Such a greate idea of showing ancient cities through late Assasin's Creed games, they did a tremendous job here. Looking forward to getting more of those!
@@InvictaHistory Please do! I loved this video. I rarely watch videos of this length on RUclips but I was engrossed by this one. I was disappointed when I realized it wasn't a channel series.
I really appreciate the amount of detail that the designers went into. Frankly, I think this should be used in history classes to get these kids excited about history.
It is great and all, but it is still a game. Although fairly accurate through scriptures and ancient texts, it is not 100%, and some subjects were added for the flair of it being Assassins Creed. In the end, I love history. I am thoroughly enjoying this game.
Just some addition/correction, coming from an archaeologist. -The small statues were usually used as offerings to the gods and they could either represent the deity itself or just a random women/men, often represented as giving an offering. Painted pottery was also a common offering, most probably with some sort of food inside. -The sanctuary of Artemis (Brauronia) hosted the same cult of a sanctuary nort of Athens -The Erechteion isn't supposed to be there as its construction started in 421 BC, 10 years after the game takes place; also, it hosted the cult of Athena Polias, the protectress of the city; in its place there used to be a temple dedicated only to her, but it was destroyed by the Persians and the Athenians sweared to never rebuild it. The statue of Athena hosted inside is supposed to be made of olive wood. -I believe the bull is a reference to Theseus, the most important Athenian hero who captured a bull in the area of Marathon. -the statues decorating the Parthenon were in painted marble, not bronze. -There aren't supposed to be any other statues inside the Parthenon apart from that of Athena, not until Roman Times -The pool inside the temple was built to ensure the right level of humidity so that the ivory used to sculpt the goddess' skin wouldn't crack.
Thanks! Also a more anthropological point-I don’t believe we would have seen all these wealthy well-dressed women walking around exposed and unaccompanied. Upper-class women in Athens were largely confined to the home and when they went out they covered their heads and at least part of their faces.
There are also many statues which are staright up fantasy or some reliefs or statues taking out of context. Like on the base of a statue was a relief from a tomb stone.
@@sazji Yep, life for women in ancient Athens was more reminiscent of life under the Taliban than under modern democracy. Plus there would have been regular animal sacrifices and even the occasional human sacrifice (pharmakós) during such festivals as the Thargelia. The Classical world has been so idealized for so long that many people assume that places like Athens were egalitarian paradises, which of course is far from being true.
@@valmarsiglia compared to much of the rest of the world at that time and previously, that's exactly athens was. we've come a fair way since then, but we have a long way to go still before we can call ourselves truly civilised.
31:50 The water in the pool before Athena Parthenos had a function, not just aesthetic. It was used to raise humidity inside the temple so that the ivory of the statue wouldn't crack or get damaged.
@@King-Squid-99 Greeks are incredibly smart! For example, not only did they discover the world was round, but a Greek man named Erastothenes accurately calculated the circumference of the entire Earth by using shadows, wells, and wooden poles around 240 B.C.E. It was only during the dark ages after the fall of Rome that people lost all of the scientific progress before them and would have to rediscover it all. Imagine where humanity would be if we had continued without loosing 1,000 years of scientific progress!
@@myrongoingbuggie you can't argue with accurate math. The evidence is clear based on a 4,000 year old document that states the mathematical equation used to calculate the circumference of the Earth. Very accurate as well based on the result. All the evidence is there, believe it or not
Dimosthenis Karamparpas great point and I knew that and that’s why I was wondering while playing this game. So overall as a game though you would approve of it? I live in America so I wouldn’t really know. Also I’m curious because I like to explore and gain knowledge in things in life and I hope to travel to Greece one day.
Ciao! I come from Italy and have been following your videos for a long time, which have always had an interesting approach. But you surpassed yourself in this. You have turned a video game into a real place, displaying it with a guided tour. What a conceptual leap!
If you haven't tried it yet I highly recommend the game. I've been having a great time with it from a gameplay perspective, and they recently added this Discovery mode which is more of a self guided tour of ancient Greece. It's free if you own it or you can get it as a standalone product.
YES , BECAUSE WE ARE THE MOTHER OF CIVILISATION AND THEY HAVE GOT INSPIRED .ONLY THAT THE STATUE OF ATHINA WAS INSIDE THE PARTHENON AND NOT OUTSIDE ( MADE BY FIDIAS , FROM COLD AND IVORY )
@@panayotispanayotis1901 it is there in video, inside at the back of Parthenon. Watch entire video. The one outside was there too but was made of bronze. smh.
I always wanted to visit Athens . Growing up I ain’t have much; but I have big dreams. Now I have all the resources I wanted and I want Greece to be the first country I visit abroad. When I get there, on the very first day I will climb the Acropolis and watch the orange sunset while crying tears of bliss. I love Greece and it’s people.
@@panayotispanayotis1901 There were two statues of Athena, one inside the temple, Athena parthenos (maiden) made by Phedias from gold and ivory and the other, Athena Promachos, was a colossal bronze statue of Athena sculpted by Pheidias too, which stood between the Propylaea and the Parthenon.
@Megas Pantelos Are you serious? Its like asking the Egyptians to destroy the pyramids and build new ones just because they look old after 4000 years. Acropolis and parthenon are worlwide known not because their architecture characteristics but because the history behind them. If you want to see the Parthenon in its former glory go to USA where they copied it or invent time travel you genius. I really hope that you are not Greek and if you are you are the new definition of unworthiness.
Now THIS is the way History ought to be taught in schools from now on! Thank you SO much for your tour and commentary, and many thanks to the creators of the game, of course. Looking forward to seeing more like this about other ancient civilizations.
This was really fun to watch! Ancient Greece is just one of those times in history with so much to offer with their culture, influence, aesthetics and mythology. The fact that you explained different aspects as you walked around made the experience that much more immersive. Really looking forward to future videos like this.
@@udishomer5852 And the animal and occasional human sacrifices, the slave-based economy, and women being forbidden to leave their houses unless accompanied by a male relative, and forced to cover their heads and faces when in public.
They were also depicted on drachmai coins for over 2500 years until they chamged it for the euro in the 2000s. So its an homage to continue the old tradition .
The Caryatids that are there now are copies and the originals are housed in the Acropolis museum except for one that was looted by Elgin which is in the British museum.
Here I am again...2 years after my first viewing, and it is still as amazing as it was the last time I watched this video! There are only two comments that I would like to add about your awesome presentation. The first being how you mentioned that the walls on the sides of the Acropolis were built to fortify the outcrop. True, but another major reason they were built, was to increase the amount of flat land on the top of the Acropolis itself. Over one-third of the Parthenon stands on this man-made soil that was created by the construction of these supporting walls. And second, maybe in a future version, you could show the huge statue of Athenia in the Parthenon, lit by the torches inside what was probably a rather dark interior space. I would imagine that the reflection of the flames off the gold and ivory of the statue would have made Athenia appear to move and breathe. That would certainly been awe inspiring to anyone who viewed it! And it could totally support the belief that even though everyone knew it was a statue, when people saw the statue appear to move and breathe...they could religiously assume that they were viewing the statue during those occasions where Athenia and her spirit/soul had entered into the statue itself!! And if THAT did not make you fall to your knees to pray and believe in Athenia...nothing would!
