Georgia, The Reason Travel Was Invented? (Part two of two)

View from Meteo Station on Mt. Kazbeg (Author's collection, Copyright 2014)

     

    Not too long after that - but long enough for the Greeks to forget their first alphabet- there was another interest in Georgia.  A generation before the Trojan War (1205BC) this interest was on behalf of the Greeks in their search for the Golden Fleece.  Colchis is on the eastern end of the Black Sea in modern day Georgia.
      There is much speculation over the exact location of the Colchian capitol but most agree it was either Kutaisi, Poti or Vani - each located along the Rioni River.  At any rate, the examples of gold smithing skills on display in Tbilisi's Georgian National Museum from that period are amazing and there is historical evidence that western Georgian gold mining techniques included using a sheepskin to pan the rivers.  Remember that this gold washed out of the Greater Caucasus Mountains - where Mt Kazbeg lies.
    In mythology, Jason and his intrepid crew of heroes that history has dubbed the Argonauts after their vessel, the Argo, made this daunting voyage to Georgia and we can place this story along a realistic timeline because Peleus was an Argonaut and the father of Achilles, who died at Troy.  So, despite all the adventures along the way (and back), Jason's real goal was to procure the golden fleece and procure it he did - as well as a wife, Medea, the daughter of the Colchian king, Aietes, who is the only reason they lived to depart Colchis.  

    

Archaeological excavation in Vani, Georgia (Author's collection, Copyright 2014)

    Further credence is lent to the interaction with Georgian society by a Greek Tragedy Play, "Medea", in which the couples stormy divorce is chronicled: Medea kills her three children by Jason, as well as Jason's new Fiancee, Glauke, prior to escaping in a flying chariot.  The credence is lent by the world renowned spite and fury embodied by Georgian women when scorned.
    These small details are the qualifiers that are overlooked in history.  The facts that, despite seeming to be trivial, are proof that a myth is actually history.  It is these qualifiers that we must turn a jaundiced eye upon in order to sift through the sands of time that obscure the past from our view.

Georgia, The Reason Travel Was Invented? (part one of two)

    A Georgian myth claims that Georgia was the land that God reserved for himself because of its natural beauty and abundant productivity.  Mankind seems to agree with this statement as he has been traveling there since the dawn of time and perhaps this region is the very reason for the concept of travel itself.  Historical vignettes may supply us with proof.

Dmanisi, Georgia (Authors collection, copyright 2014)

    As early as 1.8 million years ago, Georgia was attracting visitors.  A group of Hominids that we call Homo Erectus were the first human species to migrate out of Africa.  Since 2005, five skulls have been discovered near the Georgian town of Dimanisi - all within a 9.2 square metre area (~100 feet squared).  Because these skulls differ greatly, it is theorised that they represent a cross section of the species, in general, and are forcing scientists to re-evaluate the existing theories.  The most recent skull has a brain cavity about half the size of modern humans and a large face; if these were fragments, they would be categorised as different species.  The difficulty for scientists is that they were found together, a long way from Africa and within a 9.2 square metre area.  Scientists are now theorising that this species was more diverse than previously thought and the findings in Dimanisi may lead to grouping all homo fossils dated 1.8 to 1.5 million years old into a new, Homo Erectus family.

View from near Amirani’s(Prometheus’) prison on Mt. Kazbeg (Author's collection, Copyright 2014

More recently, on the summit of Mt. Kazbegi (5,054m), Amirani - we call him Prometheus - was imprisoned for giving fir to humans.  An added punishment was that an eagle would peck out his liver all day and over night, it would grow back.  The question is, Why in Georgia?  Was that because it was close to God's home?  Where better to keep an eye on a recalcitrant child than your backyard?

    It seems that before the dawn of time, before we were even ourselves, we were attracted to the bounty that is Georgia; the land that God reserved for himself and hasn't strayed too far from since.