Classics in Greece 2007 Travel Journal

18 May

The flight, although still long, arrived an hour early. The nearer we have gotten tot he beginning of our adventures through Greece, the more excited I have gotten. I awoke this morning on the airplane to a beautiful view of the southern coastline of Italy.

The city of Athens is immense. As we flew over, I could see the metropolis sprawling for miles from the coast, with much of it under the shadow of a large limestone mountain.
The first match of the UEFA championship will be held in the Olympic stadium in Athens within a few days of our departure for Crete. It is a shame to think that I will be so close to a great match between Liverpool and AC Milan, yet I will be unable to attend.

...

Because the flight arrived early, we came to the hotel earlier than we were supposed to. As a result, my room was not yet ready. I put my bags in Bob's room and went with a small group to a restaurant.

I did not eat at the restaurant, but I did enjoy a good glass of white wine. I was served a shot of raki. As Bob explained, the raki is the last press from the wine. It has none of the grape flavor because all has already been pressed out.

After the restaurant, I was able to get the key to my room. After showering and changing clothes I walked with Suzanne and Cody down to the flea market. The sides of the street were packed with shops ranging from tourist shops to clothing and shoe stores, the likes of which I might expect to see in a mall, to small kiosks of handmade crafts.

As we turned to come back to the hotel, we stumbled upon the Agora. Intrigued by the ancient ruins and breathtaking view of the Acropolis, we walked around the Agora for awhile, and I took some pictures. After this, I came to the hotel and fell asleep for an hour.

Before dinner, the group went on a short tour that Dr. Levine referred to as the "Tour of the Hills." We began by seeing a church called the Church of Theotokos Georgopikoos and Ayios Eletherios. This church featured the zodiac signs. However, parts of the pagan symbols have been covered with crosses to Christianize it.

As we walked around the exterior of the Agora, we stopped to notice, down by the metro tracks, the site of the Basileios Stoa. This is where Socrates came to learn the details of his conviction for impiety.

Next we came to the Hill of the Nymphs. At the top of this hill in a place we were not able to visit is a smooth, slide-like stone, down which pregnant women would slide so that their deliver might go smoothly and the baby might not have any defects. At the base of this hill is a sanctuary of Zeus.

Then we passed a small, cave-like sanctuary of Pan before arriving at the Hill of Pnyx. On this hill we encountered a stone wall constructed of massive blocks of stone. This wall had been built to change the direction of the slope of the hill. This had, in fact, been done twice, although the true reasons for doing so remain uncertain.

As we neared the peak of this hill, we saw the Heroon of Mousaios. It cannot be determined for sure whether this was dedicated to a Muse or if it was dedicated to the first musician, Mr. Muse, as he was called.

At the summit, we saw the only grave within the city walls of ancient Athens. it was the grave of Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos, a great monetary contributer to Athens. From the summit around the monument extends an indescribably amazing view. The city of Athens extends far in all directions from the top of this hill. To the north (give or takes), the Acropolis stands proudly above the city; to the south, Pireaus, the port of Athens, is visible seated next tot he beautiful blue sea.

After the descent from this hill, we walked around the south side of the Acropolis before settling down to dinner at a quiet restaurant set below the southeastern corner of the Acropolis. AFter a wonderful meals consisting of an appetizer plate (stuffed grape leaves, pastries, fried eggplant, roasted banana pepper, and potato salad), a greek salad (onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and feta cheese), pork souvlaki, fresh apples and oranges, and chocolate-dipped ice cream cones, we returned to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

19 May

Last night I neglected to write about the Jail of Socrates. As we descended the Hill of Pynx from the monument to C. Philopappos we came across the so-called Jail of Socrates. By means of positivist fallacy, this place was assumed to be where Socrates was imprisoned. However, it has been determined that this assumption was incorrect. Because Socrates was imprisoned in Athens and because the structure was found, people made the assumption that this was where he was imprisoned.

...

Today we began with a walk down to the Agora. On our way to the Temple of Hephastos, we stopped at a number of sites including the Altar of the Twelve Gods, which marked the center of the ancient city of Athens, the Temple of Ares, the Temple of Apollo Patroos, the Temple of Zeus Phratrios and Athena Phratria, a statue of Hadrian.

The Hephastion is a temple similar in style to the Parthenon that was dedicated tot he god of metal-working. The small hill on which this temple sits overlooked the area of the Agora in which metal was worked. One unusual feature of this temple is that there was not enough land to the east for an altar.

Heading east tot he Stoa of Attolis, we saw the Tholos, the Boundary markers of the Agora, the Eponymous Heroes, and the Altar of Zeus Agoraios.

The Stoa of Attolis is a columned open porch on the east end of the Agora. To this point, this builiding has been the most impressive to me, perhaps because it has been completely restored, maintaining as many original pieces as possible. The porch forms two corridors between rows of Doric and Ionic columns with wooden beams above and polished marble floors beneath.

After the Stoa of Attolis, we left the Greek Agora and (after we ate lunch) went to the Roman Agora. The Roman Agora was built as the Agora became too congested. Inside the Roman Agora we first saw the Vespasianae. It was once a public restroom for the citizens. Next was the Tower of the winds, which was a water clock that depicted the personifications of each direction of the wind. We also saw the Agoranomeio and a large courtyard partially enclosed by a stoa.

After the Roman Agora, we finally ascended the Acropolis. On our way up the side oft he hill we encountered the Theater of Dionysos and another large theater, the Herodion, which is still in use today.

