Mycenaean Stories of the Odyssey

The following is a collection of stories related to Homer's Odyssey as written by my secondary students at Home School Santa Barbara. Our class researched Mycenaean history and culture and read Homer's The Odyssey translated by Fagles (an excellent translation). Students then created stories "springing" from The Odyssey that also incorporated the history and culture they had been learning. Each story also contains a brief video of Mycenaean images taken from my Flickr account. I hope you enjoy these.


Antinous by Muhammad Mehai (9th grade)
A long time ago in the great kingdom of Ithaca, ten years before Odysseus son of Laertes and king of Ithaca, went away to the Trojan War, Eumaeus Odysseus’ loyal swineherd and his wife Korinsia were blessed with a son. They named him Ekhinos, meaning sea urchin. During that same year a nobleman, Eupithes and his wife also had a son. They named him Antinous.
As the years passed Ekhinos and Antinous grew older, they became friends and soon they were inseparable. They did everything together. They went hunting and fishing, but the thing they both loved to do was to climb the great wall that surrounded their city and to sit above the archway of the two lions and to look out over the horizon. Life went on for the people of Ithaca until four years after the great Odysseus, son of Laertes, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus, King of Ithaca and the surrounding islands, left to war. Antinous was sitting on top of the great wall that protected the people of Ithaca from any invaders. Antinous was deep in thought when his best friend, Ekhinos, rushed to tell him the terrible news that Antinous’ mother had passed away. After Antinous’ mother was buried, grief stricken Antinous moped every day on top of the high wall. One day, when he was moping, his best friend, Ekhinos, climbed up to try and comfort him. Without knowing what else to say, he told him to stop moping around. He said he should forget about his mother’s death and move on. Antinous, seeing the truth in his words, decided to go home. As he was about to climb down, he slipped and knocked into Ekhinos, who stumbled and fell off the high wall. Antinous was able catch himself on the wall. If Ekhinos had not been there, Antinous would probably have fallen off the wall. Antinous was lying on top of the wall and watching in horror as his best friend fell head first to the stone path below. As his head hit the stone path below, he turned away and wept and wept until eventually someone came and saw what had happened. The next day Ekhinus was buried in a beehive tomb along with some weapons and a gold mask that was made to look like Ekhinos would look when he was older. After the burial, Antinous was hardened and he showed no respect for the people of Ithaca. He blamed his mother’s death on them but blamed his friend’s death on himself. Antinous could not forgive himself or the people of Ithaca.



King Odysseus by Nicki Burgo (10th grade)
The city of Ithaca is a beautiful place filled with flowers, animals prancing, and now that king Odysseus is home friendly people. The king has rid of all the people who deceived him and tried to steal his wife. Things are just getting back to normal and Odysseus is begging to enjoy himself again. He is spending time with Telemcus and his stunning wife Penelope. Life is going good for the king. But as the King knows more than anyone all good things come to an end.
Sitting from his tower Odysseus over looks his kingdom and ocean view. Everything is peaceful down on the streets but he sees something out in the ocean. As it comes closer it gets bigger and bigger heading right towards the Island of Crete. The king can now see what it is and it’s not a pretty sight. It is swarm of angry see creatures with none other than Poseidon leading the charge. The king sounds the bell and runs down to the streets to gather his troops. “Hurry good men our death approaches” the king says, “If you want to see tomorrow do not quit tell tell this barrier can withstand the strength of God Poseidon’s ocean waves. As fast as the barrier went up is as fast as the aquatic army came. “Odysseus you have escaped death your last time.” Poseidon yelled. Then all the sea creatures slowly submerged under the water. “Where’d they go” one of the kings soldiers said. ”Look out there,” another said. Way out at sea sets of waves as big as the bronze guardian Telos begin to approach. One after another the waves hit the giant barrier throwing men into trees, drowning, and burying under mud. They waves continue to come but do not end. The king has had enough; he climbs on top of the barriers looking out at the storm. He roars, Poseidon leave my people and city alone this is between you and I. Poseidon chuckles, “foolish Odysseus you are no match for a god as myself, come see what a puny human can do against a god.” Odysseus Jumps off his perch and runs full blast down the hill to the god. Poseidon starts the waves again crashing on Odysseus but they do not bring him down. He is almost at the beach and is at the final cliff over looking the army and Poseidon. One last giant wave comes to finish Odysseus off and it dose but not before he finishes off Poseidon. The king prepping himself for death hurls his sword piercing the giant wave and killing Poseidon. The king will go down as one of the greatest leaders in all of history. Lucky his body was found and berried within his kingdom. Time goes on and he is never forgotten. Heroic stories and tales are passed down generation to generation never to forget king Odysseus.



The Story of Circe by Christian White (9th grade)
Circe was born around 1500bc on an island with many trees. She lived with her father and mother. Her father was a hunter and her mother a witch. Circe wore clothes made of cotton and goatskin. She mostly ate olives, grapes, and fish. When Circe was thirteen years old her father was killed hunting and four years later her mother had killed herself, therefore leaving Circe all alone. But before her mother had died she had given Circe her magic wand and told her that if any intruders are to invade the island use this wand to turn them into animals. Circe was delighted at being given this wand for she was very fond of When Circe's mother died Circe spent most of her time in her palace. Though she managed well she got sort of lonely. Then one day a group of intruders came to the island. It wasn't long until Circe had turned them into lions and wolves. Over the years many intruders strived to take the land but all were cursed. Two years later Circe was told by a man named Hermes that a powerful man would come with his army and ships,this man was called Odysseus. Circe waited on her island just waiting for this man Odysseus to come.



Cyclops by Brandon White (9th grade)
A long time ago, in about 7000b.c., the cyclops had nowhere to live. Thier village was destroyed by a huge tsunami caused by Posiedon. The cyclops decided to swim someplace where nothing lived so it would be peaceful. They swam out for about two days and found an island where nothing lived and was quiet and peaceful. They made caves to live in and found sheep on the island that they ate. Then, sometime around 1300 b.c., Odysseus and his crew found the island and wanted to explore. As they went to explore they found footprints in the sand. "This must be a cyclops footprint", said Odysseus. They looked up and saw two huge giants. The cyclops starting running fast towards Odysseus and his crew of men. Then the cyclops grabbed Odysseus and ripped his head off, eats it and throws his body about three hundred feet away and the other Cyclops grabbed two men and eats them. Blood was everywhere, soon there was a huge river of blood. Odysseus and four of his men were eaten alive, the other crew set sail as fast as they could. The Cyclops were too slow to catch the rest of Odysseus' crew.



The Untold Chapter of The Odyssey
by Zane Christenson (9th grade)
When young Dawn with her rose red fingers shone once more, the peaceful Cyclops, Polyphemus, looked out over the beautiful sea and saw the tiny black ship on the horizon. The Cyclops loved looking out over the endless, sparkling, sea; he would sometimes look at the ocean for hours. As the ship got closer, the Cyclops took his cherished herds of goats back to his cave and waited outside behind a big rock. After a long period of time he made out a dozen little men come up from the shore and continue in till they reached Polyphemus' cave. They stopped just a little ways away from the giant’s hiding place. The Cyclops waited behind the rock and listened to the men eagerly. After only minutes, the giant learned of there home, Ithaca. When Polyphemus saw their dirty, bloodstained clothing and their double edged swords, he could tell that they were soldiers that had fought in the Trojan War, which had acquired in the beginning of this century. The giant overheard their crass discourse and was disturbed by their rude words and their violent behavior. From their vulgar arguments he found out that they were hungry and intended to eat anything they found. Then they went to scope out the giants cave for food and dispersed into the darkness of the cave, which made the Cyclops very nerves about his herds of goats. Just as Polyphemus was about to come in and greet them, he caught the scent of burning animal flesh coming from within his cave, which could only mean a beastly meal or a sacrifice of his beloved goats. The one-eyed giant could feel the rage building inside. All at once he knew his peaceful, warless days were over. His eye narrowed, and charged into his cave.



