The First Eden

The First Eden
Region 2 DVD cover art
Genre	Nature documentary
Presented by	David Attenborough
Composer	Carl Davis
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No.of episodes	4
Production
Executive producer	Andrew Neal
Running time	55 minutes
Production company	BBC Natural History Unit
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	8 March(1987-03-08)– 29 March 1987(1987-03-29)

The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Manis a BBC documentary series written and presented byDavid Attenborough,first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 8 March 1987.

It comprises four programmes, each of 55 minutes' duration, which describe man's relationship with the natural habitats of theMediterranean,and is a portrait of the landscape, wildlife and plants of the Mediterranean. From the earliest human settlements to the cities of today, from the forests of the North African shore and the Middle East to Southern Europe, this series tells a story of man and nature at work.

The series was produced by Andrew Neal, in association with theAustralian Broadcasting CorporationandWQED Pittsburgh.The music was composed and conducted byCarl Davis.

Attenborough undertook the project in between his 'Life' seriesThe Living Planet(1984) andThe Trials of Life(1990).

Episodes

"On the European shore, spring has come. [...] The asphodel and many other species including the wild gladiolus, scarlet crowfoot and 50-odd species of orchid have kept the surplus food they made last year stored underground in bulbs and swollen roots. At the first hint of spring they use those savings to produce flowers, in some cases, even before they've sprouted leaves. At the same time, neatly synchronised by the warming weather, insects are hatching. Now they are busy collecting the bribes of nectar, advertised by the flowers, as inducements to transport pollen. This is the banquet that the birds have come to feed on."

— Extract from David Attenborough's narration

1. "The Making of the Garden"

In episode 1, Attenborough travels toRhodesto witness the gathering of 1 millionJersey tiger moths

UK broadcast 8 March 1987

Attenborough opens the series at theDead Sea,where the hot climate and intense evaporation mimic conditions that were replicated on a much larger scale when the newly formedMediterranean basindried out. Around 5.5 million years ago, theAtlanticflooded the basin, allowing marine life to recolonise the new sea. Mountains became islands: some of them volcanic, others formed of limestone. Common species marooned on these islands evolved into new varieties. In aMaltesecave, Attenborough discovers fossil teeth fromdwarf elephants.Most are only known from fossils, but one species, theMallorcan midwife toad,has recently been discovered. Attenborough abseils down to a secluded pool to find it. In Europe, blooming wildflowers signal the arrival of spring. This triggers the emergence of insects, and in turn, the arrival of insectivorous birds such asrollersandbee-eaters.After theMediterranean Seaformed, the climate continued to warm, forcing many birds to extend their migration routes between Europe and Africa. Exotic arrivals includespoonbills,white storksandflamingos.Reptiles are most active during the hot summers. Attenborough catches aMontpellier snakeand describes its hunting behaviour. Some creatures, includingchameleons,crested porcupinesandfruit batshave colonised Europe from Africa.Rock hyraxes,which have reachedIsrael,may soon join them. The arrival of humans, 28,000 years ago, is known fromflint toolsand rock etchings found in Spanish caves. Later cliff paintings demonstrated that Mediterranean man was still living inhunter-gatherersocieties 10,000 years ago, but that would soon change.

2. "The Gods Enslaved"

Attenborough in the Great Theatre ofEphesus,from a scene in "The Gods Enslaved"

UK broadcast 15 March 1987

Attenborough explores the influence of the first Mediterranean civilizations, placing the symbolism of thebullat the centre of his narrative.Cave paintingsin France and Spain and Egyptianhieroglyphsboth reveal cultures that revered thewild bullfor its fertility and strength. TheAncient Egyptiansdeified many animals, including the livingbull-godApis,and accorded it the same ceremonial burial as theirPharaohs.Attenborough describes the ritual from theTemple of ApisinMemphis.AtSaqqara,more than 4 million mummifiedsacred ibiseswere brought as offerings by devotees. Crop cultivation began in theNile Delta,but theMinoanswere the first to harvestolives,using oxen-powered mills to crush them. They were also skilled fishermen, whose traditional methods for catchingoctopusandtunnyare still practised by modern North Africans. Attenborough explains how Cretan men pitted themselves against bulls in specially built arenas. TheRomanswere passionate hunters, using wild animals ransacked from theirEmpirefor entertainment, but they also held the bull in special regard. The statue ofArtemis,salvaged from theTemple of Ephesus,is adorned with bulls' testes. Of more than 600 Roman cities along the North African coast,Leptis Magnawas the greatest. Its wealth was built on trading livestock and produce harvested from the surrounding fertile lands; figs, olives and grain. But indeforestingthe land the Romans precipitated their own demise. Although humans had enslaved and subdued the bull, Attenborough concludes that they had yet to learn the value of the natural world.

