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  • 6/13/2025
Archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans uncovers the lost remains of the palace of Knossos on Crete. He discovers the ancient mysteries of the Minoan people and the legend of the Minotaur but can he penetrate the mysteries of the human heart?
Composer Mia Soteriou Director Michael Fox

Contributors
Unknown:
David Calcutt.
Unknown:
Sir Arthur Evans
Director:
Michael Fox
Sir Arthur:
Russell Dixon
Old Sir Arthur:
Geoffrey Banks
Mackenzie:
David Bannerman
Manolis:
Roger Ennals
Joan:
Olivia Jardlth
Storyteller:
Mla Soterlou

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Transcript
00:00In a cave deep beneath the mountain is the great bull, Zeus, son of Rhea, goddess and
00:21the first mother. There he is born, and there he dies, and there he rises again, to roar and toss the world on his horns, that men shall know his power, and their pride be humbled, and the cities of men shall tumble and fall.
00:39German forces have invaded Crete. Last night, the 20th of May, enemy aircraft attacked British forces, and hundreds of German soldiers were parachuted onto the island.
00:51Foundations crack, top, top, the God has gone, and the cities, and across the seas comes the invader, the greenly wind up behind them, black ships, cutting, cutting, cutting, the waves, and the merciless bombs, and the bringer, bring death.
01:15Arthur? Arthur, are you awake? I brought tea.
01:22I'll leave it here.
01:25I wasn't asleep.
01:27I know.
01:29Just dozing. Pour it out, will you, Joan?
01:33Of course.
01:36Can you see someone?
01:39What?
01:41Down there, by the lake.
01:43There's no one by the lake.
01:46Sure.
01:47Here's your tea.
01:49Can you manage it?
01:50Of course I can.
01:52Don't spill it.
01:54I won't.
01:56I think perhaps you ought to come in after you've had this.
02:00You're just getting quite late.
02:03I thought it was Mackenzie.
02:06The figure.
02:07Mackenzie.
02:09I thought he'd come to see me.
02:11Of course I know it couldn't have been just a dream.
02:15Must have dropped off for a moment.
02:18It's hateful, being old.
02:20You do very well for a man who's just turned 90.
02:24Hmm.
02:26I was thinking about Crete the first time we went there.
02:31When I think of what we did, what we achieved, a whole civilization rescued, resurrected, and now the Germans are there, tramping all over Knossos, my palace.
02:46Arthur.
02:47When I think of that poor country, it's as if it's been lost again.
02:52Don't.
02:53You'll just get upset.
02:54I have a right to be upset.
02:57Now see what you've done.
03:01You've got tea all over your jacket.
03:05Stop fussing.
03:06It's only tea.
03:07It's the thought of never seeing it again.
03:17Never being able to go back there.
03:20Walk there.
03:22Rest my hand against the stones.
03:25Stones four thousand years old.
03:28Stones I brought into the light again.
03:33My palace.
03:38You'd better clear these things away.
03:40I'm sorry for spilling the tea.
03:43As you say, it doesn't matter.
03:46I'll take them in.
03:53That's the place, Mackenzie.
03:56Where we're going to dig.
03:58The hill of Kefala.
03:59It's impressive.
04:00A big sight.
04:01You, uh, own it, do you?
04:03I bought the right to dig there five years ago.
04:06But I couldn't do much about it.
04:07Not with the Turks still in power.
04:10Now I've got a free hand and I'll buy the place outright
04:13if I find there's anything of real value.
04:15And what do you expect to find?
04:17I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to expect anything.
04:22But I'll tell you what it is I'm looking for.
04:26Look at this.
04:28An ordinary seal stone.
04:30I bought this in a shop in Athens six years ago.
04:33Take a close look at it.
04:35What do you see?
04:37It's hard to see.
04:39There are some lines.
04:40Hieroglyphs.
04:42It's a language, Mackenzie.
04:44A written language.
04:45I was sure of it the moment I saw it.
04:48Words scratched in stone four thousand years ago.
04:53And do you know where this came from?
04:54Crete.
04:55That's right.
04:56That's what first led me here.
04:59I found hundreds of stones like this all over the island.
05:03The women wear them as lucky charms.
05:05Galopteris, they call them.
05:06Milk stones.
05:08And by far the most of them were found there.
05:11Cephala.
05:12That's what the Turks called it.
05:14But the Cretans call it by another name.
05:16Knossos.
05:17The city of King Minos.
05:18The home of the Minotaur.
05:20That's older than anything in Homer.
05:23And I'd like to bet that whatever is under that hill
05:27is older than Troy or Mycenae
05:30or anything else that's been discovered up to now.
05:34Homer's heroes.
05:36The Mycenaeans.
05:37The whole of Western culture.
05:39They all have their origin here on Crete.
05:43The marks on this stone were made here.
05:45Words in a forgotten language.
05:47That's what I want to find under that hill.
05:52The voice of the ancient world.
05:55She came from across and across the sea,
05:57riding on the back of a white bull.
05:59And the brow of the bull was garlanded with flowers.
06:02A long time they journeyed over the waves.
