Cryptography Reference
In-Depth Information
Peres
with the verb
to divide
. Moreover, there is an additional play on the last
term with the word for
Persians
. In any case, Daniel's accomplishment made
him the first cryptanalyst, for which he became “third in the government of the
kingdom.” (
Daniel 5:29
)
It is unknown why the king's wise men, for the above-described biblical
cryptogram, could not interpret what is essentially a plaintext, so the only
answer can be their fear of revealing the bad news to the king. Of course,
interest in biblical cryptography has been a topic of interest for many to this
day. However, it can be argued that there is
only
the use of protocryptography
since the essential element of secrecy is missing.
Troy
We now return to Greek mythology as the backdrop to one of the greatest
decryptions in history. Homer's
Iliad
and
Odyssey
, as well as Virgil's
Aeneid
contain accounts of a city named
Troy
, but were they all myths? Let us begin
with the account of the
Trojan War
, fought between the Greeks and Trojans.
There is no cryptography in this tale, so don't look for any. This fascinating
story is presented here both to set the stage for the real-world attempt to find
the site of Troy, and the cryptographic secrets to which this quest finally led, as
well as to delineate the rich historical and cultural connections with the search
for this understanding.
King Priam of Troy and his wife Hecuba had a son Paris, whom Zeus invited
to judge a beauty contest between his wife Hera and two of his daughters, Athena
and Aphrodite. The scene of the contest is the celebration of the wedding of
Peleus, father of Achilles, and Thetis, the water nymph. The need for the contest
arose from the fact that Eris, goddess of strife, arrived at the celebration, despite
not having been invited. She brought a golden apple upon which was written
“For the fairest.” Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all made claim to the apple,
appealing to Zeus for a decision; hence the invitation to Paris since Zeus did
not want to do it himself for obvious reasons.
Of course, each of the goddesses tried to curry favour with Paris by their
offerings. Hera offered power; Athena, military glory; and Aphrodite, a woman
as beautiful as herself, Helen of Sparta, for his wife. Paris gave the apple to
Aphrodite.
Helen was the only female child of Zeus, and was mortal, but her beauty was
world-renowned. She married Menelaus, King of Sparta, and as fate would have
it, Paris was sent as Trojan ambassador to Sparta. Paris and Helen instantly
fell in love, left Sparta for Troy, taking a great amount of wealth from the city's
coffers with them. The Spartans appealed to Troy for return of the treasure, by
sending a delegation with Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and Menelaus, the betrayed
husband. The Trojans refused, and so the Spartans prepared for war.
The Greeks amassed a fleet of 1000 ships, the largest contingent of which
was led by the commander-in-chief, Agamemnon. The Greek army landed on
the beaches of Troy and settled down for a siege that lasted more than a decade.
Prince Hector, son of King Priam, and leaders of the Trojan army had much
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