Marco! Polo!

Myth:  Marco Polo, a merchant from the Venetian Republic, is best known as one of the first Europeans to travel and document his extensive journeys into Central Asia and parts of China during the 13^th and 14^th centuries.  A friend of the court of Khan – leaders of the Mongol Empire – Polo was able to convey the rich cultural, and more importantly, mercantile, richness these mysterious Eastern lands had to offer.  After a 24-year journey through the Orient, Polo returned to Venice to find the city besieged and at war with Genoa, whereupon he was quickly imprisoned.  He dictated his tales of wonder and wealth to his cellmate until his release in 1299, after which he became a wealthy merchant, husband and father of three until his death in 1324.  Polo’s pioneering and exploring spirit directly influenced the likes of Christopher Columbus, imbuing him with a sense that anything is possible with a spark of curiosity.

Fact:  The swimming pool game “Marco Polo,” a game played by numerous youths during the long and humid days of summer, is rooted in historical fact.  As most medievalists know, the next worst thing to being a rapist, was having the affliction of blindness – a disease believed to be associated with the devil, for one can only see darkness.  Marco Polo was, in fact, blind.  After a traditional Venetian meal of spaghetti and all-you-can-eat breadsticks, Polo is said to have to traveled for miles, groping for a napkin, finally snagging the holy vestments of the Venetian Bishop and wiping marinara on the Bishop’s miter.  In the eyes of the Venetians, this was an act of the devil, and poor Polo was to be exiled.  A passage from Polo’s personal memoirs underlines his detachment with the Venetians and his want to travel away from that despicable place:  “I am ashamed, scared and fearful of God.  But I shall persevere.  Since waterways lead to places of commerce and industry, I will only travel through the medium of water.  And more interestingly, I believe I have heard voices from the Almighty.  For when I speak my Christian name, my father’s name comes echoing back, leading me to wherever it is God wants me to be.  I am his instrument.  Marco!  Polo!”  This seems odd that Polo construed this as a blessing since on several occasions the ensuing “Polo” led him to various, unwanted places:  1) He fell into the Grand Canal at least 25 times, 2) He impaled himself about 10 times at the local blacksmith’s, and 3) He walked into mass on several occasions, undressing the priest thinking the garments were his own.  Undeterred, Marco Polo set out on his 24-year quest.  Ironically, Polo never ventured into Asia, or even out of Venice for that matter.  He, sadly, walked in circles – for 24 years mind you – in the fountain located behind his home.  It seems that several young Venetian ruffians were echoing Polo every time Marco would call out his name, thereby mimicking the voice of God.  They did this for 24 years – quite a commitment to a sick joke.  A neighbor of Polo’s finally recognized what was transpiring and pulled Marco out of the water, only to find that his toes had been “pruned” beyond recognition.  In his mind, Polo had traveled the world.  In reality, Polo had traveled the distance of a kiddie pool about 45,000 times.  The effect of long-term contact with chlorine from his backyard fountain were hallucinations about a far off Eastern Empire, decadent beyond his wildest dreams.  Polo had stayed in the pool for far too long.