Monday, April 28, 2008

Book 22


Hello readers, I haven't written recently since I was so startled by the events of yesterday! Once we returned to Ithaca, Ody needed to show Penelope, that he was her beloved husband! So the competition was tough, and the bloodbath was horrendous. Ody was the only one who could string his bow and send it through the 12 sockets. So all the other suitors were killed, and the house was fumigated! It was so terrifying, and suspenseful! Wow it would make such an amazing movie, a movie that would definitely be in the top 10!!!!! And guess what! (We saw a celebrity!! And even got her autograph shh!) Athena appeared as Mentor and encouraged Ody during the competition! Through this, Ody came full circle, again becoming the most powerful man and King of Ithaca! Wow we know so many famous people!!!! :)




Andromeda is pulling me away from the journal,


she says that we need to go have dinner with Ody and Lady P.




Aphrodite
AmazingAphrodite.com check out my website!!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Sea Perils and Defeat

An entry from Andromeda,




After our dark and dreary trip from the Underworld, Odysseus, Aphrodite, myself, and the rest of the crew return to Circe's island. Exhausted, all of the men fall into an almost unconscious slumber. All of the men, except for me. While the men's (and Aphrodite) breathing becomes heavy and even, I have the most difficult time falling asleep. Something keeps digging at me and I cannot figure out what's wrong. Suddenly I realize that Odysseus is absent from the group. I jolt up from my spot and creep silently to the closed door where there is a stream of light coming from the crack below. Circe's bedroom. I place my ear to the door and I hear muffled speaking. Odysseus and Circe are discussing something. I don't want to eavesdrop but right now my conscience is telling me to listen. I hear Circe warning Ody about the dangers to come. She tells him that on his journey home, he will face many dangers. The first danger, is the Sirens. These creatures have beautiful singing voices which will make us give up and not want to continue home to Ithaca. Then, the sea divides into two straits. One which has beetling rocks and sparkling seawater and prowling rocks, and the other having two terrible monsters threatening to destroy the ship. Circe also tells Odysseus that we will coast Thrinacia, the island where Helio's cattle graze. We will want to eat the cattle, but we must not because there will be destruction for all the crew and ship if we do. I am in shock. Who would've known that this expedition will come down to this?



The next morning Odysseus tells us that we must set off to home. He tells us of the Sirens but nothing else. So far, it is only Ody and myself who knows about the dangers that lie ahead. Not to mention Circe. We set a sail and soon we came to the land of the Sirens. Odysseus quickly told the men that we were to put beeswax in our ears so we couldn't hear them. Then, he was extremely selfish and asked us to tie him to the mast of the ship so he could hear the Sirens. I began to pout because I didn't think it was fair. I soon forgot about fairness when we approached the strait in which Scylla was on one side of us, Charybdis. Terrified of what our fate was, Aphrodite, the crew, and myself retreated the the stern of the ship to stay alive, but not before six men were plucked from the ship by Scylla. Scared as we were, Odysseus showed his bravery and defeated the monsters so that we could journey on towards Thrinacia. There at the island, the men could not stopped themselves and treated themselves to Helio's cattle. Thank master Zeus the Aphrodite and I did not eat any, or we would've been destroyed by Zeus along with the rest of the crew! And then there were three of us. Odysseus, Aphrodite, and I, Andromeda. We set sail back to Ithaca so Odysseus could reunite with Penelope.



Thinking about embarking on your own journey to Greece? Take a look at this;

http://www.greektravel.com/











Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Book 1- The Inspiration of the Muse

An entry from Andromeda,



We have been travelling for ten years with Ody, seven of which we have been held captive the goddess Calypso's island. These have been the longest, hardest years of my life. After the long grueling years trapped on the island, with Athena's help, Odysseus is finally able to persuade Calypso to let us go. We sail away on a handmade raft into the Mediterranean Sea. Soon after, our raft is destroyed by the thrashing waves and storms. After that, my memory is just a blur. I remember being washed up alone on the shore in the land of the Phoenicians. I wandered down the beach in search of my crewmates, Odysseus and Aphrodite. Eventually we were reunited and we made our way into the town only to be confronted by King Alcinous. He threw us an extravagant banquet after hearing of our journey. Now it is time for you to hear of our journey.



"Sing me in, Muse, and tell me the story of that man..."

Enjoy readers...

PS: Getting hungry learning about our epic adventure? Here's a place where you can cook with the culture.
http://www.greecefoods.com/









Book 10--Circe + Our trip to come!!







Aphrodite here reporting from Circe's island, Aeaea, off the coast of Italy. Hermes gave Me and Andromeda, a special drug "moly" so we could resist Circe's spells and trickery. But this trip was different from Ody's first trip to the island. This time he was turned into a pig, since he forgot to take the "moly!" In order for Ody to be restored to human form, we had to tend to Circe's special herb garden. After 3 days, (Ody was actually there for a year the first trip) Ody was returned to his human form! (Missy and I loved this, since he was even more handsome than before!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) In order to continue our journey and leave the island, Circe forced us to travel through the Underworld. Wish us luck!

I have a short amount of time before I must leave you readers, but before I do I would like to show you our scrapbook!

This is Circe and Ody with his animal head!


This is "Moly" also known as the "Snowdrop" herb.


http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/circe.html

Check out this link, for more on Circe, but be careful, and don't get trapped!!

