Atlantis: End of a World, Birth of a Legend Page #2

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to the magnificence of this island.

An island I like to believe I've

played a small part in making great.

Sorry I was late.

Without Cretan middlemen...

Did you make your offering?

Something happened at the sanctuary.

The ground cracked. There was

this fountain of boiling water.

I don't know where it came from.

It was as if the whole island was...

Was being torn apart.

At the bull leaping,

you said that the ground shook.

You should tell your father.

I had hoped that my only son

would follow in my wake

and take to the seas.

Until now he's

put his blood and sweat into bulls,

and temple priestesses.

Here's hoping that his wife

can make a better man of him.

He's drunk, let's go.

We can't. This is in our honour.

- You think this is for us?

My advice

to anyone who marries is this.

Enjoy every day,

because you never know when the gods

will decide to take away what

is most precious to you.

They've blessed you, Rusa.

You tell us that they want

us to do this, do that.

We do it because you say so.

But still they punish us.

- This is intolerable.

I don't speak to you.

Rusa you giving us a wonderfull...

- Will dispower over us.

You tell us you know the gods will.

But, they don't speak to you!

Yishharu!

Yishharu!

Get down!

Where's Yishharu?

- I don't know.

One of the Minoans' most

powerful gods was the Earth Shaker.

And for good reason.

Structural damage uncovered on Thera

shows that around 1620 BC

they were exposed

to an enormous earthquake.

Measuring more than

seven on the Richter scale.

Their buildings were designed to

withstand minor tremors and quakes.

Thick timber frames had been

used to give them extra strength.

Until finally, this quake, strong

enough to shatter these stone steps,

set in motion an irreversible chain

of events for the people of Thera.

Stay still.

Hey, little lady.

Has your husband left you already?

You should try the temple.

He used to find his peace there.

Quick! Over here.

Is he all right?

Looks like he's alive.

Hold on, there's someone else.

We need to get this town back on it's feet.

All your messing around, married now,

it's going to stop.

It has.

It wasn't what it look like.

You expect your new wife to belive that.

What can I do, what can I say?

- Nothing!

Only you know why you went to the Templ.

Pinaruti only knows what she saw.

Or we also.

There is no excuse for you done.

Listen,

you think fight and damage

challenging bull is brave,

believe me,

marriage is the true test of courage.

Besides, father is important bussines ally,

not if she decides to divorce you.

A legal code discovered on Crete,

suggests that Minoan women

had more rights in marriage,

then an any other society at the time.

If they divorced, women were

in title to reclaim the dowry.

In cases of adultery, only the men

were punished.

Look, I only went to the temple

to get away from my father.

I didn't know she'd be there.

I don't want your excuses.

Everyone knows what you've

been doing with that woman.

Even your father jokes about it.

You've humiliated me, Yishharu.

I won't stand for it.

As soon as I knew she

was there, I told her...

You told her it was over.

I told her that...

- It was a goodbye.

Yeah, it was goodbye.

We need to restore normality

as soon as possible.

Get them back into their homes.

- It's too soon.

Their homes aren't safe yet.

The houses may be damaged, but

most of them are still standing.

The houses have been weakened.

We need to make them safe

before the people return.

And expect people to leave

everything behind for

thieves to steal?

Anything of value

can be safely stored.

In the basements

or under the door frames

where the buildings are strongest.

Then we seal up the doors.

And the people go where?

You expect them to

camp in the streets?

I move them out of the city

while we repair the buildings.

Priestess?

Enough lives have been lost.

We set up camps until the

houses can be made safe.

And, Rusa,

the buildings are not

all we have to repair.

You take care of the gods, priestess.

I'll get the town up and running.

Archaeological evidence reveals that

the earthquake damage was so severe

that the Therans had to

leave their homes.

Their precious possessions

were discovered stored

beneath solid structures like

wooden doorways and under beds.

And the entrances to their houses

were found sealed.

Unlike Pompeii, no human remains

have been found in the town,

suggesting the islanders moved

to temporary camps, imagining

they'd be coming home soon.

For over 17,000 years the magma chamber

under Thera had been sealed,

But the earthquake had fractured the chamber...

Allowing the magma to rise.

You're as pious

as a priestess, Pinaruti.

There are others on this island

who could learn from your example.

Rusa?

He lost a wife.

And he blames the priestess

for failing to placate

the Goddess Eileithyia.

She died during childbirth?

They were only newly married.

Ever since, he's found it difficult

to put his trust in us.

If we can't trust you,

who can we trust?

As the magma rose it releases Sulfor,

and other poisons gases.

More omen signs of the intending erruption.

Are you sure it's safe to be this close?

- It's fine.

But what's that smell?

It's like rotten eggs.

That's the smell of the water.

I believe it drives

the bad spirits away.

We don't know why it smells.

Or why it's so lovely and hot.

Come in, it's great!

What's wrong?

Yishharu.

Yishharu, quick, get back.

The ocean... The ocean is turning!

You don't think this is a sign?

Everyrhing is a sign, Yishharu,

the nothing is a sign.

If the gods are angry what,

I'm to do about it?

Send the courier to the Crete, to Piteri,

tell him his cargo will sail in the morning,

And that his doughter is safe.

And instead of worring about dead fish,

Yishharu, try keep it that way

So what did he say?

He says that everything is a sign

and nothing is a sign.

Doesn't take it seriously.

A high priestess told me about your mother.

I don't know her...

...Just a few hours old.

And he blames the priestesses.

Who do you blame?

I don't know enough

to know who to blame.

I just wish I was better

at understanding the gods.

They're trying to tell us something.

- Your father's a powerfuland and sensible man,

Yishharu.

When he talks,

everyone listens to him.

If you can just convince him that

this is a warning from the gods.

My father's faith in the gods ended

when they stole my mother from me.

Where are you going?

- I need to talk to a priestess.

High priestess.

Bansabira will know

what the gods want.

Pressure from rising magma

blasted out a plug of rock that had

blocked the mouth of the volcano

for thousands of years.

This was a pre-eruption.

Simply the volcano

clearing its throat.

Previous generations would have

witnessed small eruptions like this,

and seen them

as signs from the gods.

Signs that the priesthood

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