The Journey to Ancient Greece - Chapter 2

. . . Continued from Chapter 1 

Zammie opened his eyes and felt like he had just woken up from a long nap.  He felt dazed and groggy. He thought, Why is my room so hot? He sat up and rubbed his head until it stopped spinning. When his vision finally came into focus he didn’t fully understand what it was he was looking at. The scenery was beautiful but what happened to his room?

Zammie was outside lying in a grassy pasture.  He looked around and saw Kyla still asleep nearby on the ground.  Her long black hair was still in a ponytail, but she was wearing a strange white cloak that looked a little like a plain bed sheet.  Zammie looked down at himself and discovered he was wearing strange clothes as well. He had on a white tunic that went down to his knees, a leather belt, and leather sandals with straps around his ankles.

Fresco of Greek children boxing

          “A tunic?  Kyla!”  Zammie stood up and tried to run over to Kyla but his knees wobbled and he fell back down into the thick, green grass. He could smell the clover and pollen in the sticky, humid air.  He stood up again slowly and took a couple deep breaths then walked over to Kyla.  She was also beginning to wake up.

          “What happened? Where are we?” Kyla asked.

          “I dunno,” said Zammie.  “But we got some weird clothes on.” 

          “It’s hot out here,” said Kyla.  “Let’s go inside.”

          Zammie stood up and began looking around but he didn’t recognize anything.  There were no buildings or streets, just green pastures and rolling hills and some sheep chewing on grass off in the distance.  The sky was as blue as he had ever seen and there were few clouds overhead.  The sun was beaming down brightly causing him to squint when he looked around.

          “Where are we?” asked Kyla again. “Where’s your house?”

          “I don’t know, Kyla.”  But he did see someone walking down the hill nearby.  It looked like a little boy so Zammie took a few steps in his direction.

          “Hello!” said Zammie waving his arms.

          The boy stopped walking and looked at Zammie. Then he began walking towards Zammie and Kyla. He was carrying a brown woolen bag slung over his right shoulder like Santa Claus. Kyla thought it looked like a potato sack.

          Kyla stood up and asked, “Who is that?”

          “Maybe he can help us,” said Zammie.

          The young boy had brown, curly hair and was smiling as he approached the cousins.  He looked to be a couple years older than Zammie and he stood a couple inches taller. He was wearing a tunic similar in design to Zammie’s but his was well worn and a little dirty. Zammie and Kyla’s clothes appeared to be brand new.

          “Hello,” he said to Zammie.  “What are you two doing out here by yourselves?”

          “Uh…we’re not sure,” said Zammie. “I mean, we’re not sure where we are.”

          “This is the region of Phocis,” said the boy. “My name is Argo.”

          “Phocis? But that’s impossible,” said Zammie.

          “Impossible?” asked Argo.

          “Where’s Foh-sis, Zammie?” asked Kyla.

          “It’s a region in Greece,” said Zammie.

          “How did you two get all the way out here?” asked Argo. “There isn’t another town near here for miles.”

          “I don’t know,” said Zammie.

          “That statue!” exclaimed Kyla.

          Zammie looked at her with big eyes. “You’re right!”

          “It was magic!” said Kyla.

          “A magic statue?” asked an even more confused Argo.

          “Nevermind,” said Zammie. “It’s a long story.”

          “Oh. Well, if it’s magic you’re after then you’re welcome to follow me.  I’m going to visit the Oracle.”

          “The Oracle . . .” said Zammie. “At Delphi?”

          “That’s the one. It’s a few miles further this way.”  Argo pointed towards a large mountain in the distance.

          “Miles?” asked Zammie. “How do you know what miles are? And why aren’t you speaking Greek?”

          “What do you mean?  I am speaking Greek, as are you.”

          Zammie and Kyla looked blankly at each other. “This is crazy,” said Zammie.

          “You’re free to travel with me if you wish, or not.  But I need to go.  Time is running out for me.”

          Argo continued on his way again leaving Zammie and Kyla behind. 

          “We’d better go with him,” Zammie said.

          “Where are we Zammie? How do we get home?”

          “I don’t know.  But maybe we can ask the Oracle for help.  Let’s go.”

          Zammie and Kyla caught up with Argo. “Argo, we want to go with you to Delphi,” said Zammie.

          “Great,” said Argo. “I’ve been travelling by myself for the past four days so it will be nice to have company.”

          “Four days?!” exclaimed Zammie. 

          “I know it’s a short trip.  But I still miss having someone else to talk to,” said Argo.

          “A short trip?” replied Zammie.  “Argo...nevermind.  Lead the way to Delphi, please.”

          Kyla and Zammie walked with Argo towards the large, gray mountain that loomed in the distance. The scenery was spectacular, but the humidity was oppressive causing both Kyla and Zammie to sweat profusely as they walked.

          “Where did you say you were from?” asked Argo. “You don’t have the appearance of someone from this area.”

          “A place called California,” said Zammie. “It’s very far from here.”

          “California? I’ve never heard of it. Is it near Egypt?”

          “Not quite,” said Zammie.

          “What d’you got in the bag?” asked Kyla.

Greek olives

          “Olives and dates from our farm.”

          “Are you going to sell them?” asked Zammie.

          “No, I will give them to the Oracle. They require a sacrifice from anyone expecting advice. This is from the best crop my family has and I hope it will be accepted.”

“What is it you’re asking for exactly?” asked Zammie.

“Advice to find my sister,” answered Argo.  “I need to find my sister.”

          “What happened to her?” asked Kyla.

          “It’s a long story, but right now she’s being held as a slave in the city of Patras.”

          “A slave?” asked Kyla.

          “Why don’t you go there and save her?” asked Zammie.

          “It’s not that easy, Zammie.  My family lives on a farm near Athens, and we are being split up because of the armies invading from Persia.”

          “Split up?” asked Zammie.

          “Yes, my father is going off to war with part of the sailing fleet, and my mother and I are being moved to the city of Troezen.”

          “Why?” asked Kyla.

          “Evacuation,” said Zammie.  “The Athenian women and children were evacuated from Athens to Troezen to be protected from the Persian army while the men went to war.  That means this must be about 480 B.C.”
          “Wow,” whispered Kyla.

Ancient Athens

          “I’m not sure what ‘B.C.’ means, but it sounds like you know a few things about Athens,” said Argo.

          “Yeah, I just wrote a report on that for school,” replied Zammie.

          “Oh, I wish I was able to go to school,” said Argo. “My family has little money for schooling so I have to help my parents with our farm. But you can see why I have to find my sister on my own. My father will be at war and my mother barely has the strength to move to Troezen.  She wouldn’t be able to make the trip to Patras.  And if there’s going to be war, I want my sister to be with the rest of us.” 

          “How will you get to Patras?” asked Zammie.

          “I’m not sure yet.  I want to make sure I get the blessing of the Oracle first.”

          “You think she’ll say no?” asked Kyla.

          “She won’t actually say ‘no’ or ‘yes’,” said Argo with a grin.  “She will only give advice in symbols and I’ll have to decipher it correctly for myself.”

Delphi

          The three children continued to walk along the small path that led towards the mountain.  Off in the distance they could see more people near a small town at the steppes of the mountain.  

That was the town of Delphi.

To be continued in Chapter 3 . . .  

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 4

KILLING FOR COUNTRY  

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TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 1

THE JOURNEY TO ANCIENT GREECE 

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TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

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TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3

WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 

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