Didja Notice?

 

The opening narration on page 3 claims to be from The Memoirs of Indiana Jones. This mini-series is the only mention of such a tome (though an unofficial custom prop by this name was made by a creative duo known as Sarednab in the early 2000s). It is interesting to think of what Indiana Jones would have written in a formal memoir of his life (beyond the mere notes that appear in The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones).

 

As the British Army is evacuating the archeologists from a Grecian dig site, Malcolm complains to the British colonel, "That's an Achaean king's tomb and palace up there! A bronze age megaron! Possibly containing Atreus and his treasure!" "Achaean" refers to the Achaean League of 280-146 BC, made up of Greek city-states in the northern and central Peloponnese reign of Greece. A megaron is the great hall in early Greek and Mycenaean palaces. Atreus was a Mycenaean king of the Peloponnese in the mid-to-late 13th century in Greek mythology and was said to be the father of Agamemnon, famed commander of the Acheans during the Trojan War.

 

On page 4, German dive bombers Indy refers to as Junkers make a bombing run on the beach where the archeological crew are being evacuated to boats. He is likely referring to the Ju 88 multirole combat aircraft manufactured by Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works for Germany from 1936-1945.

 

On page 5, Indy tells Malcolm he'll rendezvous with him in Alexandria. It's hard to say what Indy means by "Alexandria". There is a city by that name in Greece now, but in 1941 it was called Gidas. He could be referring to the Alexandria governate on the coast of Egypt, but that's a pretty long sea voyage; still, it's possible.

 

Indy stays behind at the dig site to prevent the Nazis from gaining the treasure of Atreus. He shouts back to Malcolm, "If I don't make it, forward my mail care of the Fuehrer!" The title Führer is German for "Leader" and is almost universally now accepted to mean "Adolf Hitler" in nearly any context.

 

On page 8, "Colchis" was the Greek name for the area in the present-day country of Georgia where the Egrisi culture resided in the Caucasus Mountains. As Indy states, it was also the land where Jason and the Argonauts found the Golden Fleece in myth. In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece is the fleece of the golden-woolled, winged ram, Chrysomallos, which was sacrificed to Zeus and its fleece given to King Aeëtes in Cholchis, where it was later stolen by Jason and his Argonauts. The fleece is seen as a symbol of authority and kingship.

 

On page 9, Indy's narration comments, "When I finally left the tomb, Apollo had already ridden his chariot into the sky." In Greek mythology, the god Apollo was said to ride his chariot across the sky in the mornings, bringing the Sun in tow behind.

 

The robed Turks who attack Indy and take the Blade of Reconsecration remark it is for Hecate and the fleece. Hecate is the ancient Greek goddess of majic, the moon, and the night.

 

At 40 years old in this story, Indy remarks that he's getting too old for this, referring to being pursued, attacked, and kicked around so someone can steal an ancient artifact from him. Of course, we know that he continues to do it, perhaps at a somewhat more moderate pace, at age 70, if not later (as seen in The Dial of Destiny).

 

On page 18, Omphale and Indy note that the Turks are fleeing in their sea plane over the Aegean, perhaps headed for Istanbul. The Aegean Sea runs along the eastern coastline of Greece and across about 125 miles to Turkey.

 

I've been unable to identify the plane model Omphale and Indy steal from the Germans, but the fighters that pursue them appear to be Messerschmitt Bf 109s.

 

On the last page of the chapter, Indy and Omphale's plane is about to crash into the Dardanelles/Hellespont, though they have reached it much sooner they should have. The Dardanelles is a narrow, natural strait which separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey. Hellespont is another name for it. "Helle" is the name of a mortal woman in Greek mythology who rode winged Chrysomallos across the Dardanelles, but fell from the ram's back into the seas of the strait, thus giving it the Hellespont (Sea of Helle) name.

 

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