The Pelasgian mythmytharbar

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The Pelasgian myth

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This book is the outcome of my dissertation project in

the frames of the MSc Design and Digital Media at the

University of Edinburgh. The design, information and

the version of the myth are based on a combination of

different sources that I found during my research for the

processing needs of my project. Although I tried to be

as much consistent as I could, this book does not seek

to present the most precise information. The project as

a whole aims to suggest an Augmented Reality (AR)

educative prototype that would be a basis for further

research and more accurate details.

© Loukia GoniAugust 2011, University of Edinburgh

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Augment your Reality

1. Download the free BuildAR Pro 2 Trial. You can access it here: http://

www.buildar.co.nz/download-manager/

2. Click on the BuildAR Pro folder and open the BuildAR Viewer.

3. Select Cancel to the 'Choose Tracker Type' window.

4. Select 'video' and 'camera' as your video source. Press the green

arrow and then OK.

5. Do you see yourself in the window? If not, check that your webcam

works properly.

6. Go to File and Open scene. Select scene 1 (book pages 3-11) and

wait a little bit to load.

7. Point the black and white markers inside the book to the webcam.

8. Be careful not to cover the markers with your hands or other items.

11. Repeat step 4 to load scene 2 (p.12-21), 3 (p.22-25) and 4 (p.26-29).

Let the magic begin!

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Long ago, in ancient Greece in the era of the powerful

gods, the sublime god of the Greek Pantheon, Zeus,

foresaw that the small city under the rock of Acropolis

would have a glorious future and decided that it should

obtain a proper name. Until then the city was known

as Akti or Aktiki, after the name of it’s first native king,

Aktaios. Zeus invited the other 11 Olympian Gods on

the top of the highest mountain of Greece, Olympus,

to announce that one of them would be chosen for the

name and the land of the city.

The pelasgian myth

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The gods pleased to hear these news considered

themselves as the most appropriate for this occasion.

However, Zeus thought that the inhabitants of the city

where good at constructing solid boats to travel and

creating nice pots and statues to adorn the temples.

And he narrowed the competition to take place

between Poseidon, the god of the Sea, and Athena,

the protectress of the Arts. The winner would be the one

whose gift that should emerge from the earth would be

the most useful for the city.

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Athena

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The goddess of wisdom, civilization, warfare, strength,

strategy, arts, crafts, justice and skill. She is a shrewd

companion of heroes and the goddess of heroic

endeavour. In her role as protectress of the city, the

greek polis, many people throughout the Greek world

worshiped her as Athena Polias, which means “Athena

of the city”. The Parthenon temple on the Acropolis was

built by the Athenians in her honor.

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Poseidon

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Poseidon is most famous as the god of Sea. The son

of Crones and Rhea, Poseidon has six siblings who

eventually "divided the power of the world." The division

of the universe involved him and his brothers, Zeus and

Hades. Poseidon became ruler of the sea, Zeus ruled the

sky and Hades got the underworld. The other divinities

attributed to Poseidon involve the god of earthquakes

and the god of horses.

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Cecrops

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King Cecrops is the son of Earth and mythical founder

of the city of Athens in Acropolis, which at the time of

his kingship was called Kekropia. He is supposed to have

lived around 1600 BC. He was especially worshiped on

the Acropolis in the form of a snake. He is the first Attic

hero and chthonic deity, often presented as twin-track,

half human and half snake.

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Erechteion

Erechteion is an unusual building devoted to the worship

of various ancient gods. It is situated in the northern side

of the Arcropolis. It was constructed of Pentelic marble

during the Peloponnesian War, between 421 and 406

BC, probably by the architect Mnesicles.

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The north portico is supported by six tall Ionic columns.

Their height reaches the 7.635 m. The door, which original

height was 4,88 m. and its width 2,43 m. leads to the

vestibule of the western part of the Erechteion. The door

on the right leads to the Pandroseion yard.

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In the western part of the Erechteion was Pandroseion

which was dedicated to Pandrosos, one of Cecrop’s

daughters. There is also the sacred olivetree, Athena’s

gift to the city during the dispute with Poseidon.

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The eastern section of the temple was devoted to the

worship of Athena Polias. The entrance was a six- column

Ionic portico. The height of the column was 6,586 m.

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At the defined day, the opponents, goddess Athena and

god Poseidon went to the rock of Acropolis and sat on the

golden thrones next to the King Cecrops, who would attend

as witness.

The myth

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Zeus and the other gods would attend from above,

whereas the people of the city were invited to make

the judge in the dispute.

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Athena was the first to present her gift to the city. She

went to the Padroseion yard, she touched the ground

with her spear and all of a sudden an olivetree full of fruit

appeared. This tree was preserved for many years later.

Even after it was burnt by the Persians, it grew back the

next day.

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After Athena’s gift, Poseidon stood up from his throne

and confidently threw his trident to a rock. Immediately

a wave of salt water sprang from the rock and formed

a small lake known as the Erechthiida’ sea.

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Then Zeus declared the end of the race and told the

other gods to determine who won. At the same time

requested the testimony and the opinion of Cecrops.

From the top of the hill Cecrops glanced around, but

wherever he turned his eyes, looked at salt water. Sea

was everywhere.

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The olive tree of Athena was the first to sprout across the

country and yet, it was the promise to the city for glory

and happiness. Cecrops decided that Athena’s gift was

more useful and gave the dominance of the city to her.