Introduction
During the Greek Revolution of 1821-1829, against the Ottoman Empire, Irishman Edward Blaquière found his fund-raising in London hampered by doubts over whether today’s Greeks were worthy of their ancient forebears. Blaquiere showed them that the spirit of Achilles, wrathful hero of the Trojan War, lived on.
THE following anecdote, illustrative of the veneration in which the Greeks held the immortal bard of Scio,* is extracted from an account of the expedition sent into the Mediterranean in 1769, under Orloff.*
Captain Plagent,* who commanded one of the ships in this expedition, going on shore at Naxos,* took an old school edition of the Iliad which he happened to have on board,* and showed it to some of the natives, who begged it of him with the most earnest importunity.
The Captain complied with their wishes; and on going on shore again the next day, he saw an old man with his back to a wall reading the speeches of the ancient Greek heroes with all the fury of declamation, to an audience of fourteen or fifteen persons!
Scio is the Italian name for the Greek island of Chios, the traditional birthplace of Homer, author of the epic poems ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’. For many generations, authentic Greek identity was overlaid by the Islamic culture of the Ottomans and also by the Roman Catholic culture of the Franks and Venetians, who controlled many parts of Greece before and after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.
In 1769, Empress Catherine the Great orchestrated a revolt among the Greeks against the Ottoman Empire, which had been their repressive masters since the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. The ultimately unsuccessful campaign was headed by Count Aleksei Orlov. (Blaquière’s account mistakenly prints 1789.)
Scotsmen John Elphinstone, Thomas MacKenzie and Samuel Greig were senior commanders in Russian Empire’s navy, and brought their own mostly Scottish proteges with them. The fleet, which included hired British ships with new names such as ‘Graf Tchernyshev’, was based on the neighbouring island of Paros, at Naousa, from 1770 to 1775. The Turkish fleet relied in much the same way on French seamen.
A large island in the Aegean Sea, one of the Cyclades group. According to Greek mythology, Zeus was raised here in a cave; and after Theseus slew the Minotaur of Crete with the help of Ariadne, he abandoned her on Naxos, where the god Dionysius fell in love with her. See Theseus and the Minotaur.
The Iliad is an epic poem narrating the Trojan War of the early 12th century BC, which took place in and around Troy or Ilion, now Hisarlik in Turkey. The poem has traditionally been ascribed to a Greek poet named Homer, who also composed the ‘Odyssey’. For our summary of the plot, see The Siege of Troy.
Précis
In the Orlov Rebellion of 1769, a naval captain docked at the island Naxos in Greece. He showed an old copy of Homer’s ‘Iliad’ to an islander, who asked if he could keep it. Next day, the captain saw him reading portions of the epic to a knot of fascinated islanders, stirred by renewed hopes of liberation from Turkish rule. (60 / 60 words)
In the Orlov Rebellion of 1769, a naval captain docked at the island Naxos in Greece. He showed an old copy of Homer’s ‘Iliad’ to an islander, who asked if he could keep it. Next day, the captain saw him reading portions of the epic to a knot of fascinated islanders, stirred by renewed hopes of liberation from Turkish rule.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, because, despite, may, or, since, unless, whereas.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Audience. Beg. Extract.
2 Day. Fury. Into.
3 Go. Send. Some.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Adjectives Find in Think and Speak
For each word below, compose sentences to show that it may be used as an adjective. Adjectives provide extra information about a noun, e.g. a black cat, a round table, the early bird etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Older. 2 Old. 3 Oldest. 4 Ancient. 5 Native. 6 Next. 7 Immortal.
Variations: 1.show whether your adjective can also be used as e.g. a noun, verb or adverb. 2.show whether your adjective can be used in comparisons (e.g. good/better/best). 3.show whether your adjective can be used in attributive position (e.g. a dangerous corner) and also in predicate position (this corner is dangerous).
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
You are welcome to share your creativity with me, or ask for help with any of the exercises on Clay Lane. Write to me at this address:
See more at Email Support.
If you like what I’m doing here on Clay Lane, from time to time you could buy me a coffee.
Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding website, used by over a million people. It is designed to help content creators like me make a living from their work. ‘Buy Me a Coffee’ prides itself on its security, and there is no need to register.
