The ABC has joined forces with Melbourne Uni to create this innovative and engaging educational site about Greek Mythology. Designed to "inspire a thirst for the classics in a new generation" Winged Sandals has it all - stories, games, activities and even a consulting Oracle! The database “Who’s Who in Classical Mythology” attempts to counter the Disneyfication of the classics by providing in-depth information about over one hundred mythological characters.
Winged Sandals won “Best E-learning site” and “Best of the Best” at the Australian Interactive Media Association awards as well as “Best Music Story” at the Flash Forward Festival in the US. With its cartoons, humour and interactive games I imagine the site would be a winner with its target audience - 6 to 12 year olds. The site will appeal to adults as well.
The producers of the site wanted to create a “dreamy space” for the exploration of the stories, and this has been achieved - especially well in the Flash/ broadband version - through a combination of beautiful illustrations and music. After being given comprehensive information about their particular myth, developers had free reign with their translation, the only proviso being that they stayed true to the essence of the story. The result is a series of energetic and entertaining interpretations that manage to be contemporary at the same time as evoking the flavour of Ancient Greece.
The animated story Perseus and Medusa, sees our hero (looking a little “Roger Ramjet”) travelling west to save his mum by collecting the Gorgon’s head. The storytelling is fast paced and humorous. Orpheus and Eurydice is basically a rock video. Orpheus, the mellow muso, serenades his funky wife Eurydice with a rock ballad on the Lyre. When Eurydice is killed by a snakebite, Orpheus drives his kombi off a cliff and into a drainpipe. He heads to the underworld in an attempt to get her back - but it all goes horribly wrong. Bummer dude.
Each story provides a list of characters that you can roll over for a photo and basic information (mortal/ immortal, hero/monster etc). Clicking gives more details such as the character’s family tree and audio of their name. This is a useful feature as many names could easily be mispronounced (“The Graeae”? “Charibdis”?).
The stories can be explored further by playing the accompanying games. The aim of Rockabye Cerberus is to catch falling records before they hit the ground and wake the three-headed dog. I should have read the instructions for Icarus and Daedalus - I think I was supposed to pluck chickens then make myself wings from the feathers. Groove Pentatonica lets you compose your own lute, drum and pan flute music. Unfortunately I couldn’t get this working at all, and I actually read the instructions! The “girls versus boys” game of Amazons vs. Athenians is much more straightforward, being reminiscent of an eighties arcade game.
There are instructions for school activities such as making a robe and constructing a Grecian vase out of a balloon and old newspaper. You can explore your inner deity with the Cleo style quiz “Which God are you?”
Why not find out your future with a visit to the Delphi Oracle? An awe-inspiring experience! When you enter the temple there is a thunderous roar and a mysterious puff of smoke. Before being allowed to ask your question you must complete two essential rituals - wash a goat’s face (yes, that’s right) and pay the admission fee. After submitting your question there is another “boom” then the Pythia starts prophesising in a thoroughly spooky voice. The answer to my question: “Will the trains be on time this afternoon?” was - “You will find the answer in a jar.” Hmm. I decided to try again. “Beware the man with one sandal.” Oh. A second window gives an interpretation of your answer and tells you about historical figures who have received the same advice. This is a great way to learn without realising you’re even doing it!
The home page - an aerial view of Athens and Delphi - functions as one of the navigation options. Clicking on each building opens a different section of the site. Unfortunately the buildings are not labelled in the Flash version. How many 6-12 year olds would recognise the Olympic Stadium, let alone make the mental leap of realising it is a link to the "Play Games" section. This “Mystery Meat” style navigation means that you actually have to click in order to find out what it is that you are clicking to! Rollover labels would have made this a little clearer. It could be, however, that the target audience enjoys clicking around and exploring, and perhaps that is the logic behind this (for me at least) frustrating navigation. The collapsible menu bar under Hermes offers the same choices and this is the more straightforward way to find what you’re looking for.
Some navigation is a bit sticky, for example, when you close a pop up window the main window still displays the “Launching pop-up window please wait” message. There are a few other bugs, but these quirks don’t take away from the lush environment and satisfying learning experience that is Winged Sandals.
