The Greek poet Simonides, was the creator of a mnemonic system, which he called a, ‘Memory Palace’. It’s now known today as the Mnemonic Place (Loci) System. In order for this system to work, Simonides would visualize a place in which he was familiar with. Then would break down each idea into a symbol and place each symbol in a room. When he wanted to recall these thoughts, he would walk through the location in his mind, room by room, recalling each thought.

Simonides used this memory palace in order to recite his poems by heart. Some time c. 500 BC, Simonides was invited to a banquet hall to recite a poem. He had at this point, been summoned outside at the exact time that the roof collapsed. Everyone inside was killed.

When the bodies were being excavated, they were unidentifiable. Using the Memory Palace, Simonides had remembered each of the guests based on seating arrangement and therefore could determine each body for proper burial.

Between this time, up until the Renaissance, this form or memory recall was common.

---

Source: Yates, Frances A. The Art Of Memory, Pimlico, 1966

---

Memory Palace
The objective of the game is to find your way through the rooms to the finish point. Along the way, the payers trivial expertise is put to the test. Each room contains questions about a specific thing that is commonly forgotten.

---

© 2012 Samantha Madonik