06:05Until at last they came to the land of Crete.
06:07And there the bull was revealed to her as six.
06:11And together they couple.
06:13And a son was born.
06:15And his name was Minos.
06:17The Horned.
06:18The Horned.
06:19The Horned.
06:20King of this land.
06:21Builder of cities.
06:22Writer of the land.
06:23Writer of the land.
06:25The work we do here will be important, Mackenzie.
06:29I want this excavation to be carefully planned and executed.
06:32And recorded.
06:33Every stone, every fragment of pottery, time, date, location, description.
06:37It needs a good man to supervise the whole operation.
06:40Someone with experience who knows what he's doing.
06:43And that's why you're here.
06:45If you're willing of course.
06:46I'm willing.
06:47It's a grand project.
06:48There'll be no problem with funding either.
06:51I have money.
06:52So I'd heard.
06:53But enough for all this?
06:54Yes.
06:55Enough.
06:56When I got that telegram from you,
06:58I wasn't sure what to think.
07:00I was looking for something else to work on.
07:03I told Hogarth...
07:04He recommended you.
07:05Your work at Philacopy in particular.
07:08He told me you developed a unique system there of dating pottery.
07:11Unique and accurate.
07:13That was very decent of him.
07:14He spoke highly of you.
07:16Said you were one of the best he'd ever come across at the school in Athens.
07:21He did mention you'd been ill.
07:24He wasn't specific.
07:25He said you were in hospital for a time.
07:27A short time.
07:28It was just exhaustion really.
07:30I overdid it a bit over at Philacopy.
07:33Too many hours.
07:34Not enough sleep.
07:35That kind of thing.
07:36It all just got a bit too much for me.
07:38But I'm fine now.
07:39Fighting fit.
07:40Never felt better.
07:41I'm ready for this.
07:43I'm glad.
07:44When do you propose to start?
07:46Next month.
07:48The weather will be better then.
07:50Very propitious.
07:52The first spring of a new century.
07:54Do you have a workforce yet?
07:56No.
07:57That ought to be a first job then.
07:59You can leave that to me.
08:01A month should be time enough.
08:03The state this country's in, they'll be plenty glad of the work.
08:06Shall we shake on it then?
08:09Yes.
08:10I'll tell you what.
08:11I've got an even better idea.
08:13Let's drink on it.
08:15Uh...
08:16Very well, if you wish.
08:18We'll go back to Heraklion and find ourselves a nice little cafenio and drink to the deal.
08:22Raki.
08:23Do you drink raki?
08:24I prefer wine.
08:25Aye.
08:26Well...
08:27We'll make an exception this time.
08:30This is a serious business, Evans, and raki is a most serious drink.
08:36There was the beginning of it.
08:39On that hillside.
08:41Mackenzie standing above me.
08:44And his eyes gazing towards Kefala, as if he could already see the ancient city of Knossos risen.
08:52And the darkness opening beneath it.
09:00Kyriya Mackenzie!
09:02Manolis!
09:03I'm here!
09:04Come here!
09:05I see you!
09:06I'm here!
09:07This is him.
09:08Manolis, is it?
09:09That's right.
09:10He's very enthusiastic.
09:11Let's hope his abilities match his enthusiasm.
09:14Kyriya Mackenzie!
09:15Tickannis!
09:16Kala.
09:17Is he Manolis?
09:18Kala!
09:19Poli kala.
09:20Now, so it's Tissot, Kyriya Evans.
09:23Mr. Evans, I am very glad to meet you.
09:26Boris namilas selenika and thilas.
09:30I'd rather he spoke English.
09:31For Evans.
09:32I would prefer it.
09:34If you don't mind, my lolis.
09:35No, I don't mind. I can speak English.
09:38Good. Please sit down.
09:41I speak English well, Mr. Evans.
09:44I learned it when I was on Kypros.
09:47You were on Cyprus?
09:49I worked on excavations there.
09:51Three years.
09:52Have you worked anywhere else?
09:54Yes, here on Crete, when I was a boy.
09:58At Kefalot?
09:59Yes.
09:59Who with?
10:00A man called Minos Calochirios.
10:03A good name for a Cretan.
10:05He was searching for his ancestor there.
10:08The great king of the old days.
10:10The days of the gods.
10:12But he didn't find him.
10:14He found a wall and some jars.
10:16And things like this.
10:19He gave this stone to me.
10:22Where it ran your neck, Manoli, he said to me.
10:25Where it's that you never forget where you came from.
10:27And who are your true mother and father.
10:31May I look at it?
10:32Of course.
10:34It is my gift to you, Kyrie Evans.
10:36Why didn't he dig any deeper?
10:38The bay who owned the land would not let him.
10:42It was bad here for us in those days.
10:44Bad for a long time.
10:46But no more.
10:48It's good now.
10:49And you will find our gods for us again.
10:53Mr. McKenzie tells me you can find people to dig.
10:55Yes, I can find people.
10:58It's no problem.
10:59How many?
11:01About 30.
11:03For now.
11:04Perhaps more later, depending on what we find.
11:07We plan to start digging as soon as Easter's finished.
