LESSON 4 • MYSTERIES OF OUR WORLD

UNIT 2

ECHOES OF
THE PAST

In this Unit you will:

read about ancient civilisations and world mysteries
listen to scientists talk about ancient cities
talk about life in the past
write a story
enter an art competition
do a project on world mysteries

On a winter night in 373 BC, a catastrophic
earthquake and tidal wave destroyed Helike,
the principal Greek city located in Achaea,
Northern Peloponnesos, two kilometres from
the Corinthian Gulf. The entire city and all its
inhabitants were lost beneath the sea.
Helike had been founded in the Bronze
Age and its pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Poseidon
was known throughout the classical world. It
had led the twelve cities of the first Achaean
League, and had founded colonies in Asia Minor
and in South Italy. The dramatic destruction
of Helike was one of the most appalling tragedies
of the classical world and may have inspired the
creation of a very famous myth.

Which myth do you think this is?

At the end of this Unit, you should be able to:

talk about past habits and events
talk about actions in progress in the past
describe natural disasters
react to good or bad news
relay a message from Greek into English

LESSON 4 • MYSTERIES OF OUR WORLD

Lesson 4

The legend of Atlantis

1.1	What do you know about the lost city of Atlantis? Where was it? What happened to it? Discuss.
2.2	You are studying the mystery of Atlantis in your History class and your teacher has asked you to make a short presentation to a group of British students who are visiting your school. You have already done some research, but some information is missing from your notes below. Listen to part of a BBC radio programme about Atlantis and fill in the gaps in your notes.

This text will be replaced

✓ Earliest records of Atlantis: 370 BC.
✓ Plato learned the story from Solon.
? Solon learned the story when he travelled to (1) ……………
✓ The island was named after Atlas.
✓ On top of a hill, there was a temple.
? Inside the temple was a (2) …….......…… statue of the God of the Sea driving six
winged (3) …………. .
? A violent (4) ……………....….. shook the land, giant (5) …………….....… rolled over the
shores and the island sank into the sea.

UNIT 2

LESSON 4 • MYSTERIES OF OUR WORLD

A myth or not?

2.1	Work in pairs. Complete the first two columns of the KWL chart with what you already know about Atlantis and what else you would like to know about it.

K (know)

W (would like to know)

L (learnt)

2.2	Mr. Alexandros Demetriou, a famous Greek archaeologist, was interviewed about Atlantis for an English language newspaper, “The Athens Tribune”. Read the interview and find three more interesting facts about Atlantis. Complete the last column of the KWL chart above.

Reporter:

– Mr. Demetriou, just a few questions from our readers
about Atlantis… Do we know where it used to be?

Mr. Demetriou:

– Well, there are many and varied theories. Plato stated
that Atlantis lay in the Atlantic Ocean near the Rock of
Gibraltar. Other researchers believe that the island’s
location was somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. Finally,
there are some people who think that Thera could be the
island of Atlantis.

Reporter:

– That sounds interesting. I guess it’s because of the discovery
of the city of Akrotiri, which was excavated by the wellknown
archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos, right?

Mr. Demetriou:

–Possibly. In about
1500 BC, Thera
was destroyed by
the world’s largest
volcanic eruption.
Akrotiri was buried

beneath 15 feet of ash, which preserved its streets,
buildings and impressive wall paintings. It’s an exciting
theory, but not a widely accepted one, I must say.

Reporter:

– What is so interesting about Atlantis?

Mr. Demetriou:

– Well, Plato’s
description was
of a land of wealth, beauty
and advanced civilisation.
This made many explorers seek out its location. They
read Plato’s dialogues like a treasure map, which would
help them locate the lost city.

Reporter:

– It sounds like a magical place.

Mr. Demetriou:

– It may have been … There are of course archaeologists
and researchers who have challenged these theories, saying
the Atlantis story is just a myth. Yet, people still long to
discover Atlantis, even with no archaeological proof of
its existence...

Adapted from: www.mnsu.edu

2.3	Do you think Atlantis really existed or is it a myth? Why?

UNIT 2

LESSON 4 • MYSTERIES OF OUR WORLD

Language focus

3.1	Read the following examples.

In 1967, Marinatos excavated Thera and discovered
a city.
An earthquake shook the island and it sank into the
ocean thousands of years ago.
A museum with the findings from Thera has opened
recently.
The archaeologist has finished his work in Thera.

Did these actions happen in the past? Do we know exactly when they happened? Complete the rule.

We use the Simple Past to talk about ...............................................................................................................................
We use the Present Perfect to talk about ..........................................................................................................................

3.1

Read two more examples of the Simple Past and the Present
Perfect.

a. He worked as an archaeologist when he was 35 years old.

b. He has worked as an archaeologist for the past 15 years.

Which of the two sentences means that he still works as an
archaeologist? Complete the rule.

We use the ..................................................... to talk about an action
that started and finished in the past.
We use the ..................................................... to talk about an action
that started in the past but continues up to the present time.

Grammar Reference, pp. 168-169

Found!

4.1	Suppose you are Mr. Brown, a British archaeologist. You have just made an interesting discovery and you want to send an e-mail to your colleagues to inform them about it. Here are your notes. Use them to write your e-mail.

UNIT 2

investigate / archaeological
site

discover / ruins / temples
excavate statues / pots
find coins / jewellery
see wall paintings / carvings

A piece of pottery
from Akrotiri, Santorini

LESSON 4 • MYSTERIES OF OUR WORLD

2.1

Work in pairs. One of you is Mr. Brown and the other one is a reporter who is writing an article
about Mr. Brown’s amazing discovery. Act out the interview using the information from the
e-mail in 4.1.

e.g. Reporter: Mr. Brown, would you like to say a few words to
our readers about the amazing discovery you made two
weeks ago?
Mr. Brown: Yes, I’d be glad to share this experience with you.
What would you like to know?
Reporter: What exactly did you investigate?
Mr. Brown: I investigated a new archaeological site.
Reporter:………………………

Mini-project: A natural disaster

UNIT 2

LESSON 4 • MYSTERIES OF OUR WORLD

Project time: Unsolved mysteries!!!

1. Work in groups. Investigate one of the world mysteries below in order to make a presentation
to your class. Look back at page 24 for tips on how to prepare your project.

Easter island

• Stonehenge
• The Great Pyramid
• The Sphinx
• Baalbeck
• Tiahuanaco
• Easter island statues
• Ollantaytambo
• Sacsayhuaman
• Kailasa Temple
• Al-Khazneh

2. Research the monument you have chosen. You can find information by looking through
newspapers and magazines, relevant books or online sources such as www.world-mysteries.com
/ www.mysteriousplaces.com / www.discoverychannel.ca.

The following questions might help you:
• When were these monuments made? By whom?
• Where were they found?
• What were they like?
• Who discovered them?
• What materials were used to build them?
• Which were the most important artifacts found?
• Who lived there?
• What were they originally used for?

UNIT 2