Where Did It Come From?: Ancient Greece - Weapons of Mass Destruction DVD

• Additional Details
• Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Rating: Not Rated
• Number of Discs: 1
• Run Time: 50 Minutes
• Region: Region 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Language: English
• Studio: History Channel
• DVD Release Date: September 28, 2006

Celebrated for their culture, the Greeks mastered the art of battle as well.

• Experts probe ancient secrets and reveal how they shape modern life.
• Filled with visits to important sites and extraordinary re-creations of lost worlds.
• See how the sophisticated Greeks mastered the brutal art of warfare.

Ask a schoolchild about the ancient Greeks, and you are likely to hear about their many gods or the invention of democracy. But perhaps the Greeks most lasting contribution to humanity was in the realm of warfare.

WHERE DID IT COME FROM? explores the rich and diverse world of war the Greek way. Host Michael Guillen demonstrates a ballista--a catapult that could launch a 25 pound missile over a quarter of a mile. And that was just one item in a vast arsenal. The Greeks made toxic weapons by coating the tips of arrows with everything from jellyfish and human waste to poisonous plants.

As Professor John Haldon demonstrates, "Greek Fire" closely resembled napalm. Finally, the engineering consulting firm Arup tests whether the story of Archimedes' "burning mirror"-- which reflected sunlight off soldiers shields with deadly effects--was fact or fiction. Whether it worked or not, the Ancient Greeks certainly pioneered one seemingly modern phenomenon--the arms race.