Erthia by Kori Gibson (10th grade)
One day there was a girl named Erthia. She lived in a small village just outside of the island Scheria, in the village she lived in a small house that her father had made out of mud with his own hands. She was now an only child for her sister had died unexpectedly from the god Dionysus he mistook her for some one else. Dionysus felt so horrible that he gave them a life long supply of food and wine. Evan though they would never have to worry about those necessities again they were still very poor and had to work. Erthia worked for the princess as one of her maids. She didn’t love her job but ever since the war she felt safer working there then she would have had working with her mother in the village. One day she was walking down to the creek with some of the other maids to bathe the princess. As they got closer they saw something moving in a near by mud puddle. Every one got scared and dropped there cloaks and ran back to the castle. Except for Erthia and the princess. Erthia hid behind a rock. She was just about to get up and go back with the princess when she saw the hairy blob move and this time even grown. Now she was really scared. She was in shock when she saw the princess start to talk to it. Of course she couldn’t hear what she was saying, she thought that maybe if she just moves a little bit closer she might be able to hear better as she moved a twig snapped under her foot just at that moment the princess started to run towards the rock she was behind. She held her breath in so she wouldn’t hear her. The princess bent down and grabbed one of the cloaks that the maids had dropped. She went back over to the mud creature and handed it a cloak and told it to wash off. The mud thing turned out to be a man who had been lost at sea. Erthia could tell that the princess liked him thought she had no idea why he smelt awful to her. She decided to follow them the whole way back to the castle because the princess invited him there. She also wanted to be there in case anything bad happened. They made it back to a castle. The king welcomed the man and invited him to a wedding that was being held at the castle that day. The man was so thankful that he decided to tell the king who he really was. He was Odysseus. The crowd was shocked. Erthia could tell the princess was unhappy since he was already married. The king offered him a ship and they went to a private room to discuss his journey. Erthia went home and couldn’t wait to tell her parents the exciting adventure that she had that day.



The Story of Polyphemus by Jordan White (8th grade)
Polyphemus, the one eyed giant lives in a large cave on an island known as the one eyed giant's island in the year 1500bce. Things are going well for Polyphemus; he has no family but many friends. Polyphemus wore a sheepskin robe and nothing for his feet. Polyphemus ate local sheep and fish he would catch from the streams and rivers that flowed through the island. One of the things that Polyphemus would do to pass the time was throw massive boulders into the ocean in case any ships had brought people to harm him.
One day a man named Odysseus takes twelve men to go and explore the island. Shortly after they come across a massive cave on the hill that they had climbed. Outside the cave there were buckets filled with milk from the sheep and goat. Odysseus' men wanted to flee but Odysseus was curious to find out who lived there. After waiting an hour or two they heard massive thunderous footsteps approaching the cave. They flee into the darkest corner of the cave to hide. The cyclops came in and covered the entrance with a boulder, then threw down some branches for a fire. After the giant had started the fire he noticed Odysseus and his men and asked who they were, Odysseus told him they were Greeks on their way home from the battle of Troy. He then asked where their ship was and Odysseus told him their ship was destroyed and that they were the only survivors. Polyphemus snatched up two of the men, bashed their heads against the ground and ate them for supper, then fell asleep next to the fire. Odysseus found a wooden staff in the back of the cave; he sharpened it the next day and burned the end to harden it. That evening the cyclops returned and snatched up two more of his men for supper, while he was eating them Odysseus offered the cyclops wine that they had brought with them and told the cyclops that his name was nobody and the cyclops said he would eat him last. Shortly after he fell asleep drunk. Odysseus and his men had no time to lose, Odysseus prayed to the gods for strength, he and his men grabbed the wooden stake and stabbed the sleeping cyclops in the eye. Blood immediately came gushing out from his eye. Polyphemus screamed out in pain and said, "Help! Help! Nobody has come to kill me!" But his friends said that if nobody has come to kill him, then he was in no danger at all!



Tiresias' Life by Amariah Walton (8th grade)
This is the story of Tiresias, the blind seer from Thebes. Tiresias was the son of Everes and the nymph Chariclo. Tiresias's became blind at the age of because he reveled truths to men the gods did not want known. His story begins when Tiresias’ powers begin to show themselves around his teenage years. Because he was blind, all the other kids made fun of him and teased him because he couldn't hunt or train dogs like the rest of the boys. In high school he met a girl named Alithia, who, like her name was very wise and kind. She understood him and talked to him, even though her friends told her not to. When Tiresias was fifteen, he began to have strange dreams. He dreamt of future wars and battles. He dreamt of a man whose hardship woke him up crying at night. Every day since his first dream, he became more somber and depressed. Alithia tried to talk to him about his depression, but he couldn't tell her. Tiresias and Alithia had an argument about it one day after school. "But Tiresias, you're so quiet and depressed these days, what's happened to you?" " Nothing, I'm just really tired all right?" "No, something's wrong and you wont tell me what it is." At that, Tiresias turned around and left. Alithia was concerned. What was Tiresias hiding from her? Meanwhile, Tiresias was walking around the school grounds. There was a tree that he always sat at when he was trying to figure something out. The tree had a couple of sparrows sitting in the higher branches when he arrived and he understood what they were saying. The sparrows were both male and as it was spring, they were looking for a mate and food. Tiresias was confused and scared. First the dreams and now this? Tiresias ran from the tree and didn't stop until he reached his home. He had to tell someone about this but who? Maybe I could tell Alithia now, Tiresias thought, I will go see her tomorrow. That night, Tiresias dreamt again, this time his dream was centered on Menoekeus, son of Kreon. When Tiresias woke up, Thebes was getting ready for war. Tiresias knew what had to be done. He went to the town square and told everyone about his dreams. The war was coming, and they were going to lose, if only Menoekeus would give his life. Menoekeus loved his people, so he went out to the gate and slew himself. Sure enough, Thebes was saved. Word got around that Tiresias was a seer and thus he was sought out to tell peoples fortunes. Tiresias was getting lonely, so he went to Alithia's house. She didn't want to talk to him and told him that she didn't want to be friends. Tiresias begged Alithia to listen, so Tiresias explained. He told Alithia everything, about the birds and the dreams and how he became blind. Alithia was sympathetic and understanding. She apologized for being angry at him and asked how she could help. A few years later, Tiresias and Alithia got married and had a daughter named Manto. Manto grew up to be a priestess like her father. Alithia was an expert weaver and potter. Manto grew up in a very restricted place, the temple was a place for training, and Manto had been there since she was three. Tiresias was about sixty when the inevitable happened. Tiresias and his daughter, Manto, were captured by the Epigonoi, and put into service for Apollo and Delphi. Heartsick for his wife Alithia, he died and was buried in Aliartos, at the spring Tilphousa. In the afterlife, Tiresias met Odysseus and tells him what will happen in the future. Later, Tiresias’ wife, Alithia, creates a ceremony to honor Tiresias and his life.



