Synopsis:

It took fifteen years to complete the documentary which follows the excavations conducted by the archaeologist Professor Yiannis Sakellarakis on Mount Ida (Psiloritis) in Crete. The excavations lasted twelve years and were carried out in the Idaean Cave (at an altitude of 1600 metres), the birthplace of Zeus and a centre of worship for more than thirty-five centuries and in Zominthus (at an altitude of 1200 metres), an important settlement of 1600 B.C. The film follows the progress of the excavations all these years (organization, problems, execution, archaeological finds, preservation, etc.) and examines the role played by the Idaean Cave as a place of worship and of Zominthus as the place where the wealth of Mount Ida was amassed and administered. At the same time it examines the historical development of the Idaean Cave and its timeless relation to both Minoan civilization and the broader region of the eastern Mediterranean. Above all, however, the film is a study of man's relationship to time, focusing on Professor Sakellarakis' battle with time in his efforts to reveal and understand Mount Ida's past.