess you Latins call Minerva.

The statue was enormous,

and legend has it

that it was taller than the temple

and could be seen

from no matter

where you stood in the city.

That must have made

the citizens feel protected.

Exactly.

Even more so

because in Greek mythology,

Athena conquered Poseidon

and is now

the patron saint of the city.

What happened to that statue?

Which statue?

The statue of the legend disappeared,

and nobody ever heard of it again.

But the original statue was removed

at the same time

as another even larger statue

cast in bronze,

which was situated

between the great portal

and the Temple of Erechtheum.

In the fifth century AD,

both were taken to Constantinople.

During the reign of

the Christian emperor Theodosius?

Exactly.

- I can see I'm talking to a history teacher.

- What are you saying, Mommy?

We're talking about the statue

of the goddess Athena.

- Was there really such a goddess?

- No, just a statue - actually, two.

But they disappeared, or rather

they were taken to Constantinople.

Can you steal a goddess?

No. You can't steal a goddess.

What was stolen was the statue

that represented

the patron saint of the city.

So was the city left unprotected?

No, darling.

It's the Greeks who protect Greece.

The story of the statue is an ancient

legend that was lost in the mists of time

once the city became

prosperous and rich.

- These are the ruins of those times.

- And what about that one?

What's that one over there?

That's the Temple of Erechtheum

where Poseidon and "Athina"

were worshipped.

Excuse me if I say "Athina. "

That's Greek for Athena, isn't it?

Exactly.

It's the Greek name for Athena.

The name we give

to the goddess of wisdom.

The wisdom of the philosophers,

playwrights, poets and musicians -

it all derives from Athena.

And now come with me.

I want to show you the ruins

of one of the most ancient Greek theaters.

There it is.

In ruins, as you can see.

But I haven't even

introduced myself yet.

I'm Father Nicholas,

an Orthodox priest at your service.

By the grace of God, Father.

I'm going to tell you a curious story.

Please do.

Since I'm writing my doctorate

on art in general,

this theater is also

of great interest to me.

Is it true that Antigone, Medea

and other famous plays

were performed here for the first time?

Yes, probably.

Let's go down for a closer look.

This is the exact spot

where the actors performed.

The audience sat

on those tiers over there.

See, dear?

The actors performed here,

and the audience sat over there

at the other end.

Yes, Mommy. What is this?

Could you explain what that is?

This stone is called the "themeli. "

It's where sacrifices

were offered before the play.

Look.

Those seats over there

were reserved for important people.

That one over there is very special.

It was reserved for

the most important authority of all.

See the name engraved on it?

And look at that one too.

Down there, see?

Mommy.

My daughter noticed you use three fingers

when you make the sign of the cross.

Please forgive my curiosity,

but I've never seen

a Catholic priest do that.

They make the sign of the cross

with their palm open.

I never really understood

why Catholics

make the cross as you say,

but your question is not indiscreet.

I'll try to explain.

We Orthodox say-

observe carefully-

that this here is the Father,

this is the Son,

and this is the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Trinity.

In the name of the Father,

and of the Son

and of the Holy Ghost.

Amen.

Look, that lady is famous.

- Who is she, Mommy?

- She's a singer.

Hello. How do you do?

Welcome aboard.

Have a good trip.

We're standing before one

of the largest cathedrals in the world.

It was built by the Christians.

About a thousand years later,

it was conquered by the Muslims

and turned into a mosque.

What's a mosque?

A mosque is like a church.

It's where Muslims pray.

The muezzin calls

from the top of the minaret.

- What's a muezzin?

- He is a sort of caller

who goes up the minaret

to call the faithful to prayer.

To pray like us?

Yes, but they pray in their own way.

The name St. Sophia

has nothing to do with a saint.

The word comes from the Greek

sophos, which means wisdom.

St. Sophia means divine wisdom,

the wisdom of God.

This building that you see before you

is the third St. Sophia.

It was destroyed twice

in revolts during Byzantine times,

and it was rebuilt each time.

The first St. Sophia was built in 360 AD

by the Roman Emperor Constantine.

The second, the ruins of which

you can see over there,

was built in 415 AD

by the Emperor Theodosius.

And finally, this building

was constructed in 537

by the Byzantine emperor Justinian.

In the beginning,

it was a Christian cathedral,

neither Catholic nor Orthodox,

because it was before the separation.

It became an Orthodox cathedral

only in the ninth century,

and in 1453

it was converted into a mosque

by the Muslims.

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