The entrance to the Acropolis is a gate called a Propylion. I can only imagine what it might have been like to enter the Acropolis through such a structure fulling intact. Although the scaffolding did take a bit away from the splendor of the Propylion, it was still an amazing site to behold.
The scaffolding, however, was not so kind to the most famous exemplar of ancient Greek architecture. The Parthenon, while quite an amazing structure, was not as impressive as I had hoped it might be. The scaffolding obscured a large enough portion of the view that it seemed to diminish what should have been so much more striking a temple.

After the Parthenon we learned about the Erechtheum. This temple was built around the sacred spots of many different gods. For this reason, this temple takes on a shape and structure like no other temples we've seen. On the grounds of this temple were the salt-water spring of Poseidon and the olive tree of Athena.

20 May

Today we departed from Athens and went west to Eleusis. Following the Sacred Way, we stopped to see an ancient bridge which would have been crossed by the Initiates. Eleusis itself had two grand entrance arches and a greater and lesser Propylia. Once inside these, we came to the Telesterion, which is where the Eleusinian Mysteries were held. The Mysteries were very secretive ceremonies, undergone by some of the most famous names from antiquity, including Plato, Pindar, Isocrates, and Marcus Aurelius.

Next, we drove to the Gyphtokastro at Eleutherai. This so-called Gypsy castle, which sits at the border of Boiotia and Attica, was traded back and forth between the Athenians and Thebans.
After a short break for yogurt and honey, we drive to another fortification, the Aigosthena, which overlooks the Gulf of Corinth. From here, we drove to the ferry boat on which we spent the night.

21 May

Today was simultaneously mentally/emotionally relaxing and physically exhausting. We drove from the ferry boat to the top of the Samaria Gorge. The hike to the bottom was 13 kilometers with another 3 kilometers from the bottom to the sea. About 4.5 kilometers down the gorge, I strayed from the path and discovered the source of a spring producing the clearest water I've ever seen. Once I got back on the trail, I pushed ahead of the group on my own. I walked for several kilometers before eventually catching up with Samantha, Jill, Jessica, and Bryant. For the two hours I was on my own, I listened to my audiobook of Lord of the Rings. So as Frodo, Sam, and Pippin trekked across the Shire, I trekked through the Samaria Gorge. Thankfully, I did not have to elude any black riders.

22 May

Today we spent most of the day in Chania, Crete. Chania is a port town in norther Crete. One of its most notable features is its lighthouse on the port. This lighthouse is made from a tower that was torn down from one of the mosques. Therefore, Chania follows the palimpsest motif very well: not only does it have building built on top of by new buildings, it has parts of buildings used for completely different purposes.

Chania's port is surrounded by giant dry-docks large enough to hold the Venetian galleys from the time of the Venetian occupation of the city. Another remnant of the Venetians is the walls that surround the city. Because Chania was an important port town, it was well-fortified with these walls.

Chania does not have many well-preserved archaeological sites, but it has a good museum which chronicles from the Minoans up through the Roman period. This museum has several sealing stones, stones with unique designs on each to be used as personal signatures or guarantees by the Minoans. There were also a few Latin inscriptions in the museum.

We took a short drive to the nearby town of Maleme. Maleme was the site of a World War II battle 66 years ago this month. This balled, called the Battle of Crete, occurred when the Greek army was cut off in Albania. As a result, the Cretan old men and women and children had to fight because all men of military age were with the Greek army. Were it not for a bit of luck and poor generalship on the part of the British commander, the Allies likely should have won the battle. Instead, the Germans took the airstrip at Maleme and eventually the island of Crete.

At the site of the battle, overlooking the ever-important airstrip, lies a beautiful cemetery dedicated to the German soldiers who fought in the Battle of Crete.

After a short break, we left on foot for a Jewish Synagogue. Inside the synagogue, we met Nikos Stavrolakis, a Jewish historian and preservationist, by whose efforts the synagogue was restored. He told us of the history of the building and the history of Crete. He was fascinatingly interesting and very knowledgeable. I very much enjoyed hearing from him.

Afterwards, I ate at a nice Italian restaurant with Bethany, Jessica, and Bryant. Although a bit expensive, the food and wine were wonderful. Following dinner, Bethany and I explored the markets along the streets for a couple of hours. I now finally have a hat and sunglsses for the trip, and a nice Wayne Rooney jersey as well.

23 May

This morning we visited a Minoan burial site. The Minoans had a very interesting way of burying their dead. The tombs were cut into large stones on a very rocky hillside. The tombs consisted of a long corridor sloping downward to a small cave in which the bodies were placed along with other goods. The walls of the corridor were sloped such that the top was narrower than the bottom. Interestingly enough, all the graves were oriented to the north. In one grave, there was a column in the middle; however, I have no explanation as to why they needed it. I can only assume that it was because this tomb was so large that it required extra support.

After the tombs, we visited a museum at Rethymnon. This museum, among many other artifacts, housed some pornographic oil lamps and some great Roman coins.
Next we went to the Fortezza, a Venetian fortress in Rethymnon. This well-designed fortress had several bastions so that any enemy who might try to attack could be shot at from the side and the back. Despite its great design, the Fortezza surrendered after only 23 days of siege.

