Replica of ancient ship to follow part of Argonauts' route
36 minutes ago
ATHENS, Greece — A replica of the Argo, the ship that legend says carried Jason and the 50 Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece, sailed Saturday from the central Greek city Volos on a two-month journey to Venice, Italy.
Turkey's refusal to guarantee the 28.5-metre wooden ship safe passage through the Bosporus Strait meant the ship will not reach its ancient predecessor's destination Colchis, in what is modern-day Georgia, at the eastern end of the Black Sea. Its route, instead, will retrace part of the Argonauts' return trip.
A version of the legend states Jason and the Argonauts, while fleeing from King Aites of Colchis, from whom they had stolen the Golden Fleece, sailed from the Black Sea up the Danube river and then into the Sava and Ljubljanica rivers before continuing their trip on the Adriatic and Aegean seas.
Jason is considered the founder of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia: the city's coat of arms includes a dragon, which Jason allegedly slew.
The ship's crew comprises 50 oarsmen with another 22 on standby on a ship following the Argo, said Vangelis Constantinou, a spokesman for the project.
"We had to reschedule the trip over the last 10 days, following Turkey's refusal," Constantinou added.
Volos had to arrange with 23 cities for the ship's overnight stay. The trip will comprise 37 legs and total some 2,000 nautical miles.
The ship was built according to known designs for warships during the Mycenaean era. The Argonauts' trip is said to have taken place in the 14th century B.C., almost 200 years before the Trojan War. The ship includes a ram, used to attack and sink enemy ships.
The trip is scheduled to end in Venice on Aug. 11.
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5giG-vWzBLQXB-GPjY8jWfLpuHhBQ
I wonder which phobia is playing mind games, well provided they have...
What's funny, sad rather, is the whole area is interconnected with history and heritage and then you have this anomality called "turkey=fascist state" in the middle of it....