@@QualityPen Because there are more metrics that can be used for measuring progress in society than just the architecture of certain temples? Just a thought.
No any"Greeks"in ancient time. They were just Pelasgo Illyrians. ILLYRICUM PENINSULA named today as"Balkan" PARTHENON=PAR+THE+NON Mean:"In the memory of our either swear-promise which light it!!" Only by Albanians and Albanian language!!
@@IuIianos Well Roma built by the Annea's grandchildren and he was Dardanian Prince of Troy.Dardanian was Pelasgian tribe. "Greek's"doesn't existed then🤣🤣
@@InvictaHistory THANK YOU! remember the last assassins creed also had this discovery mode. It takes place in Roman Egypt and I enjoyed their history tours very much!
Greetings from Athens,Greece! The game's portrayal and imaging of Ancient Athens is reasonably accurate (considering its an entertainment medium and there is loads of stuff on the Acropolis that shouldn't be there, the site is really cramped on the top of the hill). If i'm not mistaken though, the HUGE statue of Αθηνά (Πρόμαχος or Παρθένη or Gold-Ivory Statue of Athena) was actually INSIDE the main hall of the temple (the σικός) and not outside. I'm really glad you 're showcasing this and excited that people enjoy learning about greek history!
There were two statues, one outside and one inside (which is also in the game) The statue outside was about 30-40 ft tall I think, so maybe only slightly shorter than it appears here.
should not have been a retard and should have kept watching. A good lesson for the future, never comment without watching the whole thing. Greetings from Crete
Thank you so much for doing this! I had no idea this was a thing on Odyssey until now. I absolutely loved the discovery tour mode on Origins, so I am bound to love this too. Cannot wait to get stuck in and learn about Ancient Greece!
So glad I was born in this culture. I just wish I could travel In time and see the Acropolis during its glorious years. 2.500 years ago!!!!It's still mind blowing standing next to the Parthenon itself today. Awesome job by the creators and thanks for helping us travel back then.
Wow. As somebody who studied classical archaeology and has been in Athens I gotta say this is simply amazing. And also most of the details of the architecture and statues are quite accurate (obv. not every single painting or smaller statue on the acropolis is known, so they had to fill in some details). Thank you for the great tour!
Can't get enough of these videos. Fascinating with wonderful information. How many times have i day dreamed and imagined what it must've been like in those ancient cities. I've read sources, traveled the world to many sites. Sat in ruins and pondered the ancients, and now to have a tour live and in color is almost too good to be true!
I've been fascinated by the ancient Greeks and Romans since I was a child and read a good deal about them. Now to actually see a video of what it actually looked like with brief description is like turning the lights on and seeing through their eyes. Well done. The Romans and Greeks surrounded themselves with beauty. The Pantheon in Rome is proof of architectural genius. The Parthenon was funded by Athens allies in part--illegally--which wasn't what the league members agreed to. Someone will have to post what the building, the statues, etc. of the complex would cost in US dollars. I saw the figure, but have forgotten it. I mean we're talking a lot of money.
This is fantastic!! I love that you put in the landscaping, the greenery, that obviously the Greeks would have planted. And I also really love the huge statue of Athena that people would have seen once they left the entrance portal to the holy area of the Acropolis! Most sites use a much smaller statue, which would NOT have left the impression that the ancient Greeks were striving for. And so much more detail that you put into this amazing work of art!! Too many to mention here. Bravo to you!!
Magnificent! Thank you a lot for this tour, I've been there couple years ago, but only now I have realized how great and beautiful it actually used to be.
When the entertainment industry does a better job at education than many museums and schools. Even when accounting for some of the liberties they took. (Actually I think it may be clothing where they went furthest from the real thing.)
My daughter and I watched this to supplement our S.S. lesson today- it was just what she was craving... To see the Athenian acropolis and parthenon in its glory. Thank you.
I've enjoyed many of your videos but I haven't commented on one before. I just wanted to say this was a fantastic idea. I've actually visited Greece and the Parthenon but seeing it this way was a great experience.
As someone currently studying the Orders and Ancient Greek architecture (and actually studying right now for an essay on the Parthenon) I am very happy to see how accurately they represented the different orders. I am testing my knowledge of the terminology, using these temples as examples xD
You might want to avoid wiggling your mouse around to show a detail with a reticule we can't see in the capture and stop running like a mad man when you try to show us around. Long sweeping camera movements are much more easy on the eye.
I literally can't watch this because of all the jostling. If he wants to add in some kind of indicators on screen to show emphasis, that would be better than shaking the camera. Motion sickness is a thing.
Hi TheZappan99! Thanks for bringing up a very important point that I was afraid to bring up and sound like I was complaining about such a good endeavor as this. This is a masterpiece of representing Athens so realistically, but right away my eyes were very fatigued by the for some reason hurried and jerking motions of the point of view and had to alleviate that somewhat by not going with full screen. If this is virtually interactive, or whatever the technical term is, I think they should re-do this.
Absolutely, ... motion sickness and eye strain due to the inexperienced, jerky camera handling is a major put-off for this otherwise amazing presentation... pity. It's thumbs down for me.
my classical civilisation teacher used this video in class to teach us and here i am now the night before my exam re watching this video lol its very helpful
awesome video and explanations! 15:55 i would think more than that. They apparently saved about 1/4 of the cost by reusing blocks from the older Parthenon that was never finished. But they had to use money stolen from their Delian allies too. They even had to stop construction of the nearby Temple of Hephaestus to fund the Parthenon.
The problem is, as far as I know, we have only very limited knowledge of Sparta compared to Athens. Best example is that the most detailed description of Spartan society was written by a foreigner and not a Spartan. Im not sure there are that many archaeological things left eather. I mean Sparta did literally die out over a long period of time (with the Romans turning it into some kind of ancient amusement park ^^).
@@noobster4779 I agree with your comment. The Spartans were not renowned for their art or architecture. After their victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian war they generously refused to sack Athens in recognition of its unique contribution to Greek culture, though they did tear down the extensive walls that surrounded the city and had successfully kept them out for years. It would be nice to see a recreation of Delphi, the site of the scared oracle. It was a neutral religious site for all Greeks, where each city state competed to create the most elaborate dedications with buildings and art intended to glorify both themselves and the pantheon of Greek gods.
@@noobster4779 In fact, Thucydides wrote thus: "Suppose the city of Sparta to be deserted, and nothing left but the temples and the ground-plan, distant ages would be very unwilling to believe that the power of the Lacedaemonians was at all equal to their fame. Their city is not built continuously, and has no splendid temples or other edifices; it rather resembles a group of villages, like the ancient towns of Hellas, and would therefore make a poor show."
