Wikipedia Trail: From Odysseus to The Championships, Wimbledon

(Contemporary engraving of the first Wimbledon Championships at Worple Road, London, in 1877) 

(source: WikiMedia Commons) 

I began my Wikipedia Trail this week by visiting the page concerning the main character of my reading from the prior week, Odysseus the main protagonist of Homer's Odyssey. The information on the page provided me a more in depth presentation of Odysseus and the way his story varies due to the multiple retellings and sequels that have been written since the original epic poem began being translated into differing languages. The series of spin offs lead me to another page and novel that has been influenced by the original character of Odysseus, this was the British literary classic Ulysses. This is a piece of writing I had always heard mentioned in school and some areas of pop culture, without ever really discovering the actual material that is behind the poem. Delving into this British icon lead me down a consistent path for the remainder of my Wikipedia Trail, with my next click of the mouse leading me to the page displaying information of the Victorian Era. Architecture and literature are things I have been familiar with prior from this era, but learning the peculiar practices of the socialites and plebeians of the era was interesting to say the least, especially their rather archaic medical practices that seem downright insane by modern standards. An area in the article that drew my attention was the section of sport during the period, specifically how tennis came to be a popular pastime for British culture and the championship that would be the crown jewel of the sport, Wimbledon. I had prior interest in the event ever since my sister and her husband attended the 2011 championships and spoke of the amazing time they had at the event, even with no prior tennis knowledge it was stills something they enjoyed. The Wikipedia page provided me with the history of the event and the storied history behind why all participants wear white when competing and the origins of the championships. 

Odysseus 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus 

Ulysses (poem)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_(poem) 

Victorian Era 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era 

The Championships, Wimbledon 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Championships,_Wimbledon 

Wikipedia Trail: From Homer's Iliad to Leonidas I

(statue of Leonidas I of Sparta)

(source: WikiMedia Commons)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad

My foray into Wikipedia this week began by visiting the page for the epic poem I chose as the basis for my story this week, Homer's Iliad. There was little new information presented to me concerning the story itself, rather the material present on the page focused more on the historical significance of the poem and whether or not the events portrayed in the story are factual or exaggerations. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey

The first link to draw my eye was to the story that was a direct follow up to the Iliad, concerning a group of soldiers who participated in the Trojan Wars and there dangerous voyage home that did not exactly end in a positive manner. The story of Odysseus and his men attempting to return home was an opportunity to for me to revisit a story that was one of my favorites during high school english. 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparta

Considering this was one of the major forces I chose to use in my story it seemed almost natural for my wikipedia trail to lead me in this direction. The Spartans were a warrior culture that developed an intense training program to form the fiercest fighting force of the Bronze Age. Our generation has been introduced to the city-state of Sparta due to a fairly successful film from several years ago known as 300, which ultimately lead to my final wikipedia trail stop. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonidas_I 

My final stop on this week's wikipedia tour landed me on the legendary Spartan king who lead the famous final stand at Thermopylae against the invading Persian army as they attempted to overtake the Greek peninsula. This was the most interesting of my stops this week, presenting me with the most new information, where I had previously only known what was shown to me in the aforementioned movie 300. 

My wikipedia trail this week continued down a constant line the whole way, focusing on Greek culture and mythology. Maybe future trips down the rabbit hole will lead to a broader experience than this first one, but it was still an enjoyable first time.