The Secret of the Snake Goddess

Authors: Christian Bauer, Nikos Dayandas. No genre - ZDF / History TV / AVRO / ERT Greece - 2007 - 52 / 45 min

The Minoan Civilisation is regarded as the very cradle of European culture. Every year thousands of tourists travel to Crete to gaze at the imposing Palace of Knossos. Apart from the pyramids of Gizeh, the centre of Minoan Culture is one of the most famous archaeological excavations. The few existing Minoan relics are eagerly protected in great museums.

But could it be possible that the Minoan Culture - as we know - is actually a fake? Did the Minoan Culture ever exist in the way which we assuem? A spectacular discovery made by the archaeologist Alexander McGillivray challenges everything.

We owe the few things which we know about the Minoans to one man: Sir Arthur Evans. At the beginning of the 20th century the Englishman discovered the legendary Palace - a worldwide sensation which raised him into the Olympus of the greatest archaeologists. Is it possible that "the Minoan culture" is the mere creation of Sir Arthur Evans, of an ambitious and visionary archaeologist? Did he simply want to impress the world with a spectacular discovery - as spectacular as the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen by his college and contemporary Howard Carter? Or was he misled by clever forgers which sought to make quick money?

Christian Bauer and Nikos Dayandas accompany the Canadian archaeologist McGillivray on his hunt for truth.