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The Owl's Legacy

The Owl's Legacy

The Owl's Legacy

1989 1 Seasons 13 Episodes ⭐ 9.0 Documentary

A 13-part documentary series by Chris Marker examining how ancient Greek ideas continue to shape modern Western thought. Each episode centers on a single Greek word—such as “democracy,” “philosophy,” or “mythology”—through conversations filmed in cities around the world. Combining symposium-style discussions with archival footage and visual motifs of the owl, Marker creates an expansive reflection on the enduring legacy of Greece.

A 13-part documentary series by Chris Marker examining how ancient Greek ideas continue to shape modern Western thought. Each episode centers on a single Greek word—such as “democracy,” “philosophy,” or “mythology”—through conversations filmed in cities around the world. Combining symposium-style discussions with archival footage and visual motifs of the owl, Marker creates an expansive reflection on the enduring legacy of Greece.

Seasons & Episodes

EP 1

Symposium, or the Received Ideas

In Paris, Tbilisi, Athens and Berkeley historians have played with reconstitutions of the "symposium" - the Greek banque

EP 2

Olympics, or the Imaginary Greece

Greece's inheritance was recomposed in contemporary mythology. This sometimes led to terrible misappropriations for the

EP 3

Democracy, or the City of Dreams

What exactly does the word mean “democracy” mean? Does it designates the ancient city-state or our contemporary poli

EP 4

Nostalgia, or the Impossible Return

Ithaca is the iconic distant home that no one should forget: such would be the universal lesson of Homer's Odyssey.

EP 5

Amnesia, or the Sense of History

Built on the testimony or "autopsy" - which literally means "seeing oneself" - our conception of History has deeply shif

EP 6

Mathematics, or the Realm of Signs

The geometrical space and the mathematical language constitute a universal legacy the Greeks have bequeathed us with. Ho

EP 7

Logomachy, or the Root of Words

All the meanings of "logos" originated from a small territory between Ephesus and Patmos. According to Aristotle the hum

EP 8

Music, or the Inner Space

A cross between imitation and creation, the search for the beautiful and harmonious animates the artists' personal quest

EP 9

Cosmogony, or the Use of the World

This reflection over creation - divine cosmogony and man's creativity - takes us from the Greek statuary art to the Acro

EP 10

Mythology, or the Truth of Lies

There are a set of myths to which we constantly refer ourselves. We will question their genesis, their place in psyche,

EP 11

Misogyny, or Desire's Traps

The Greek conception of sexuality was very different from ours. What did the Greek think of desire in a world where hete

EP 12

Tragedy, or the Illusion of Death

The great figures borne out of Greek tragedies help us fathom the founding mechanisms of human practices - all the way t

EP 13

Philosophy, or the Owl's Triumph

Around the metaphorical - but also very real - figure of the owl; entwined reflections upon the place of thought in dail

Popular Cast

André Dussollier

André Dussollier

Narrator (voice)