11:10I'll have 30 good men for you by then.
11:12And women.
11:13Mr. McKenzie informs me that men work better with their women nearby.
11:18It's true, yes.
11:20They make us behave ourselves.
11:23All right.
11:24Men and women.
11:25And not just Christians.
11:27I'd like there to be Muslims working there too.
11:29An equal number, if possible.
11:31I'm not sure that is possible.
11:33You mean to get an equal number?
11:35Or to recruit Muslims at all?
11:37There has been much bitterness here, Kyrie.
11:41Many evil things done during the war.
11:43On both sides, I know.
11:45And it's just for that reason that I want both Christians and Muslims to work alongside each other.
11:50As colleagues, if not friends.
11:52It may do something to heal that bitterness.
11:55Do you understand?
11:56Yes, I understand.
11:58And I shall do what I can.
12:01I appreciate it.
12:03Well then, it seems our business is concluded.
12:06Would you like a coffee, Manoli?
12:08No, no, thank you.
12:09I will begin my duty straight away.
12:12But tonight, we will meet here and I shall buy you both a drink.
12:16Wine, raki, yes?
12:18Yes, indeed, my friend, we will.
12:20Thank you for your offer, but I must decline.
12:23There is work I have to do another time, perhaps.
12:26Very well.
12:26I'll be here.
12:28If that's all right with you, Evans.
12:30Of course.
12:32I'll see you tonight, my friend.
12:33Yes.
12:34Of course I thought.
12:36Adio.
12:37Adio.
12:39Where did you find him?
12:42He found me.
12:44World gets around.
12:47I think he's a good man.
12:49I'm sure you're right.
12:51You appear to be on quite familiar terms with him.
12:55It's hard not to be.
12:56He's a very engaging fellow, don't you think?
12:58He has a charm about him, yes.
13:01Still, it doesn't do to be too familiar, you know.
13:04We must maintain some distance for the sake of order and discipline.
13:09Is that why you insisted he spoke English?
13:11Yes.
13:11I like to speak the language.
13:14It helps you to understand them, get under the skin.
13:17That's important, too.
13:19And they love you for it.
13:20I can do without their love, as long as I have their respect and their obedience.
13:27Have you seen this he gave me?
13:28It's actually quite remarkable.
13:32Look at the figures cut into it.
13:34They're still quite plain after all this time.
13:36I can't quite make them out.
13:38Can't you?
13:40Perhaps you ought to suffer from my particular ailment.
13:42Myopia can have its advantages.
13:44Two figures.
13:46One standing, one kneeling, I think.
13:49It's interesting what he said.
13:52What that chap Minos told him.
13:54Do not forget who are your true mother and father.
13:58Or is one some kind of animal?
14:01Yes, it is.
14:03One of the figures is a woman.
14:06And the other's a bull.
14:08A monstrous man with the head of a bull.
14:38And with an appetite for human flesh.
14:40And beneath the cross of the devil was built the lamp of the lavender.
14:44And underground maze.
14:46The creature was imprisoned.
14:47For which there was no escape.
14:52Look, up there.
14:53An eagle.
14:54Yes, I see it.
14:55The bird of Zeus.
14:57A good omen, perhaps.
14:58It is.
15:00And there is the god himself watching over us.
15:02What?
15:03Mount Euccas.
15:04We call it the sleeping Zeus.
15:06Some say that the god himself is buried there.
15:10Well then, let's see if we can't wake him and raise him from the dead.
15:14Ready to start, then?
15:16Yes.
15:17Give them the word, Manoli.
15:19Verveus.
15:21Lipon, pediamu.
15:22Achiste.
15:23It was a fine day, I remember.
15:31Clear and warm.
15:34Late March.
15:35I felt like a child again.
15:39That excitement as they began to dig.
15:42Wondering what would be uncovered.
15:45As when I was a boy.
15:47And my father showed me the things he found in France.
15:51Flint.
15:52Axes.
15:53Bones.
15:54Older than the Bible, he said.
15:57Ancient secrets brought into the light.
15:59The touch of the past.
16:03Solid.
16:04Real.
16:06Men's hands made these.
16:11Evans.
16:12Over here.
16:13Look.
16:14Look at this.
16:15What is it?
16:16I think we've found what it is you came looking for.
16:19From almost the first day,
16:22Kefala yielded its secrets to us.
16:24Finds quite unlike anything that had been discovered before.
16:28Delicate flowers painted on a glazed clay.
16:33Sprays of leaves.
16:34Abstract patterns of swirling lines and curves.
16:39Colours almost as bright as when they were first painted.
16:44Hand them up to me.
16:46Let me see.
16:47Careful.
16:48Sorry, Kyrie.
16:49Well, Evans.
16:51Was I right?
16:52I think so, yes.
16:55Yes.
16:56See these marks?
16:59Hieroglyphs.
17:00Writing.
17:02Precisely where did you find these?
17:05Just here, Kyrie.
17:06And there are more.
17:07Are they good, Kyrie?
17:09Yes, Mon Ali.
17:12They are good.
17:13I did well, eh?
17:14You've done very well, my friend.
