 | Ancient Greece and
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The Heroic Age of Greece was a time of fierce creatures and fierce rivalries, a time when gods walked the earth and interfered in the lives of mortal men. Mainland Greece was dominated by two powerful warring city-states at this time, Mycenae and Thebes. Electryon, King of Mycenae, had been slain by Amphitryon during a hunting accident, and Amphitryon had fled to Thebes, beginning a generation-spanning war with the son of Electryon, Sthenelus. Terrible creatures roamed the land at will, and the time was ripe for the birth of a hero to tame the monsters of Greece. Alas, that hero is but a babe now, and may not survive to manhood if Hera can prevent it. The Labors of Heracles have not yet been performed, and great fame awaits those who are brave enough to dare the Fates and undertake the tasks that await a Hero.
Ithaca is a small kingdom on the east coast of the main peninsula of Greece. It is reputed to have been ruled in ancient times by King Odysseus, the godlike man about whom so many tales were told. When Odysseus left with Menelaus and all the other kings of the Greek city-states to subdue Troy in the great Trojan War, he left behind his lovely wife Penelope and a newborn son, Telemachus. The war lasted 10 years, and shortly thereafter many of the men began to return home, but there was no sign of Odysseus or the men of Ithaca. Another 10 long years passed, but still no sign of Odysseus. Figuring him for dead, many suitors arrived in Ithaca to pay court to Penelope and try to win her hand and, with her, the kingdom of Ithaca. Penelope steadfastly clung to the hope that Odysseus was alive, and put off the suitors through a variety of tricks and ploys.
The Peloponnesian Isles are a legendary group of islands in the Aegean Sea off the coast of mainland Greece. It is sung by Homer that Odysseus was cursed by Poseidon for hubris and doomed to wander these waters until Poseidon tired of him and sent him to a watery grave. Many wondrous adventures await those who attempt to retrace the path of Odysseus through these magical isles. Tales of great sea-monsters, sirens, strange one-eyed creatures, magical beings, witches, and gods are sung when these places are remembered. Be careful, though, for the sea can be a dangerous place, and not all destinations are meant for mortal flesh....