The Journey of Hephakis by Preston Towers (7th grade)
Our story begins with Hephakis a metalworker that is returning home to Ithaca from the Trojan War with Odysseus’ flotilla of ships. Hephakis made swords, spears, arrows, and shields. He also helped build the Trojan Horse. Hephakis could not sleep “Maybe the midnight air will clear my head,” Hephakis thought. Suddenly, Hephakis saw a giant rouge wave coming right at him. “Poseidon have mercy!” he yelled to the heavens. The wave struck sweeping Hephakis off the boat, knocking him unconscious in the process. Poseidon, god of earthquakes, heard his cry. Poseidon put Hephakis on a log to keep him afloat. A few days later the current took Hephakis to the Egyptian coast where an Egyptian ship rescued him. When Hephakis awoke he was dazed. “Ugghh! My head hurts like the wrath of 1,000 gods. (Gasp) Where am I? Who am I? Who are you? Friend or foe?” But they did not answer. They gave him food and drink and a place to rest. They sailed down the Nile until they reached Thebes where he was taken before the Pharaoh. The captain of the ship quickly conversed with the Pharaoh and a translator was brought in.

“Who are you? Do you understand me?”

“I am Baruti. I will translate the conversation between you and Pharaoh Setnakte.”

The Pharaoh and Baruti conversed briefly

“Setnakte asks, “What is your name and where are you from?”

“I do not know where I am from or who I am all I remember is that I am a great metalworker.”

The Pharaoh and Baruti conversed for longer this time.

“Setnakte says he will give you a home if you will metalwork for the armory as long as you don’t have your memory.”

“Yes I will! Thank you Pharaoh Setnakte.”

The Pharaoh and Baruti conversed for even a longer time.

“Setnakte says you shall now be known as Akiiki and he gives you this letter. It states that ‘When Akiiki regains memory he shall be taken to whatever land he hails from.”

“Thank you again Setnakte you are the greatest man in the world.”

Hephakis was led to his new home. That night Hephakis dreamed of his past. He dreamed of his mother and father when he was a young boy. He dreamed of feasting in the halls of Odysseus and listening to the bard play on his Lyre. He dreamed of his wife and son right before he left for Troy. He dreamed of listening in on the conversation of Odysseus and the army generals on how they were going to wage war against the Trojans. When he awoke Hephakis had no recollection of the dream.

Five Years Later

Hephakis had integrated well into society. Baruti had taught him the language and he had made many friends. One day when Hephakis was hammering out a piece of metal for a sword he burned himself. “Oowww!!!” he yelled at the top his lungs. Blinded by his pain he bumped into a shelf and a bronze bowl fell on his head knocking him out. When he regained consciousness all of his memories came back to him. In the middle of thinking about his family at Ithaca he remembered the letter Setnakte gave him on the first day of his arrival. He headed to the Pharaoh Ramesses III halls as fast as his legs could carry him.

He approached the Pharaoh with letter in hand.

“Pharaoh Ramesses III, I have remembered who I am. My name is Hephakis and my home is Ithaca. It now pains my heart the longer I am away from my family. I am asking you to please honor your father’s letter. Please, take me to Ithaca.”

“Hephakis you are one of the greatest metal workers in all the lands. To let you go would be a great loss to my army’s weaponry, but I see how much it pains you to be away from your family. I will sail you home to Ithaca.”

Ramesses gave orders to the captain of the guards, “Load a ship with supplies and the fastest rowers we have and sail our friend Hephakis back to Ithaca.”

A couple hours later the ship was ready to set sail. They sailed up the Nile and across the sea. With swift winds, powerful currents and strong rowers Hephakis arrived at Ithaca within a month. He walked up to his house and opened the door.

“Hello?”

His wife Ademia was speechless. They flung themselves into each other’s arms and started crying tears of happiness.

“How long has it been?” asked Ademia.

“Too long. I never want to be away from you ever again.”



How Polyphemus Came to the Land of the Cyclopes by Samantha Castillo (10th grade)
Xaridhamos and all the other kids in the village were very curious to see what Polyphemus looked like without the mask. So Xaridhamos decided to have a race with Polyphemus and the children from the village. All the children lined up on the line drawn on the dirt. “Ready. Set. Go!” A young boy shouted and all the children ran as fast as they could. Polyphemus and Xaridhamos were the very first two. Then Xaridhamos stuck his foot out in front of Polyphemus. By the time the other children caught up with them Polyphemus was rolling on the dirt and the mask was flying over his body. It landed right at Xaridhamos’ feet. Polyphemus stood up and saw everyone staring at him with horror. The children including Xaridhamos started running and didn’t look back. Polyphemus saw how the children had reacted to seeing his face so he picked up his mask and put it back on. Slowly Polyphemus got up and started to walk he had no idea were he was going. Anywhere is better then here he thought to himself. He walked and walked until he arrived at the beach. He sat there for hours thinking of how scared people were of him. While thinking he looked out at the ocean, he saw a very small island. Polyphemus got up, took his mask off and took a last look at the shore as he started to swim towards the island. Polyphemus swam and swam until he reached the island. Once he reached the island he sat down on the shore and fell asleep. The next morning Cyclopes surrounded him. The Cyclopes were all very generous and gave him a cave to live in. He lived happily until Odysseus showed up.

Minoan Culture and Myth

The following entries were made by my Ancient Cultures class at Home School Santa Barbara. The idea was to try and bring the artifacts back to life via myth and history. The term myth has been given a bad reputation. I happen to think that there is a lot of truth hidden in each story. Myths often represent the best science of the time, explanations of the world based upon prior knowledge and observations. Some of the articles in this entry are more or less historical retellings, and others are new takes on the classic myths. I can’t help but wonder what generations millennia from now will say about our scientific explanations. Will our best explanations be relegated to myth? All the photos come from my Flickr photostream. I hope that you enjoy these attempts to bring the Minoans back to life.


Clever Lena
Once upon a time King Minos was deciding what youths and maidens to send to the Labyrinth, in the middle of which lived the Minotaur, a terrifying creature that was half human and half bull. At that same time Lena got horrible news that she would be sent to the labyrinth the next day. Lena was the daughter of a fisherman, she adored dolphins and all sea life. Lena wanted to live in the ocean with all of the dolphins. It was her dream. At first when Lena got the news she was scared and worried out of her mind, but then she began to think. “What would the minotaur like to eat besides me?” The next morning Lena was sent to the labyrinth. Lena brought with her a bag full of Loukoumas. As the Minotaur was devouring people just feet away from her, Lena hid behind a wall. As soon as he had eaten everyone but her she walked up to him and said, “Oh dear Minotaur, I know you would love to eat me, but you see these Loukoumas are much more tasty, and might I say us humans are very tart." The Minotaur laughed and said, “How about I eat you and your Loukoumas?" Lena thought about this for a minute and then said, “Why would you want to spoil your taste buds with something so gross like me? If you do not eat me I will bring you Loukoumas every day of your life." So the Minotaur agreed and let Lena go. Lena ran out of the labyrinth and ran all the way to King Minos’s palace. She told him what happened. He wanted to reward her so he asked her what she would like. She said to live in the ocean. So King Minos asked Zeus to turn her into a dolphin. Lena was turned into a dolphin and lived happily in the sea for the rest of her life. King Minos ordered one of his painters to paint a fresco of dolphins on his wall to remind him of the clever Lena.
by Tiffany Dunion (9th grade)

