UKTV - Museum Secrets Collection (2012) Part 8 National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Museum Secrets: Collection

On a quest to find the best, and most obscure, museum exhibits and explore the secrets they hold, Museum Secrets uncovers the weird, the astonishing and fascinating wonders of the world. What unexpected device did Catherine the Great use to enhance her sex life? Why did Alexander the Great prefer linen armour to bronze? And how did the falcon hunting of the Habsburg emperors lay the foundations for modern science? Testing out the theories behind the artifacts and visiting the sites they originated from, this series combines pure enthralling history with surprising detective work.

Part 8: National Archaeological Museum of Athens

The world's most important museum dedicated to the history of ancient Greece, the National Archaeological Museum displays 11,000 exhibits from 7000 BC to the Roman conquest. In this episode, we accelerate an ancient warship to ramming speed to discover why Athenian democracy beat Persian tyranny, then visit a king's grave to reveal how bogus archeology helped fuel the pseudo-historical ravings of Adolf Hitler. We suit volunteers in armour made of bronze and armour made of linen, and then shoot arrows at them to discover which is better. (Spoiler: Alexander the Great preferred linen.) We visit the ruins where Plato and Pythagoras secretly imbibed psychedelic chemicals, then go underground to face our fears in the labyrinth that inspired the myth of the Minotaur. In addition, we meet an engineer who has spent a lifetime recreating an ancient gadget called the Antikythera Mechanism to reveal its mysterious purpose.

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