Chapter 4 - The Temple of Athena

As they reach the statue of Athena, they are in aww of the site of something so big, "I have never seen a statue like this before", says Atheas. "I wonder how long it took the people of Athens to build it". "Ha-ha", Sirosa laughs while holding his stomach, "this was not built by the people of Athens". "What? Then who built it" asked Atheas, "it was built by Athena when she imprisoned medusa to the black trail for the rest of her days, if medusa crosses this statue she will die, that is the reason she is trapped in the black trail", replied Sirosa. At the base of the statue, they both notice inscriptions carved into the stone, some simply read obvious statements such as, “Athena, Goddess of wisdom”, another one reads, “may you be blessed by the gods”. But they spot an unusual inscription at the back of the statue that reads, “the power of a God”. "Hmm I wonder what this inscription means", said Atheas. "Yes, that one seems to be a bit out of place, like it doesn’t belong there, I wonder what it could mean", “the power of a God”, said Sirosa. "Huh, anyway we should keep going", said Atheas. They take one last look at the statue and start walking towards the temple of Athena. At first gaze the temple doesn’t seem all that impressive it is just a square room built of traditional building blocks, four pillars on the north and south walls holding the roof in place, perched on the edge of a cliff it is the most beautiful of the temples. "Tell me Sirosa", asked Atheas, "you know of the gods, tell me about Athena, I know of her anger towards medusa, is there anything else I should know". "Well", said Sirosa, "Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, was the daughter of Zeus and protector of Athens, from which she received her name, Athena. She is also known by the name Athena the Virgin, which explains why she has so much hatred towards medusa for having a love affair with Poseidon in her temple, she believes they defiled it by performing such an act in a virgin temple", "Wow that is interesting", said Atheas. "Has your father not taught you of the gods when you were a child Atheas", asked Sirosa? "No, he believed only men should know of the gods as a woman’s place is in the home to protect and serve the weaker men and woman and to keep them fed". "I think it is time to leave we should really be going, we have a lot of ground to make before night fall if we want to reach Athens by tomorrow morning", said Sirosa. "Yes, let’s go", replied Atheas.

As the two make their way out of the temple they hear some commotion coming from outside, they quickly run out to see what is going on and at the base of the statue of Athena slithering back and forth is medusa, searching for something or someone, Atheas lets out a scream, "close your eyes Atheas", said Sirosa, "she can’t hurt us if your eyes are closed and she can’t cross the statue or she will die". Both shut their eyes. Medusa spots Atheas, "You!" She says, "you are Atheas, your father ssstole it from me, and I want it back", "what! You have seen my father? When? Where?" Asks Atheas. "That doesssnt matter" medusa replies, "I want what he ssstole", "what did he steal", asked Atheas. "My Drachma and I want it back, find it or I will kill you". "You can’t kill me, you can’t cross this statue, or you will die so why should I help you", asked Atheas. Suddenly medusa lunged forward and landed right in front of Atheas, frightened, Atheas jumped backwards keeping her eyes tightly shut, "find my Drachma or you will die". Medusa turned and made her way back to the black trail. "How was that possible", asked Atheas? "I don’t know, she crossed the statue, she should have died", said Sirosa. "Something is wrong it seems like the gods are becoming weak", said Sirosa.

"What is a Drachma" asked Atheas? "A Drachma is a very rare gold coin used to ferry passengers to the underworld" explained Sirosa. "The underworld, you mean Hades". Asked Atheas. "Yes, that is exactly what I mean". Said Sirosa. "What would my father want to go to the underworld for? This does not make any sense" said Atheas. "We need to leave Atheas, we need to find your father and fast" said Sirosa.

They quickly gather their things and start the long walk to Athens. Making their way to Athens, Atheas can’t help but think why her father would steal a Drachma from medusa, "what does my father want in the underworld?" Asked Atheas. "I don’t know" replied Sirosa, "but whatever reason he is going to the underworld, it is not going to be good, very few people have ever made it to the underworld, and even fewer have made it back". They finally reach the end of the long walk and make it to Athens. Such a beautiful city, buildings everywhere surrounded by lush mountains and huge waterfalls. On the edge of a cliff overlooking the Agean sea. Walking through the streets of Athens, Atheas takes in the views of this beautiful city. "Maybe we should find somewhere to rest and figure out what is next", said Atheas, "that sounds like a good idea", replied Sirosa.

They stop into a close by tavern for the night and discuss their next move. "Ok so what do we know so far", said Sirosa. "We know you father has a Drachma and is planning on going to the underworld, but why? What happened the night before your father went missing", asked Sirosa. Hesitant to tell him about Cyrus the younger, Atheas thinks to herself this can’t get any worse so what is the harm in telling him now, she starts by telling him that a strange man came to see him the night before he disappeared, and this man was Cyrus the younger. "What!" Shouts Sirosa, "Cyrus the younger, why was your father talking to a Persian, does he not realise the punishment for speaking to a Persian is death". "I know" she replied, but continued to tell him about the night before he vanished, "Before Cyrus came to our home I was training with my father and brothers, when me and my brothers finished training to get ready for supper my father took something from his cloth and examined it I don’t know why but he was mesmerized by it". "What was it" asked Sirosa? "It was a small coin, my father didn’t think I was watching but I can see and hear everything in the courtyard from my room upstairs, It was a small silver coin, but it was broken in half, it looked like it had a hand inscribed into it, I couldn’t understand why he was so interested in it, but he was". "Well if we need to find out what the coin was, we are in the best place", said Sirosa, "the library of Athens records all artefacts and currency, that is where we will go tomorrow, for now we need to rest".

The next morning after another sleepless night, Atheas and Sirosa make their way to the library of Athens, they reach the building and once again, Atheas is in aww of its size. "Wow this building is huge", she said. On top of a hill they have to make their way up so many stairs that it looks never ending, half way to the top they both turn to look out over the city of Athens and what a view it is, the entire city teaming with life, the sounds of the children playing, merchants chanting their products, soldiers training and the woman singing. They make it to the top and inside the library it is more beautiful that the city, books, documents and artefacts everywhere, "ok first I think we should look for information on the Drachma your father stole from medusa, then we look for your father’s half broken coin". "Agreed" Atheas replies, "but where should we begin", she asks. "We start with currency, I’m sure there is something in there about Drachma’s" said Sirosa. they start in the currency section and a few books in Atheas discovers something. "Sirosa! I think I have found something, look here read it", Sirosa begins to read,

“the Drachma is the currency of the ferryman, if you wish to visit the underworld, Drachma is what he demands, the gods were each given ten pieces hundreds of years ago, to visit their loved ones who have passed onto the underworld. But the way in is easier than the way out. If you wish to find your way to the underworld you must first find “the power of a god” and place your hand upon Achilles.”

"I don’t understand", said Atheas, "how can we find the power of a god, this is impossible". "Wait!" Shouts Sirosa, "the statue of Athena, the inscription on the back of it read, “the power of a god” maybe that is a clue, I think we should go back to the statue and take a closer look", said Sirosa. "Ok" said Atheas, "when we return, we will look for information about my father’s broken coin. I have a feeling it has a bigger part to play in all this". They pack their bags and make the long journey back to the statue.