'GREEKS' TRAGEDY SHOW DOES NO JUSTICE TO PIVOTAL POINTS IN HISTORY.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

The best history teacher I ever had transformed Rome in the age of Caesar into something more decadent and grotesque than an episode of ``Dynasty'' - which, of course, it was. Alas, he was the exception; most of my other history classes were staid affairs wedded to the simple dissemination of names and dates.

It's a little depressing to consider that decades from now, our current political climate will probably be steamrollered into ossified fodder in the history books reading thusly:

William Jefferson Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001), presided over a largely peaceful and prosperous America during his tenure in the Oval Office. His presidency, however, was noteworthy for its partisan debates amongst Republicans and Democrats over matters of domestic policy. The rancor reached its apotheosis in an impeachment trial over alleged misdeeds on the president's behalf; he was acquitted of all charges. The president's first lady, Hillary, enjoyed taking part in public dialogues on the issues. Other characters cluttering the political landscape were too colorful to mention here.

Now, we all know it was a lot more exciting than that flat prose intimates; nonetheless, that's how many history textbooks read. And that, largely, is how ``The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization,'' tonight on PBS, plays its subject out.

Despite attempts at visual inventiveness, the result is an earnest, 2 1/2-hour slog through some of the most amazing and influential times anywhere in world history - Athens between roughly 600 and 400 B.C. In that place during that time span, ``The Greeks'' reminds us, democracy, science, philosophy, art and drama - nearly everything that makes us what we are today - were all essentially created. Paul Cartledge (one of the historians seen in tonight's documentary) wrote a companion book to the special, which is far more colorful and filled with details both grungier and more vibrant than tonight's sanitized-for-schoolchildren's-protection special.

``The Greeks'' is divided into three parts. ``Golden Age,'' the second - and most fascinating and cohesive of the lot - focuses on a battle with the Persians that the Athenians, though desperately outnumbered, won through the sheer strategic bravura of a general named Themistocles. Ironically, Themistocles was later banished from Athens and spent the last days of his life in the Persian Empire. Pericles rose to power during this time - despite his public courting of a glorified prostitute named Aspasia. (History, tellingly, doesn't record Pericles' wife's name - perhaps our sample history above should mention Monica Lewinsky and jettison Hillary.) Pericles, hoping to create an Athens that would resonate throughout history - even then, men had their eyes on their legacies - succeeded by creating the Parthenon.

The third segment, ``Empire of the Mind,'' focuses on the decline of Athens in the form of a seemingly suicidal attack on nearby Sparta (it seems Pericles couldn't leave well enough alone) and the execution of Socrates, the world's first social critic. As interesting as all this is, it is somewhat dispassionately rendered.

The first portion of this evening's presentation, ``Revolution,'' is the most fragmented, getting things off to an awkward, unpromising start. The story of how the ideals of democracy came to Athens is variously interrupted by protracted tangents explicating Greek pottery, olive oil and the original Olympics - all legitimate topics, but described here as if for very young or very dim viewers.

Liam Neeson's civilized and proper narration sounds as if it's imparting information far more substantial than it usually is. Granted, the documentarians don't have a lot to work with from a visual standpoint, but writer-drector Cassian Harrison's remedy is somewhat pallid. In addition to laying on the gorgeous scenery, he resorts to computer imagery reconstructing the principles in this saga - who just sit or stand there, endlessly, gazing mutely - and lots of footage of people in period dress, who for some reason refuse to turn their faces to the camera. Over the long haul, this gets a bit monotonous, though the re-creation of the Parthenon is impressive.

``The Greeks'' is a fair introduction to the achievements of the Athenians of that day but hardly gives the viewer much sense of what those times were like. Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it, the saying goes, but those who do remember it are doomed, so it seems, to repeating it blandly.

THE FACTS

--The show: ``The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization.''

--What: Documentary on Athens culture and politics before Christ.

--The stars: Narrated by Liam Neeson.

--Where: KCET.

--When: 8 tonight.

--Our rating: Two and one half stars

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1) Actor Liam Neeson narrates PBS' ``The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization,'' at 8 tonight on KCET.

(2) This Athenian nobleman in the Zappeion is among the images featured in the documentary, which spans approximately 600 to 400 B.C.