Following the Fortezza and a quick lunch, we drove tot he Minoan Palace of Minos at Knossos. This amazing palace sits on 6.5 acres and is one of the largest sites we've visited so far. The Palace of Minos was excavated by Sir Arthur Evans, the archaeologist who gave us such wonderful names as Lustral Basins. This palace is odd in that its floorplan has seemingly little structure. In the middle was a large central court running north to south. All other parts of the palace extended out from this court, making it seem as if the central court was of great importance. Along with large frescoes, a theatral area, lustral basins, and other palacial features, this palace displays an amazing drainage system. Running along the sides of a stairway, the Minoans made a lowered trench with parabolic slopes to correspond with the stairs. Although we weren't allowed in the living quarters, Alex told us of a possibly "flushing" toilet. The Minoans had a jar next to the drainage trench so that after they did their business, they could pour the water so that the trench was flushed. Also, this palace, perhaps by positivist fallacy, is assumed to be the location of the famous labyrinth and the Minotaur, although there is no real evidence to support this.

With our site visits for the day having been complete, we traveled to Iraklion, the capitol city of the island of Crete. After checking into the hotel, Boutique Lato, Levine and Yiorgos treated the group to a dinner of appetizers in honor of Tina's birthday. After a bit of wine and festivities, Cody, Suzanne, Bryant, Bethany and I went in search of a good place to watch the second half of the UEFA cup championship match. Milan beat Liverpool by a score of 2-1, with the differential coming on a hand-ball by Milan. Then perazi. While watching the match, the five of us had a very heated debate fueled by alcohol about gay marriage. It always interests me to see how some people can justify the legislating of their own moralities.

24 May

This morning we began with a drive out to Gortyn. Here, in the Roman Odion, James told us about the Queen of all Inscriptions, the Law Code of Gortyn. This inscription is over five feet tall and thirty feet wide. The script is an early form of Greek, substituting some characters from the current alphabet, written in boustrophedon, meaning that when one line ends, the next is written backwards, as an ox plowing a field. This Greek law code was found mounted in the curved wall of the Odion. Speculation infers that the Romans used it as a decoration and that most probably couldn't even read it.

After Gortyn, we visited the Minoan Palace of Phaistos. This palace was very similar to the previous Minoan palace we saw, albeit a bit less of a labyrinth. The most notable thing about the Palace at Phaistos is a small disk found there with a spiraling hieroglyphic inscription. Appropriately, the artifact is called the Phaistos Disk. This palace is aligned with Mt. Ida; however, due to clouds, we were unable to see it from the palace today. Nevertheless the view from the palace of the surrounding farm land is beautiful.

After the palace, we drove to the beach town of Matala. After a quick stop at a grocery store for food, Bethany, Bryant, Jessica, and I set ourselves up on the beach. Here, we laid on the pebbly beach, and I finally immersed myself in Homer's wine-dark sea.

25 May

Today we left Iraklion. But before leaving, we visited the burial site of Nikos Kazantzakis. Because he was excommunicated fromt he Church, he was not buried in a cemetery. Instead, he was buried in the walls of the city. While atop this wall, Yiorgos told us about Kazantzakis' life, and Bob gave a report on the evolution of the Greek language. Tina's report on the Cyuprus Problem was to also be given here, but we had to leave so the groundskeepers could mow.

Next, we visited our third Minoan palace at Malia. This palace differed from the other Minoan palaces in two noteworthy ways. First, the central court has an altar in the center. Secondly, the storerooms east of the court have distinct grooves in the floor leading to a pot set into the floor. This system allowed any spills to be easily cleaned or possibly preserved. Otherwise, this palace was very similar to the previous two.

Then we departed for the town of Siteia. First, however, we went to the town of Agios Nikolaos. We went to a museum there, and while we were there, rain began to fall heavily. Unfortunately, the bus and the restaurants were a five minute walk from the museum. Thus we walked downhill over marble storefront sidewalks through torrential downpour only to have to wade across a street through shin-deep water to eat at a touristy resaurant. After eating we witnessed a traffic lockup which Yiorgos, our bus driver, King of Buses, stepped into and started ordering everybody around.

Upon arriving in Siteia, we were greeted with a rainbow shining above the port. After checking into the hotel, we met a student from Dartmouth, Brooks Smith, who is finishing the end of his three month study in Greece. He joined us for dinner tonight.

26 May

Today we departed from the hotel, and Brooks joined our group for the day. We started our day at a museum in Siteia, which featured a larnax with the bones preserved inside and an incredible statue of ivory and stone carved to such a detail as to even show tendons.

After leaving the museum and imploring the gods to halt the rain, we drove up to the Gorge of the Dead. This hike was significantly easier and shorter than the Samaria Gorge. At a couple of points the path even led through tunnels of trees and flowers.

The Gorge of the Dead fed into the site of our fourth Minoan Palace in as many days. The Palace at Zakros featured a well, a cistern, and a spring chamber which, in the modern absence of Minoans, house dozens of turtles. Another striking feature at Zakros is that we could ascend the ruins of houses above the palace to look down into the ruins with a sort of map's eye view.

Next we ate lunch and relaxed on the beach before departing for Iraklion. We had to drop Brooks back off in Siteia, but we expect to see him in Athens in a few days. During the three hour drive back tot he Boutique Lato Hotel, bus conversations raged from topics including sex and religion. The issues discussed realy caused me to look forward to my Metaphysics class this fall.