@@justinove7521 I think that you are correct that the city Sparta itself would be a disappointment to see when compared to the legendary reputation that the Spartans themselves have gained as warriors. Spartan society was based around a system that enslaved the local Laconian Greeks who neighboured Sparta, these helots were tasked with all the unpleasant practical activities needed for the maintenance of their city state. Therefore the fulltime occupation of native male Spartans was the subjugation of their huge and rebellious slave population. Spartans had little interest or need to do anything else, which would probably extend to a lack of enthusiasm in elaborate city building, art or architecture.
Sparta as a settlement (I wouldn't even call it a city) was not exactly impressive. It was small and very rural, with few artisans or any other industries not devoted to agriculture or war-smithing. One thing the game gets right it that it is much smaller in comparison to Athens; though the giant ugly statues and large temples were probably poetic license. The word "Spartan" today connotes something that is spare but also utile. These were people who had a cultural disdain for luxury items and frivolities (At least at first. That would soon change). For a time even the use of gold as a currency was outlawed, the Spartan preferring to trade in iron, which unlike gold they felt they actually had more use for. That would change as Sparta grew in power and wealth; large influxes of war booty changed the Spartan economy to one that was more like its neighbors; later archeologic records of gold, ivory, and fine pottery showed a growing Spartan taste for luxury items. The large numbers of Spartan men killed in wars of conquest also had unforeseen effects on the Spartan economy and culture: Spartan women, who unlike women in most other Greek city-states had the legal right to own property, began owning more and more of it, and unlike their conservative-minded warrior husbands did not see any problem with diversifying their family portfolios with businesses and investments beyond slaves and agriculture.
They did a great job with the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, the Temple of Zeus at Olympia and the temple of Aphrodite at Acrocorinth. The game made me realize how important Apollo was as a deity, he was like the """Jesus""" of their religion and Delphi was a holy site like Jerusalem, maybe even more holy, since one was not suposed to lie, kill, have sex and many other behaviors there.
I think it’s amazing that they can make video games with so much detail and depth! If this is what video games are like now then who knows how advanced and realistic they’ll be by 2080 or so👍✨
Wow! I have visited the Acropolis twice - 1974 & 2016. I found the story of the columns most fascinating. You might consider adding it to your narrative. The columns look straight and equally proportioned, that was an intentional optical illusion. The shape of the column shafts, and their slight tilt from the vertical, are said to correct optical distortions so that the building appears to be perfectly regular. The columns taper towards the top, but also swell slightly part of the way up, to avoid an impression of narrowing at the centre. The corner columns are marginally wider, to counteract another visual effect; without this adjustment, they would appear thinner than the inner columns. The columns are not exactly equidistant, the outer ones being slightly closer together. Neither are the columns precisely vertical; they slope imperceptibly inwards. It has been estimated that the end columns, if continued upwards, would meet several kilometres above the Parthenon. These refinements required a remarkable degree of precision, and deep understanding of both geometry and the subtleties of human visual perception.
Many thanks for this. A thought occurs: I would like to think that some day a VR overlay might be possible as one walks though ancient sites. It would be amazing to be in a place and to be able to whiteness a reconstruction of how it looked through time, along with a virtual guide to explain and point out areas of interest. To stand in the shadow of somewhere like the Parthenon and watch time roll back before your eyes while exploring would be amazing.
AC;Origins and Odyssey are two of my favourite games for this reason. From purely gameplay the former is superior, but i very much appreciate the hard work put into both games.
As an AC fan this was incredibly difficult to watch u NOT climb on any buildings or statues 😂 But please do another one of these vids for AC Valhalla!! Really enjoyed ^_^
He hasn't done one yet but in the meantime I have my video of Michells Fold one of the locations my history discretion is in the subtitles. ruclips.net/video/klhpB-7DIv8/видео.html
I just returned from the Acropolis and wanted a video that would give me more "vivid details" , this video was EXCELLENT! it helped me understand the history better.. thank you!
Small tip for the next videogame walkthrough: move a bit more smoother through the levels, the shaking with the mouse to point stuff out was making me a bit nauseous :)
The great snake shown with Athena Parthenos is the sacred animal of the Acropolis, the great serpent of Erechtheus, sometimes conflated with the legendary early king of Athens who had the same name. Athena Parthenos had a large supporting column under the hand holding Nike. There's a life-sized recreation of the Parthenon and the Athena Parthenos in, of all places, Nashville, TN although she is also missing the pedestal supporting the hand holding Victory. The outdoor Athena colossus' glinting helmet could be seen by ships at sea as far as Cape Sunium. Ironically, the Acropolis reconstruction project spelled doom for the Athenians. They broke the bank with it. Just Athena Parthenos was said to have cost the equivalent of 300 warships, dooming the Athenians on their failed Sicilian Expedition, war with the Spartans, and later war against Philip II of Macedonia. Just to put 300 ships into context, after the Spartans defeated Athens they restricted the Athenian navy to just 12 ships. Remember, Athens' might came from her navy, rather like 19th and early 20th century Britain, who also use a virgin warrior goddess - Britannia - as their patron. Poseidon, not Athena, should have been the city's true patron deity. As you mentioned, much of the gold in the treasure was looted from tributary states in the Delian League. They were coerced to be in the League by Athens' navy. If you did not pay up, Athens would send a few hundred ships to make you rethink that. They also settled those islands in Imperial fashion so the navy was also their road to colonization. No navy, no empire and no tribute. It's the old "guns and butter" political debate. Remember, this was the birth of democracy, which the Greeks ridiculed in comedies and there is a reason the Athenian democracy lasted a mere 200 years and democracy would disappear for another 2000 years. It was populist vote buying on the first order from the get-go, to the point they eventually took from the treasury to pay people to go to the theater and not only that, but paid people to vote. Politicians throw money at everything, it is all they do, and the Parthenon was a lavish vanity project that helped doom the Polis and it's no irony that the Parthenon's own doom was sealed by an explosion of gunpowder the Turks were storing there during a war in 26 September 1687. A direct hit on the powder magazine the Turks had stored there killed 300 plus Turks, caused the cella to collapse, blew out the central part of the walls and brought down much of Phidias’ frieze. Many of the columns also toppled, causing the architraves, triglyphs and metopes to come tumbling down. If one views the Turks as descendants of the Persians and remembers that it was they who destroyed them original Acropolis - then Athens had come full circle. I suggest everyone watch Pericles of Athens and the Dangers of Democracy by Loren J. Samons here to get the background on all of this: ruclips.net/video/Iy7wFgOXinE/видео.html The difference w/ the politicians today is they have a money tree and we use fiat currency. Specie made money more real back then. They could take out loans (and they did!) but they could not just create more money. When our politicians were restricted somewhat to a gold standard, they broke the bank and the entire federal govt was bailed out by one man: J. P. Morgan, in 1907. Impossible now with today's money printing. Great video, thank you, tremendous to walk up the stairs even in digital recreation. Just remember this sobering thought though - it may have been the Coachella of the Ancient Greek world, but the Athenians paid for it with their future. After Philiip II of Macedon followed up by the Romans, they will remain a vassal state for the next 2000 years. It was a very brief flowering. Beautiful, but like the Greeks viewed youth - as a flower that dies.