The Puzzle City
The year was 1750 B.C., there was a remote city in the island of Crete where the supplies were low and the city was terribly old and crumpling. Everyone demand to exit the city, but the emperor was too stubborn to let the people free. Next to him was a box that had something locked inside. No one knew what was inside, it could be gold, supplies, even a way out! But, whenever somebody asked the emperor what was in the box, he always said, “That information will be revealed at the appropriate time” and only he knew what the appropriate time was.
The story begins here on an average day in the city where kids played games, adults went to their labor, and a thief named Phaestos was stealing food. The storekeepers were not pleased with this constant stealing everyday by the same thief, and yelled at him. Phaestos didn’t care and like everyone else, he wanted to know what is in the emperor’s box. So he hatched an idea, at night he will steal the emperor’s box to find out what is inside, and spread the word to the city, and maybe he wouldn’t be yelled at anymore. He said, “Tonight, I will strike.”
Later that night, Phaestos arrived at the emperor’s palace, and noticed it was not very well guarded. There were only 2 guards patrolling the entire building, and both looked like they were not well trained. So it was easy for Phaestos to get inside. He was able to sneak around and steal the emperor’s box. He picked the lock and there he made a huge discovery. There was a piece of papyrus that said: “Thank you almighty Zeus, king of Olympus for granting my wish of an empire”. There was also a stone inscripted: “I have created this for you and for me, for a reason, to test the intelligence of your kind, mere mortals.” There was one more thing but just then, the emperor saw Phaestos, and he had to grab the box and run. Fortunately, his agility skills got him out of the palace in time. After he got out of the palace, he looked inside the box and the last thing was a code wheel.
Phaestos could not figure out what to do with the wheel nor what it was, so Phaestos prayed to Zeus asking him what the code wheel was. Zeus spoke to him and said it was actually a missing piece of the “circle of the gods”. Phaestos thought about that and then remembered a circle on a wall in the main temple. So he went inside the temple, placed the code wheel, which was the missing piece of the city’s sacred shrine, which soon restored the city’s crumbling walls and made them all wealthy and happy. Phaestos realized this was the wish of an empire and he had been smart enough to know what to do with the code wheel. He was forever after considered the city’s hero and they named the city in honor of him.
by Austin Whitman (7th grade)


Asijaka's Frescoes
One day there was a man named Asijaka. He was very well liked in his village of Crete. He lived in a studio were he made fresco’s for the palace. He normally took a walk by the water to get inspiration for his artwork, but today he felt different. He was scared to walk by the water ever since the huge wave came and killed all his family. He felt lonely and sad, so he decided to walk by the trees and ask the gods to make him happy again. After he did he went back to his studio and waited for something to happen. Two weeks later nothing had happened just as he started to question the gods he heard something outside. As he opened the door he felt a tap on the back of his shoulder. He turned around and saw a beautiful woman. She really was a goddess sent down by Zeus to help Asijaka feel happier so that he could make frescoes for the king. Even the sight of her made his sadness and sorrow leave him immediately. Asijaka was feeling so much better he decided to take a walk by the water. he was so inspired he made seven fresco’s, for the king just in time for the dance that evening. The goddess had cleared Asjiaka’s memory and he forgot why he was so scared of the water in the first place. That night of the dance he married the goddess and lived happily ever after making frescoes for the king.
by Kori Gibson (10th grade)


Competition
There once were two men, Itaja and Pijasiros. They were twin brothers and loved each other dearly, except for the fact that they were both very competitive. One day on the island of Crete there was a competition to see who could carry the most water for 10 miles. Once their mother Ademia heard about the competition she instantly warned them about a legend that had been told when she was young. It was about three competitive brothers who had once competed in a fresco-making contest. The legend went on to say that during the competition they got so competitive that they forgot they were even brothers. The gods were unhappy with their competitiveness so they decided to plague the whole village because of their ungratefulness for family. Itaja and Pijasiros decided to take this legend to heart and realized that brotherhood was so much more important then a competition. The gods were happy with their decision and decided to give the brothers the gift of endurance and patience to win the race. The brothers used this gift and helped each other get through the race. They won the race and used their award to help their sick mother.
by Jourdan Tappeiner (10th grade)


Cold-Hearted Diktynna
Long ago there lived a woman named Diktynna. She was believed to be the most beautiful woman in Crete. She had many pursuers but she did not fall for any of them. She did not love anyone she was cold-hearted. Diktynna was the most selfish woman In Crete she did not appreciate anything anyone did for her she also hated children. The only thing she loved were her pet snakes they were the only importance in her life. One day she was taking a walk by the beach when she saw a man rising from the water holding his triton. There were two dolphins by his side dragging his conch shell chariot. He saw how beautiful she was but he did not know she was cold-hearted. Poseidon instantly fell in love with her beauty and wanted her to himself he confessed his love to her but she did not care she knew who he was but she just turned her back to him and walked away. Poseidon now knew how cold-hearted she was and decided to teach her a lesson. She walked back to the village and went back home. She was tired and decided to go to sleep. The next morning she woke up feeling sick and so she got dressed and decided to go for another walk. The minute she stepped outside she heard screams and everyone was running inside their homes. She had no idea what was happening so when she got to the beach she saw her reflection and was horrified. She left the village and lived in a cave for the rest of her life.
by Samantha Castillo (10th grade)


Phaistos Disc Report
The Phaistos disc is the only example of its kind as no other inscription bearing similarly shaped signs have been found. It was discovered on the 3rd of July 1908 by l Pernier during an excavation he supervised at the Minoan palace of Phaistos in southern Crete. It is a practically round disc of baked clay with a diameter of about 160 mm and an average thickness of about 16mm. It shows signs on both sides. The signs are in between spiral lines and clusters of signs are separated by vertical lines. In this way side A contains 31 words or groups of words and the other side has a floral pattern in the middle. It is thought to date to around 1700 BC from associated archaeological context. The earliest and latest dates put forward are 1700 and 1400 B.C. respectively. Because no other similar artifacts have ever been found anywhere else in Crete, it is thought that the object is foreign, brought in from another place. The place of its origin is extremely speculative although subtle clues may exist in the highly pictorial signs on the disc. A sign depicts a helmet with crest which was used later by Philistines. Another sign depicts a structure similar to a sarcophagus used by the Lycians of Asia Minor.
by Harrison Fisher (9th grade)


Phaistos Disc Translation
There was once a flower, which was picked by a man who traded it for an oar. There was another man with a walking stick. He owned a brush, paint brush, scorpion, two pelts, a cracker, and a Spartan helmet. The man with the flower that was traded for an oar also owned a scorpion, a letter Y, and a paint brush. The other man went walking with his walking stick, his cracker and the Spartan helmet. The guy gave the cracker to an eel, who gave it to a bird. The Y was taken by aliens that looked like small people with long hair. The pelt came from a cat between two pillars with another pelt, cracker, and Spartan helmet. There was as well a curved stick, a bird, a cracker, and a helmet. There was a third man with a fish. He got the fish through trading a stick, paddle, vice grip, pelt and Spartan helmet. The curved stick came with a bird cracker and Spartan helmet. Also there was a paint brush and a fish. Witch was added to a brush, paint brush, scorpion, two pelts, a cracker, and a Spartan helmet. There was the eel, bird cracker and Spartan helmet. This was taken by the man with the fish. He got the fish through trading a stick, paddle, vice grip, pelt and Spartan helmet. There is more to this strange tale but there is too much to tell with too little time.
by Wyatt Allen (8th grade)