17:16We'll celebrate this in the taverna tonight.
17:18I shall look forward to that.
17:19Signs cut in stone.
17:24Words.
17:26Writing.
17:27And there was nothing Greek about them.
17:30Nor anything else we found.
17:31As I stood there among those ruined houses and blackened walls, I knew that what had lain buried and hidden there was not just a city, not just an ancient palace.
17:44It was an entire civilization.
17:49A people lost and unknown to history for more than 3,000 years.
17:55The Minoans.
17:57The Minoans.
18:03I'm soaked.
18:05It's pouring out there.
18:06It's pouring in here, too.
18:08See the roof?
18:09We'll have to get something done about that.
18:12Is there a towel?
18:13Somewhere.
18:16We just about managed to get the cover over the pit before the heavens opened.
18:20Manoli said it proved Zeus must be on our side.
18:23Right over the table where I left the tablets.
18:26What?
18:26The hole in the roof.
18:28Three of them are ruined.
18:30Luckily, we have quite a few.
18:32There's still quite a few in the ground, I should think.
18:34I managed to make anything of them.
18:36It's early days yet.
18:38There's a full-time job ahead, just cataloguing them.
18:41Never mind trying to decipher them.
18:42I think you will.
18:43I'll have a damn good try.
18:45They could tell us so much about these people.
18:48Ah, well, there's a lot more work to do before we can start making speculations.
18:52I don't know about that.
18:54We already know that the people who lived here, the people who built Knossos, weren't my senior.
18:57We think.
18:58It's obvious.
18:59The style of building, pottery, decoration.
19:01It's quite unlike anything found on the mainland.
19:04There were a different people.
19:06Civilized people.
19:07Not warlike.
19:09They built this city, and others like it, most probably.
19:12They flourished, and then something happened.
19:15Some catastrophe struck and destroyed them.
19:18Wiped them out of history.
19:19There's plenty of evidence of that.
19:21Invaders from the mainland, perhaps.
19:22Homers, Achaeans.
19:24Possibly.
19:25Or the Minotaur, the beast at the heart of the labyrinth.
19:28There may be something in that.
19:29There's truth in the old myths.
19:31And whatever the truth is, I shall find it.
19:33Oh, well, you're not going to find it tonight, so why don't we leave it now and go out?
19:37Out?
19:38In this weather?
19:39We've been invited to a Glendie.
19:41What's this one, Adolf?
19:43Actually, it's Manoli's name day.
19:45Is it?
19:46I see.
19:47He'd like it if you went.
19:48It would make him very proud.
19:50I'm sure it would.
19:51He asked me especially to ask...
19:53I'd rather not go.
19:54Why not?
19:55I really don't feel up to it.
19:58That's a shame.
19:59He's a grand fellow, once you get to know him.
20:01A real salt of the earth.
20:02All the same.
20:03I'll give him your apologies, then.
20:04You're going?
20:05Of course.
20:06In this weather...
20:07It's not far to the taverna.
20:08Yes, but you've already got a touch of fever.
20:12I appreciate your concern for my welfare, old man, but I think I'll be all right.
20:17Look, don't you think it would be better if you stayed here?
20:19There are things to talk about.
20:21Discuss.
20:21I've had enough of talking.
20:22Anyway, I've promised him.
20:23Well then, you'd better go.
20:27I intend to.
20:28I won't be late.
20:30I'll try not to wake you.
20:36Here.
20:38Drink some of this.
20:39Thanks.
20:41Take it easy, not too much.
20:43A little more.
20:45All right, just a little.
20:48I'm sure I'll be all right soon.
20:49No, you won't.
20:51You've got a fever.
20:52Your temperature's sky high.
20:54I did warn you about going out in the rain last night.
20:56I wasn't that.
20:58The whole place is full of fever.
21:00Everyone's got a touch of it, even you.
21:02You've got more than a touch.
21:05And you won't be working today.
21:07Don't want you overdoing it again, do we?
21:11What?
21:11You're too good.
21:12You're too good a man to lose.
21:16This isn't the same thing.
21:19Just a touch of fever.
21:22Still, you're right.
21:27Perhaps I better stay here.
21:28I'll be all right tomorrow.
21:32Manoli can run things.
21:35He's more than capable.
21:38About Manolis,
21:40I wonder if you should keep his company so much.
21:46I mean, I know you're fond of him and all that.
21:51But is it really appropriate?
21:53What?
21:54What are you talking about?
21:56What's Manoli got to do with it?
21:57I just think perhaps it isn't doing you much good.
22:03You're being with him so much.
22:06You know what these people can be like.
22:08He may take advantage.
22:10Take advantage?
22:10What do you mean?
22:12I mean...
22:12Mackenzie!
22:13Dear heavens!
22:14Are you there?
22:16Speak of the devil.
22:18Mackenzie!
22:18I must speak with you.
22:20There is a problem.
22:21I'd better go.
22:22You try and get some sleep.
22:23Heavens!
22:24I'll come back later and see how you're getting on.
22:27Kyrie Evans!
22:33Is Mackenzie there?
22:34Yes, but he's ill.
22:35Ill?
