DIRECTIONS: Read the introduction below. When choices are presented, choose which direction to take the story. Enjoy!
You are a young person from the Greek polis, or city state, of Athens.
It is the year 430 B.C. You awaken from a restless sleep, a sleep full
of strange and disturbing dreams. Last night you dreamt that you were
the Greek hero, Odysseus, returning home from the Trojan War. As
Odysseus you sailed throughout the Aegean Sea facing unimaginable foes,
such as the one-eyed giant, the Cyclops. The Odyssey was a tale
originally told by a blind poet named Homer, but last night it seemed
all to real to you. The warm morning air drifts in through your bedroom
window. Greece has what is known as a Mediterranean climate, generally
warm and mild all year round. You slip out of your bed and your feet
touch the cool floor of your room. You look outside and see your
father's slaves hard at work picking black olives, green olives, and
grapes. The geography of Greece is so hilly that other types of crops
have a hard time growing. Your father is one of the wealthiest men in
all of Athens due to his extensive trade in fine olive oil. However,
your father is required to donate large amounts of wealth to the
building of temples and other public buildings, so there may not be not
much left for you to inherit. You walk down the hallway into the
shrine to say a morning prayer to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. A
golden statue of the goddess usually sits in the shrine. This morning
the statue is strangely missing. Your mother is probably cleaning it in
the main room of the house. You say a quick prayer and burn some
incense to the absent deity.
DO YOU?
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