Quintus’ Journey To Remember

Quintus’ Journey To Remember

By: Melissa La Torre

Dear Diary,I think I’ll go on a journey today.

I need more excitement in my life. But where shall I go? Where can I go? I think I remember how to get to Britain. Yeah, I’ll travel to Britain. I just need to now remember the route to the places I used to visit there. Oh how about Hadrian’s Wall! Ah, yes, Hadrian’s Wall. I’ll travel to Scotland to go see Hadrian’s Wall. I think that’s a pretty prominent artifact to visit as my first destination along this long journey I plan to take. After all, Hadrian’s Wall is one of the greatest monuments to the power and limitations of the Roman Empire. In fact, after being built by the great and powerful Roman Emperor Hadrian himself (and with the help of 27 million cubic tones of stone) not too long ago, it was planned to serve the Romans for more than 300 years till their reign ended over England! Wow! Oh and here I am! Well, can’t wait to see it!

Dear Diary, Hadrian’s Wall was amazing. I am so glad

I chose that particular monument to visit first. Ancient walls are very enjoyable to look at and learn about. I think I’d actually like to visit another one as my second destination. Hmm, let’s see, where shall I travel to next? I think I’ll go to London! I’ve always wanted to go to London. Or shall I say “Londinium?”..

..Ah, here I am. Good, old, beautiful Londonium. Oh my! There’s the wall! The London Wall! Oh my goodness it’s so long! It’s looks about 2 miles long, maybe 6 meters high. Oh wow…

..And look at those gateways attached to it at the road intersections nearby! I really like those red tiles built into it too. I wonder whose idea that was? Well I presume it was the man who built it himself. I believe that was a man with the name of Kentish Ragstone…

..Gee and I thought I had a unique name. But yes, I believe he actually built it just a couple days ago. Well, what a job he did; it looks sensational.

Dear Diary,I think I’ll take a break from walls for a while. Where can I find a nice hot

bath to soak my feet in? Oh would you look at that? There’s one right here, in Roman Britain. Ooh this water is so hot; it feels wonderful. Now I know why these things are considered to be sacred by the native Britons. They’ve actually believed them to be sacred since before the Roman conquest happened. I can’t believe that during these great, old, Roman times I’m getting the glorious privilege to live in, these baths became the center of a massive spa and bathing complex. Those complexes were actually rebuilt on a number of occasions; each time was on an even more ambitious scale than the previous. Alongside the baths was a great temple in traditional Roman style dedicated to a native, Roman, goddess named Sulis Minerva. Ya know, that gives me a great idea for a fourth place to travel to along this journey of mine.

Dear Diary,I’m in a worshiping mood. I think I’ll go to one of those temples right by the baths I

was just at. There, Romans gather to worship their Gods and Goddesses. The one I’m at right now is quite exquisite. It has a gabled roof, a deep porch with free-standing columns, a frontal staircase giving access to a high platform, concrete flooring with brick and stone facing and marble veneers, painted areas in fresco (the frieze often depicted Roman life), sculptures of Roman Gods and Goddesses used as decoration in the form of free standing statues, and more. I’m assuming the sculptures are here to help remind Romans to be mindful of their Gods and Goddesses and to worship them frequently. I think the reason Romans are so appreciative of them is to thank them for the generals’ victories. Also, in Ancient Rome a fundamental basis of the religion was the belief that if the Gods were happy then they would receive good fortune. It was therefore important to worship the Roman Gods on a daily basis.

Dear Diary,Britain’s

been fun, but I’m ready to take a different path. Literally. I think I’ll travel to Greece now to stay at for a while. …... Oh look where I am! A Greek palace! I’ve always wanted to go to a palace. This one here that I’m at is the Minoan Crete, the group of Mycenaean palaces of Peloponnese, and the Macedonian Palaces of northern Greece.

The Minoans were people from the Bronze Age living in Crete. I can’t believe that they were the ones who created the first known civilization in Europe.

Dear Diary,I could go for a good

laugh. I wonder where I could go for some good entertainment.. Ooh how about an ancient Greek theatre? Yes, that is going to be my next stop. …… Boy, what a show! The play I just saw did more than just act out a story. It was so stylized with meanings behind the obvious. Who woulda thought that understanding a Greek play is only possible if the symbolic significance of the actions, actors, and stage is revealed. I, for one, find that very interesting. The type of theatre I went to was the Anthenian theatre. The dramas held there focus primarily on the God Dionysus. Dionysus was the God of fertility, wine, agriculture, and sexuality.

Typical ancient Greek theatres, however, were known to be mixtures of myth, legend, philosophy, social commentary, poetry, dance, music, public participation, and visual splendor. Before the show began though, there was always usually a religious ceremony that would go on first.

Dear Diary,It has been my

biggest dream for a while now to go away to an island. I wonder if there are any islands in Greece I could visit? …… Look! The Ionian Sea! The islands of the Ionian Sea all belong to the prefecture of Eptanisa. Eptanisa means “seven islands” and the grouping is comprised of Corfu, Paxi & Antipaxi, Lefkada, Kefalonia, Ithaka, Zakynthos (Zante), and Kythira & Antikythira.