22:36A fever.
22:37I'm afraid he got it going out last night.
22:40Oh, I'm sorry for that.
22:41So you should be.
22:42I will go and see him later.
22:44No, you won't.
22:45You'll leave him be.
22:48You said there was a problem.
22:50Yes.
22:51Some of the men are saying they will not work.
22:53Will not work?
22:54Why in heaven's name not?
22:56They are afraid, Kyrie.
22:57The place we were digging yesterday...
22:59The throne room, yes.
23:00What of it?
23:01You did make it secure, didn't you?
23:03Oh, yes, Kyrie.
23:03It isn't that.
23:05They are afraid of what is down there.
23:07And what is down there that makes them so afraid?
23:11Spirits, Kyrie.
23:13They say the place is haunted.
23:14That's ridiculous.
23:15Of course, Kyrie.
23:16Of course, Kyrie.
23:17But you know these people...
23:18I sometimes wonder if I do.
23:21What kind of spirits do they think are down there?
23:24Ancient.
23:25From a long time back.
23:27You had better speak to them, Kyrie.
23:28No, Manolis.
23:30You had better speak to them.
23:32Mackenzie told me you are more than capable of running things.
23:35So prove him right.
23:36Get your men back to work now.
23:37If they still refuse, I shall hold you personally responsible.
23:42Is that clear?
23:43Yes, Kyrie.
23:44It is very clear.
23:49Perhaps Mackenzie was right.
23:51We all had a touch of fever.
23:54The place was rife with it.
23:56And the deeper we dug, the closer we came to the heart of the place,
24:00the more we seemed to become infected with it.
24:06As if Knossos was somehow coming to life,
24:10haunting us all, our dreams, our waking lives,
24:14with visions not of this world.
24:18I saw them myself.
24:22That night I couldn't sleep.
24:24I went out there.
24:26All that we'd discovered so far lay before me.
24:29Houses, courtyards, the palace.
24:34And they shone in the moonlight.
24:35The whole city illuminated.
24:39And then I thought I saw.
24:42I did see Knossos as it had been.
24:46The city of Minos.
24:49And moving through its streets,
24:52a slow procession.
24:54Figures flickering torches.
24:56And leading them,
24:58a man in a bull's mask,
25:00carrying an axe,
25:02double-bladed.
25:04They passed by me,
25:06close enough to touch.
25:08To see their skin
25:10glistening
25:12in the torchlight.
25:14They passed by me
25:17and were gone.
25:20But for one figure remaining,
25:23out there on the courtyard,
25:25a single figure,
25:28dancing.
25:29see.
25:37Where are you?
25:37Where are you?
25:39Kyrie Evans.
25:42What are you doing out here?
25:44You told me to keep watch
25:46for fear of theft.
25:47Yes, but...
25:48There are long nights
25:49and to pass the time I sing
25:51and sometimes I dance.
25:54I see.
25:54Even when there's no music.
25:59There is music, Kyrie.
26:00In here,
26:01my heart.
26:02And this is a good place
26:04for dancing.
26:08I know.
26:12Then the strong-armed god
26:14cunningly wrought a dancing floor,
26:18like that which in wide Knossos
26:19Knossos,
26:21Daedalus made of old
26:22for fair-haired Ariadne.
26:25Ah, Daedalus.
26:26The one who built this place.
26:29So the old stories say.
26:31And the old stories
26:33are true, Kyrie.
26:36I think there's a truth in them.
26:38There is much truth.
26:40And you, Kyrie,
26:41I think you too are Daedalus.
26:44You will build Knossos again
26:45from its ruins
26:46for the glory of Crete.
26:48Then men will dance here again, eh?
26:54He danced alone
26:55on the wide terrace.
26:58And I stood watching him.
27:01And I did not know,
27:03nor do I know now,
27:05if what I saw
27:06was actually taking place
27:08or was only a continuation
27:11of my fevered dream.
27:14I am a little drunk, Kyrie.
27:18I am sorry.
27:20But only a little.
27:21All men should drink a little.
27:23All men should dance.
27:26That is what makes them true men.
27:28Palikaria.
27:30Young warriors.
27:31They grip each other's arms
27:33and they dance together
27:34and their blood runs hot.
27:36Then they can do anything.
27:37You will dance with me, Kyrie?
27:40Me?
27:41Yes, come.
27:42Take my arm.
27:42No.
27:47Mackenzie dances.
27:49He likes to dance
27:51and to drink.
27:53He's also a palikari.
27:55Sometimes we dance here together.
27:58Here?
27:59At night?
28:00Like this?
28:01He did not know.
28:03Perhaps he thought
28:04you would be ashamed of him.
28:07He admires you, Kyrie.
28:08He thinks you are a great man.
28:11He says you see things.
28:13See things?
28:14Things in the earth
28:15before they are found.
28:17You know what is there.
28:20Vlepetes din Psyhi to Meru.
28:23I see into the soul of the place.
28:26Yes.
28:27That is what Mackenzie says about you.
28:29But not into the souls of men, eh, Kyrie?
28:33You do not see what is hidden there?