Bull Leaping Report 1
Bull leaping was a popular sport for the Minoans and so was boxing. Bull leaping did not involve killing the bull. Rather it was a test of both courage and agility. The bull jumper would grab the bull's horns, and the bull would jerk its head giving the bull leaper the momentum necessary to perform this dangerous stunt. Bull paintings are found in the palaces of the Minoans everywhere.
by Branden White (9th grade)


Bull Leaping Report 2
The ancient Minoans lived on the island of Crete, south of Europe, southwest of Asia and north of Africa. The Minoans were a sport centered culture. Bull jumping was a very brave sport to prove agility and courage. It was mainly a religious ritual. After bull jumping they did not kill the bull, but they often would kill bulls in religious ceremonies. The game is played when one man grabs on to a charging bulls horns, then the bull would thrust its head and hurl the person into the air. The bull jumper would land on the bull’s back or go straight over the bull. The Minoans were remarkably graceful as they preformed this sport. Both men and women would participate in this activity. The artifact shown above is made out of bronze. Minoan art can be made out of stone, clay, metal, wood or painted on walls a form called frescos. No one knows when this artifact was made, maybe some time from 2700-1450BC. They don’t even know when the Minoans started bull jumping. At the same time the Minoans were bull jumping on Crete, in China, the Shang dynasty period was going on, but there’s no Chinese sports like this strange Minoan sport. Most other cultures at the time, depicted gods in their art, not sporting events.
by Zane Christenson (9th grade)


Bull Leaping Report 3
The bull had a sacred significance for the Minoans. Paintings of bulls are found everywhere in the palaces of the Minoans. Bull leaping is thought to have been a key ritual for the Minoan civilization. When the leaper grasps the horns of the oncoming bull the bull would violently jerk its head upwards giving the leaper momentum to perform somersaults and other acrobatic tricks. Bull leaping was often used with more than one person. Minoan myth includes bulls such as the minotaur in the labyrinth that is thought to be a memory of historical bull worship in the labyrinthine palace of Knossos.
by Christian White (9th grade)


The Fight
Once upon a time, several millennia ago, a ruler of Crete defied the gods and insulted Zeus deeply. Zeus, being a merciful god, gave that king a time to repent, when he did not do so, Zeus laid down a curse upon the royal bloodline, saying that when a millennia had passed, Zeus would curse the king’s family with death, and that two princes would be felled by the snake. A millennia later, there were two brothers,
Adonis and Adrastos. They were handsome princes born to king Aetos, and queen Adara. They were the heart of the kingdom and the young noble women would tremble in admiration when they walked pass.
Adonis was the oldest and the handsomest and his maids often fought over who got to do his laundry. Adrastos was the youngest and the most romantic. He wrote poetry and sang songs for the king and queen. When Adonis and Adrastos were fifteen, it was time for them to choose a spouse. Adonis chose first, since he would be king. He looked at all the noble women, from the beautiful Aglaia to the loving Agneta, but no women could capture his heart. He returned to his mother and father saying, “There is no one out there for me, for I have not found the love I was searching for.”
Queen Adara and king Aetos were most saddened, but respected Adonis's decision and let him be. Adrastos was next to choose a wife, but he declined saying, “Why would I want a wife, when I have poetry?” the king and queen were very saddened by this news for who would carry the royal bloodline if there sons would not wed?
They prayed to the goddess Aphrodite for their sons to fall in love with a young woman.
One day Adrastos was in the marketplace, shopping for ink and parchment when he saw her, a beautiful young woman with long thick hair down her back, perfectly oiled and combed into perfect braids. Her face was like the smoothest bronze plate, round and warm, with dark brown eyes.
He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until he turned around and grabbed his pens. He walked towards her. And said “excuse me, miss, I'm afraid I ‘m lost. Do you know the way to the palace?” the girl turned towards him, and said “yes, I can walk you there. Are you prince Adrastos, the poet and singer?” “Yes,” he said, “I am.”
“Well, my prince, let me escort you to the palace.” As they walked along, Adrastos asked her name, “I am Alitas, daughter of Agapetos the scribe” as they walked, Adrastos talked about poetry and singing and discovered that Alitas was a great singer and dancer. At the palace gate she said, “I am glad to have meet you, prince Adrastos. I hope we can have another time like this” she bowed. “As do I” Adrastos bowed. She left and Adrastos sang of Alitas beauty and grace for many days. Adonis, in that same day, was invited to go to the marketplace for a talent show. He saw a beautiful girl, singing with the voice of paradise birds. He fell in love immediately.
After the show, Adonis asked his friend, “ Who was the beautiful maiden that was up last?” his friend chuckled and said, “ that was Alitas, daughter of Agapetos the scribe. I see you have taken a liking to her, as have every other man in the village. But be warned, it is whispered that prince Adrastos has her under his wing.” “My brother! Hah! He has no love for a girl, he loves parchment and ink!” Adonis sneered. “You may want to ask him that” his friend said. When Adonis came back to the palace, he was very unhappy, he had finally found the girl of his dreams, but his brother had stolen her! Adonis could not take it. He decided to duel Adrastos for Alitas, as was the custom. The next morning, Adonis confronted his brother about Alitas. “Adrastos,” Adonis said, “have you fallen in love? Have you finally stopped singing about animals and plants?” “Yes, I have.” Adonis took a deep breath. “So what is the name of the maiden?” “I don’t know, but she sure is beautiful and intelligent” “okay let’s go to the market place and look for her.” So prince Adonis and prince Adrastos went to the market place and looked for Alitas. They saw her singing to a crying child. Both Adonis and Adrastos’s heart swelled with happiness upon seeing her. “That’s her,” Adrastos said. “That’s the one.” They walked towards Alitas, and when she turned around, she looked startled, but recovered quickly saying, “ Good morning my princes. What can I do?” Adonis asked, “Dear Alitas, my brother and I both have plans to marry you. Please tell us now, which one of us do you love?” Alitas was shocked. She turned, took a deep breath and said, “I love you both. Duel for the right to marry me.” The princes were not surprised. Adrastos said, “ That is fine. We will fight in twenty minutes” Twenty minutes later, in the village square a crowd had gathered. The king and queen were sitting on their portable thrones, watching their sons prepare for their duel. When they were ready, they bell rang, and the fight had begun. Adonis approached his brother, swinging his left fist towards Adrastos face, while Adrastos blocked and went for Adonis’s head. This display went on for a while, until suddenly the mighty king Zeus came and whispered in the ear of queen Adara and king Ateos, saying, “ you asked if your sons would love a woman, and they have. But the curse of king Bemus has fell upon your family.” The queen was appalled. “Why? That was many years ago. Surely you have already laid down your judgment before now.” But Zeus said, “I have sworn on my word that the offspring of Bemus will fall temporarily. And so it must be.” As the boxing match was going on, the snake and bee goddess, Adenthena, was watching the spectacle with amused eyes. “ Adenthena” Zeus said. “ Zeus. Is it time already?” “ Yes. I'm afraid it is. Bemus’s curse is about to come upon us.”
Adenthena sighed, the youth had so much potential, but Zeus could not go back on his word, and so, as Adrastos punched his brothers face, two vipers, came out of the bushes, headed toward the princes. By this time both princes were on the ground. Trying to prevent the other from getting up. When the vipers were an inch from Adrastos and Adonis, Queen Adara, screamed, “Adonis! Adrastos! Look out!” but it was too late. They were bitten. King jumped of his throne to attend to his sons, But, they were already dead. The next day, after the memorial service, the King and Queen had a fresco put up in their throne room for the princes, and their boxing skills. And Alitas was never seen again. The end.
by Amariah Walton (8th grade)


