[Depicted in Treasure of the Peacock’s Eye, the 18th episode from the Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, produced by George Lucas - released in 1995]
That November, Indy & Remy are back in the trenches on orders to arrest a Corporal making his own secret deals with the Germans, yet upon their arrival they already find the man shot and left for dead. In his pocket they find a map written in ancient Greek and his last words to the men are “Eye of the Peacock,” which he repeats several times before a cease fire whistle is blown signaling the official end to the first World War.
After Germany surrendered to the allies, Indiana and Remy resigned from the Belgian Army and returned to Remy’s home in England. Once Miss Seymour doesn’t arrive at the train station, however, Indiana investigates and finds out that she had died from a fever a week earlier, during which time she wrote a letter to Indiana pleading for him to make amends with his father and to make something with his life.
Indiana decides to stay with Remy and his family and together they translate the map, which they discovered may lead them to the diamond eye of a golden peacock statue originally owned by Alexander The Great. Indiana then accidentally spills wine on the map, which uncovers more secret writing that leads them to their starting point in search of the diamond eye in Alexandria, Egypt.
Upon their arrival they coincidentally run into archaeologist Howard Carter (of whom Indiana had met in Egypt many years prior) as well as novelist E.M. Forster, and together they come to the conclusion that a key is needed to uncover the next clue.
They also come across a conspicuous German man with an eye patch at a nearby museum, whom sensing Indiana & Remy’s motives later attacks the men with a group of thugs and steals their map. They then trail the one eyed German by train until they arrive in Port Said where they aboard his steamship. Looking through a window, they watch the man use the key to unlock the map which he burns thereafter, thus Indy and Remy have no choice but to follow the man to the Java island of Indonesia.
Soon after they uncover the German’s investors whose plan is to sell the diamond to the black market in Singapore for triple it’s worth. Yet before long the German is mysteriously killed which leads Indy and Remy to focus on his co conspirators, whom in fact board another steamship enroute to their final destination.
On board, Indiana fights off pirates and after a ferocious duel of martial arts he emerges victorious along with all the tools needed to uncover the treasure. Eventually, they land on another small island where they are initially captured and then cared for by the natives. The next day, however, they are forced to partake in a ceremonial battle between the native tribes that leaves a young boy deceased, which is then later rationalized to them by anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski.
Following Malinowski’s explanation of the tribal traditions they return to his home to finally take a look at their diamond, yet upon prying open it’s casing they discover that it’s nothing more than a stone. Broken and disillusioned from the setback, Remy begins to mentally unravel, and ultimately Indiana is left to do some soul searching in regards to what he really wants.
Upon talking more to Malinowski, Indy decides that it’s best for him to return to America and enroll at the University of Chicago, which leads Indiana and his old friend Remy to finally go their separate ways. Unbeknownst to Indiana, however, this would not be the last time he’d be in pursuit of the diamond.
Thus during this adventure Indiana has close encounters with:
Howard Carter - English archaeologist & Egyptologist who became world famous after discovering the intact tomb of King Tut in the early 1920’s.
E.M. Forster - English novelist who mainly examined class differences and hypocrisy within early 20th century British society. His most popular titles include A Room With A View, Howards End, & A Passage to India, and he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 16 different times throughout his career. He also did in fact volunteer for the International Red Cross in Alexandria, Egypt during the first World War.
Bronisław Malinowski - Polish anthropologist who studied the inhabitants of the Trobriand Islands in Melanesia, in which his ethnography described the intricacies of the Kula ring (trading system) among many other customs through the method of ‘participatory observation,’ that suggests that the only way to truly understand a culture is to actively and continuously engage with one.
Furthermore the basis of the adventure revolves around:
Alexander The Great - King of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, who by the age of 30 had created one of the largest empires in the ancient world. He was tutored by Aristotle and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne, and is widely recognized as being undefeated in battle and one of the most successful military commanders in history. He founded approximately twenty cities that bore his name (most notably Alexandria in Egypt) spreading Greek culture throughout the Eastern world making him one of the most influential figures of all time.
Key locations in this adventure are as follows:
Alexandria - second largest city of Egypt that was originally founded by Alexander The Great in c. 331 BC, it was also the second most powerful city of the ancient world after Rome.
Port Said - city in northeastern Egypt along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and north of the Suez Canal, founded in the mid 19th century.
Java - Island in Indonesia that with a population of over 140 million is home to more than half of the Indonesian population making it the most populated island in the world. The capital of Indonesia, Jakarta, is located in Java and much of the nation’s history took place on the island as well.
Singapore - aka the Lion City, Garden City, and the “Little Red Dot,” - is a sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia, founded in the early 19th century as a British colony. Singapore didn’t officially gain it’s independence until 1965.
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