Myths of Mankind - S1 E1

2. Dracula

The story of Transsylvania’s bloodsucking ‘count Dracula’ is etched firmly in world memory. Few doubt its truth.. But, in fact, it was a work of complete fiction.. And, as always, the reality is far stranger..  and far more terrifying.. A documentary about man’s inability to accept death.

3. The Flood

The Flood, virtually exterminating mankind.. It seems both the single, most harrowing tale in human recollec¬tion and an impossible myth without foundation in reality. But across the entire world hundreds of myths, all unrelated to the Hebrew or Mesopotamian account allude to a worldwide disaster.. Plato’s version created the myth of Atlantis.. And yes, catastrophe did once change the face of the Earth. Was there a Flood? And if so, was there a civilisation before everything began..?

4. The Golem

The greatest of Jewish myths... On man's desire to create, shape life and imitate the Act of God.. The shaping of artificial life - from the Golem of Prague and Monster of Frankenstein to the technical achievements of today. For these are the days of golems.. A documentary about man as sorcerer’s apprentice..

5. The Grail

Out of Europe's darkest centuries emerges a myth to inspire the Middle Ages.. The Holy Grail.. Was it Christ's Cup at the Last Supper? The Celtic cauldron of rebirth..? From Arthurian legend and knightly quest to epic struggle between the Church and its mysterious adversaries.. Does the Church disavow what might be its most sacred relic? Was there ever a Grail at all..?

6. Quest for the Lost Ark

The Ark of the Covenant with the Ten Commandments... Focus of worship in the early Judaic religion, embodiment of God Himself.. Its disap¬pearance without trace is the greatest riddle of the Bible. What happened to it.. Does it still exist..? Questions which obsess self-made archaeologist “Texas” Jones, who burrows the caves of the Dead Sea.. And author Graham Hancock who takes his quest to Ethiopia’s holiest city where he stands before its Guardian of the Ark..

7. Osiris Myth

For thousands of years Giza’s Great Pyramids have stood, keepers of ancient secrets, harbouring a message that mankind has long forgotten.. The unravelling of this message has been the life's work of author Robert Bauval. He unveils the great myth of Osiris and his faithful consort Isis, gods of Afterlife and Eternity, as the key to the “mystery of the Pyramids” which reverberates in many strands of esoterism today..

8. The Mahabharata

One of the greatest epics of mankind, laying out the very roots of Indian mythology, religion, history and thought.. With a spiritual import akin to the Bible, a literary vitality comparable to the Iliad and a storytelling power as enchanting as Arabian Nights.. A quest through India before history began - with author Paul Roberts.

9. The Son of God (1)

If Jesus never called himself the Son of God, who did… And why? From Christian message to Christian myth – a fascinating quest through the very origins of the Christian faith.. From the first decades which drew on insights found elsewhere in ancient mystery religions to three centuries afterwards, when Constantine’s Council of Nicaea defined the creed and proclaimed Jesus of Nazareth God’s Only Begotten Son by imperial decree..

10. The Son of God - A Christianity before Christianity (2)

Sequel to Son of God (1), “A Christianity before Christianity” studies the re-emergence of ancient gnosticism, seekers of secret knowledge ‘from the heart’, and the sensational find of Nag Hammadi: Ancient, unknown manuscripts which throw a new light on the origins of Christianity… If the Gospels weren’t formulated until generations after his death and the creed devised even centuries later, what do we truly know of Jesus Christ? Did an orthodox Church on the rise obliterate an older Christian faith? The shaping of the Christian myth.. And the discovery of hidden gospels which have come to haunt the Church of Rome and Protestantism alike..

11. As Above, So Below

Before the rise of civilisations, before history began.. Prehistoric man’s fascination for the stars above, ticking time eternal.. dance of Gods.. Early man’s true genius and fascination expressed in ancient monuments and myth throughout the world.. Since modern computer programmes are able to unveil the skies of the past, we are beginning to explore the incredible extent to which ancient man was fascinated by the cosmos above.. At the same time we loose sight of the stars.. The glory of the Milky Way is obscured by light pollution.A modern tragedy.. As we turn the lights on, are we blinding ourselves?

12. To the End of the World

Santiago de Compostella was the ultimate goal for pilgrim in the Middle Ages... Millions walked the endless roads to Compostella, beyond which was the end of the world.,. What Mecca was for Muslims, or Jerusalem for Jews, Compostela was for Christians throughout Europe… For centuries the pilgrimage was virtually forgotten and the Camino, the ancient road to Finis Terra, lay deserted. But now, as churches grow hollow and empty, the many roads to Compostela are filling up again. Yet, as growing numbers of people take the Pilgrim’s path to Santiago, spectacular facts from its past, for centuries forgotten, are coming to light.. The Camino has a history, much more ancient than what the Church has so far revealed.. The Camino originally led pilgrims beyond the city, to where the sun dies, at the end the world: Finis Terrae, where the last promontory of land ends in the ocean without end; the Mare Tenebris, the Sea of Darkness for the ancients where the dead lingered.. Hades for the Greeks. Now, quite unexpectedly however, that ancient pilgrimage is reviving…

13. The Truth about Troy

As the Trojan War is brought to life by Hollywood, as Helen’s beauty blinds again and Brad Pitt battles as Achilles.. What real truth is there in Homer and his Iliad..? Science now comes with spectacular answers.. Five years ago we weren’t even sure where Troy must be located - whatever Schliemann thought.. Now scrutiny of ancient documents is changing our view of early Greece and begins to reveal the truth about Troy.. A clash between east and west; a challenge to the mighty Hittite empire, the origins of the mysterious Etruscans and the kernel of truth in myths of ancient Rome..

14. Egypt Decoded

For over quarter of a century British author Robert Bauval, Alexandria engineer and renowned expert on ancient Egypt, has challenged the world of Egyptology and compelled it to probe into new directions… Now Bauval unfolds the final pieces of the puzzle that leads to his discovery of the key to ancient Egypt’s great pyramids and temples, the solution for ancient Egypt’s great enigma: when the Floods would come that would bring its yearly resurrection from drought and death.. Like the Christian cross and its many mysteries provide the entry code to Europe’s medieval cathedrals, Egypt’s great monuments have been built according to a masterplan that was maintained throughout millennia.. Its key is found in time eternal.. And is written in the stars.

15. The Flying Dutchman

How Dutch Captain VanderDecken dares defy God and is doomed to roam the Seven Seas forever.. Whosoever encounters his ragged vessel is destined to share his fate.. The “Death Coast” of Southern Africa has claimed thousands of ships and countless lives: A ghost ship that makes the Southern Capes forever treacherously tempestuous..? A metaphor for the terrifying gales and hurricanes that roam the icy ocean around the Antarctic..? On the deep bond between a little nation and the seas; how an old seaman’s tale turned into a lasting symbol in western history and culture..