28:36I think I'm more than a little drunk.
28:38I do not know what I'm saying.
28:41It's a sad thing to drink alone.
28:43I will be happy when Mackenzie is well.
28:46We will drink and dance together again.
28:48No, Manolis.
28:49I don't think you will.
28:53Good night.
28:54Make sure you keep watch.
28:56There are valuable things here.
28:57If anything is taken,
28:58I shall hold you responsible.
29:00Kyrie Evans,
29:01I think we are not alone here tonight.
29:04What do you mean?
29:06The animals know it.
29:08You hear them?
29:09They are restless.
29:10Like you, like me.
29:12The animals can see them.
29:15I think you have seen them too.
29:17We have dug up more than stones here.
29:20This is a haunted place.
29:21Listen.
29:24You hear?
29:26You hear him?
29:29That is the god.
29:31The bull that sleeps beneath the earth.
29:33He does not sleep anymore.
29:35We have woken him.
29:37And indeed,
29:40the bull was everywhere.
29:42On frescoes and reliefs,
29:44seal stones and vases.
29:46A huge,
29:47red-eyed bull
29:48leaping across a flat wall.
29:51Human figures,
29:52somersaulting over the back
29:53of a charging bull.
29:55Everywhere the bull
29:56and bull worship.
29:58A thing of awe
29:59and praise
30:00and terror.
30:01Have you ever seen
30:05a storm like it?
30:07Lightning and thunder
30:09and the sky clear.
30:10Not a cloud.
30:12It's magnificent,
30:13don't you think?
30:14It is rather impressive.
30:17Just look at that.
30:19The whole damn mountain
30:20lit up
30:21just as if it was in fire.
30:23No wonder they thought
30:24God was born here.
30:29I'm starving.
30:31I feel as if I hadn't eaten
30:32for a month.
30:33Which is more or less
30:34true, I suppose.
30:36I didn't realise
30:37I'd been so ill.
30:39It must have made things
30:40difficult for you.
30:42We managed.
30:44You and Manole
30:46together, eh?
30:48How is he?
30:49I thought he might have
30:50come to see me.
30:51I've kept him busy,
30:52I'm afraid.
30:53I'm sure you have.
30:56Well,
30:56you won't have
30:57to just manage
30:58any more.
30:59I'm fighting fit again
31:00and hungry.
31:02Is there anything to eat?
31:04I brought back
31:05some bread and cheese
31:07and olives
31:07from my racklion.
31:08Ah.
31:09They're in that bag.
31:11Just the thing.
31:16Pity we can't
31:17hope for a break
31:18in the weather.
31:20No chance of that,
31:21though.
31:21I think we may have
31:24to stop work soon.
31:26We can't carry on
31:28in this heat.
31:29I agree.
31:31I thought we might
31:32wind up in a week or so
31:34and start again
31:35in September.
31:37You've made
31:38plans already,
31:40have you?
31:41Oh, yes.
31:43I found us a house
31:44in Araclion today.
31:46Much better than this place.
31:48Bigger, too.
31:48I'm bringing over
31:51some more people.
31:53You have been busy.
31:56Yes.
32:02I've
32:02found something else
32:04while I was in Araclion.
32:06This.
32:13Do you know
32:13what it is?
32:15It's a clay tablet
32:16with script on it,
32:17like one of those
32:17we found.
32:18It is one of those
32:19we found.
32:20And as I said,
32:21I found it again today
32:22in Araclion.
32:23To be more precise,
32:24I bought it
32:25from the marketplace.
32:26And there's only one way
32:27it can have got there.
32:28It was stolen.
32:29That's right.
32:30I know there's been
32:31some pilfering.
32:32This isn't pilfering.
32:34It's out and out theft.
32:36More than that,
32:36it's a betrayal.
32:38I really can't tolerate it
32:39and I mean to find out
32:40the culprit.
32:40How?
32:41Ask Manolis.
32:42He's the foreman
32:43and he was set
32:44to watch the sight.
32:45And most of the Christians
32:46in the workforce
32:47are related to him
32:48in one way or another.
32:49If he doesn't know
32:50who took it,
32:50he's not the man
32:51I thought he was.
32:51It may not be
32:52so simple as that,
32:53you know.
32:54Just asking him outright.
32:57As you say,
32:57he's related to many
32:58of these people
32:59are all very close.
33:01It may be
33:02a matter of honour.
33:03And what about
33:03his honour to me?
33:05Doesn't that count
33:05as anything?
33:06You got the thing back?
33:07Just tell Manoli
33:08what happened
33:08and he'll deal
33:09with it in his own way.
33:10You may have forgotten,
33:11Mackenzie,
33:11but I run this show,
33:12not Manolis.
33:14And I deal with it
33:14in my way,
33:15not his.
33:17Now go and find him
33:18and bring him here.
33:19And make sure
33:20you don't tell him
33:21why I want to see him.
33:22Just remember
33:23where your allegiances lie.
33:25Have I made myself clear?
33:27Oh, yes.
33:27You made yourself
33:28very clear indeed.
33:37You agree with me
33:38that this was taken
33:38from the site,
33:39Manolis?
