Plato's Lost Dialogue

With his first wife, Metis, under permanent house arrest (her house being Zeus’ body), Zeus was single again.  But not for long.  A bit like Henry VIII, Zeus liked to throw himself back into the ring as quickly as he could.  This time his eyes fell on Themis – a primordial Titaness and Zeus’ auntie. Themis was an unusual match for Zeus.  She presided over the ancient oracles (including the one that prophesised that Zeus’ mystery son with Metis would one day overthrow him).  She was wise and knew all about divine law, justice and morality.  Zeus was…well…Zeus, but they say opposites attract, don’t they?  She probably saw Zeus as a “fixer-upper”. What can we say about Zeus and Themis?  Not a lot really.  They seemed to get on for a while, and the marriage was fruitful in that she bore him a few children who had important roles to play, but other than that no major events occurred. So who were the children?  Three (Thallo, Auxo and Ca...

Before I begin, a disclaimer.  Zeus was a bad god.  A very bad god.  He was, amongst many other things (and to be blunt), a serial rapist.  He might have considered himself an irresistible Lothario, but he wasn’t - he was a rapist.  And in the myths this was neither frowned upon nor considered unusual.  In fact, more often than not, the woman was seen to be at fault and suffered the appalling wrath of Zeus’ (eventual) wife, Hera, for having had the cheek of being so damn appealing to her husband.  Whilst I might not comment any further on the patriarchal wrongs of Greek mythology in this blog series (if you do want to read something which challenges misogyny within the Greek myths, check out Nikita Gills's “Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters”), I also – for the record – do not in any way condone the behaviour of the sky god. Another small point.  One rule that all Greek gods and goddesses had to follow – the main rule - was th...

Location is a key part of any story.  Just think about Harry Potter; by the time you’ve finished the first book you feel like you’ve had a guided tour around Hogwarts and slept in the Gryffindor common room (or your House of choice).  If Hogwarts was set in a modern building in the centre of a bustling city the whole story would take on a completely different feel (and perhaps wouldn’t be the phenomenon it is). Tales of Atlantis: The Dawning of a New Age is set on (spoiler alert) Atlantis.  When it comes to thinking about where Atlantis should be located in the story (bearing in mind that it is set in modern times on Earth) it creates a number of problems.  Atlantis has to feel real - like Hogwarts or Narnia – and that means staying true to Plato’s original description (otherwise it’s just another fantasy world masquerading as the famous lost island).  But where on Earth do you stick it?     The concept of Atlantis was first introduced in...

Ten men sat round a golden table.  Some had travelled a long distance to the Citadel and the meeting had been long and arduous.  They were tired and the good humour from the start of the day had evaporated and left a residue of resentment and frustration. “He must be offered as a sacrifice!” “Don’t be a fool, Klemides.” “The Order requires it.” “The Order says nothing of the sort.  In fact, the Order requires a majority for any State killing and I will never agree to such folly.” “You would risk the wrath of Poseidon?  For the Middling?” “It is a sign from Poseidon and you wish to slaughter him.  How many have survived the mouth of the storm?” “Nesta has a valid point.  There are no records of any survivors.” “We’ve all heard stories of survivors.  Whether or not there’s any truth in them is another matter.” “They’re just stories to entertain the children.  I agree with Klemides.  The Middling must be sacrificed.  We cannot ris...

Most people will be familiar with Plato (I’m talking about the ancient Greek philosopher rather than a Spanish plate).  Despite living nearly 2500 years ago his works are still hugely popular and he completes the holy trinity of ancient Greek philosophers along with Socrates and Aristotle (being a student of the former and a teacher of the latter).  On his father’s side he claimed to have been descended from Poseidon (which perhaps explains the link between Atlantis and Poseidon), and on his mother’s side he claimed to have been descended from the lawgiver Solon (which perhaps explains the link between Solon purportedly passing down the story of Atlantis to Plato via Critias amongst others). The first time we hear about Atlantis is in Plato’s dialogues: Timaeus and the unfinished Critias.  The dialogues are largely a monologue between Timaeus, Critias, Hermocrates and Socrates.  In them the four scholars discuss the ideal state and Critias explains how Athens (the ...

Polydectes, King of Serifos, took a bite out of his chicken leg.  A steady stream of grease dripped into his greying beard as his mind ticked over.  ‘So the mother is still single you say?’ ‘Yes, I believe so your grace,’ replied his advisor. ‘And the big looking chap with the muscles and the chiseled jaw is definitely just her son?’ ‘Yes your grace.  The mother is called Danae and the son is Perseus.’ ‘Good, good.  Have to be careful these days with relations.  Sometimes they can be quite complex.  And this Diana…’ ‘Danae, your grace.’ ‘Exactly, Danae, will refuse to be my Queen whilst the boy is around?’ ‘Yes your grace.  That is what I am led to believe.’ ‘Why is that exactly?’ The advisor looked at his ill-tempered King’s ageing body overflowing from his grease stained clothing and then considered the perfectly formed Danae.  He chose his next words carefully. ‘I believe the Gods have plans for them.’ ‘Humph,’ grunted Polydectes, ‘t...

“All right, Jones.  How are you going to find that statue in all this junk?” And so it begins: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.  One of the best games ever created (save for Monkey Island). I played it time and time again as a child, completing it every way possible.  Never tiring of the gameplay or the dialogue.  Discovering every Easter egg hidden.  If you showed a millennial the game today they would probably laugh at its clunky, pixelated graphics, but for me they only add to the appeal. If I didn’t have a wife and kids…or a job…or housework, I would probably be playing it right now.  Laughing at the same jokes.  Getting stuck in the same places. For those not fortunate enough to have played the game, Indiana Jones is on a quest to find Atlantis before Nazis (“I hate those guys”) discover its secrets and take over the world.  You help him through a number of tricky situations, picking up clues as you go, occasionally fighting the ...