The Great Myths (Doc Series 2019-2024)

A 2019 Arte France - Rosebud Production, History, Animation, Fantasy Documentary series with English narration. Click on CC for subtitles. The creators of ‘The Great Greek Myths’ bring to you ‘The Illiad’, an epic tale on the origins of the world and its inevitable downfall, that mixes animation and 3D iconography. A story in which gods and mortals intermingle, and whose poetic force has crossed the centuries. The first work of Western literature, ‘The Iliad’ is a fresco that traces the long Trojan War. During this conflict, the Achaeans, from Mainland Greece, set off to lay siege to Troy to recover the beautiful Helena, kidnapped by Paris from her husband, the King of Sparta Menelaus. After a ten-year siege under the walls of the city of Troy, the war turned to the advantage of the Achaeans thanks to the famous Achilles. Episode 1: A golden apple inscribed "for the fairest" is sent to a feast at Olympus by Eris, the Greek goddess of strife and discord. Unable to decide between the goddesses Aphrodite, Hera and Athena, Zeus decides to let a mortal choose, and that man is Paris, the young son of King Priam of Troy. Paris gives the apple to Aphrodite who, in exchange, promises that he will have the love of the fairest mortal woman of them all. A few days later, Paris is invited to the house of Menelaus, the king of Sparta, where he falls in love with the king's wife, Helen. The two of them run away back to Troy under Aphrodite's spell. Filled with rage, Menelaus goes to see his brother, Agamemnon, the most powerful of all the Greek kings. At first, he is tempted to be wise and prudent, but then he is manipulated by Hera and Athena, who still harbour a grudge against Paris for not choosing them. Agamemnon finally summons all the kings of Greece to go and wage war on Troy.

Episode 2: All of the Greek kings and their armies have responded to Agamemnon's call... All except two, that is: Odysseus, who pretends to be mad to avoid having to fight a war he does not believe in, although he is quickly found out, and Achilles, the greatest Greek warrior of all, who has never been fond of Agamemnon... It is Achilles' mother, the sea nymph Thetis, who inadvertently causes him to change his mind. She tells him that his fate lies in his hands. He can fight and become a hero who will be remembered forever but die young, or he can live a long life, surrounded by his loved ones, and be consigned to oblivion. Achilles does not hesitate and goes off to join the Greek forces. Meanwhile, the seer Calchas reveals that, offended by Agamemnon, the goddess Artemis is preventing ships from leaving port. Agamemnon agrees to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia so he can assemble the largest fleet ever in order to attack Troy.

Episode 3: Ten years have passed since the Greek forces disembarked on the shores of Troy. But King Priam's city has still not fallen. Inside its walls, the king's eldest son, Hector, reproaches his brother Paris for causing this war with no end...But Paris loves Helen and will hear nothing of it. In the Greek camp, a mysterious plague has been raging for several days. Calchas the seer tells the assembled kings that Apollo sent it as revenge for Agamemnon enslaving the beautiful Chryseis, the daughter of a priest who complained to the god. Achilles demands that Agamemnon return the girl to her father. Agamemnon finally accepts but says that Achilles must give him his protégée, Briseis, as compensation. Seething with rage, Achilles swears that he will fight no more and goes into isolation. His mother, Thetis, goes to Zeus and asks him to defend Achilles. Remembering who he once loved, the mighty Olympian god decides to take the side of the Trojans and sends a dream to Agamemnon to set a trap for him.

Episode 4: Agamemnon has seen it in a dream: Troy will be taken today. The entire Greek army is amassed around the ancient city's walls and the battle rages on, but suddenly, Helen's husband Menelaus recognises Paris, the man who took his wife. The two men decide to face each other in a duel... But just as Menelaus is about to kill Paris, Aphrodite plucks him from the battlefield. Zeus is furious to see the gods interfering in this war, but he cannot prevent it. Athena returns to the battle and grants the young king Diomedes great fury and the ability to distinguish gods from men. He attacks the goddess Aphrodite, who is there to defend her son Aeneas, injuring her on the hand. Then he takes on Ares, the god of war, who is there to defend Aphrodite's honour. As the battle rages, Achilles sits indifferently playing the lyre in his tent.