27 May

Sadly we had to bid farewell to the wonderful island of Crete this morning. We boarded a high-speed, hydrafoil boat for what would be a four hour ride with stops at Santorini and Eos. We arrived at beautiful Naxos around 1 pm and made for the hotel. Upon arrival, the staff of the hotel welcomed us with a shot of Citron (an alcohol made of local lemons and sugar). The hotel, albeit far less luxurious than the Lato, is the nicest hotel yet. The rooms are accessed through a villa-style courtyard.

The rest of the afternoon was free time, a majority of which I spent sleeping. Although, I did take a quick dip in the hotel swimming pool with Matt and Lindsey.

28 May

Today we left from the town of Chora to see two uncompleted Kouroi. A kouros is a statue of an ideal male, of young age, used for dedications primarily. These two kouroi were approximately five meters tall. Mystery surrounds the reason these statues were left incomplete in their respective quarries. The first was a very easy hike, but the second required climbing a small mountain. Only a handful of the group were willing to make the journey up to the second.

The next adventure on our agenda was to ascend Mt. Zeus. The gods, however, did not smile upon our intentions. We began our hike to the peak under cloudy skies. The temperature was perfect, and there was a slight breeze. As we followed DBL and Yiorgos along the path, all, the leaders included, were surprised at how inaccessible and overgrown the path was. After suffering through the overgrowth for a few more minutes, our fearless leaders determined that we should turn around to find another path.

As we found the correct path, it began to rain. The rain came in waves, which tempted us to continue our climb. the steps of the trail were made of marble, which was becoming slick with the rain. We progressed along the trail, passing by an inscription without looking saying, "We'll see it on our way down." However, once every person in the group had passed this stone, Zeus opened the clouds to let out a little more rain. Because the marble path was becoming steeper and wetter, we decided to turn around. As we turned, the rain let up. this time, we stopped to read the inscription. The stone indicated the boundary of Zeus of the farmers. While at the stone, the group debated whether to brave the elements and make the hike or to admit defeat and turn around. As Dr. Levine declared we should return to the bus, an oracle of Zeus, who was patrolling the lands in the form of a snow-white sheep, baa-ed its assent, indicating that it was the will of Zeus himself that we not climb the mountain. In fact, this marks the second failed attempt by DBL and Yiorgos to climb to this peak in as many tries.

We climbed back down the mountain, and as we reached the bottom, the sun began to shine again. At last, we had regained the gods' favor!

After eating our picnic, which was planned for the summit, at a restaurant, we had one more stop for the day. We drove to see another kouros, this time one that was 10.5 meters tall. Upon coming into sight with the unfinished statue, the rain began to fall again. We finally returned to the bus, acception our punishment of a cloudy and rainy ride back to the hotel for our defiance of divine will.

For dinner, we at at a Mexican restaurant in Chora called Picasso's. This was the first time since I've been in Greece or its islands that I was waited on by Americans. The food was exxcellent; it excited taste buds that I've not yet had a chance to use in this country. After dinner, James and I stopped for ice cream. I had wild cherry yogurt, and it was delicious. Then I returned to the hotel for an early bedtime.


29 May

This morning we walked from the hotel along the beach, stopping for a report by Lindsey on the mythologies associated with Naxos. Then we went tot he unfinished and dismantled temple which was assumed to be for Apollo. This temple faces west (instead of the normal east), causing historian to speculate that it faced towards Delphi. Al that remains intact of this structure is the threshold of the entrance, which stands an impressive 7.9 meters tall.

Next we hiked up to the Kasto a former Venetian castle which lies on the site of the former acropolis in Chora. In the Kastro, we visited the archaeological museum to hear the second part of Lindsey's report explaining about Cycladic art. After this, we went to the Venetian museum. This is housed in the residence of the current descendant of the Venetian nobility who had control of this island. the tour of the museum showed several of the rooms of the old residence preserved as they were long ago.

We finished the tour of the Venetian museum and were free for the rest of the day. Not wanting to miss out on any plans for the evening, I stayed awake and lounged around the lobby and courtyard of the hotel. The rest of the evening was about as uneventful as the afternoon.

30 May

This morning we departed from beautiful Naxos and returned to Athens. After a six-hour ferry boat ride, we check back into the Amazon Hotel at which we stayed two weeks ago.

After an hour and a half to rest at the hotel, the group, sans Yiorgos and Bob, climbed through the streets of the city to Mt. Lycabetos. The view from the top is incredible. We looked down upon the entire city of Athens, from the Acropolis and Agora to the Temple of Olympian Zeus to the ports of Piraeus and across the sprawling city extending miles in each direction.

From the mountain, Drew, Tina, Alex, Lindsey, Rebecca, Melody, Matt, Bethany, and I split off from the group to watch Pirates of the Caribbean. The outdoor theater in which we saw the movie is housed in a water center built by the emperor Hadrian. How many people can say they've watched a movie in a theater built by Hadrian?

31 May

We got another later start this morning, not having to leave the hotel until 8:45 am. Our first stop was the Jewish Museum, which was opened by Nikos Stavrolakis. The museum preserved parts of a synagogue, several Torah scrolls, religious holiday material, clothing, and several other things. It was pretty interesting despite its being outside my realms of interest.