AC Odyssee is so aesthetically and atmospherically beautiful that at times I would get distracted from the game and just look around exploring the environment. There are parts that are just gorgeous.
Little Sidenote: The Parthenon in the game is really interesting, because it is the most well known building of ancient greece and also one of the best preserved but the version in the game has some strange errors. As you mentioned the Pediment friezes are not correct, Ingame they show what looks like the gigantomachy, but the whole ensamble is made up, with some figures copied from the Pergamon altar. The metopes (the small "pictures" below the roof running around the outer wall of the building) are showing not the Panathenaic Games (that the frieze on the interior), the metops should show different mythological scenes (fight against troy, against the amazons and giants) but in the game it shows the Labors of Herakles and are actually the metopes from the Zeus temple in Olympia. The Interior frieze with the Panathenaic Games also only shows a fraction of the actual frieze. All of this is weird because the pediment frieze, the metopes and the interior frieze are still preserved to this day and can be seen in London and Paris, with a few bits still in Athens. The western pediment (Athena-Poseidon Competition) is visible in AC:Origins on the pediment of the Serapis Temple in Alexandria. I dont know why, of all buildings in the game, this one have such weird mistakes. My best guess are technical or legal issues (no publication rights). The large bronze Athena is btw an interesting example of intentional exaggeration on ubisofts part. The ingame Statue seems much to large. BUT. The ancient travel book "Descriptions of Greece" by Pausanias mentions that the Helmet feathers and the tip of her spear are visible, when one passes by Cap Sounion by ship (which is not possible in reality). In game, the Statue and the hills around Athens are created in a way to exactly mimic this description when taking your ship around the cape. Pausanias book, by the way, was apperantly used as an important source for the developers. A lot of these "historical site" description on the map are directly copied from this book.
Such a greate idea of showing ancient cities through late Assasin's Creed games, they did a tremendous job here. Looking forward to getting more of those!
I am really really excited to do more of these tours as it just comes to life when you can walk through the locations
@@InvictaHistory I would love them :D
I agree. There it is done
@Andro mache wow ! What other buildings do they have that are similar to ancient Greece style ?
@@InvictaHistory Please do! I loved this video. I rarely watch videos of this length on RUclips but I was engrossed by this one. I was disappointed when I realized it wasn't a channel series.
I really appreciate the amount of detail that the designers went into. Frankly, I think this should be used in history classes to get these kids excited about history.
Zach Sanchez that’s what I said to the class
I agree!
That would demand some heavy computer budget for the schools :P But I guess the kids can do it in groups.
It is great and all, but it is still a game. Although fairly accurate through scriptures and ancient texts, it is not 100%, and some subjects were added for the flair of it being Assassins Creed.
In the end, I love history. I am thoroughly enjoying this game.
@@fyivid videos like this maybe
Just some addition/correction, coming from an archaeologist.
-The small statues were usually used as offerings to the gods and they could either represent the deity itself or just a random women/men, often represented as giving an offering. Painted pottery was also a common offering, most probably with some sort of food inside.
-The sanctuary of Artemis (Brauronia) hosted the same cult of a sanctuary nort of Athens
-The Erechteion isn't supposed to be there as its construction started in 421 BC, 10 years after the game takes place; also, it hosted the cult of Athena Polias, the protectress of the city; in its place there used to be a temple dedicated only to her, but it was destroyed by the Persians and the Athenians sweared to never rebuild it.
The statue of Athena hosted inside is supposed to be made of olive wood.
-I believe the bull is a reference to Theseus, the most important Athenian hero who captured a bull in the area of Marathon.
-the statues decorating the Parthenon were in painted marble, not bronze.
-There aren't supposed to be any other statues inside the Parthenon apart from that of Athena, not until Roman Times
-The pool inside the temple was built to ensure the right level of humidity so that the ivory used to sculpt the goddess' skin wouldn't crack.
Thanks! Also a more anthropological point-I don’t believe we would have seen all these wealthy well-dressed women walking around exposed and unaccompanied. Upper-class women in Athens were largely confined to the home and when they went out they covered their heads and at least part of their faces.
There are also many statues which are staright up fantasy or some reliefs or statues taking out of context. Like on the base of a statue was a relief from a tomb stone.
@@sazji Yep, life for women in ancient Athens was more reminiscent of life under the Taliban than under modern democracy. Plus there would have been regular animal sacrifices and even the occasional human sacrifice (pharmakós) during such festivals as the Thargelia. The Classical world has been so idealized for so long that many people assume that places like Athens were egalitarian paradises, which of course is far from being true.
Very insightful. Thanks.
@@valmarsiglia compared to much of the rest of the world at that time and previously, that's exactly athens was. we've come a fair way since then, but we have a long way to go still before we can call ourselves truly civilised.
31:50 The water in the pool before Athena Parthenos had a function, not just aesthetic. It was used to raise humidity inside the temple so that the ivory of the statue wouldn't crack or get damaged.
Was thinking exactly the same thing. Glad you pointed that out to viewers. 🙂
God the Greeks were so smart, that's awesome
@@King-Squid-99 Greeks are incredibly smart! For example, not only did they discover the world was round, but a Greek man named Erastothenes accurately calculated the circumference of the entire Earth by using shadows, wells, and wooden poles around 240 B.C.E.
It was only during the dark ages after the fall of Rome that people lost all of the scientific progress before them and would have to rediscover it all. Imagine where humanity would be if we had continued without loosing 1,000 years of scientific progress!
@@aristosbywater9605 I don't quite agree. I've seen that general narrative debated many times.
@@myrongoingbuggie you can't argue with accurate math. The evidence is clear based on a 4,000 year old document that states the mathematical equation used to calculate the circumference of the Earth. Very accurate as well based on the result.
All the evidence is there, believe it or not
I'm from Athens and I have to say thank you for showing to the world our culture and our past 😊
Go to Delphi. From what ive seen in the game they put a lot of effort into getting all the trophies, tripods, statues and temples right.
Dimosthenis Karamparpas but overall the game is accurate or no?
Dimosthenis Karamparpas great point and I knew that and that’s why I was wondering while playing this game. So overall as a game though you would approve of it? I live in America so I wouldn’t really know. Also I’m curious because I like to explore and gain knowledge in things in life and I hope to travel to Greece one day.
Delphi used to be great. I love the place.
Cool game
VERY STRONG FANTASTIC MOVIE. MISTAKES AND MISTAKES. Read my short comment today
It looks remarkably like the real place. Blew me away and I hadn’t been to Delphi for like 6 years
Mainstream media: Video games causes violence.
Invicta: Hold my birds-eye eagle.
