The Owl's Legacy
A 13-part documentary series by Chris Marker examining how ancient Greek ideas continue to shape modern Western thought. Each episode centers on a single Greek word—such…
Documentary • Series • 1989 • 1 season
Starring: André Dussollier
Created by: Chris Marker
S1 E1 - Symposium, or the Received Ideas
In Paris, Tbilisi, Athens and Berkeley historians have played with reconstitutions of the "symposium" - the Greek banquet - around tables laden with food and wine.
Jun 12, 1989 • 26m
S1 E2 - Olympics, or the Imaginary Greece
Greece's inheritance was recomposed in contemporary mythology. This sometimes led to terrible misappropriations for the benefit of totalitarian ideologies - of which Nazism was born.
Jun 13, 1989 • 26m
S1 E3 - Democracy, or the City of Dreams
What exactly does the word mean “democracy” mean? Does it designates the ancient city-state or our contemporary political systems? What are the analogies or, on the contrary, the radical differences between realities separated by more than twenty centuries? Are certain functions suitable for all civilizations? Τhe third episode of Chris Marker’s legendary documentary series – which first aired on British state television in 1991 but remained in the dark for decades – returns to classical antiquity to make a bold parallel, familiarizing 21st-century audiences with a concept of the commons that seems primordial yet innovative, reinventing itself in every single manifestation.
Jun 14, 1989 • 26m
S1 E4 - Nostalgia, or the Impossible Return
Ithaca is the iconic distant home that no one should forget: such would be the universal lesson of Homer's Odyssey.
Jun 15, 1989 • 26m
S1 E5 - Amnesia, or the Sense of History
Built on the testimony or "autopsy" - which literally means "seeing oneself" - our conception of History has deeply shifted since Herodotus.
Jun 16, 1989 • 26m
S1 E6 - Mathematics, or the Realm of Signs
The geometrical space and the mathematical language constitute a universal legacy the Greeks have bequeathed us with. How do we articulate its perfect logic to the complexity of contemporary sciences?
Jun 19, 1989 • 26m
S1 E7 - Logomachy, or the Root of Words
All the meanings of "logos" originated from a small territory between Ephesus and Patmos. According to Aristotle the human animal fights with a specific weapon: speech... Logos' destiny would it be the "logomachy"? The fight over words.
Jun 20, 1989 • 26m
S1 E8 - Music, or the Inner Space
A cross between imitation and creation, the search for the beautiful and harmonious animates the artists' personal quests - including with cutting-edge technology - as well as it serves great collective schemes - religions in particular.
Jun 21, 1989 • 26m
S1 E9 - Cosmogony, or the Use of the World
This reflection over creation - divine cosmogony and man's creativity - takes us from the Greek statuary art to the Acropolis' Korai on show in Tokyo. This takes us on towards the Gorgon - a mirror of death.
Jun 22, 1989 • 26m
S1 E10 - Mythology, or the Truth of Lies
There are a set of myths to which we constantly refer ourselves. We will question their genesis, their place in psyche, their transmission, their nature.
Jun 23, 1989 • 26m
S1 E11 - Misogyny, or Desire's Traps
The Greek conception of sexuality was very different from ours. What did the Greek think of desire in a world where heterosexuality and homosexuality - far from being opposites - were models of existence that were different but compatible?
Jun 26, 1989 • 26m
S1 E12 - Tragedy, or the Illusion of Death
The great figures borne out of Greek tragedies help us fathom the founding mechanisms of human practices - all the way to a society like Japan, that is so apparently far from ours.
Jun 27, 1989 • 26m
S1 E13 - Philosophy, or the Owl's Triumph
Around the metaphorical - but also very real - figure of the owl; entwined reflections upon the place of thought in daily existence and public action - sometimes with and sometimes against the Greek legacy.
Jun 28, 1989 • 26m
About This Show
The Owl's Legacy
A 13-part documentary series by Chris Marker examining how ancient Greek ideas continue to shape modern Western thought. Each episode centers on a single Greek word—such as “democracy,” “philosophy,” or “mythology”—through conversations filmed in cities around the world. Combining symposium-style discussions with archival footage and visual motifs of the owl, Marker creates an expansive reflection on the enduring legacy of Greece.
Documentary • TV Series • 1989
Details
- Genre
- Documentary
- First aired
- Jun 12, 1989
- Last aired
- Jun 28, 1989
- Status
- Ended
- Episodes
- 13
- Network
- La Sept
- Studio
- Attica Art Productions, FIT Production, La Sept Cinéma
- Language
- French, English
- Score
- 9.0 out of 10 from 5 votes