Next we walked to what was formerly the Royal Garden Park. Because Greece is no longer a monarch, the park is no longer royal. In a shady clearing among the trees, I gave my first report on Plato's Academy. Unfortunately the true site of Plato's ancient school was not worth going out to see. Dr. Levine and Yiorgos visited the site yesterday only to find it overrun by Gypsies and smelling so badly of shit that they could not even approach the heroon, a mudbrick structure, of Hekademos. One Athens guide book says, "Although parts are scruffy, and the often insubstantial remains have to be traced among the trees, this effort to recreate the rural atmosphere of the Academy has had pleasing results." This is about the most euphemistic way to say that the site of the Academy is unkempt and not worth visiting.

After my report and Jessica's report on the Elgin Marbles, we returned to the hotel for Rebecca's report on Rembetika, a Greek folk music comparable to our Blues. Then we were given some time for lunch and a rest, during which I finally had my first gyros in Greece.
The remainder of our afternoon was spent at the national archaeological museum. This museum is huge. The three hours we spent there today was not long enough to even just glance over everything inside. It housed artifacts from all classical periods and featured pottery, arms, sculptures, bronzes, and much more.

Among the many notable displays at the museum was a sculpture called "The Thinker." It was an ithyphallic man sitting with his right hand on his right temple and his left hand on his erect penis (the left hand and phallus were broken off of the statue, but the position of the left arm indicates that it was carved as I have described it). It is questionable as to why he is thought to be thinking. Bob joked that maybe this statue was the first example of phone sex.

Another very striking exhibit was a large bronze statue of Zeus. This statue, which was found in the sea, is of a figure with his right arm behind his head for throwing with his left arm extended in front for balance. The reason it is assumed to be Zeus and not Poseidon is that if a trident were placed in the right hand, it would cover his face. Moreover, there was nearby a small Zeus figurine in the same position, holding a thunderbolt in his right hand. The large bronze, although mostly bronze, has copper lips.

In the museum, there was also an impressive ivory statue of Athena, similar to what the enormous statue in the Parthenon might have looked like.

After the museum, I had Asian food from a place called Noodle Bar with Bethany, Jessica, and Bryant. Then I wandered the streets of Athens in vain searching for an English copy of Zorba by Nikos Kazantzakis.

1 June

Today was a very full day. We woke up in Athens and visited a number of sites peppering the land between Athens and Delphi.

Our first stop was the Healing Shrine of Amphiaraus. It was dedicated to a king and hero who, when retreating from Thebes, was swallowed by a hole in the ground. It was believed that by sacrificing and eating a ram, then cleaning and sleeping on its skin, a person might be healed.

Next we drove to a hill overlooking the Chaeronea plain. From here we had an incredible view of where the Battle of Chaeronea was fought between the Macedonians and an alliance of Thebans and Athenians. Here Philip the Second prevailed, with his son Alexander, a pretty great guy, leading the charge against the Sacred Band, an elite group of Theban soldiers, marking the end of Greek independence. On the way to lunch, we stopped by a massive lion statue marking the burial site of 254 of the 300 members of the Sacred Band.

After lunch we traveled to the Church of Osios Loukas. Here are displayed many impressive mosaics and frescoes. More exciting to me, however, was the view from the monastery, looking down across a vast valley.

As I sat on a ledge, looking out across the valley, admiring the view, Suzanne interrupted my musing saying that she couldn't understand how anyone might see such a sight without thinking about God. It was at this point that I came to the following realization. It is an incredible injustice to distract oneself from the appreciation of such an amazing experience with the fabrications of the origins of the sight, which cannot be known, rather than enjoying that which is present and knowable through experience.

2 June

Today we visited one of the most anticipated and, as it were, one of my favorite sites thus far. From our hotel in Delphi, we walked to the temple of Apollo.

In order that we might avoid some of the crowds, our group climbed to the top of the site, which lies on the slopes of Mt. Parnassis, first and worked our way down from there.

First we visited the stadium which lies outside the walls of the sacred site. The stadium is approximately 200 meters long and would have held nearly 5000 spectators. Several from our group lined up for a race in which I took fourth place behind Drew, Cody, and James.

Next, we passed by a large theater on our way to the Temple of Apollo, which housed the Oracles of Apollo in ancient days. Then we saw the remains of the stoa that once stood in front of the temple and a large treasury.

After leaving the site, we looked through the archaeological museum nearby. Sitting atop an Ionic column as she once did before the Temple of Apollo was a large, marble sphinx. More exciting to me, though, were the two distinct Latin inscriptions. The first reads, "L-AIMILIVS-L-F-IMPERATOR-DE-REGE-PERSE-MACIDONIBVSQVE-CEPET" which translates to, "Lucius Aemilius, son of Lucius, a general took (this pillar) from King Perseus and the Macedonians." The second, a much longer inscription says, "IMP-CAESAR-DIVI-VESPASIANI-F-DOMITIANVS-AVG-GERMANICVS-PONT-MAXIM-TRIB-POTEST-III-P-P-IMP-VII-COS-X-DES-XI-TEMPLVM-APOLLINIS-SVA-INPENSA-REFECIT" which means, "The Emperor Caesar Domitianus, son of the divine Vespasian, Augustus Germanicus, Chief Priest, three times holder of tribunician power, father of the fatherland, hailed Imperator seven times, consul ten times, consul designate eleven times, repaired the Temple of Apollo at his own expense." It was nice to see some Latin inscriptions for a change, especially ones I could translate with ease. In fact, I even caught a misspelling of the word "CEPET" in the first inscription, as it should be "CEPIT."

