Sosmena
An original documentary series, which for the first time in Greece documents the journey of rescuing the ancient texts from the past until today. A journey of exploration full of adventure, travel, libraries, but also great disasters. Thodoris Papakostas, presenter of the series, is an archaeologist with a special eye and knowledge on the subject. With him, we travel everywhere and talk to philologists, paleographers, and historians. Experts illuminate the adventures of texts through the ages, present the means and techniques employed from era to era to save our written heritage and tell us fascinating stories of people and manuscripts.
Episodes
The first episode of the series introduces the viewer to the concept and basic parameters of saving the texts of Greek culture, as well as to the global character of the enterprise for the survival of our written heritage.
The second episode focuses on the Athens of classical times, where due to the democratic polity, there is an explosion of literacy, the spread of writing and the consolidation of the idea that the written word is more valid and timeless than the spoken word.
The third episode takes us to Egypt, to the cosmopolitan, Hellenistic Alexandria and illuminates the achievements of its legendary library, thanks to which, for the first time in world history, the rescue becomes a coordinated business plan with "state" funding.
Between Rome, Alexandria and Athens, the 4th episode of the series follows the journey of the great texts of Greek culture within the Roman Empire.
Centered on Constantinople, the birthplace of Byzantine civilization, the episode illuminates the crucial handover from the ancient to the Christian world and examines the attitude of Byzantine Christians towards rescue.
Running through the last centuries of Byzantium, the episode documents the rescue culture of the Byzantines, after 6 centuries of their constant friction with the classical texts, countless copies and philological immersion in them.
The seventh episode of the series unfolds in the rich Renaissance cities of the Italian North, Venice and Florence, but also in the seat of papal power, Rome, where the continuation of the rescue of Greek texts unfolds, after the fall of Byzantium from the Ottomans.
The last episode returns us to the Ottoman East, where in the absence of printing presses and organized education, the few scholars continue copying by hand as in the Byzantine years, heroically fighting spiritual and material poverty. From Istanbul to Europe again, where in the 18th century, the Enlightenment movement opens new avenues of salvation.