Lion's Head Cup Report
During the pre palatial period of the Minoans existence there was a great hero. This was no ordinary hero this was half man half lion. With his razor sharp claws and teeth he protected the island of Crete for decades. This creature is closely compared to the bronze giant Talos. Both were great benefits to The Minoans and both were loyal protectors. Long golden hair reached down his back, he was built like a warrior, and his face was most idolized by the Minoan people. The structure, fire red eyes, and fierce nose held high made it easy for the Minoans to translate this into art. As you may know the Minoans were known for the ceramic work and have very beautiful frescos. So from stories passed down through time, during the palatial period more recent Minoan artists created this beautiful lions head cup in honor of the great hero. The cup only was drunk from by the most respected kings, queens and warriors. Today this cup was found with other remains like this on the island of Crete and is now held on the island in the archeology museum for everyone to see.
by Nicki Burgo (10th grade)


The Lioness
One day in Crete, a hunter and his friends went on a hunting trip. They came upon a golden creature. By the look of its teeth, it was probably a carnivore. The hunters remembered the king telling the people about a menacing creature sent down by the goddess Demeter. They were to sacrifice the creature. The king couldn't bare to kill the lioness so he set her free. Ever since, she has been eating the harvest. The lioness was eating a pile of children when a hunter threw a rope around her neck. Her first thought was that the hunter was sent by the king. She was alright with being sacrificed. The lioness didn't like it that the hunter had taken her away from her meal so once they were in the palace, she killed and ate him. She allowed the king to sacrifice her the next day. Afterwards, the king ordered a cup be carved in the shape of a lioness head, in honor of the hunter. They sacrificed a lioness every spring.
by Anya Ledner (7th grade)


Bull Leaping Fresco Report 1
This fresco is called the Taureador fresco and was found at the palace of Knossos. It is one of the most famous examples of bull leaping in ancient Crete. Painted around 1550-1450 BCE, it depicts a young man flanked by two women who is apparently leaping onto and over the charging bulls back. One interesting aspect about this fresco is that the Ancient Minoans color coded the people in their frescos, drawing men with reddish skin and women with milky white skin. Although virtually everyone who has addressed the matter of bull leaping has admitted that it was most likely religious in character, the question remains as to whether this activity is possibly a sacrificial activity or a sport, perhaps a form of bullfighting. Some also say this fresco might represent a mythological dance with a great bull. One theory suggests that bull leaping was used to validate the Minoan elite. In this theory the point of this activity was not merely to assert the power of the humans over the animals but to assert the power of the Minoan elites over the wild strength of the bull. To this day there is still some form of bull leaping practiced in parts of France.
by Muhammad Mehai (9th grade)


Bull Leaping Fresco Report 2
One of the Minoan’s common rituals was “bull leaping”; an athlete would grab the horns of an oncoming bull and be flipped over its body, being assisted as he landed on the other side of the bull. Whether a religious ceremony or an exciting sport, bull leaping played a large part in Minoan festivities. This picture from the 16th or 15th century BCE is a fresco, so it was painted on wet plaster. The image seen here looks very similar to and may have significance with the constellation Taurus. The bull has been used as a tool for sport and worshipped in many cultures. In ancient Egypt, before Crete was developed, Osiris, the Egyptian god of immortality took the form of a bull and was given a constellation, now called Orion. The bull is a classic icon of Minoan Crete, the Minotaur being the most famous myth. There is no information whether this beautiful artifact is depicting a religious activity or a fun event but it shows a dominant ritual present in Minoan society.

Cody Leeds (8th grade)

The Early Human Song

The journey to ancient civilizations may be back home, but it's not over. This photo looks east along a ridge of the Santa Ynez Mountains separating Santa Barbara from Egypt, Greece and Rome. Ok, that;s a little dramatic, but this point does mark the halfway point on our Outdoor School nine-mile hike. I just got back from a week of science camp with my students at ODS Rancho Alegre. I couldn't recommend the program more. We hiked, played, learned about geology, botany, biology, and the Native American Chumash culture of the area, and then hiked some more. Oh yeah, and it was tons of fun. Buzzard, the director, really understands kids and education. On the last night of camp he asked me to present my sabbatical travels to his staff after we got all 112 of the students down to sleep, a wild task in and of itself. So around 11:00 pm we broke out the bread, cheese, prosciutto, and wine, and I gave them the virtual photo tour. Three days later I gave the tour to our dear friends Dewitt and Dorothy Jayne. Dewitt and Dorothy are in their 90's and are responsible for inspiring me to dream of going to Egypt in search of his early Exodus story. I will be doing it again for a group of supporters in the next few weeks. The journey marches on.

Last month I had all 112 sixth grade students at our school recreate the ten-minute video I put together chronicling ancient cultures of the Lascaux cave dwellers, the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans. Using iMovie and iDVD students imported my narration and video clips, added a few transitions and titles, and voila! They had their own video to take home and share with their families. It turned out nicer than I thought. Here is the blog link to the movie I made myself.

We also completed our first real social studies unit on early human cultures. I decided to record my students singing "The Early Human Song." Megan and I wrote this song several years ago while playing around with ways to teach vocabulary to our students. The tune is a lousy rip-off of Dylan's "Blowing in the Wind." The students are appropriately loud and obnoxious as the sing. I'm not sure that Zimmy could sound any worse. It's lots of fun and it gets at the basics. I have also included the lyrics in case you couldn't quite make them out. Enjoy!

The Journey Returns Home

The journey home has been stretching and filled with joy. We have been home for almost two months now. At times the reality of the adventure seems so far away. Yet a day hardly goes by in which we don’t reference the incredible hospitality of Mohammed from Luxor, Spyros from Athens, the Gils from Milan or Stephanie from Tuscany. We have been deeply impacted by the cultures we’ve lived in, the people who invited us into their lives, and our time together as a family. We came upon this quote from Mark Twain while staying with our friends in Oxford, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” It has proved true for us. We live in a great big wonder-full world. We will never be the same.

And even though we are “home” our journey continues. Here are a few excerpts of in-the-moment writing since we’ve been home.

I just got back from coffee with Donald Johanson. Yes, the same one that I met in Les Eyzies-Tayac. We talked for two hours before I had to rush off to do a home visit with one of my new students.

I’m back on campus. My room looks good, but nothing is where I thought it should be and many things are missing. And my school feels different. Everyone seems a bit more harried, somewhat scattered, less prepared than I remember in the past.

I write this from the comforts of my classroom in Santa Barbara, California. Students are busily reading, working on vocabulary, writing reflections. It is the first week of school and quite possibly the only time I am not hurrying about the room helping kids with their work. They are settling in. What a great group this year! And in spite of the fact that there is a two to one ratio of girls to boys, it’s almost peaceful.

It’s the next morning 6:15 am, and I have ridden my bike to The Coffee Bean to meet with a friend before classes begin. Dark, foggy, early, but when else can I get a few moments with a friend without too many interruptions? Several acquaintances and other teachers I know stop to say hello as I write.

We just got back to our house after spending the morning with a group of church leaders helping raise environmental awareness. The response to our tiny presentation was overwhelmingly good. We are excited and a bit overwhelmed about upcoming opportunities. This is very energizing.

I look forward to a continued sharing of what we learned and continue to learn along the way. To those of you interested in the ancient civilization student curriculum projects I have created from the 9,100+ photos and video clips I’ve collected, I will post a link and instructions on how to upload these in an upcoming blog entry.