Following a break for lunch, the group met back at the bus to drive near one of the peaks of Mt. Parnassis. the bus dropped us off, and we hiked for about 40 minutes up to the Corycian Cave. The entrance opened into a wide cavern. At the back of this large cavern is a steep and slippery slope of rock leading back into the recesses of the cave. I explored these for awhile before returning tot he entrance. Then Dr. Levine gave us a hint as to where we might find an ancient inscription in the cave. Because I was the first to find it, I was awarded the prize of a map of the Sanctuary of Apollo.

3 June

Today we began by walking to the site just south of Apollo's Sanctuary. This site houses the Tholos that essentially serves as the mascot for the town of Delphi. Adjacent to this site is the site of ancient training grounds. There was a bathing pool and a large, shady stoa nearly as long as a stadium. In this stoa, athletes were able to train in its shade.

We stopped in a small town called Galaxidi for lunch. I was less than impressed. Then we drove to Nafpaktos, where we stayed the night. After a short excursion to see the port and a statue of Cervantes, I had an interesting dinner experience. Alex, Cody, Jessica, Bryant, Bethany, and I sat at a restaurant, and it took over five minutes for the waiter to even give us menus. Once we had finally ordered, we realized that this is not where any of us really wanted to eat. Everybody had already started putting down their money for the cover, but I had a carafe of wine already on the table. Not wanting to waste the wine, and not having any way to take it with me, I had to chug my half-liter of wine. I hope to never do that again. After leaving the restaurant, I went to Goody's, an American-style fast food restaurant with Bethany, Jessica, and Bryant. The three cheeseburgers I had there were far better than any food the first place might have sold me.

4 June

Travel days are nice. This morning we departed from Nafpaktos with very little scheduled for the day. Our only stop before Ithaca was in a town called Messolongi . Here is buried Lord Byron's heart beneath an impressive monument to the man. While in the park dedicated to fallen heroes, Lindsey gave a report on the Philhellenes and the Greek War of Independence.

After Messolongi, we drove to a ferry boat which brought us to Ithaca, the home of Homer's Odysseus. the town of Vathi in which we're staying is a great little town, surprisingly free from tourism, surrounding a deep, still harbor.

5 June

The gods were angry again today. After a later morning wake-up, we went to a small museum in Vathi around 9 am. Then we returned to the hotel to gather our things before boarding the bus. Our first stop on the bus was to be just outside of Vathi, where we would embark on a 40 minute climb to the Cave of the Nymphs. However, as we approached our drop-off point, it began to rain.

No worries, we decided, we could go up to the cave after touring the northern part of Ithaca. We drove to Stavros to visit a small, one-roomed museum there. The volunteer in the museum, named Fortulla, gave us a wonderful tour of the place, explaining many of the artifacts which most of our group recognized, similar items having been seen a number of time this trip.

While we were in the museum, it began to rain, as happens to us at nearly every museum we visit this trip. our half-mile walk back to the bus, although through rain, was brightened with a chorus of "To Kokirakee," and the distance of our march back was measured to be two Kokirakees.

The rain continued through much of lunch, which we had in the nearby town of Frikas. The waiter there, reacting to Suzanne's use of "Me kovi lortha," was hysterical, saying it had been over ten years since he'd heard that phrase. The best quote of the trip so far is when he said, "Me kovi lortha?! Jesus Christ!"

As our meal waned, so did the rain. The bus ride back to the hotel, a cloudy one, proved to be a good fit for an already mellow day. Although our plans for the day were only slightly hindered (a group later went up to the Cave of Nymphs, but I abstained), it was as if the gods, just as they had striven to prevent Odysseus from returning to Ithaca, are striving to dissuade us from remaining here.

6 June

Today we appeased the gods and left Ithaca. So great was our fear of their wrath that we woke up at 5 am in order that we might get off the island as soon as possible. After a very long and very sleepy ferry boat ride, we arrived on the Peloponnese at the town of Patras.

Our first and only real stop of the day was in the town of Kastro, so named for the Frankish castle on a hill overlooking the town. After Yiorgos told us of the history of the castle, we explored the remains and walked on the battlements. The view from the castle walls was incredible.

After the castle, we lunched in a small beach town before driving to Olympia to the highly anticipated Hotel Europa. Although it was much different than I had pictured it, it nonetheless met all expectations. My room had a small seating area, a balcony, and, most excitingly, a bathtub. The hotel also had a large swimming pool. As we were in Olympia, we deemed the race we had in the pool to be the first of our Olympic games. On account of my grace and form (I'm told I had neither), I won the race.

Many of the group walked down to town for dinner. The walk to town was no problem; it was about ten minutes and downhill. However, the walk back to the hotel was about twice as long and steeply uphill.

7 June

Today marked day two of our Olympic games. our first and only task of the day was to visit the site and museum at Olympia. We set out down the mountain from our hotel and walked to the site of the original Olympic games.

First we made our way to the stadium. After hearing a report from Tina, the guys on the trip lined up for a race. No girls raced because women were not allowed to even be in the stadium for the games, much less to participate. I once again took fourth, behind Cody, Drew, and James respectively.

Next we heard from Bethany about the Temple of Hera, which she hugged, and Lauren about the Temple of Zeus, which had massive columns over 2 meters in diameter. After visiting the rest of the site, we went to the museum. Among the many artifacts, this museum housed a large statue of Nike, a large statue of Hermes holding a baby Dionysus, a statue of Emperor Hadrian similar to the one in the Agora, and the east and west pediments from the Temple of Zeus.