"It was the Ephesians themselves who were flouting the principles of fertility by what they were doing to the land around their city. It used to be said in places like this that nature failed to support man. The truth is exactly the reverse: here, man failed to support nature."

— David Attenborough's summary at the end of episode 2

3. "The Wastes of War"

UK broadcast 22 March 1987

The relationship between man andhorsehas a long history in the Mediterranean region. A passion for horses spread west fromCentral Asia,but took a while to become established as a pastoral way of life returned. The Roman Empire was replaced by maraudingHuns,VisigothsandVandals.In the seventh century,Arabiancavalrymen tookJerusalemand arrived in Spain to spread the word of theQur'an.They established bases atCórdobaandGranada,bringingorange treesandpeacocksfor the gardens of their impressive mosques. The Arabs brought theirfalconryskills too. The birds are used to this day to catch desert animals such asharesandhoubara bustards.Many attitudes towards animals stemmed from pre-Christian beliefs.Fire salamanderswere suspected of having magical powers, while themandrakewas thought to be deadly to those who harvested its roots. Even today,Coculloholds an annual festival of snakes, the animals thought to bring protection. Attenborough visits the impregnableKrak des ChevaliersinSyriato discuss theCrusades.Black ratscarried on the retreating Christian army's ships spreadplaguethrough Europe, killing a third of the population. During theMiddle Agesthe forests of Southern Europe were cleared. Attenborough discusses the deforestation caused by SpanishMerino sheepgrazing and the Venetian shipbuilding industry. Despite the advent of theinternal combustion engine,horses still play an important role in European culture. The final scenes show thoroughbreds racing atNewmarketand a performance by theSpanish Riding SchoolinVienna.

4. "Strangers in the Garden"

UK broadcast 29 March 1987

The final episode examines man's impact on the Mediterranean during the twentieth century. Attenborough dines on redsoldierfishinCyprus,one of a hundred or so species to have colonised the Mediterranean from theRed Sea,via theSuez Canal.Other invaders have been less welcome. ThePhylloxeraaphid from North America attacked French grapevines, and only by importing insect-resistant rootstock from the USA was a total catastrophe averted. The growth of tourism has led to uncontrolled development of hotels and marinas, squeezing out natural inhabitants of the coast such asMediterranean monk sealsandloggerhead turtles,who come ashore to lay their eggs. The sea is in danger of becoming barren due tooverfishingand pollution. Attenborough dives beneath the surface to demonstrate the difference between a thrivingseagrassecosystem and one smothered in sedimentation from untreated sewage. Meanwhile, in Egypt, he looks at the damaging effects of damming theNile,which include reduced productivity, a collapse of Egypt'ssardinefishery and population displacement. The shooting of millions of migrating birds, draining of wetlands and deliberately started wildfires add to the pressures on the natural world. There are, however, still a few places where the Mediterranean has been left unspoilt. One isPlitviceinCroatia,whose mixed forests provide shelter for many creatures driven or hunted out elsewhere. In the uninhabitedSporades Islandseast of mainland Greece, Mediterranean rarities such asAudouin's gull,Eleonora's falconand theEuropean black vulturecan still breed freely.

DVDs and book

The First Edenwas released as aRegion 22-disc DVD (BBCDVD2402) on 27 August 2007. The series forms part of the Region 2 DVD encyclopaediaLife on Land,which was released on 3 November 2008. It is also available (albeit without the final episode) on the Region 1 and Region 4BBC Atlas of the Natural WorldDVD box sets.

The accompanying book,The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Manby David Attenborough (ISBN0-002-19827-4), was published by Collins on 9 March 1987.