Blowing Up History

In 373 BCE, the Greek city of Helike vanished, sinking beneath the sea and disappearing from history. Archaeologists now believe they have located the ruins of this great lost metropolis, offering the first tangible evidence of the ancient city's existence.

The Sunken City of Helike is presented as a programme episode that looks into one of antiquity’s most puzzling disappearances and its enduring mystery. Titled after the fabled Greek settlement, this instalment frames its investigation as a focused narrative, inviting viewers to follow the story of a city that simply vanished from the map. In 373 BCE the ancient Greek town of Helike disappeared without a trace, an event that has haunted historians for centuries and sparked countless legends. The episode centres on this sudden loss, recounting how the settlement seemingly vanished beneath the sea, leaving only myths and speculation about what truly happened to its inhabitants. Recent archaeological work now suggests that the long‑lost metropolis may have finally been located, offering a fresh perspective on the ancient mystery. Researchers claim to have identified ruins that match the description of Helike, providing the first tangible evidence of the city’s physical remains after millennia of speculation. By linking the historic disappearance with the latest field findings, the programme aims to bridge myth and science, and may rewrite our understanding of what befell the settlement. It underscores how modern investigation techniques are shedding light on an event that has been shrouded in uncertainty since the fourth century BCE, potentially confirming the existence of the sunken city once thought forever lost.