Because the museum chronicling the history of the Olympic games was closed, we were free for the rest of the day. In that free time, I hiked down and up that hill to the hotel twice more before settling down to a nice, lazy evening in the hotel.

8 June

Today we left the Hotel Europa, and the journey down the hill was so much easier by bus than by foot, even with Tharnassis driving!

Our first stop was at a museum in Hora, which holds many artifacts from the Palace of Nestor as well as a great model of the palace and projections of what the floors and frescoes would have looked like 3300 years ago. Appropriately enough, the Palace of Nestor had many wine cups, which seems to be representative of me on this trip. Perhaps Yiorgos and DBL knew I would like wine so much when they were assigning report topics.

More impressively to me than the museum, however, was the actual site of the palace. I was a bit disappointed in the state of the southwest building, northeast building, and wine magazine; they were completely grown over with grass and very unkempt (which seems to be a trend for my sites). The Main Building was really well-preserved, though. It is covered with a roof, protecting it from the elements. While we were in the Throne Room, the guard lifted up the plastic box that was covering a floor tile with an octopus painted on it. As a result, we got a clear, unobstructed view of the tile.

After the palace and a short stop at a Tholos tomb also on Epano Englianos, we drove to a castle on the southernmost point on the Peloponnese. This castle featured a nice Latin inscription. Also, Dr. Levine finally found his niche in a sentry post.

Once in Pylos, the company went out to dinner to celebrate Bob's 66th birthday. As always occurs with group dinners, both the food and wine were bountiful. At the restaurant, we met a guy who was here in Greece building a golf course. Bob did his best to avoid this man. When I asked Bob what his problem was with this guy, he said to me, "Because golf courses are bizarre! They're fucking absurd!" After the dinner everybody stumbled merrily in their own directions.

9 June

We awoke this morning in sandy Pylos with a beautiful sunrise over the city. We visited a small museum which hardly anybody ever visits. In this museum there are some very striking glass bowls and some very ugly bronzes thought to be Castor and Pollux. Many members of the group remarked that the craftmanship was amateur at best.

Next we visited the Neocastro or New Castle, which overlooks the Bay of Navarino. Sitting up on one of the high walls of the inner court, the group listened as Samantha recounted to us the Sfattle of Bacteria, or the Battle of Sfacteria. After hearing some of the castle's history from Yiorgos, we were given some nice midday free time.

The afternoon that followed is the best time I've had all trip. We chartered a boat, and the entire group, sans Bob and Lauren, rode out to Ox belly Bay. Most who were riding got to stand on the side of the boat as we rode out. We passed through the Bay of Navarino and through the narrow straight between Sfacteria and Old Pylos. When the boat arrived in the bay, we all had to jump into the chest-deep water, carrying our bags of stuff atop our heads to the shore. From the shore, I hiked up to the Cave of Nestor overlooking the bay. This smaller cave had only an entrance passage and a large chamber and not infinite recesses like the Corycian Cave. In the roof of the large chamber is a thin shaft which allows in enough sunlight to dimly illuminate the cave.

After the cave and a couple of hours on the beach, we waded back to the boat. On the ride home, we went around the open-sea side of Sfacteria. The water was very choppy, and the boat rocked violently. What better time could there be for another round of "To Kokirakee"?

10 June

It saddened me this morning to bid farewell to Pylos. Pylos has been my favorite place I've been since Crete. I really enjoyed the two days i got to spend there. On to Sparta!

After about a two hour drive, we arrived at the site of ancient Messene. First we climbed around on part of a fortification what that used to create a 9 kilometer perimeter around the city. Our plan was to visit the museum next, but it was closed due to a 4 hour strike lasting only from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. As a result, we went down to the site instead. the site covered a huge area and featured a shrine to Artemis and a large stadium. At the end of the stadium is a heroon of which they have over 90% of the original materials. Unfortunately, it hasn't been completely rebuilt yet, but once it is, it will be the first ancient building completely restored since the Athenian treasury at Delphi.

The rest of our day consisted of driving to Sparta, which, despite the short distance, took long on account of the mountains through which we had to weave. The one stop we did make was at a cave into which the Spartans would throw their enemies to their deaths.

11 June

This is Sparta! Actually, the city of Sparta is not so interesting for the purposes of our trip. The modern city holds little that would tie it to the famous city-state of ancient times. Most sites worth seeing are within a very short drive from Sparta.

We spent the morning in Mystras, which is about 5 kilometers from Sparta. In Mystras, we climbed to the top of a mountain atop which sits a castle. The view was absolutely amazing, the best yet! Ti orea theia! On our descent from the castle, we stopped at a nunnery and a couple of old churches. Our visit to Mystras was finished with a nice lunch with cheap wine at the base of the mountain.

After lunch, we hiked up to a sanctuary of Helen and Menelaus. This vantage point gave us a great look over the modern city of Sparta. Atop this hill, Bethany gave her report on the Spartan Agoge, the school by which all Spartan boys were trained to be the Spartans of reputation.
From this site, we hiked down to the Sanctuary of Artemis Ortheia. Suzanne finally gave her first report of the trip. The site was not much to see. In fact, we had to climb a small fence to even get in. We finally set off on foot back tot he hotel, where we enjoyed another free dinner. If only all hotels this trip had provided dinners for us!

