A Spartan Dream

Twenty-five centuries ago,

Greece was not the country it is today.

It was composed of diverse city-states, and of these,

Sparta and Athens were locked in bitter warfare

for supremacy over the Greek world.

When many think of ancient Greece,

the Parthenon of Athens comes to mind.

However, scarred and looted over the ages,

the great temple remains a fixture

on the Athenian horizon, reminding us

of Athens' deep reach into our history.

No ice!

-What? -No ice.

Placidus, I don't want ice in my cola.

Sorry about that, Miss Helen.

This is me.

As you can see, I'm about as far away

from a Greek warrior as you can get.

But sometimes I escape into visions.

Uh, visions of heroic deeds, which usually happens when

I'm stressed or anxious, which is just about every day

when you're a waiter in your dad's diner and

worried about saving money for school.

My father worries about me, but what can he do?

It's just my brain, it's not the same as other people's.

My psychiatrist says sometimes my thoughts are like

a giant jigsaw puzzle,

where the pieces don't always fit together.

He wanted to test me for a condition called Asperger's,

but my father ended that idea right away.

He felt it best for me to start working at the diner.

We have to talk.

What's wrong?

I don't think I can send you to school in the fall.

You'll just have to figure something else out and be a man.

What if we sold the house in Greece?

No.

That was your mother's dowry. Never do that.

She was born there.

We don't use it. I've never been there.

It costs money to keep up.

No, no.

Besides, your Uncle George lives there.

I'll do it.

What?

I don't know him and he doesn't know me.

I'll just go over there and tell him to leave.

That's what a man would do, right?

My mom taught me to love anything

to do with ancient Sparta.

She even taught me some ancient

Spartan phrases when I was a kid.

When she died, I was devastated.

My dad really didn't know what to do with me.

So I think he was kind of relieved by the idea

of me going to Greece?

That it could be a challenge that might make a man out of me?

So, yeah, it's safe to say I was more stressed out

and anxious than I'd ever been in my life.

Even if it was what I'd always dreamed about.

Going on a journey.

A quest.

An odyssey.

Which meant that I, you know,

sometimes I lost track of reality.

But we'll get to that later.

This is your ticket. You leave Tuesday morning.

Passport, power of attorney, and your mother's

Greek bank book to deposit the money.

I'll send a telegram to your uncle

that you will visit him.

Good luck, my son.

My dad told me there's no such thing as a hero's journey.

That only fools take on the impossible.

I really didn't understand what he meant by that.

Until I went to Sparta.

What is this?

-Name? -Brad Cave.

Brasidas Kavalopoulos, it says.

I go by Brad.

Why you come Greece?

I have to tell my uncle to move out of our property to sell it.

So, you throw out the farmer from home. Hm?

Welcome to Greece, Brad.

Hey, do you speak English?

Shh. Yes, yes.

What's going on?

It's Melina, she's back from London.

The actress?

Yes, but she's also the Greek minister of culture,

she's a big shot, so... wait, wait, wait.

Good morning, everyone.

Good morning, good morning. Good morning.

Jules and I are very happy to be back in Athens.

Through me the Greek government has asked

for the return from London of the Parthenon marbles.

We have been refused.

Well, the Greek people revere these treasures.

I will tell you a story.

During Greece's war of independence

from Turkey, Turkish soldiers besieged

on the Acropolis, were short of ammunition.

To make bullets, they began to attack

the great columns to extract

the lead that held them together.

The Greeks sent them ammunition with a message.

"Here are bullets.

"Don't touch the columns."

Yeah, we say to the British people,

you have kept these sculptures for almost two centuries.

Sculptures your Lord Elgin tore

from the Parthenon in the dead of night.

Now, in the name of fairness and morality,

please, please give them back.

I will now take questions.

Did you encounter hostility when you went to London?

No, none. They were all very polite.

Of course, the British government has always

been polite throughout history, no matter what they've done.

- Yes. -On your trip to London,

do you think you advanced your mission?

Advanced, it's not the word I would use.

I would say I was listened to.

It was a beginning.

I am very confident that...

What about the Athenians?

The Athenians, during the war between Athens and Sparta,

the Spartans loaned you 60 warships in 425 BC.

It was a gesture for peace.

Athens said they would give them back.

They never did.

I'm sorry, what paper are you from?

I'm not from a paper, I'm from myself.

Oh, so what is your name?

-Brasidas. -Oh, I see.

Named after the Spartan general.

Welcome to Athens, Brasidas.

Athens is not all of Greece.

My heart is in Sparta.

Yeah, but my boy, your behind happens to be in Athens.

Anyway, I'm afraid I have to go.

But rest assured, the marbles that Lord Elgin

removed 200 years ago will return to the Parthenon.

I may be dead or alive, I do not know,

but in either case, when they do come back...

...I will be reborn.

Here, let me carry your bag. I have a taxi.

Here, don't be afraid.

-Okay. -So, where are you from?

New Jersey.

Ah, America.

And you?

And where are you going?

-Pergamos Hotel. -Pergamos Hotel.

-What's your name again? -Brad.

Hello, Brad.

I'm Roy Rogers.

Get in, Brad.

I look like Ray Rogers, eh?

The cowboy! Ha!

Someday I want to go to Victorville, California.

Ah? You know why? Roy's museum.

Trigger, the whole horse, is stuffed there,

and when his time come, I hope they stuff Roy too.

Sorry about that.

Go!

So, you are from Sparta, eh?

Yes.

So, so, so, Sparta. From the center of Sparta?

Actually a little village next to it, Vapheio.

Oh, yes, with the cups.

-Cups? -Yes, the golden cups.

-Yes. -Have you ever seen the cups?

-No. -Never?

Shame on you, boy. Shame on you.

I will take you to see the cups.

Let's go!

Okay. Come. Come, my friend.

Come, come, come, come.

Quickly, quickly.

They're about to close the doors. Come, come.

Oh! Oh, there they are, the cups.

"Golden cups found at the village

"of Vapheio, near Sparta, Greece."