DIRECTIONS: Read the introduction and decide which path you will follow. You may want to print out the Greek Alphabet Translator. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GREEK ALPHABET TRANSLATOR

You are a young person from the Greek polis, or city state, of Athens. It is the year 430 B.C. You awaken from a restless sleep, a sleep full of strange and disturbing dreams. Last night you dreamt that you were the Greek hero, Odysseus, returning home from the Trojan War. As Odysseus you sailed throughout the Aegean Sea facing unimaginable foes, such as the one-eyed giant, the Cyclops. The Odyssey was a tale originally told by a blind poet named Homer, but last night it seemed all to real to you. The warm morning air drifts in through your bedroom window. Greece has what is known as a Mediterranean climate, generally warm and mild all year round. You slip out of your bed and your feet touch the cool floor of your room. You look outside and see your father's slaves hard at work picking black olives, green olives, and grapes. The geography of Greece is so hilly that other types of crops have a hard time growing. Your father is one of the wealthiest men in all of Athens due to his extensive trade in fine olive oil. However, your father is required to donate large amounts of wealth to the building of temples and other public buildings, so there may not be not much left for you to inherit. You walk down the hallway into the shrine to say a morning prayer to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. A golden statue of the goddess usually sits in the shrine. This morning the statue is strangely missing. Your mother is probably cleaning it in the main room of the house. You say a quick prayer and burn some incense to the absent deity.

DO YOU?

A) GO OUTSIDE TO WATCH THE SLAVES WORK

B) WALK TO THE MAIN ROOM OF THE HOUSE

copyright Jay D'Ambrosio 1998