"The Fisher King Temple"

Oil, 8" x 10", 2006

The city of Avaron* was founded by desert nomads in approximately 300BC.  They favored the location because it was naturally hidden in the mountains of Jordan in the Middle East.  The Avaronians* used sophisticated water collection systems to store water for crops and livestock so they were not dependent on outside water sources.  The land was very fertile and was able to sustain itself without outside help.  As centuries went by, and as the landscape changed, the desert slowly grew around the city.  It was completely isolated and forgotten from the rest of the world.

The city continued to flourish in isolation until around 1200 AD when a group of Crusaders accidentally stumbled upon Avaron through a chasm in the mountain.  These crusaders were rumored to have the Holy Grail in their possession.  Delighted that they had found a lost and fertile city in the middle of the desert, they decided to stay and the native Avaronians welcomed them, eager to hear news of the outside world.  They built a temple of enormous size to house the Holy Grail and other religious artifacts known as ‘The Hallows’ (broken sword, silver serving dish, holy grail, and the bleeding lance).  The leader of the knights and keeper of the Holy Grail, Rich Fisher, became known as the Fisher King because of his ability to miraculously feed the entire city with only one fish.  Many believed that he received the blessing of the Lord and was therefore appointed as the Priest and King of Avaron.

After several years of isolated prosperity, the Fisher King was mysteriously injured by one of his own company and the land instantly turned into a desert wasteland.  No one really knows how or why the King was injured but most historians believe it was in the thigh or groin area, therefore crippling him.  The woes of the land were the direct result of the injury to the Fisher King.  The Crusaders and native Avaronians perished because of widespread disease caused by this ‘plague’.  Every form of life was completely destroyed except for the wounded Fisher King.  He was spared and remained in agony, from his wound, in the temple to fulfill his oath and protect the Holy Grail.

The written history of Avaron ceases to exist after approximately 1200AD, with only a few eyewitness accounts of the city from two crusaders that escaped and made it back to Europe a few years later.   No one knows where it is or where it was.  It is rumored that the Fisher King remains there until this day, waiting for someone to re-discover Avaron, heal him, and restore fertility to the land.

 * This painting is based off of El Khazneh in Petra, Jordan and the Avaronians are based off of the Nabataeans who occupied the city from approximately 100 BC to 100 AD.

The Fisher King Treasure Challenge

On the left and right-hand side of this painting, in the walls, I have written several messages using the Avaronian (Nabataean) font.  The Nabataean font only contains 18 letter characters and all of the vowels are missing.  Can you translate the text and decode the messages? 

 The first person to successfully decode the messages and email it to me at joe@joebartz.com  will win the ‘Fisher King Treasure’ which contains 5 authentic Nabataean coins, 5 authentic Roman coins, 1 authentic Roman ring and a Holy Grail Cup movie prop from the ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ movie.  Good luck and feel free to try as many times as you like!

Newsletter subscribers receive clues to the messages so sign up today! 

Giclee Prints Coming Soon!

Copyright © Joe Bartz 2008