Taking a Bath in Bath

No. We did not pay the big bucks to experience the modern spa built next to the old Roman baths of Bath England. But it did rain on our visit. What the heck, we’re in England! Meg and I left the kids with Lara Morgan (Thank you Lara!) and did a whirlwind trip to Bath from Oxford. The kids meanwhile got to go to the University Museum of Natural History. It was the highlight of their visit to Oxford. Dodos and dinos are a big sell to kids.

England represented Rome’s furthest stretch of empire. One of my favorite emperors showed up here as well, Hadrian. In addition to all the structures and monuments to his glory that we saw in Greece and Italy, the bath here in the UK was most likely remodeled under his direction. He is more commonly known in these parts for Hadrian’s Wall in the north along the border of Scotland and England. I guess after building that 80ish mile long wall it was decided that he needed a decent bath. In addition to Hadrian’s interest in the construction of this spa he also instituted new rules as to how baths should be run throughout the empire. Hadrian banned naked and mixed bathing. As a result separate men’s and women’s dressing rooms and bathing rooms were built. Apparently he was calling the empire back to the more conservative ideals of Rome during the Republic.

The Roman bath at Bath has some similarities and differences to those that we visited in Rome and Pompeii. Similarities include the traditional caldarium, tepidarium, and firgidariums. The ruins here are in better shape than in other places. That’s probably because they weren’t destroyed by a volcano or barbarian hordes. When Rome fell (AD 476) this area just fell into disuse. Eventually the building fell in upon itself and buried much of what was left. For the next 1,000 years the baths were subsequently cleaned, used, dirtied, and buried several times. Locals literally built their homes on top of the old rubble not knowing that only a few feet under their homes there lay an incredible complex of pools, changing rooms, and heating equipment. It wasn’t until the late 1600s that the bath and temple was “rediscovered” and renovated into its present Georgian style.

The biggest difference in this bath was that it was built upon a natural hot spring. There are actually three of them in the area. The temple and bath built here were dedicated to Sulis Minerva (Athena) and so also functioned under the name of Aquae Sulis. The hot spring bubbles up about 300,000 gallons of hot sulphery-smelling water every day. This “sacred well” as it is now called, was channeled into a large pool surrounded by a Doric columned portico. Traditional Roman bath rooms were later added around this mineral water pool. On our tour there was much talk that this bath was special and that people came here for the healing qualities of the water. I need to research Roman writings to see if this is really true. Most roman baths were social, business, fitness, hygiene centers, and while religious sacrifices were often held at these places, they were not commonly known for their mojo. The waters were certainly known for their “magical” qualities in pre-Roman Celtic mythology and post-Roman Medieval practices.

After their rediscovery the bath was dug up and given a bath itself. At this time it most certainly became a haven for those seeking the healing values of mineral baths. It was actually vogue to visit hot spring baths. This was relatively short-lived as the fad swung over towards swimming in the ocean for health (early emergence of British surfing). Bath once again fell into disrepair until Mary Queen of Scots was able to conceive shortly after bathing here. The conception was attributed to the waters of the bath, and the city experienced a boom in popularity. The bath was reborn. The old Roman pool was repaired, and new columns, porches, and statues were constructed. Architecturally the city followed suit and new structures were built in a neo-classical or “Georgian” style haling back to Roman times. It’s a beautiful city, even in the rain.

Roman Bath

Oxfordshire

I feel smart just saying that I’m writing here in Oxford. It’s that kind of place. We are staying in a St. Hughes College dorm right in the heart of the city. Our friends Ronnie and Janine Morgan teach for Abilene Christian University in Texas and are in charge of the off-campus program here in Oxford. They have graciously given us a couple of empty rooms. The kids are thoroughly enjoying dorm life! I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.

We have walked the town and visited University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Trinity College, Radcliffe Camera, Christ Church College (Yeah, Harry Potter was filmed here), and numerous other colleges. There are incredible museums here as well. The Ashmolean Museum boasts an impressive collection of antiquities. The Natural History Museum has a Dodo bird and the most complete T-rex skeleton in the world. The Bodleian Library has amazing collections. And all these are free! Talk about encouraging learning! We fed the ducks in University Park and sat on the bench there dedicated to Tolkien. Apparently he liked to sit in the park at this bench along the Cherwell River under the willow trees. We think we found “Old Man Willow.”

We went to dinner one evening at the Eagle and Child pub, better known to locals as the Bird and Baby. It’s just a regular neighborhood pub but was made famous by a group of Oxford scholars who used to meet in the Rabbit Room for a bite and a pint each week. This group used to discuss their current writing projects (primarily narrative fiction) as well as politics and theology. Members of this group included J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and others. Fish and chips never tasted so smart.

One afternoon we took a leisurely walk around the grounds of Blenheim Palace just outside Oxford. The grounds were given to General John Churchill in thanks for the victories he won over the French back in 1704. The British government even gave him the funds to build the palace. That is some kind of thanks! It is an immense park. Sir Winston Churchill was born here, and we decided that he must have played in the tree where we rested. It is a beautiful setting.

Today we walked out to Port Meadow and strolled along the Thames River; they call it the Isis River here in Oxford. I’m not sure why. But the walk was very peaceful. We passed through meadows with cattle, lots of Mallard Ducks, and several canal boats. The canal boats are now “mobile” homes, but once they were functional cargo ships cruising the canal from London to Birmingham (135 miles). They are often colorfully painted and home to colorful people. Afterwards we passed the Oxford Castle and prison and later climbed the Saxon Tower, Oxford’s oldest building (AD 1040). Oxford is celebrating its 1,000th year. It’s not quite ancient, but 1,000 years is nothing to sneeze at.

Stonehenge and Avebury: Stone Circles

This morning found us borrowing our friends, Ronnie and Janine Morgan’s, car and making the drive from Oxford to Wiltshire to see the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles. The kids were excited about seeing the ancient sites; I was excited about testing my driving skills in a country that drives on the wrong side of the road ;^) Why else would they call the right side of the road the “right” side? I think that my expectations for the drive were higher than my expectations of the prehistoric sites we were to visit; we had received underwhelming reports from several previous visitors.

These two stone circles in the UK are not a regular part of my curriculum so I won’t even pretend to know much about them. All the same, they are pretty spectacular settings. Both sites date back to about 3000 BC and were built in spurts that sometimes had gaps of use or construction lasting as much as 500 years. For Stonehenge the first bit of construction was little more than a ditch with a circular mound of soil. Around 2600 BC a wooden structure of some sort was built in the center of this circle. And then finally from about 2500 to 1500 BC the all too familiar stone circle was constructed and rearranged several times. After that time it was apparently abandoned. That oldest stones used at Stonehenge are called Bluestones (from their original color) and come from the Preseli Mountains some 240 miles away. These were originally arranged in an outer circle around the center wooden structure area. Closer to 1500 BC the larger Sarsen stones from Marlborough Downs (19 miles away) were arranged into the familiar posts and lintel formations known as trilithons. It is estimated that dragging these 50-ton stones over the hills to Stonehenge would have required about 600 people per stone! About that same time the Bluestones were rearranged into the pattern that is seen today. Interestingly, the current arrangement of stones works as a sort of solar calendar casting shadows to the center of the ring at both summer and winter solstices. And while the construction at these sites lack the craftsmanship and artistry of temples built in Egypt and Mesopotamia from the same era, they still demonstrates some pretty impressive celestial calculations!