But there's assassin in the name of the game! It has to make gamers assassin's! /S
mfaizsyahmi. You mean he causes more violence then
@woollimy I would say europa universallis is
GREEKS ARE NOT BROWN PEOPLE
Anton Drexler they have olive skin
14:50 ugh why do kids always need to be on their tablets? So unsocial...
It will rot their brain. smh
It only rots when they watch rotten productions...
I heard that in the voice of Socrates who was actually against the "new" trend of writing things down.
@@jaskey Holy shit so you know what Socrates sounded like?
In Athens they use to sit on a chair to study
Ciao! I come from Italy and have been following your videos for a long time, which have always had an interesting approach. But you surpassed yourself in this. You have turned a video game into a real place, displaying it with a guided tour. What a conceptual leap!
If you haven't tried it yet I highly recommend the game. I've been having a great time with it from a gameplay perspective, and they recently added this Discovery mode which is more of a self guided tour of ancient Greece. It's free if you own it or you can get it as a standalone product.
YES , BECAUSE WE ARE THE MOTHER OF CIVILISATION AND THEY HAVE GOT INSPIRED .ONLY THAT THE STATUE OF ATHINA WAS INSIDE THE PARTHENON AND NOT OUTSIDE ( MADE BY FIDIAS , FROM COLD AND IVORY )
@@panayotispanayotis1901 it is there in video, inside at the back of Parthenon. Watch entire video. The one outside was there too but was made of bronze. smh.
@@panayotispanayotis1901 there were other civilizations at this time such as China and India...
I always wanted to visit Athens . Growing up I ain’t have much; but I have big dreams. Now I have all the resources I wanted and I want Greece to be the first country I visit abroad. When I get there, on the very first day I will climb the Acropolis and watch the orange sunset while crying tears of bliss. I love Greece and it’s people.
It doesnt look like this anymore
We watched the video while visiting the Parthenon! It was great!
No
@@HondaCivicsisedan ????
Lucky you guys. Been there many times it’s an amazing site 😘
ONLY THAT THE STATUE OF ATHINA WAS INSIDE THE PARTHENON AND NOT OUTSIDE ( MADE BY FIDIAS , FROM COLD AND IVORY )
@@panayotispanayotis1901 There were two statues of Athena, one inside the temple, Athena parthenos (maiden) made by Phedias from gold and ivory and the other, Athena Promachos, was a colossal bronze statue of Athena sculpted by Pheidias too, which stood between the Propylaea and the Parthenon.
When you live in Athens, you have visited this place numerous times but you hardly recognise it. They knew how to impress
@Megas Pantelos Are you serious? Its like asking the Egyptians to destroy the pyramids and build new ones just because they look old after 4000 years. Acropolis and parthenon are worlwide known not because their architecture characteristics but because the history behind them. If you want to see the Parthenon in its former glory go to USA where they copied it or invent time travel you genius. I really hope that you are not Greek and if you are you are the new definition of unworthiness.
@Megas Pantelos ότι θα έβρισκα άνθρωπο να υποστηρίζει την διάλυση της Ακρόπολης και την επαναστυλωση της δεν θα το πιστευα
Έτσι ήταν η Αθήνα εχει περάσει πολλούς πολεμους και καταστροφες
@Megas Pantelos You have no respect for Athenian people because their Government won't destroy ancient sites?
Does it have the cliff steps on the north side of Acropolis with the Klepsydra underneath ? I'll be really impressed if there are !!/..
Now THIS is the way History ought to be taught in schools from now on!
Thank you SO much for your tour and commentary, and many thanks to the creators of the game, of course. Looking forward to seeing more like this about other ancient civilizations.
This was really fun to watch! Ancient Greece is just one of those times in history with so much to offer with their culture, influence, aesthetics and mythology. The fact that you explained different aspects as you walked around made the experience that much more immersive. Really looking forward to future videos like this.
Thanks! I really really did enjoy this format for sharing content. Everything just becomes so much more approachable and it all seems to click.
You forgot science, philosophy, math :)
@@udishomer5852 That is very true, friend. Considering some of these are among my interests, I am ashamed of my failing memory with these. D:
@@udishomer5852 u forgot slavery too
@@udishomer5852 And the animal and occasional human sacrifices, the slave-based economy, and women being forbidden to leave their houses unless accompanied by a male relative, and forced to cover their heads and faces when in public.
The owl on the banners at 6:16 is also depicted on (some) Greek euro coins. €€
Ive had antique coins with that owl on too. They are cool AF, but often pricey :/
Yes it is on the 1 euro coin that greece mints!
They were also depicted on drachmai coins for over 2500 years until they chamged it for the euro in the 2000s. So its an homage to continue the old tradition .
All Greek euro designs are beautiful, in contrast to the countries who just put politicians and royalty on their coins. (imo)
@@RomanCourier you should see the drahmas.. they looked cool af
I'm so glad I've bought this game, their recreation of ancient Greece is absolutely staggering.
The Caryatids that are there now are copies and the originals are housed in the Acropolis museum except for one that was looted by Elgin which is in the British museum.
Was it the 5th or 6th front column of the Erectheion that is kept in London ?
@@hyekang3850 third from the left
Here I am again...2 years after my first viewing, and it is still as amazing as it was the last time I watched this video! There are only two comments that I would like to add about your awesome presentation. The first being how you mentioned that the walls on the sides of the Acropolis were built to fortify the outcrop. True, but another major reason they were built, was to increase the amount of flat land on the top of the Acropolis itself. Over one-third of the Parthenon stands on this man-made soil that was created by the construction of these supporting walls. And second, maybe in a future version, you could show the huge statue of Athenia in the Parthenon, lit by the torches inside what was probably a rather dark interior space. I would imagine that the reflection of the flames off the gold and ivory of the statue would have made Athenia appear to move and breathe. That would certainly been awe inspiring to anyone who viewed it! And it could totally support the belief that even though everyone knew it was a statue, when people saw the statue appear to move and breathe...they could religiously assume that they were viewing the statue during those occasions where Athenia and her spirit/soul had entered into the statue itself!! And if THAT did not make you fall to your knees to pray and believe in Athenia...nothing would!
Damn, nice work considering it only came out today.
It is amazing what the Greeks made thousands of years ago.
@@QualityPen These were religious structures built over many years to praise the gods.
Ordinary Greek people would live in very simple stone homes.
@@QualityPen Because there are more metrics that can be used for measuring progress in society than just the architecture of certain temples? Just a thought.
No any"Greeks"in ancient time.
They were just Pelasgo Illyrians.
ILLYRICUM PENINSULA named today as"Balkan"
PARTHENON=PAR+THE+NON
Mean:"In the memory of our either swear-promise which light it!!"
Only by Albanians and Albanian language!!
@@guritarasi8732 No they are Greeks..
@@IuIianos
Well Roma built by the Annea's grandchildren and he was Dardanian Prince of Troy.Dardanian was Pelasgian tribe.
"Greek's"doesn't existed then🤣🤣
18:31 Invicta: The virgin cult over there
Me: Hey leave me and my friends alone!
