Greece - 2407 BC

There were strange ripples in the water.

Tiny and fine, as though the sea were the contents of a crystal glass and some higher power was running its fingers round the rim, creating minute waves.

The vibrations extended, and the boy could feel his skin and bones tingling under their influence. It tickled, and he started to giggle, letting salty water into his mouth.

But the vibrations increased further, and the boy’s laughter soon stopped. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

He started to swim back to shore. The other children on the sand had stopped playing their game. He could see by the look on their faces that they too could feel the strange vibrations.

As the boy stumbled out of the water, the tremors became so strong that he fell, hitting his head on a stone as he dropped to the ground.

As he lay on his side, he could see a group of crabs dashing away from the waters edge and burrowing into the wet sand.

The boy picked himself up, rubbing his sore head. He heard the others shouting, pointing at the ground.

He went over to them, and looked down to see the fine grains of sand jumping in a merry dance. Even the smaller stones were beginning to move - such were the vibrations.

Despite the shaking, everything was unusually quiet.

It was enough to scare the young boys. Even the more adventurous ones who had been climbing on the cliff face started to descend to the ground as loose rocks began to rain down on them.

All of a sudden, an unrecognisable and rancid smell filled the air.

This was the overture. Soon the distortion would come, and this was the stuff of legends.