{"id":205,"date":"2018-07-04T12:39:16","date_gmt":"2018-07-04T17:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wyliecom.com\/?page_id=205"},"modified":"2018-07-04T18:39:08","modified_gmt":"2018-07-04T23:39:08","slug":"whats-real-whats-not","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wyliecom.com\/?page_id=205","title":{"rendered":"What’s real, what’s not"},"content":{"rendered":"
In a novel with historical content, I find myself wondering what’s real and what’s not. In the Author’s Notes for The Revelation Key, I promised to reveal that. Here it is. Thanks for your interest in The Revelation Key.<\/div>\n
Faith L. Wylie<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
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Pictured clockwise from left are Constantine VII Purple-born(909-959), Leo VI the Wise (866-912), Zoe (1028-1050) and her fourth husband, Constantine IX (1000-1058), and Basil II (958-1025). Basil II was a great general in addition to being emperor. Notice that he chooses to be portrayed with short hair and gown as a soldier.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

People:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25cf All the present-day people are fictitious.<\/p>\n

\u25cf Synesthesia is real. I hope to further explore Amber\u2019s skill in future novels.<\/p>\n

\u25cf The Byzantine-era characters are real except for Father Alexios. I have imagined what their feelings may have been based on research. Very little is recorded about Patriarch Stephen.A timeline of the Macedonian Dynasty is included on a separate page.<\/p>\n

\u25cf The passages portraying John the Elder writing from Patmos are my own speculation based on Biblical reading and research.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Plaka (top) and the Tomb of the Soldiers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Places:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25cf The University of Fort Worth is fictitious and bears no relationship to Texas Christian University in Forth Worth, Texas<\/p>\n

\u25cf Jackson Textile Importers and the Classics Institute are both fictitious.<\/p>\n

\u25cf The tourist sights around Athens are real. I visited Greece about 10 years ago. I loved the Plaka, Agora and Acropolis. (The Greek ceremonial guards were very manly despite their skirts and pompoms.)<\/p>\n

\u25cf Meteora and its mountain-top monasteries are real and worth visiting.<\/p>\n

\u25cf I traveled to Varlaam monastery. It is open to tourists and has monks who wear athletic shoes and carry cellphones. Its image of the Last Judgment is striking as visitors enter the chapel. That sight is what inspired me to write this novel.<\/p>\n

However, I have added or changed some of Varlaam\u2019s features. I gathered key images in just a few locations so the novel pace wasn\u2019t slowed by weeks of driving to various monasteries.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Varlaam Monastery at Meteora, Greece<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

– In reality, several buildings have been converted into museum, gift shop and facilities for visiting tourists. For example, Varlaam\u2019s original refectory is now a museum for visitors. Through the magic of fiction, I restored the dining hall and \u201cborrowed\u201d the \u201cLadder of Divine Ascent\u201d from its home at St. Catherine\u2019s in the Sinai.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The mural at the entrance to the chapel, the chapel and the museum (formerly the dining hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

– I moved a Revelation fresco series from Dionysiou Monastery to Varlaam.<\/p>\n

– Surely Varlaam had a library. Once source said it had a manuscript attributed to Constantine Purple-born. I have re-created and stocked the library in this mystery.<\/p>\n

I believe all Meteora manuscripts are now secured in archival conditions at St. Stephen\u2019s Monastery, watched over by holy women.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Daphni monastery (exterior, the dome, and the Angry Jesus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u25cf The two historic octagon churches in Greece are real<\/p>\n

– Daphni monastery<\/strong> with its Angry Jesus mosaic in the dome has undergone repairs for earthquake damage and is again open to tourists. I added the mosaic of Alexios and Theodora.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The narthex and exterior at Hosios Loukos.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

–<\/span> Hosios Loukos<\/strong> (St. Luke\u2019s) is very real. It has beautiful mosaics which I have tried to describe accurately. The ceiling in the crypt below features eight-pointed stars. My only revision is adding the captions 666 and 888 to one of the frescoes. The technique of wetting frescoes to \u201cclear the fog\u201d is acknowledged in a book about frescoes in Crete.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The so-called Paris Psalter created under Constantine VII<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Artifacts:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many artifacts from the Macedonian Renaissance were stolen in 1204 when soldiers returning from the Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople (now Istanbul). The Crusaders\u2019 efforts had been futile in the Holy Lands. To pay the Venetians for their ocean transport and take home some treasure, they attacked their fellow Christians.<\/p>\n

\u25cf Constantine\u2019s Psalter is real. Crusaders took it to France where it is in the national library. I \u201cliberated\u201d it and sent it to Varlaam with a few interior enhancements.<\/p>\n

\u25cf The chalice for Constantine\u2019s son, Romanos II, is at St. Mark\u2019s Cathedral in Venice. If the son who ruled only three years had a chalice, surely Constantine Purple-born did as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"
I tried to create a chalice for Constantine VII for the cover of the novel. You can see why I switched to a photograph of Varlaam.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It has never been found, so I imagined what it might look like.<\/p>\n

Symbols:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25cf The Biblical numerology is widely known.<\/p>\n

\u25cf 888 as the number for Jesus Christ is acknowledged in Greek Orthodox and other authorities.<\/p>\n

\u25cf The octagon is often used in church architecture, baptismal fonts, fountains and other places, especially in Catholic and Orthodox churches.<\/p>\n

\u25cf The importance of purple dye is noted in the Bible. The Hebrew Scriptures mention purple dye used to make the tent of meeting. Paul is welcomed to Greece by Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Omega Pi Eta symbol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u25cf I created the symbol \u201cOmega Pi Eta\u201d using the Greek Numerals for 888. I keep expecting to find it on some Christian item from history.<\/p>\n

\u25cf The concept that Eight is the key to the Book of Revelation is again my own.<\/p>\n

I hope my readers enjoyed learning about these things as much as I enjoyed seeing and researching them.<\/p>\n

Coin images by Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. www.cngcoins.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a novel with historical content, I find myself wondering what’s real and what’s not. In the Author’s Notes for The Revelation Key, I promised to reveal that. Here it is. Thanks for your interest in The Revelation Key. Faith L. Wylie People: \u25cf All the present-day people are fictitious. \u25cf Synesthesia is real. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":89,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-205","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyliecom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyliecom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyliecom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyliecom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyliecom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=205"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/wyliecom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243,"href":"https:\/\/wyliecom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/205\/revisions\/243"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wyliecom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/89"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wyliecom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}