33:40Yes, Kyrie.
33:41And that you are responsible
33:42for making sure
33:43that nothing is taken?
33:44Yes.
33:45But this was taken.
33:47It is unfortunate,
33:48Kyrie.
33:49It is,
33:49Manolis.
33:50Very unfortunate.
33:52Especially as I think
33:53that you must know
33:54who the thief is.
33:55Evans!
33:56Please, Mackenzie.
33:59Well, Manolis,
34:00do you know?
34:01I do not wish
34:02to lie to you, Kyrie.
34:03I'm glad about that.
34:04So I ask you
34:05not to ask me about this.
34:06Oh, but I do, Manolis.
34:07I do ask you
34:08because I wish to know.
34:09It is important to me.
34:10I know, Kyrie.
34:11Then tell me.
34:12I cannot.
34:13Because you don't know?
34:15Or you know
34:15and you will not tell me?
34:17Or perhaps because
34:18you yourself are the thief?
34:19For goodness sake, Evans,
34:20can't you leave me?
34:20No, I will not leave it!
34:21Well, Manolis,
34:24who is the thief?
34:26Tell me.
34:28Who is responsible
34:28for this thing being taken?
34:30Who is responsible?
34:31Yes.
34:32I am, Kyrie.
34:33I am responsible
34:34for all my people.
34:35It doesn't mean that, Manolis.
34:36I know what it means.
34:38Something has been taken
34:39and I am responsible.
34:41If that is the case...
34:42It is.
34:43And I will go.
34:44No!
34:44You will find another foreman
34:45and there will be no more thefts.
34:49I wish you well with your work.
34:50You are doing something wonderful here.
34:53You will be a great hero.
34:57Manoli, wait!
35:02It's a great pity.
35:06He was a good foreman.
35:09Make sure he receives
35:11all his wages
35:12before he leaves.
35:14You know he didn't take...
35:15He was responsible.
35:16He said so himself.
35:18I'm going to fetch him back.
35:21You will not!
35:23Let him go.
35:26It's the only thing to be done.
35:29And it's for the best.
35:31The only thing to be done.
35:33The work was too important
35:36for personal feelings
35:38to get in its way.
35:40He should have known it.
35:42But his love for the man
35:44blinded him.
35:46It was a kind of love, yes.
35:49I see that now.
35:51But mine too was love.
35:54Love for the place.
35:56For Knossos.
35:57Its lost people.
35:59And a desire to understand.
36:03To penetrate
36:04the dark center
36:06of its mystery.
36:14Mackenzie!
36:16Mackenzie!
36:18What on earth do you think you're doing?
36:19Mackenzie!
36:20What do you want?
36:22What are you doing out here?
36:23I'm guarding the sites.
36:26Making sure no one
36:27comes along
36:28and steals a check.
36:29I can never tell
36:30with these bloody cretins.
36:31They steal anything.
36:33Can't trust any of them.
36:37You're drunk.
36:39I had a few glasses
36:40of Rocky, yes.
36:41A few glasses?
36:42You reek of the stuff.
36:43Look at you.
36:44You cut a sorry figure.
36:45Yes, I know.
36:46And I don't care.
36:51You ought to.
36:53Really isn't the thing, you know,
36:54to let yourself get into a state like this.
36:56Especially over...
36:58Manoli?
37:02Especially over Manoli, you mean?
37:07Yes.
37:09You never really liked him, did you?
37:13I thought he was pleasant enough.
37:16Good at his job
37:17until
37:19that business.
37:21I did.
37:22I liked him.
37:24We used to dance here, you know,
37:25at night sometimes.
37:27We'd have a bit to drink
37:28and then we'd dance
37:29like cretins.
37:32Yes, I know.
37:37You know?
37:39You told me.
37:42One night,
37:43while you were ill,
37:45I came out here.
37:47He was here too
37:48and he told me.
37:50I must admit,
37:51I found it
37:52rather odd.
37:56Not really the kind of thing
37:57I thought you should be doing.
37:58Is that why, uh...
38:00Is that why you got rid of him?
38:02No, of course not.
38:04It is.
38:06Because you thought...
38:07I didn't think it was
38:08a healthy relationship.
38:09You stupid man.
38:14You stupid,
38:17ridiculous little man.
38:21No reason,
38:23no reason at all.
38:25And now he's gone.
38:28I can't find him anywhere.
38:30I went looking for him,
38:32but he's gone.
38:34It does appear
38:34that they won't tell me where.
38:36For God's sake, man,
38:37pull yourself together.
38:39They won't tell me.
38:40Do you understand?
38:42They know where he is
38:44and they won't tell me.
38:46I stood and watched him
38:49as he wept,
38:51tears running down his face,
38:54a grown man
38:56weeping for another.
38:59There,
39:00in the ruins of Knossos,
39:01I saw him broken,
39:03finally,
39:04saw his weakness
39:05at last revealed.
39:08And I wanted to put my hand out
39:10to him
39:11to comfort him.
39:12and I raised my hand
39:14for that purpose.
39:16But at that moment,
39:19the bull awoke.
39:21The bull beneath the earth.