AKA Fortnite.
lmao
@@benisrood I actually am a volcel now but for a while was an incel admittedly.
Darn Chad cults…
fun fact! virgin in the context of ancient greece meant more along the lines of "an unmarried woman" than "someone who hasnt had sex" :)
Such tremendous attention to detail here, really impressed with the work they did in this game, even if I am at odds with company lately.
You should do a discovery tour in Alexandria or Memphis in Ac Origins.
Will you be doing more of these? It was great.
YES!
It would be great if you could do the Athenian agora.
@@InvictaHistory perhaps Corinth and sparta? Your channel is so damn good
@@InvictaHistory THANK YOU! remember the last assassins creed also had this discovery mode. It takes place in Roman Egypt and I enjoyed their history tours very much!
@@InvictaHistory Please, make more!
Greetings from Athens,Greece! The game's portrayal and imaging of Ancient Athens is reasonably accurate (considering its an entertainment medium and there is loads of stuff on the Acropolis that shouldn't be there, the site is really cramped on the top of the hill). If i'm not mistaken though, the HUGE statue of Αθηνά (Πρόμαχος or Παρθένη or Gold-Ivory Statue of Athena) was actually INSIDE the main hall of the temple (the σικός) and not outside. I'm really glad you 're showcasing this and excited that people enjoy learning about greek history!
The gold Ivory Statue is indeed inside the temple, maybe you haven't watched the video entirelly and stopped on the Big bronze one outside
There were two statues, one outside and one inside (which is also in the game) The statue outside was about 30-40 ft tall I think, so maybe only slightly shorter than it appears here.
shouldve watched the whole video first lol
should not have been a retard and should have kept watching. A good lesson for the future, never comment without watching the whole thing. Greetings from Crete
Dude, this is Athena Promachos.
As a middle school Social Studies teacher, and a huge fan of the AC series from childhood, you have made my whole week with this.
Id love to see more of this! Both Origins and Odyssey could be great visual aids.
Simply amazing how Ubisoft recreates these historic sites. I'm tempted to play this game again.
The quality of your videos is simply outstanding. It is like actually being there in the past ! Congratulations.
Thank you so much for doing this! I had no idea this was a thing on Odyssey until now. I absolutely loved the discovery tour mode on Origins, so I am bound to love this too. Cannot wait to get stuck in and learn about Ancient Greece!
So glad I was born in this culture. I just wish I could travel In time and see the Acropolis during its glorious years. 2.500 years ago!!!!It's still mind blowing standing next to the Parthenon itself today. Awesome job by the creators and thanks for helping us travel back then.
Wow. As somebody who studied classical archaeology and has been in Athens I gotta say this is simply amazing. And also most of the details of the architecture and statues are quite accurate (obv. not every single painting or smaller statue on the acropolis is known, so they had to fill in some details). Thank you for the great tour!
The star of this game is the world in which the player gets to explore. Ubi did an absolutely incredible job in recreating Ancient Greece.
Beautiful representation of this holy ancient mythological site. I truly enjoyed watching 👍
I don't even play video games, I'm here for the HISTORY! This makes it come alive. Great job to both the developers and to you, Invicta.
LLC CL
Can't get enough of these videos. Fascinating with wonderful information. How many times have i day dreamed and imagined what it must've been like in those ancient cities. I've read sources, traveled the world to many sites. Sat in ruins and pondered the ancients, and now to have a tour live and in color is almost too good to be true!
I've been fascinated by the ancient Greeks and Romans since I was a child and read a good deal about them. Now to actually see a video of what it actually looked like with brief description is like turning the lights on and seeing through their eyes. Well done. The Romans and Greeks surrounded themselves with beauty. The Pantheon in Rome is proof of architectural genius. The Parthenon was funded by Athens allies in part--illegally--which wasn't what the league members agreed to. Someone will have to post what the building, the statues, etc. of the complex would cost in US dollars. I saw the figure, but have forgotten it. I mean we're talking a lot of money.
This actually felt like you’re vlogging from the Acropolis! 😃
This is fantastic!! I love that you put in the landscaping, the greenery, that obviously the Greeks would have planted. And I also really love the huge statue of Athena that people would have seen once they left the entrance portal to the holy area of the Acropolis! Most sites use a much smaller statue, which would NOT have left the impression that the ancient Greeks were striving for. And so much more detail that you put into this amazing work of art!! Too many to mention here. Bravo to you!!
Brilliant! Amazing job from Ubisoft with all the details and the overall atmoshere and thank you so much for taking us on a guided tour.
Magnificent! Thank you a lot for this tour, I've been there couple years ago, but only now I have realized how great and beautiful it actually used to be.
17:55 nothing we produce today would last for 1000 years and be so beautiful at the same time.
fast food burgers?
You know it's a great content when 33 mins feels like 5 mins.
Muh content!
When the entertainment industry does a better job at education than many museums and schools. Even when accounting for some of the liberties they took. (Actually I think it may be clothing where they went furthest from the real thing.)
It's not very factual though. This is somebody's fantasy of an idealized Athens that never existed.
My daughter and I watched this to supplement our S.S. lesson today- it was just what she was craving... To see the Athenian acropolis and parthenon in its glory. Thank you.
just a small correction, karyatides found on acropolis nowdays are not the real ones. The real ones are housed inside acropolis's museum
I'm at Athens now. Just been to the acropolis and this walkthrough is a great way to help visual and understand what I've seen today 👍
This may be the greatest RUclips video I’ve ever seen
I've enjoyed many of your videos but I haven't commented on one before. I just wanted to say this was a fantastic idea. I've actually visited Greece and the Parthenon but seeing it this way was a great experience.
This is the coolest ad ever!
As someone currently studying the Orders and Ancient Greek architecture (and actually studying right now for an essay on the Parthenon) I am very happy to see how accurately they represented the different orders. I am testing my knowledge of the terminology, using these temples as examples xD
Ive been playing this latley and the exploration is amazing. Nice video once again!
Congratulations on an excellent narration and visit to an exquisite monument of the ancient world of Athens, Greece! Thank you 💖
This is amazing! Learned much more here than in the museums of the city!
This series is outstanding. I feel like I have traveled in my mind.
You might want to avoid wiggling your mouse around to show a detail with a reticule we can't see in the capture and stop running like a mad man when you try to show us around.
Long sweeping camera movements are much more easy on the eye.
Agreed. Did someone already suggest using a controller for these kinds of guides. To make the camera movements more smooth in general.
I literally can't watch this because of all the jostling. If he wants to add in some kind of indicators on screen to show emphasis, that would be better than shaking the camera. Motion sickness is a thing.
Hi TheZappan99! Thanks for bringing up a very important point that I was afraid to bring up and sound like I was complaining about such a good endeavor as this. This is a masterpiece of representing Athens so realistically, but right away my eyes were very fatigued by the for some reason hurried and jerking motions of the point of view and had to alleviate that somewhat by not going with full screen. If this is virtually interactive, or whatever the technical term is, I think they should re-do this.
