Season
- Season 1 1989-06-12
Episode
- Episode 1: Symposium, or the Received Ideas
- Episode 2: Olympics, or the Imaginary Greece
- Episode 3: Democracy, or the City of Dreams
- Episode 4: Nostalgia, or the Impossible Return
- Episode 5: Amnesia, or the Sense of History
- Episode 6: Mathematics, or the Realm of Signs
- Episode 7: Logomachy, or the Root of Words
- Episode 8: Music, or the Inner Space
- Episode 9: Cosmogony, or the Use of the World
- Episode 10: Mythology, or the Truth of Lies
- Episode 11: Misogyny, or Desire's Traps
- Episode 12: Tragedy, or the Illusion of Death
- Episode 13: Philosophy, or the Owl's Triumph
The Owl's Legacy
THE OWL’S LEGACY is an intellectually agile, engaging, and sometimes biting look at ancient Greece, its influences on Western culture—and how many eras have reinterpreted the Greek legacy to reflect their own needs. Each of the 13 episodes is centered on a potent Greek word: from “democracy” and “philosophy” to “mythology” and “misogyny.” Marker convenes and films symposia—meals featuring wine and thoughtful conversation—in locales including Paris, Tokyo, Tbilisi, Berkeley, and an olive grove on Athens’ outskirts. Footage from these banquets is interspersed with archival materials and interviews (often featuring a stylized or distorted owl image looming in the background). Marker’s diverse group of informants includes composers, politicians, classicists, historians, scientists, writers, filmmakers, and actors. Together their contributions form a compelling (and sometimes contradictory) cultural and historical exploration for each theme.