39:24It woke,
39:25struck the ground
39:26with its hooves
39:27and tossed the world
39:29on its horns.
39:35Mackenzie!
39:36Get down!
39:38It's a earthquake!
39:39It's a earthquake!
39:42We lay there together
39:45on the ground
39:46among the ruins.
39:48I held him
39:48in my arms
39:50as he wept with terror.
39:52And I knew
39:53at that moment
39:55how the end
39:56had come.
39:58I saw the earth shake
39:59and split wide,
40:02saw Knossos
40:03fall in flame,
40:05destroyed
40:05by the very god
40:07it had mentioned.
40:07and in its wake,
40:11out of the drifting smoke,
40:13helmeted and grinning
40:15to plunder
40:16and loot
40:17and make the end
40:19final,
40:21came
40:21the invader.
40:24Then Theseus,
40:25Prince of Aether,
40:26was in it
40:27and in it
40:28and in it
40:28and in it
40:28and in it
40:29and in it
40:29and in it
40:29and in it
40:30and in it
40:30and in it
40:30and in it
40:31and in it
40:31and in it
40:32and in it
40:33and in it
40:33and in it
40:33and in it
40:34and in it
40:34and in it
40:34and in it
40:35and in it
40:35and there
40:35there
40:36the way
40:37to wait
40:37and there
40:38in it
40:39and there
40:39they struggled
40:40together
40:40until at last
40:41Theseus proved
40:42the strong
40:43and killed
40:44and killed
40:45and he left
40:46his body
40:46in its lair
40:47and fled
40:48from the
40:49secret
40:49to return
40:50to return home.
40:51And so
40:52the tyranny
40:53of the source
40:54brought to
40:55an end
40:55the day.
40:57The bull
40:58beneath the earth,
41:00the beast
41:01in the labyrinth,
41:03We both saw it
41:05that night,
41:05caught a glimpse
41:06of the darkness.
41:09Never spoke
41:10of it again,
41:11though.
41:12Never spoke
41:13of Manolis.
41:15We went back
41:16to our work,
41:18digging out
41:18every broken stone,
41:21every fragment
41:21that could be salvaged.
41:24An entire
41:24civilization,
41:26lost and forgotten,
41:28lifted out of the dark
41:29to stand once more
41:31in the light.
41:35The old traditions
41:36made true
41:37my life's work,
41:41a monument.
41:44To what?
41:46The glory
41:47of human creation?
41:50Or the fragility
41:51of human existence?
41:52what we are
41:54and what
41:57we come to.
42:00He
42:00died in Italy,
42:03his old sickness,
42:05and he saved
42:05the telegram.
42:07The last time
42:08I saw him,
42:09he didn't even know
42:10who I was.
42:14What?
42:15What's that?
42:16What's there?
42:18I couldn't see someone.
42:19Down there
42:21by the lake,
42:22figures.
42:23Dancing.
42:25Mackenzie,
42:27is it?
42:28Yes.
42:29And Manolis,
42:31too.
42:33Look at them.
42:34Round,
42:35in a circle,
42:36arms joined,
42:38step and twist
42:39and kick.
42:41They could be
42:41straight out of Homer.
42:43The dancing floor,
42:45Daedalus,
42:46made for Ariadne.
42:47As it was,
42:50so it is.
42:53What's that?
42:54They're calling
42:55to me.
42:57Calling me
42:57to join them.
42:59No.
43:01No,
43:01I can't.
43:03Too old now.
43:05Too stiff.
43:07I'd like to,
43:10but I can't.
43:13Arthur,
43:14are you awake?
43:15You really shouldn't
43:16sleep out here
43:17this time of the evening.
43:18It isn't good for you.
43:21Come on,
43:22wake up.
43:23Wake up,
43:24Arthur.
43:26Arthur?
43:28For his part,
43:29in the killing of the Minotaur,
43:31Daedalus was imprisoned
43:32in his labyrinth.
43:34But he knew of a secret passage
43:36that led to cliff-top
43:37overlooking the sea.
43:39And he made wings
43:41from feathers
43:42and wax
43:42and fitted them
43:43to his arms
43:44and flew away
43:45across the sea.
43:48And some say
43:49he went to Sicily.
43:51And some say
43:52he flew north
43:53to the land
43:54beyond the north wind.
43:56But in truth,
43:58none knew
43:59where he went
44:00or where at last
44:02came to rest.
44:03Or else.
44:04In The Ball Beneath the Earth
44:12by David Calkert,
44:13Russell Dixon
44:13was Sir Arthur Evans
44:15and Geoffrey Banks
44:15was Old Sir Arthur.
44:17Mackenzie was played
44:18by David Bannerman,
44:20Manolis by Roger Ennalls,
44:22the storyteller
44:22by Mia Soteriou
44:24and Joan
44:24by Olivia Jardeth.
44:26The music was composed
44:27by Mia Soteriou.
44:28The play was directed
44:30by Michael Fox.
44:34The play was directed
44:35by Michael Fox.
44:53The play was directed
44:55to the local
44:58to the local
44:59and to the local
45:01and to the local

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