Absolutely, ... motion sickness and eye strain due to the inexperienced, jerky camera handling is a major put-off for this otherwise amazing presentation... pity. It's thumbs down for me.
Agree... It's a nice video but I can't finish it. 😭🤮
my classical civilisation teacher used this video in class to teach us and here i am now the night before my exam re watching this video lol its very helpful
My Latin teacher gave me this video as a guide for studying the Pantheon.
Love discovery tour makes you understand how many details you missed while playing the game.
Please do more of these. Pleaseeeee! :D
awesome video and explanations!
15:55 i would think more than that. They apparently saved about 1/4 of the cost by reusing blocks from the older Parthenon that was never finished.
But they had to use money stolen from their Delian allies too.
They even had to stop construction of the nearby Temple of Hephaestus to fund the Parthenon.
Do one for sparta please (and how historicly accurate the city is)
The problem is, as far as I know, we have only very limited knowledge of Sparta compared to Athens. Best example is that the most detailed description of Spartan society was written by a foreigner and not a Spartan. Im not sure there are that many archaeological things left eather. I mean Sparta did literally die out over a long period of time (with the Romans turning it into some kind of ancient amusement park ^^).
@@noobster4779 I agree with your comment. The Spartans were not renowned for their art or architecture. After their victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian war they generously refused to sack Athens in recognition of its unique contribution to Greek culture, though they did tear down the extensive walls that surrounded the city and had successfully kept them out for years.
It would be nice to see a recreation of Delphi, the site of the scared oracle. It was a neutral religious site for all Greeks, where each city state competed to create the most elaborate dedications with buildings and art intended to glorify both themselves and the pantheon of Greek gods.
@@noobster4779 In fact, Thucydides wrote thus:
"Suppose the city of Sparta to be deserted, and nothing left but the temples and the ground-plan, distant ages would be very unwilling to believe that the power of the Lacedaemonians was at all equal to their fame. Their city is not built continuously, and has no splendid temples or other edifices; it rather resembles a group of villages, like the ancient towns of Hellas, and would therefore make a poor show."
@@justinove7521 I think that you are correct that the city Sparta itself would be a disappointment to see when compared to the legendary reputation that the Spartans themselves have gained as warriors.
Spartan society was based around a system that enslaved the local Laconian Greeks who neighboured Sparta, these helots were tasked with all the unpleasant practical activities needed for the maintenance of their city state. Therefore the fulltime occupation of native male Spartans was the subjugation of their huge and rebellious slave population. Spartans had little interest or need to do anything else, which would probably extend to a lack of enthusiasm in elaborate city building, art or architecture.
Sparta as a settlement (I wouldn't even call it a city) was not exactly impressive. It was small and very rural, with few artisans or any other industries not devoted to agriculture or war-smithing. One thing the game gets right it that it is much smaller in comparison to Athens; though the giant ugly statues and large temples were probably poetic license. The word "Spartan" today connotes something that is spare but also utile. These were people who had a cultural disdain for luxury items and frivolities (At least at first. That would soon change). For a time even the use of gold as a currency was outlawed, the Spartan preferring to trade in iron, which unlike gold they felt they actually had more use for.
That would change as Sparta grew in power and wealth; large influxes of war booty changed the Spartan economy to one that was more like its neighbors; later archeologic records of gold, ivory, and fine pottery showed a growing Spartan taste for luxury items. The large numbers of Spartan men killed in wars of conquest also had unforeseen effects on the Spartan economy and culture: Spartan women, who unlike women in most other Greek city-states had the legal right to own property, began owning more and more of it, and unlike their conservative-minded warrior husbands did not see any problem with diversifying their family portfolios with businesses and investments beyond slaves and agriculture.
I found the video very intresting and historically accurate ,so congratulations for the hard work put into this video
I love Discovery mode. I think I've spent more time in these modes than in the actual game.
Not even exaggerating. This channel is honestly the best when it comes to explaining the social part of ancient societies.
Oh yay, glad to hear it! I do like my fair share of military history but find that social history really deserves far more attention.
I'm Greek and I approve of this video!
Didn't think I'd like this video at first but found myself quickly captivated. Great video!
You do great virtual tours now we need a vr headset to enjoy full immersion
It's incredible how much knowledge you have about ancient Athens.
Great idea for a video.
They did a great job with the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, the Temple of Zeus at Olympia and the temple of Aphrodite at Acrocorinth. The game made me realize how important Apollo was as a deity, he was like the """Jesus""" of their religion and Delphi was a holy site like Jerusalem, maybe even more holy, since one was not suposed to lie, kill, have sex and many other behaviors there.
As well as Delos!
Great to see the Acropolis come to life. It would be interesting to know what became of all that gold!
I think it’s amazing that they can make video games with so much detail and depth! If this is what video games are like now then who knows how advanced and realistic they’ll be by 2080 or so👍✨
extraordinary graphic arts and an impressive, yet informative tour trip. thanks for your great effort, invicta!
I'm going there soon I cant wait to visit it
AC has always been one of my favorite single player games. Great walkthrough.
Wow! I have visited the Acropolis twice - 1974 & 2016.
I found the story of the columns most fascinating. You might consider adding it to your narrative. The columns look straight and equally proportioned, that was an intentional optical illusion.
The shape of the column shafts, and their slight tilt from the vertical, are said to correct optical distortions so that the building appears to be perfectly regular. The columns taper towards the top, but also swell slightly part of the way up, to avoid an impression of narrowing at the centre. The corner columns are marginally wider, to counteract another visual effect; without this adjustment, they would appear thinner than the inner columns.
The columns are not exactly equidistant, the outer ones being slightly closer together. Neither are the columns precisely vertical; they slope imperceptibly inwards. It has been estimated that the end columns, if continued upwards, would meet several kilometres above the Parthenon. These refinements required a remarkable degree of precision, and deep understanding of both geometry and the subtleties of human visual perception.
I hope we get to experience the future when game is so real, so people do vlog on it
I LOVE this format. Really feels like you are guiding us through the city as it was. Please do more!!
So amazing!! The videospeed is somewhat dizzying, but the commentary is terrific! History lesson at it's best 😍
Many thanks for this. A thought occurs:
I would like to think that some day a VR overlay might be possible as one walks though ancient sites. It would be amazing to be in a place and to be able to whiteness a reconstruction of how it looked through time, along with a virtual guide to explain and point out areas of interest.
To stand in the shadow of somewhere like the Parthenon and watch time roll back before your eyes while exploring would be amazing.
Say what you will about Ubisoft, but they put a lot of detail and effort into there world building.
yeah you're right but the horse should have penises
@@alwaysdisputin9930 oh my God I laughed for so long. Thank you
@@calebburns4346 ❤ vote 4 TBA
Ubisoft made their impression on my with Prince of Persia so it’s little surprise now tbh
AC;Origins and Odyssey are two of my favourite games for this reason. From purely gameplay the former is superior, but i very much appreciate the hard work put into both games.
Y'all should visit the life-sized Parthenon in Tennessee.