Pronunciation:
sur'-see
Etymology:
Falcon






















Sunday, April 6, 2008

The Land of the Cyclopes

An entry from Andromeda

After the story that our good friend Odysseus told us, Aphrodite and I decided that it was time to set off on a real adventure. Luckily for us, 'ole Ody had something in mind. We aboard his ship along with the rest of his crew and set sail for the land of the Cyclopes. Unfortunately, a storm sent by Zeus docks us at the land of the Lotus-eaters. And you know Aphrodite and I, we were curious so we ventured away from the ship and into the land. Promptly we were approached by some of the villagers who offered a taste of the sweet Lotus. Well neither of us were going to turn down free food! So we went and had a taste and immediately we didn't want to return to the ship. I felt like I could stay on that island forever, eating the sweet and savory lotus. Aphrodite felt the same way. Thankfully Odysseus realized the trouble that we had gotten into and he dragged us back to the ship and locked us in a room until our senses came to us. Boy were we mislead!
Ody finally unlocked us from our holding, he told us we were approaching the land of the cyclopes. Odysseus was very excited to We docked the ship and headed up the hill to where Polyphemus lived in his cave. He was out herding his sheep so Odysseus, Aphrodite, I, and the rest of the crew made our way into the cave. Straight away we saw the food and we almost ate it, but Ody said no, and we went to the back of the cave, hidden from view. Soon after, the one eyed beast came into the cave and right on the spot he devoured two of our crewmates. Thankfully Aphrodite and I were huddling in the back, unable to be seen. Polyphemus then imprisoned us in the cave by rolling the gigantic boulder in front of the exit. Then and there Odysseus wishes to kill the beast but he knew that there was no chance for escape is Polyphemus was killed. Odysseus soon devised an escape plan. The next day, Odysseus executes his plan. When Polyphemus returns from pasturing his sheep, Ody gets him drunk off the wine that he had brought into the land with him and tells Polyphemus that his name is Nohbdy. Odysseus then blinds the one-eyed giant with his spear. Aphrodite and I shriek loudly as does Polyphemus. The neighbors ask him who has hurt him but he replies to them, "Nobody has hurt me!" I snickered loudly as he does this. He almost turns around to eat me, but then he realizes his is blind and is not able to find me. He grabs the closest sailor and annihilates him. The next morning, Odysseus tells us to bind ourselfs on the undersides of the sheep to ensure that we will get out unnoticed by Polyphemus. Sure enough, we are able to escape from the cave without Polyphemus hearing us. Safe outside the cave, Odysseus foolishly tells the giant his real name and the beast prays to his father for revenge against Odysseus. Aphrodite and I are immediatly horrostruck. This could be the end for us. We may never be home to Ithaca again! Stay tuned, fellow bloggers, for updates on our journey with Ody.







Interested in learning more about these dangerous beasts? Visit this site about cyclops: http://http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclops


Thursday, April 3, 2008

Yummmy times with ODY!



Whoa today was a tiring long strech of our journey with Odysseus. We docked our boat at the "float stop" in Sparta. Ody told us a story of when Telemachus and Pisistratus arrived in Sparta and in the morning Menelaus expressed outrage at the behavior of Penelope’s suitors and encourages Telemachus by telling him that Odysseus is alive and a captive of Calypso. The tale ended in a suspensful way as if, "to be continued" as suitors plot to make it posible no matter what for them to be king, and they want Telemachus and Odysseus out of the picture! Missy and I ate and ate more and more of the delicious food as the story brought more suspence! We ate so much, Missy could barely stand up! Ha-ha!


Veggies
Arugula Airplanes
Asparagus Soup
Artichokes and Seafood sandwiches
Bulbs
Cabbage and lentel soup
Carrots mixed with grains
Cos lettuce (Romaine)
Cress
Cucumber finger sandwiches
Fennel salad
Garlic wheat toast
Leeks
Squash (marrows)
Radishes
Wild celery and carrots


And some fruity delacsies tooo!
Apples de Amazinga
Origional Bergamot oranges
Classy Carobs
Faaaabulous Figs
Gorgeous Grapes
Joyfull Jujubes
Omazing Olives (yes, olives are a fruit)
Pretty Pears
Prim0 Plums
Phonominal Pomegranates
Wicked Quinces
Fish
Amazing Anchovies
Boarfish sandwich
Crayfish soup
Cuttlefish Slushie
Eels Tail Soup
Gray and Red Mullet Gumbo
Grapes and Grouper
Fried Octopus
Grilled Prawns
Ravin Rays
Sea bass breakfast
Sprats Special
Squid -- Calamari
Tuna Melt
Spices!!!
Dill
Mint (My favorite!!)
Pepper
Oregano
Salt (Yummmmyy)
Saffron
Thyme
Ingrediants for some dishes!
Cheese
Eggs
Honey
Milk
Nuts
Olive oil
Snails (I wasn't so fond of this!!)
Vinegar
Drinks
Beer (I wish)
Honey mead (AMAZING!!)
Wine (hmm....)

My favorite thing was Pasteli, a delicious Sesame Honey Candy!!


Well, I am off to get some sleep, and maybe go run some miles on the beach front we docked the boat on! I gained so much today!




~Aphrodite ~



reporting on her journey with Missy and Odysseus!


P.S. Did this make you jealous?


Did this make you want greek food?