Episode 5: The chaos that reigns between Greeks and Trojans has now spread to Mount Olympus. Zeus decides that any god who helps either side again shall be struck down. Back on the battlefield, the Trojans have driven back the Greeks who, to protect their camp and their ships, have decided to build a long wall... Hector, the king of Troy's eldest son, is confident. His sister, Cassandra, is much less so. She has always known that Paris would bring misfortune to the Trojans, and she forces her mother, Hecuba, to admit it. The battle resumes, and when Poseidon gets involved, so too does Zeus, weighing the two sides' fates and favouring the Trojans. The Greeks know that victory is impossible for them without Achilles their great hero. Agamemnon agrees to send a delegation to ask him to return to combat. But will Achilles accept their appeals?

Episode 6: Odysseus and Ajax try to convince Achilles to return to combat, but the Greek warrior is obstinate and rejects their appeals. He wants to go home to Greece. On the battlefield, Agamemnon, Diomedes and even the cunning Odysseus are injured one after the other... The wall built by the Greeks threatens to collapse. Angry about not being able to intervene, Hera concocts a plan and seduces her husband Zeus using Aphrodite's magic girdle. While he is sleeping, she rushes to warn Poseidon, who is also riled by having to obey orders from the god of Olympus. He rallies the Greek troops who retake the upper hand. Ajax takes on Hector, the eldest son of the king of Troy, and injures him. When Zeus wakes up, he is horrified to discover that Hector is dying.

Episode 7: Miraculously saved by Apollo, Hector goes back on the attack and leads the Trojans as far as the Greeks' ships. Soon the entire fleet will be set ablaze. Patroclus, a childhood friend of Achilles, rushes to him and implores him to re-join the battle... Achilles refuses but agrees to let Patroclus wear his armour and lead the Myrmidons to save the Greeks. Believing they have seen Achilles, the Trojans beat a retreat. After killing Sarpedon, Zeus's son, Patroclus is filled with confidence and marches on Troy. First he is pushed back by Apollo, then he is killed by Hector, the eldest son of King Priam. Upon hearing this news, Achilles breaks down and vows to avenge the death of his friend. His mother Thetis promises to return the following morning with new armour and weapons for him.

Episode 8: Thetis asks Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths to forge new armour and weapons for her son Achilles. At dawn, she hands them to him, knowing that they will lead to his death. But Achilles is determined. Agamemnon and the Greek kings, all of whom are injured, come to apologise... Hector's wife Andromache knows that the return of Achilles threatens her husband, and she begs him not to fight. But Hector leaves to face his fate. Meanwhile, Achilles has become uncontrollable. The gods decide to re-enter the battlefield, so each of them can defend their side. Achilles has reached the River Scamander and it flows red with the blood of slain Trojan warriors. The river god Scamander then turns against Achilles, sweeping him away in the current. Hera panics and asks Hephaestus to save Achilles. Will he reach him in time?

Episode 9: The River Scamander and its banks are set alight by fireballs sent by the god Hephaestus. The river god consents to spare Achilles, who immediately goes back on the rampage. The gods are shocked by his inhuman rage. Now they too are exchanging insults and fighting... Mount Olympus no longer resembles Mount Olympus. On the battlefield, Hector takes fright when he sees Achilles advancing towards him. When the duel between the two heroes finally takes place, Hector launches his spear at Achilles but the goddess Athena diverts its flight. Achilles then kills Hector, ties the dead body to his chariot and drags it around the city walls. When night falls, King Priam implores Achilles to hand over his son's body. Moved by the old king's request, Achilles agrees. That evening, Odysseus finally comes up with a plan that could give victory to the Greeks.

Episode 10: The Trojans are surprised to discover that the Greeks have suddenly left the shores of Troy, leaving only a wooden horse, as imposing as it is mysterious. A spear is thrown into its flanks. Inside the horse, Greek warriors, including Odysseus, who invented this strategy, remain silent and still... When the Trojans assume that the horse must be an offering to Athena, Priam has it brought into the city. At nightfall, the Greeks climb out of the horse, opening the gates of the city to the rest of their army, and start to massacre the Trojans. Menelaus is reunited with Helen. Paris fires an arrow into the heel of Achilles, who collapses to the ground. Zeus watches on helplessly and realises that men will no longer be able to believe in the gods after such a slaughter. With the city still burning, Odysseus sails away with his comrades, without any sense of triumph. Ten years of fighting. But who will remember the Trojan War?