The snake-headed Medusa; half-man, half-horse Centaur; and vengeful Electra all have become part of popular culture for the modern-day child, but I bet many youngsters think those characters come from television shows and movies rather than an ancient civilization’s religion.
A site put together by a media company and university from the land Down Under hopes to shed historical light on these 3,000-year-old legends as it explains a magical, virtual land filled with protagonists and antagonists from the world of classic mythology.
Winged Sandals
Site address: www.abc.net.au/arts/wingedsandals/
Creator: ABC New Media, a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corp., and the Centre for Classics and Archaeology at the University of Melbourne maintain the 5-month-old site.
Creator quotable: “We created this site to introduce a new group of people to the gods, heroes and monsters of ancient Greek myth,” says Annabel Orchard, a doctoral candidate at the University of Melbourne. She is responsible for initial concept development, research and writing on Winged Sandals.
“We aimed to get kids excited about the learning process and to encourage them to explore Ancient Greek culture through a range of interactive online and printable activities,” she says. “The content is designed to be fun and thought-provoking and of the highest artistic, technical and academic quality.”
Word from the Webwise: With help from the talkative messenger god Hermes, children 6 to 12 years old travel among the realms of Olympus, Earth and the Underworld for an entertaining and educational lesson on the backgrounds and derivations of some amazing beings.
This animated multimedia extravaganza requires visitors to choose a famous architectural wonder from an ancient Greek city to explore the sections Storytime, Play Games, Make and Do, Who’s Who, Ask the Oracle, History, and Goodies.
For example, cartoon lovers should click on the Amphitheater to find the Storytime section and four narrated, multipart, animated tales, including how Apollo got his Oracle; the woes of Persephone; Orpheus’ fight to save his love, Eurydice (which is presented as a music video with an optional commentary track from Hades); and the battle between Perseus and Medusa.
For interactive fun, visit the Stadium to take part in four challenges, such as the video-game-like battle to guard or rescue a queen as an Athenian or Amazonian army with help from a few deities. Or create some mood music to send to a friend with the assistance of the party god of wine, Dionysus; goddess of war, Athena; and god of prophesy, Apollo.
This lover of myths stopped by the Library and the Who’s Who section. There, I could search for my favorites by god, monster or mortal, pulling up a trading-card-like presentation of more than 100 characters. Each card contains a cartoony illustration, family tree, important events box and even an audio snippet pronouncing the official name of each.
The other places within the site that continue the adventure include the Agora, housing an abbreviated but informative history of the Greek culture within text-based presentations, and the School to download screen savers and wallpapers and send electronic cards to pals.
Ease of use: The site should be accessible on all popular computer and browser platforms, although broadband allows optimal viewing and that neat, interactive architecture map. Some of the features require Flash 6 and Adobe Acrobat.
Don’t miss: Visitors in search of philosophical answers need to stop by the Delphi for the Ask the Oracle section. Through a very humorous presentation, visitors seeking to unravel life’s most difficult conundrums must identify themselves, soak down a goat, pay an entry fee and then type in a query to hear and see the high priestess Pythia offer a bit of convoluted wisdom.
Family activity: The Make and Do section, accessed via the School area, lives up to its name. Visitors can print out pages containing step-by-step instructions on how to cut, paste and paint a mask and shield with the head of the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa; make and paint a papier-mache version of an ancient Greek vase; and make and dress up in an ancient Greek robe.
Cyber-sitter synopsis: Winged Sandals does an excellent job of combining a gorgeous, user-friendly environment with educational resources to cleverly give children a background in the humanities.
Overall grade: A+
Remember: The information on the Internet is constantly changing. Please verify the advice on the sites before you act to be sure it’s accurate and updated. Health sites, for example, should be discussed with your own physician.
Have a cool site for the family? Write to Joseph Szadkowski at Webwise, The Washington Times, 3600 New York Ave. NE, Washington, D.C. 20002; call 202/636-3016; or send an e-mail message (jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com).
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