unforum

[Isaac Dodgson]

...so it was portuguese? seriously? Wow...that came from left field

[aceituna]

Trying to help out with the last one but so far no luck.

The only thing I keep coming back to are pics of the Santorini Volcano, but I can't seem to find one that matches perfectly.

[brodie]

Okay. So. Someone said, in order to find the pile of rocks, we need to know what connects the other five sites (because then we'll have criteria for finding the sixth, the pile of rocks).

Help me make a list of what the sites are famous for. Maybe we'll stumble on something.


The STOCKHOLM STOCK EXCHANGE is not actually the Stockholm Stock Exchange. It's used by the Swedish Academy (the SSE was its former tenant). The Academy uses the building for meetings, such as those used to choose the Nobel Prize for Literature. The building also houses the Nobel Museum and the Nobel Library. Wiki doesn't say when it was built, who by or in what style. These things could be useful.

The HELSINKI CATHEDRAL was built as a tribute to Tsar Nicholas I. ( Wasn't he the Tsar that was killed in the Revolution in 1917? Nope, that was Nick II. D'oh! Thanks, myf. Well, I'm an ancient historian, not modern!) It was originally designed by Carl Ludwig Engel, it was built from 1830-1852 and it has a Greek-cross plan, with its four points directly in line with cardinal compass points. It was modelled on St. Isaac's Cathedral (so we were close on with our first guess) and it has the largest collection of zinc sculptures in the world. The cathedral is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Helsinki. Annually more than 350,000 people visit the church, some of them to attend religious events, but most are tourists.

The UNIVERSITY OF COIMBRA is a Portuguese public university in Coimbra, Portugal. It is one of the oldest universities in continuous operation in Europe and the world, the oldest university of Portugal, and one of its largest higher education and research institutions. It is a founding member of the Coimbra Group, a group of leading European research universities, whose inaugural meeting it hosted. The university was founded, or ratified, in 1290 by King Dinis (hello, Mr. Statue!), officially on 1st March of that year.

KING DENIS/DINIS/DINIZ, major points:
signed a favouring agreement with the pope and swore to protect the Church's interests in Portugal
a notably peace-loving monarch during a tempestuous time in European history
main priority of government was the organization of the country
had a fondness for literature and wrote several books himself, with topics ranging from administration to hunting, science and poetry
and of course, founded the University of Coimbra (then called the University of Lisbon)

PARC MONCEAU is a public park situated in the 8th arrondissement (neighbourhood) of Paris, France. The park is unusual in France due to its "English" style: its informal layout, curved walkways and randomly-placed statues distinguish it from the more traditional, French-style garden. It also includes a collection of scaled-down architectural features — including an Egyptian pyramid, a Chinese fort, a Dutch windmill, and Corinthian pillars. A number of these are masonic references, reflecting the fact that Philippe d'Orléans (the guy who established the park) was a leading freemason. It was the site of a massacre in 1871 following the formation of the Commune. Claude Monet painted a series of three paintings of the park in the spring of 1876. He painted two further paintings of the park in 1878. Today, the park has play areas for children, and remains very popular with local residents and their families. The site is also an active free Wi-Fi area, for computer users looking for Internet access. (v. important for communication, right?)

And the FORUM ROMANUM. The Roman Forum, Forum Romanum, was the central area around which ancient Rome developed, in which commerce and the administration of justice took place. The communal hearth was also located here (kept alight by the Vestal Virgins, priestesses who also [correct me if I'm wrong] kept and keep the Olympic flame alight). That's... about all I know about this. What happens here nowadays?

So. Anyone see any ties? Anyone got more to add? How am I doing so far?

[lindoriel379]

Is it possible that each of the 6 locations corresponds to one of the 6 personality types? Here's one possible association:
Stockholm Stock Exchange - THUMOS
Helsinki Cathedral - SOPHROSUNE
University of Coimbra - SOFIA
Parc Monceau - MYTHOPOEIA
Roman Forum - DIKAIOSUNE
So the 6th site would be associated with Chariton, and would be the kind of place that brings people together.

[Shad0]

Re: [RING][ARTIFACT] Ch. 4 (@Shanghai, China)

[myf]

Brodie, that's a great summary of the places identified so far (though you've got your Tsars a little confused - it was Nicholas II who was killed in the Russian Revolution ).

I do like the idea of linking each one to one of the strengths

[Troag Lee]

[myf]

Or indeed, from my own trip there a few years ago: <a></a>

Not that I'm suggesting that my picture is a match! But it does illustrate the terrain

[HitsHerMark]

Possibly it's my bias because I've always lived near the ocean, but Drawing 6 looks like coast line to me.

[snurge]

Hey Guys.
I'm relatively new to ARG's (played Perplex from afar) and have been following this for a short while now and looking to get involved.
apologies if im duplicating something thats already been said (but i couldn't see it) but after looking at what has been suggested for matches in the 6 pictures it looks like there are statues at each of the locations.
This maybe nothing but i thought i'd put the idea up.

e.g. King Denis - statue itself
Stockholm Stock Exchange (or the Borshuset) is next to a statue of Gustav Adolfs Torg
Helsinki Cathedral has a statue of Emperor Alexander II (plus 12 apostles and numerous other zinc sculptures)
Parc Monceau - lots of statues
Forum Romanum - Vestal Virgins statues

Also, if the coastline is the Gulf of Corinth and seen from Delphi, then the statue could be that of Poseiden.

Just a few ramblings from my brain.

[aceituna]

I think your on to something in that line of thinking anyway. I keep coming back to images of the peloponesse area and I can't help but see a huge resemblance in terrain. Way greater than any other places i've looked.

Here is an image. Not the spot maybe, but the terrain features are similar.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/antifag/2345752687/
I keep thinking it should have somehting to do with a volcano too, the center area makes me think of a volcanic caldera.

I think that even though I'm relatively new myself, I can venture to say that helpful ramblings are always welcome

Or at least I hope they are myself since that all I do heh

[snurge]

Thanks Aceituna.

Whilst trying to confirm whether pic 6 is the gulf of corinth or not i have been delving further and found a few interesting (well, to me anyway) points.
Gulf of Corinth - as seen from Delphi. (look towards delphi)
Major earthquake (Ariadnes dream) in Eliki in 373BC rendering it underwater (a la Atlantis)
http://www.geoprobe.org/eliki.shtml

again...still not sure whether im chasing my proverbial tail.

[akralia]

 building on the upper left

[brodie]

Thanks, akralia, but we're already sure that it's actually the Stockholm Stock Exchange in Sweden. The evidence is in the columns - the Cardiff museum has several pairs of columns, while SSEx has a pair and several singles, like in the drawing. (That's right, right?)

[jasper]

Right. The Stockholm Stock Exchange building (Swedish Academy) is in the upper left. It doesn't have freestanding columns. They're pilasters- columns built into the wall. I think you can tell it has ionic capitals too.

Now that we're getting a better idea of how the sport is practiced, how do you think they managed it in these locations? In the Roman Forum for instance: where is the space they needed: smooth, open place? I think it would have to be close outside the forum like maybe the Piazza del Campidoglio?

I feel like I've looked at thousands of photos that show a shoreline, headland, beach, rock formation, etc. at wiki commons. If we don't have the olympic host city pattern, or a strong historic connection between these buildings/ locations, we at least have the "Finding Space For a Labyrinth" clue to go on. We will find those rocks near someplace that "sport, playing, festivals and other special events often take place."