Around the countryside of Stonehenge and Avebury are several Barrows. I first encountered this term while reading Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. In the Fellowship of the Rings Tom Bombadil warns Frodo and company to stay away from the barrows and their stones because there lived the Barrow Wights. I’m still not exactly sure what a Barrow Wight is, but I have a much better understanding for the barrows and cold stones. A barrow is simply a burial mound! Could Tolkien have been referring to the stones of Stonehenge or another of the numerous stone circles throughout southern England? Sure, why not? We picnicked at the outer circular mound and contemplated the scene with Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Meriodoc in the middle of the stone circle.

Avebury (c. 2600 BC) is equally impressive if not more so for two reasons. The first is obvious when you first arrive - you can walk right up to and touch the stones. It’s really cool. Of course you have to dodge mountains of sheep dip strewn every square inch of the fields, but you really get a chance to walk among the stones. Second is the size and arrangement of the stones at Avebury. The stone circle is huge -almost four football fields in diameter. The stones here were selected for their unique shapes and were uncut like the stones at Stonehenge. The largest stone on site weighs over 65 tons! An early archaeologist in the area named William Stukeley (c. 1720) observed that the arrangement of the circular ditches, mounds, stones, and surrounding barrows created a design reminiscent of serpent passing through a circle, an ancient symbol of alchemy. That’s cool! The most impressive barrow in this area is the Silbury Hill about a mile from the stone circle of Avebury. This huge volcano shaped mound is also surrounded by seemingly random stones and underground chambers. Turns out that these too line up with certain celestial events. And all this digging and hauling of soil was done by hand with antlers and bones. That had to have required a lot of cooperative work hours from the local people.

So what do these stone circles mean? Since there is no written record from the era of their construction nobody knows for sure. We do know that they are old. Neolithic people lived here as evidenced by the artifacts found at the sites and in the burial barrows. They do seem to line up with celestial events that we readily recognize. But the why question really remains a mystery. This has sparked numerous legends about their genesis and purpose dealing with everything from the Devil to King Arthur. Throw in some Druids with a little new age mysticism and you can have a lot of fun with these sites. So far none of these has any historical credibility. The circles predate all of them, except maybe of course the Devil!

A Jolly Good Time in London

In addition to spending time in Southall at the A Rocha UK center we did make it in to London for some fun. In spite of the rain everyday we took several long walks through the city. We followed the lead of Londoners and dashed into museums, cathedrals, pubs, and phone booths during the heaviest downpours or resorted to busses and Underground in order to keep dry. Public transportation is incredible; you can get anywhere in the city really easily.

Our first trip out took us to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. We enjoyed the bands, uniforms and silly walks, but all agreed that the changing of the guard in Greece takes the prize for the best silly walk of all. We walked along St. James Park to Westminster Abbey, parliament and Big Ben. Then we hoofed it up to Trafalgar Square and then found a bus that would eventually take us back across town to the Natural History Museum. We all really enjoyed the dinosaur exhibits.

Another trip into London took us to the British Museum to be overwhelmed by the amazing collections from all over the world. We promised ourselves we would return (which we did) and hopped on a bus to catch a free organ recital at Westminster Abbey -very cool (not only was it really neat to hear the organ music, but we didn’t have to pay the usual 14 pound admission!).

Another trip took us on a Sunday to St. Paul’s Cathedral where we caught the sung Eucharist service. It was really beautiful. The London Symphonia was there to accompany the boys’ choir. We had a nice walk along the Thames and onto the Tower Bridge. Saw a Beefeater at the Tower of London and made our second pilgrimage to the British Museum.

Our last adventure in London began at Knotting Hill where it seems cool book and music stores abound. Walked to Kensington Park where the kids had a ball at the Princess Diana Memorial Playground. We passed along by Kensington Palace and the Royal Albert Memorial on our way to the science museum. This was the museum for Emma! They have an area just for 3 to 6 year olds where you can touch and play with everything. She couldn’t get enough of the water-play area. The rest of us enjoyed the science museum too and agreed that, just like all the others, we could spend a week in there -if it weren’t for the imminent sensory overload

The Search For Homer’s Ithaca in the British Museum

I returned to the museum one evening on my own for a special event lecture given by Robert Bittlestone, James Diggle, and John Underhill (great name for a geologist don’t you think?). About three years ago Bittlestone came up with a “what if” idea concerning the real location of Homer’s Ithaca and has since written a book titled Odysseus Unbound: The Search for Homer’s Ithaca. I have this book in my class! Bittlestone is a businessman, not an archaeologist, based here in the UK and was planning a family vacation to the Ionian Islands off Greece’s west coast. He thought it would be appropriate to read The Odyssey in preparation for the trip. After visiting the currently named island of Ithaca he noticed how poorly it lined up with Homer’s description in The Odyssey. So he applied some problem solving skills, a little bit of basic sixth grade plate tectonics, and a plane flight over the island to form a new theory explaining how the island of Cephalonia was once two islands, one of which being the real Ithaca. He then teamed up with the other two presenters and the real science of archaeology/geology/classical literature began. And so far all the research is heavily in his favor. I love it! It is a great example of utilizing geology to help make sense of the “myths” of the ancient world, something I am quite interested in. I briefly spoke with Bittlestone after the lecture and he is very interested in visiting Santa Barbara (If you’re from England, who wouldn’t be?). What do you think the chances are that I will be able to take both Donald Johanson and Robert Bittlestone out for coffee back home in Santa Barbara?

The British Museum

London arguably has the best museums we have visited anywhere along our trip, and it’s not just that they have acquired (plundered?) an unbelievable number amazing artifacts. It’s the accessibility of everything. The museums are free, you can take pictures, and you can walk right up to original pieces. While I have to admit that it would be nice, even the right thing to do, for native countries to actually house their own cultural artifacts, Britain has done a tremendous job of allowing the public to be educated by these cultures. I’m not convinced that they are protecting the artifacts any better than other museums we have visited, but they certainly have them organized and presented in a manner that makes the public want to learn.

I visited the British Museum on three occasions, and it was packed each time. On two of the visits the whole family cruised the facilities together. There are free activity booklets and kits for kids. On our first visit there was a hands-on table where we all got to handle biface hand axes from the Magdalenian Period. Incredible! As usual I was most drawn to the Egyptian, Greek and Roman displays. We saw the Ramses head whose statuesque body we visited back in Luxor at the Ramesseum. The highlight from these areas for me was the room displaying the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens. The number of pieces the museum has that Elgin removed from the Parthenon back in 1806 blew me away. They are beautifully arranged in a manner that sort of reconstructs the layout of the Parthenon. But if I had never been to the Parthenon this would not have been very evident. Wikipedia has a good article about the marbles and their controversial stay in the British Museum (Elgin Marbles). I for one would love to see them all displayed together in the new Acropolis Museum under construction in Athens. Not only does it seem to be the right thing to do, but also it makes good archaeological sense to have them all together for study and interpretation.

Other highlights for me included the Assyrian collections from Nineveh and Nimrud as well as the Babylonian and Sumerian collections from Mesopotamia. Essentially what you find in the Assyrian collection are several hallways containing all the engraved wall sections from the palaces unearthed at Nineveh and Nimrud. Both of these cities were Assyrian powerhouses during the 9th through 5th centuries BC. The relief carvings on these walls are incredibly detailed, and in just looking at them you learn a lot about the daily life and beliefs of these people. My favorite pieces in the museum, aside from the Elgin Marbles, were in the Babylonian room. The color, detail, and antiquity (2600 BC) of the Standard of Ur, the Ram in the Thicket sculpture, and the Ur Game board are breathtaking.

British Museum Highlights