Here’s a trick question. What country does this statue come
from?
it, with the arms by the sides, the left leg forward and the perfectly
symmetrical body.
there are loads of these kouros statues dotted around the world’s museums, and
every one of them looks just like this one. The pose is always exactly
the same Egyptian stance.
the Greeks thought their culture came from ancient Egypt. It was like a little boy copying his
big brother. Many people don’t
realize the ancient Greeks also had sphinx statues, and the sphinx is about as
Egyptian as you can get.
tour to a place of higher learning, he hopped on the next boat going south to
Egypt. Solon the Wise did exactly
that (and came back with an unfortunate tale about some place called
Atlantis). Egypt is the only place
we know for sure that Herodotus visited.
Alexander the Great visited Egypt, bringing a few friends with him.
the graffiti to be found on Egyptian monuments is written in ancient
Greek. Greeks liked to hire out as
mercenaries, you see. Many of them
found work in Egypt, where like soldiers everywhere they wrote the ancient
Greek equivalent of “Kilroy was here.”
source of our civilization, the Greeks themselves revered Egypt as the source
of theirs.
Corby writes murder mysteries set in classical
Greece. You can typically find him
at garycorby.com.
investigation, the clever ex-priestess Diotima, have taken time out of
their assignments to come home to get married. But if Nico was hoping
they’d be able to get hitched without a hitch, he was overly optimistic.
When they arrive in Athens, there’s a problem waiting for them.
The
Sanctuary of Artemis is the ancient world’s most famous school for
girls. When one of the children is killed, apparently by a bear, and
another girl disappears in the night, Diotima’s childhood teacher asks
her former pupil to help them. Diotima is honor-bound to help her old
school.
Meanwhile a skull discovered in a cave not far from the
sanctuary has proven to be the remains of the last tyrant to rule
Athens. The Athenians fought the Battle Marathon to keep this man out of
power. He was supposed to have died thirty years ago, in faraway
Persia. What are his remains doing outside the city walls?
Nico’s boss, the great Athenian statesman Pericles, wants answers, and he wants Nico to find them.
What
makes it all so ominous is that the skull was discovered by the two
students of the Sanctuary of Artemis who are dead and missing.
What
does a decades-dead tyrant have to do with two young girls? Where is
the missing child? Is a killer bear really lurking beyond the walls of
Athens? And who is the mysterious stranger who’s trying to kill Nico and
Diotima? Can the sleuths solve the interlocked crimes and save a child
before their wedding?
love the covers of your books so much, Stephanie!
His books sound awesome! Right up my alley:) I also like the statue, it's like ones I've seen in Delphi:)
I think you'd really like Gary's books, Mark. They're historical, but also pretty funny!
And thanks, Dezmond!
Stephanie's covers are indeed awesome. Did you know cover designers have their own yearly award?
You're right, Mark. There are a couple of kouroi at Delphi. You have a good memory for this stuff if you can recall that!
I love studying the evolution of cultures! Most things you would think of as distinctly one culture came from somewhere else originally in a slightly different form.
Taryn–I agree! It's super fun to teach my students about this sort of stuff!