For years, the ancient Greeks were out of fashion, but now Homer's a best-seller all over again. The Odyssey has become a mini-series, and the adventures of Hercules fill cineplex and tv screens. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge a classics revival with a modern twist and some street slang. Also, the diary of a young Christian woman who was thrown to the beasts in ancient Carthage.

SEGMENT 1

Archaeologist John Prag uses plastic surgery and forensic science to reconstruct the faces and lives of ancient people. He tells Anne Stainchamps about the reconstructive process and reveals the secret of King Midas' hairy ears. Prag is on the staff of the University of Manchester Museum and is the co-author (with Richard Neave) of "Making Faces." Also, University of Wisconsin historian Joyce Salisbury tells Steve Paulson about Perpetua, an early Christian who kept a diary as she awaited martrydom in the arena. Salisbury has written a book called "Perpetua's Passion: The Death and Memory of a Young Roman Woman."

SEGMENT 2:

Stanley Lombardo teaches classics at the University of Kansas at Lawrence and has just published a new translation of Homer's Iliad. Lombardo talks with Jim Fleming about the Trojan War epic and performs excerpts from his version.

SEGMENT 3:

Mort Rosenblum is an olive grower and the author of "Olives: the Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit." He tells Judith Strasser that ancient people considered olives a gift from the gods and that olives show up often in mythological stories.

Distribution dates:

• week of 08/24/97 - hour 3