Disney-comics digest #570.

Don Rosa 72260.2635 at compuserve.com
Wed Feb 1 06:41:14 CET 1995


JON C.:
	Thank you and Vidar for his info on the Artesian Temple. His facts either
match what I found or he has interpretted my story to NOT match his info when it
does. Besides that, his info comes from one booklet where my info comes from
numerous historians' writings; in doing my research on this story (and the Lost
Library story) I found out that no two historians agree on anything, and I was
free to choose whichever interpretation fits my needs the best.
	For instance, who built the Temple? It's impossible to say what Croesus
contributed and anyone who thinks he can is really just his guess against the
next guy's. What if Croesus came along when it was 75% done? He could still have
contributed that top column-barrel layer, of course, and that was all I needed.
As to the entire convoluted history of the Temple's possible builders or how
many times it was damaged and repaired, I can't possibly relate all that in a 28
page comic, nor is there any reason to do anything but tell as little as I need
to for my purposes.
	My story says the "temple was unconquered" throughout the centuries in
that it was never destroyed, only plundered. I never said Ephesus was never
conquered. And each time invaders looted the Temple, the Temple still stood. It
was certainly not destroyed! They may have torn down the statues and furnishings
and perhaps even the gold roof, but they never touched the columns. The Temple
stood until the Christian Emporer of Byzantium dismantled it and carried most of
the columns to Constantinople, as I said. And as Vidar validates, British
colonials took what was left to London centuries later.
	What I showed of the Temple's construction was totally accurate! It had
far more than a "double row of columns around the outside"; Vidar contradicts
himself on this point when he mentions the 36 front columns. The Temple was 8
columns wide in the front and 21 columns long, with the inner walls surrounded
by FOUR rows of columns in the front and back. There was an inner wall to house
the Temple's contents, but there were more columns INSIDE the building. It WAS
almost SOLID with columns... 127 total (there were a few columns stuck in doors
to spoil the symetry. I worked from a foundation plan made by the Temple
excavators so I KNOW my design was correct. Check the panel that Vidar sites --
I don't show the ENTIRE temple lay-out, just one portion of the front corner,
and my column rows are quite correct. As for the interior walls, $crooge had no
reason to reconstruct those even if he could have found the blocks which would
be impossible -- only the columns are recognizeable. Same goes for why I didn't
have him reconstruct the frieze even though that would have made my rebuilt
temple MUCH more impressive; I could think of no reason to have him rebuild
those parts, even though it would have made the place look MUCH better.
	My depiction of the site of the Temple is taken directly from photos. Any
excavation and column restacking has taken place in recent years. And my date
for the discovery of the foundation is also correct. They TRIED to excavate the
place earlier, but no one found the actual site until 1905.
	I can't imagine how Vidar can say that two cities which were knocked flat
and their rubble covered with many feet of silt were not "destroyed". They have
been excavated in recent years, dug out of the silt, and parts restacked, but
prior to that every building had been razed to bits and pieces. However, one
thing that I could NOT find in all my research was photos of the areas around
the Temple site or of Sardis' site -- I wish I could have talked to Vidar before
I drew those scenes to know what modern buildings and ancient ruins in the area
look like (though I know I got the trees and landscape correct) -- but it's too
late to correct those panels now, and since it doesn't involve the story or the
historical facts, it's okay. (Nonetheless, I always wish to be accurate even
when it's needlessly accurate... it's part of the fun.)

JORGEN:
	You're right!!! Who'da thunk that in Munich they don't call Munich
Munich!?!? It's MUNCHEN (which I assume is sorta pronounced as "Myoo-nick"?).
But the real sin I committed was putting the name into the ART as part of a city
park sign! This detail cannot be corrected since the coloring is all done in
Denmark, and even if they tried tampering with the art for the German editions,
the COLORING would STILL SPELL "MUNICH". I wonder how they'll handle that
problem in the German editions? Hm... why can't the park be in some small German
town actually called "Munich"? No? 




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