These islands are known for their beautiful beaches, charming villages, and verdant landscapes. Can’t wait to explore them!

Dear Diary,The time is growing closer and closer to my departure of this wonderful country.

But before I go, I think I’ll run to just one more place. I think I’ll go sit in a nice, little, garden area and read a story. There’s nothing better than exiting a country with some fresh history on it’s artifacts soaked into the mind.

Hmm.. What shall I read about? Ooh how about a nymph? I once briefly heard a story of the goddess, Diana’s friend, Echo; who would have knew that friend was a nymph? Anyway, I heard she was beautiful……

…Oh wow, what a story. Yes, Echo was a beautiful nymph. A beautiful nymph who was kind and sweet and loved to frolic in the countryside in her pretty, red dress, picking flower after flower. She was indeed a friend of the goddess Diana, and she accompanied her very often. As admirable of a person she was, Echo, like many others, had her share of flaws. It was really only just one flaw that she had, however it was a pretty problematic one. She loved to talk and argue, and always had to have the last word. One day a long time ago, the goddess, Juno was searching for her husband, who she suspected was cavorting with the nymphs. To protect her playfellows, Echo kept Juno from finding her husband with her excessive talking and arguing until the nymphs were able to get away. As soon as Juno found out about this, she was very angry and said (and I quote), "You shall forfeit the use of that tongue with which you have cheated me, except for that one purpose you are so fond of- reply. You shall still have the last word, but no power to speak first.” As you can imagine, that caused quite a amount of turmoil in Echo’s life from that moment on but what’s so significant about the story is that it teaches a valuable lesson, which, let’s hope Echo herself especially learned. Be careful what you wish for. Even if it’s something as simple as always having the last word.

Dear Diary,I’m once again giving another

magnificent country a sad farewell. But the good news is I get to give a new country a happy hello! I think I’ll go explore Egypt.

…I may be a man, but Egyptian jewelry is just way too awesome to pass over. All the different colors, patterns, styles, textures, etc. of it all are just so cool! I checked out the Byzantine Empire and found a tremendous amount of neat artifacts there. And there was a lot more there than just jewelry. There was the Byzantine crosses, coins, lead seals and bullae, Roman rings, gold, oil lamps, bronze belt buckles, wedding & marriage pendants, priest’s wands, scale-weights, jars, and much more.

Dear Diary,I think I’ll go visit the

Temple of Dendera now. I don’t know why, but I just got a random urge to go visit another temple. And besides, everyone’s always talking about how interesting this one is. So why not?  …Oh my, what a glorious temple. The entrance path is between two Roman fountains that end at the massive entry gate. The walls are mud-brick and acquire a very becoming, Roman style. Within the walls are the temple itself, two birth houses, a Coptic Basilica, a sanitorium, a sacred lake, and a temple to Isis. How exquisite.

Dear Diary,I am making my

eleventh stop for this whole journey, third in Egypt. The landmark I am now at is where the statue of Hemiunu was proudly placed, the city of Hildesheim. The statue’s existence is supposed to symbolize an artistic convention to portray social importance and administrative authority. Pt. It is also believed to be the architect of the Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt.

Dear Diary,I’m only making two more stops in Egypt and since I

haven’t yet visited any pyramids, I must visit one now. Everybody knows, you can’t leave Egypt without going to see a pyramid. That’s what they’re famous for! Hmm how about the Step-Pyramid. What a classic. The Step-Pyramid was the very first pyramid in Egypt. It was built for King Zoser. It doesn’t have a true pyramid shape but it rises to the top like one, and in five giant steps which is how it got it’s name. Those “steps” are actually called mastabas and obviously, what they do is get stacked on top of one another with each one getting smaller as it nears the top. This is exactly how the whole idea for a pyramid cam about in the first place. That’s why this monument is so significant. And by building this pyramid-shaped monument, the Egyptians would have believed that they were “re-creating” in a sense the shape of the first land that emerged from the sea at the beginning of time. What this would then do is ensure the king’s journey to the next world and a prosperous nation for everyone else.

Dear Diary,I’ve been sadly

counting down and here we finally are with my last destination I will be traveling to before ending this long, epic journey of mine. But where to… Ooh! I have just the place. I am going to go to the Libyan Desert.

…This desert is unbelievable; I can’t believe how large it is. It has to cover what, 500,000 square miles? That’s crazy. So I am here, obviously on the Libyan Desert, which is precisely located in part of the Sahara Desert, and let me just say, I don’t think I’ll ever complain about being uncomfortable hot again.

…This heat is wicked! It’s outrageous! I really like the appearance though. Everything looks so natural, just like a real desert I’ve always imagined. It consists of mainly gravelly plains, rock outcrops, and vast areas of shifting sand dunes. This desert is extremely dry. Well, obviously. But no, seriously. I heard it often receives barely any rain for several years at a time. Oh my! That’s horrible. Well, maybe some paying and worshiping to the Roman Gods and Goddesses will bring this poor, dry desert some refreshing rain.

The End