Athens - The Truth About Democracy

Bettany Hughes fronts a two-part documentary in which she journeys from Athens to modern-day Washington DC to uncover the truth behind the widely held belief that Ancient Greece was the birthplace of democracy. Part 1 : The historian investigates how an ordinary Greek city state was able to transform itself into an imperial power capable of competing with Persia, and recalls the effects of mob rule and tyrants as well as the killing of Socrates. Part 2 : Two-and-a-half-thousand years ago, on a barren rock between east and west, in the small city state of Athens, an incredible experiment took place: it came to be known as democracy. In the second part of this fascinating and timely new series, Bettany Hughes digs beneath the surface of Golden Age Athens to explore the bloody but exhilarating truth about the world's first democracy.