Quest for Catrin: Adventures in Gaul (Part 5)

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Quest for Catrin: Adventures in Gaul (Part 5)

Massilia Roman Gaul (modern Marseille, France)

Continuing the journey that Catrin takes in APOLLO’S RAVEN, Sonja and I enjoyed exploring the town center of Marseille, France—the ancient site of Massilia Gaul—next to the harbor where several open storefronts were ready for business and ships were waiting to sail for adventures on the Mediterranean Sea. Ferries transported people to the Frioul archipelago comprised of four islands, one of which is the location of the Château d’If—the prison made famous by the Dumas novel The Count of Monte Cristo.

Below is a picture of me taken at the Château d’If overlooking the Marseille Bay.

Château d’If Prison Marseille

The picture below provides a side view of the prison. The different shades of blue of the Mediterranean Sea—turquoise at the shallow shoreline and cobalt blue in deeper water—continued to amaze me.

Château d’If Overlooking the Marseille Bay

 

Lion Bites Hercules

While exploring the harbor of Marseilles, I couldn’t believe my eyes when we approached a statue of a  man, grimacing and  grabbing at his buttocks. I turned to my daughter and said, “That statue reminds me of a man with hemorrhoids!”

“No way!” Sonja replied. “There’s something behind him. Let’s get a closer look.”

When we finally saw the side view of this statue, we finally understood this man’s pain—a lion was chomping away at his rear end. This was not the image I had imagined for the Greek hero, Hercules, who successfully completed his first labor by grasping a lion in his mighty arms and choking it to death.

Hercules and Lion

(To be continued—Quest for Catrin: Adventures in Gaul)