Cryptography Reference
In-Depth Information
1.2
Cryptography in Classical Literature
Classical quotation is the
parole
of literary men all over the world
.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
, English poet, critic, and lexicographer
The epic Greek poet Homer, perhaps one of the greatest literary figures of
all time, wrote the
Iliad
(among other great stories such as the
Odyssey
). In
it, a hero of Greek mythology, Bellerophon, son of Glaucus, and grandson of
Sisyphus, fled Corinth after having killed Bellerus, for which he acquired the
nickname
Bellerophontes
. He came, as a suppliant, to Proteus, King of Argos,
whose wife Anteia fell in love with the handsome hero at first sight. However,
he rejected her, and in the role of a “woman scorned”, she told the King that
Bellerophon had tried to seduce her. Believing his wife, but unwilling to risk the
Furies' (goddesses of vengeance) wrath, the king sent Bellerophon to Anteia's
father, Iobates, the King of Lycia, with an enciphered message in a folded tablet,
the plaintext of which said: “Pray remove the bearer from this world, he has
tried to violate my wife, your daughter.”
Iobates, for reasons similar to his son-in-law's, was unwilling to directly
ill-treat a royal guest. Instead he asked Bellerophon to do him the favour of
slaying the
Chimera
, a rather nasty, fire-breathing, she-monster with the head
of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a snake. However, Bellerophon, being
no fool, consulted the seer Polyeidus, who advised Bellerophon to first trap and
tame the winged horse Pegasus. Bellerophon had been given the gift of a golden
bridle by the goddess Athena (after which the city of Athens is named, and why
she is considered the
city protectress
, but more commonly, the goddess of war,
handicraft, and practical reason in Greek mythology). This gift proved to be
timely since Bellerophon, upon finding Pegasus drinking from a well at Periene,
on the Acropolis of Corinth, was able to throw the bridle over his head. Then
he was able to fly over the Chimera on Pegasus's back, firing a volley of arrows,
and finally thrust a spear, which had a clump of lead aGxed to it, into the
monster's mouth. The Chimera's fiery breath melted the lead, which flowed
into her throat, down into her body, searing and killing her.
Iobates was not done. He sent Bellerophon to war against the Solymians
and Amazons, but they too were defeated when he flew over them, dropping
large rocks on their heads. Before returning to Iobates, he was able to conquer
Carian pirates in the Lycian Plain of Xanthus. Iobates sent palace guards to
ambush him on his return. However, Bellerophon prayed to Poseidon (god
of the sea), to flood the Xanthian plain behind him as he advanced on foot.
Poseidon heeded the prayers and sent waves forward as Bellerophon approached
the palace where Iobates waited. Since no man or monster could stop him, the
Xanthian women offered themselves to him, if he would relent. Being far too
modest, Bellerophon turned and ran, the waves retreating along with him. Now,
finally, Iobates was convinced that the enciphered message must have been in
error. He then demanded the truth from Anteia and upon getting it, begged
forgiveness from Bellerophon, offered his daughter Philonoe in marriage, and
made him heir to the Lycian throne. Together with the fascinating aspects of
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