Athens and Ancient Greece are considered to be the cradle of European civilisation. Much of what we take for granted in Europe today – democracy, mathematical laws, even the rules of our entertainment industry – was invented by the ancient Greeks. The rise of Athens was based on the victories at Marathon and Salamis. But what would have happened if the alliance of Greek city-states had lost? Would Alexander the Great ever have conquered the Persian Empire? Would the Persians rather than the Greeks have become the role models for the other Europeans? Would the Imperium Romanum have existed without the Greeks? Or would Europe have been merely an insignificant satrapy, a province in the Persian Empire?

WRITER & DIRECTOR: Martin Carazo Mendez    CAMERA: Marc Riemer     EDITOR: Claudia Spoden    MUSIC: Paul Rabiger     COMISSIONING EDITOR: Jean-Christoph Caron (Phoenix)