Amazing idea
What about the life-sized original in Athens?
Mitsvan Mitsvanio Because the Athens one is mostly destroyed and covered by scaffolding.
I just went to the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. This helped bring it to life, thank you
As an AC fan this was incredibly difficult to watch u NOT climb on any buildings or statues 😂
But please do another one of these vids for AC Valhalla!! Really enjoyed ^_^
He hasn't done one yet but in the meantime I have my video of Michells Fold one of the locations my history discretion is in the subtitles. ruclips.net/video/klhpB-7DIv8/видео.html
I just returned from the Acropolis and wanted a video that would give me more "vivid details" , this video was EXCELLENT! it helped me understand the history better.. thank you!
I understand the choice to delay AC Rome but I was still disappointed to hear the update :/
New AC is set in the Viking era
there were 2 games set in rome the upcoming one wont be in rome
i... i dont think they delayed that, they didn't even announce it. also pretty sure legion turned out to be Watchdogs
@AMH MRD
take a 10seconds look into viking history and you'll see how wrong you are.
@Duncan I’m sure they’ll do a great job! But if the vikings wear horned helmets... 💥
With how well this video shows all the detail, an ac first person game would be awesome
Small tip for the next videogame walkthrough: move a bit more smoother through the levels, the shaking with the mouse to point stuff out was making me a bit nauseous :)
The great snake shown with Athena Parthenos is the sacred animal of the Acropolis, the great serpent of Erechtheus, sometimes conflated with the legendary early king of Athens who had the same name. Athena Parthenos had a large supporting column under the hand holding Nike. There's a life-sized recreation of the Parthenon and the Athena Parthenos in, of all places, Nashville, TN although she is also missing the pedestal supporting the hand holding Victory. The outdoor Athena colossus' glinting helmet could be seen by ships at sea as far as Cape Sunium.
Ironically, the Acropolis reconstruction project spelled doom for the Athenians. They broke the bank with it. Just Athena Parthenos was said to have cost the equivalent of 300 warships, dooming the Athenians on their failed Sicilian Expedition, war with the Spartans, and later war against Philip II of Macedonia. Just to put 300 ships into context, after the Spartans defeated Athens they restricted the Athenian navy to just 12 ships. Remember, Athens' might came from her navy, rather like 19th and early 20th century Britain, who also use a virgin warrior goddess - Britannia - as their patron. Poseidon, not Athena, should have been the city's true patron deity. As you mentioned, much of the gold in the treasure was looted from tributary states in the Delian League. They were coerced to be in the League by Athens' navy. If you did not pay up, Athens would send a few hundred ships to make you rethink that. They also settled those islands in Imperial fashion so the navy was also their road to colonization. No navy, no empire and no tribute. It's the old "guns and butter" political debate. Remember, this was the birth of democracy, which the Greeks ridiculed in comedies and there is a reason the Athenian democracy lasted a mere 200 years and democracy would disappear for another 2000 years. It was populist vote buying on the first order from the get-go, to the point they eventually took from the treasury to pay people to go to the theater and not only that, but paid people to vote. Politicians throw money at everything, it is all they do, and the Parthenon was a lavish vanity project that helped doom the Polis and it's no irony that the Parthenon's own doom was sealed by an explosion of gunpowder the Turks were storing there during a war in 26 September 1687. A direct hit on the powder magazine the Turks had stored there killed 300 plus Turks, caused the cella to collapse, blew out the central part of the walls and brought down much of Phidias’ frieze. Many of the columns also toppled, causing the architraves, triglyphs and metopes to come tumbling down. If one views the Turks as descendants of the Persians and remembers that it was they who destroyed them original Acropolis - then Athens had come full circle.
I suggest everyone watch Pericles of Athens and the Dangers of Democracy by Loren J. Samons here to get the background on all of this:
ruclips.net/video/Iy7wFgOXinE/видео.html
The difference w/ the politicians today is they have a money tree and we use fiat currency. Specie made money more real back then. They could take out loans (and they did!) but they could not just create more money. When our politicians were restricted somewhat to a gold standard, they broke the bank and the entire federal govt was bailed out by one man: J. P. Morgan, in 1907. Impossible now with today's money printing.
Great video, thank you, tremendous to walk up the stairs even in digital recreation. Just remember this sobering thought though - it may have been the Coachella of the Ancient Greek world, but the Athenians paid for it with their future. After Philiip II of Macedon followed up by the Romans, they will remain a vassal state for the next 2000 years. It was a very brief flowering. Beautiful, but like the Greeks viewed youth - as a flower that dies.
This is so great. Props to the devs for being so meticulous!
I really loved this. Get a view of what it really looked like at that time. Learned much. Thanks to the artist and renditions.
I'd love to see the rest of Athens, like public cemetery and such
AC Odyssee is so aesthetically and atmospherically beautiful that at times I would get distracted from the game and just look around exploring the environment. There are parts that are just gorgeous.
Love how detailed the game designers were to add all these small details to the game
This is awesome! Would LOVE to see more videos like this, set in other places and eras. The Forum Romanum would be great!
I read the pool was meant to regulate temperature in order for the ivory not to deteriorate. edit: the pool inside the Parthenon that is
Unbelievable animation. This is fantastic-it feels like you’re actually there.
Little Sidenote: The Parthenon in the game is really interesting, because it is the most well known building of ancient greece and also one of the best preserved but the version in the game has some strange errors. As you mentioned the Pediment friezes are not correct, Ingame they show what looks like the gigantomachy, but the whole ensamble is made up, with some figures copied from the Pergamon altar. The metopes (the small "pictures" below the roof running around the outer wall of the building) are showing not the Panathenaic Games (that the frieze on the interior), the metops should show different mythological scenes (fight against troy, against the amazons and giants) but in the game it shows the Labors of Herakles and are actually the metopes from the Zeus temple in Olympia. The Interior frieze with the Panathenaic Games also only shows a fraction of the actual frieze. All of this is weird because the pediment frieze, the metopes and the interior frieze are still preserved to this day and can be seen in London and Paris, with a few bits still in Athens. The western pediment (Athena-Poseidon Competition) is visible in AC:Origins on the pediment of the Serapis Temple in Alexandria. I dont know why, of all buildings in the game, this one have such weird mistakes. My best guess are technical or legal issues (no publication rights).
The large bronze Athena is btw an interesting example of intentional exaggeration on ubisofts part. The ingame Statue seems much to large. BUT. The ancient travel book "Descriptions of Greece" by Pausanias mentions that the Helmet feathers and the tip of her spear are visible, when one passes by Cap Sounion by ship (which is not possible in reality). In game, the Statue and the hills around Athens are created in a way to exactly mimic this description when taking your ship around the cape. Pausanias book, by the way, was apperantly used as an important source for the developers. A lot of these "historical site" description on the map are directly copied from this book.
We watched this video in school because we’re learning about the Greek gods.
10:55 is that why Wonder Woman says "Hera, Give Me Strength" ?