12 June

As the trip nears its end, the days seem longer and more tiring. today we started by visiting the archaeological museum in Sparta. There are many impressive mosaics on display, but unfortunately the bust of Leonidas was not on display. However, the museum did have a sculpture of a razorback and a very well-preserved pornographic oil lamp.

Next we drove about two hours to an early lunch near the site of ancient Mycenae. Mycenae itself featured the oldest monolithic sculpture in Europe, the Lion's Gate. Just inside this gate is an area called Grave Circle A, a series of shaft graves in which approximately 30 pounds of gold was found. This palace also featured a megaron similar to the one of Nestor's Palace with a portico, vestibule, and throne room. We also got to climb down a very deep cistern called the Secret Cistern.

After the palace, we visited our 21st museum of the trip before visiting three increasingly impressive tholos tombs. The third of these is called the Treasury of Atreus.
Finally, after a physically draining day, we drove to our hotel in the city of Nafplion. In exploring the city, I found it to be a very peaceful place with touches of tourism, but not so overwhelming as some of the places we have been.

13 June

This hotel in Nafplion certainly fails to impress me. The rooms are far from great. In fact, Jessica said she's seen nicer rooms in hostels. Breakfast was meager, which, although that would not normally be an issue for me, was bad because I've needed all the energy I could get just to get myself through the activities of these last few days of the trip.

Our first destination of the day was nearby Tiryns. Tiryns is the third in our series of Mycenaean palaces. If only we'd visited the palace at Argo, we could boast four Mycenaean palaces to balance the four consecutive Minoan palaces on Crete. The hill on which Tiryns sits is much smaller than the previous two in height and breadth. However, it was a bit bigger than the palace at Pylos.

After Tiryns, we left for Epidaurus. Bryant gave the final student site report here on the Cult of Asklepius. Although I was not terribly impressed with the ruins here (perhaps I'm just tired by this point of the trip), I did experience the best thing this entire trip. On this site is a large theater which seated 14,000 spectators. The amazing thing about the theater is the perfect acoustic it still preserves today. Standing in the center of the orchestra, my voice boomed at a mere whisper. Every word I said or sang from here could be hard perfectly throughout the seating. Among a series of other performances by members of our group, Dr. Levine and I sang "Gaudeamus Igitur" from the center.

For lunch, we stopped at a restaurant in a nearby town. Bethany and I decided to forego the restaurant and to find something cheap to eat. We found a small bakery, and, a few minutes later, over half of our group filed in to join us. As it turns out, the prices at the restaurant were ridiculous, and no one wanted to pay that much. So our decision to avoid the restaurant was a good one.

Next we drove to the peak of a small mountain overlooking Nafplion, atop whichis the Palimidi fortress. Within the walls of this fortress were seven small fortresses so that if one were taken, the others could destroy it, thus leaving the enemy with no foothold. While up here, we each took our turn for a picture with Yiorgos and Dr. Levine. This series of pictures we call "Pals on the Palimidi." We even took a picture for James, who couldn't be there because he had to return to the hotel for his insulin. The view from the top was amazing. After exploring the fortresses, we descended the nearly 1000 stairs back into the city.

Following our hot and tiring afternoon trek, we were treated to ice cream. We also had a demonstration of Greek folk dancing. To be honest, I wasn't terribly impressed. Most of the steps were the same, and often the beat of the music seemed to have very little effect on the beat to which the dancers danced.

14 June


Today was the last day of sites! Hooray! We first stopped in Nemea at the museum which overlooked the ancient site. We did not spend much time there because we had a special treat waiting for us in Isthmia.

Dr. Tim Gregory of Ohio State University gave us a tour of the ancient site, the excavations of which he is in charge. The most impressive part of his site is a Roman bathhouse that is well-preserved in relation to most of what we've been seeing. One advantage to being led around by the man in charge is that we were allowed to walk on the beautiful mosaic floors in the bath.

After Isthmia, we stopped at the site of ancient Corinth for one last museum and pile of ruins. We visited our twenty-fifth museum of the trip, which boasted a handful of Latin inscriptions. Then we walked very quickly through the site and back to the bus. We're done!
Finally we returned to our home sweet home, the Amazon hotel in Athens. Because they are leaving a day early to fly to Austria, most of the group went to the Hard Rock Cafe to have a farewell dinner for Bryant and Jessica. The hickory bacon cheeseburger is by far the best I've ever had.

After dinner, Bethany and I walked around Athens for a couple of hours, stopping at the restaurant at which we had our welcome dinner for a pitcher of wine. After the wine, we walked around the Acropolis, surprising each other with the vast amounts of knowledge we'd retained over the past month.

15 June

Oh sweet sleep! I slept until 9:30 this morning, and it felt amazing to do so. Having nothing planned until the farewell dinner, I used the day to get the rest of my shopping done. I picked up some clothes from stores near Omonia Square before lunch. After a break for lunch, Bethany and I set out for souvenir shopping. We were amazing efficient, and we finished before 3:30. For the four hours before the group met for dinner we just lounged around the hotel doing nothing and enjoying every bit of it.

The group met at 7:30 for dinner, and it was strange to realize that I hadn't seen most of these people at all that day up to that point. It was a shock considering I've seen them before 9:00 am on each of the last thirty days. The farewell dinner itself is some of the greatest fun I've had all trip. It was the perfect culmination of memories and inside jokes shared with the people I've enjoyed getting to know over the past month. Sam performed her DBL rap that she's been working on; everybody exchanged stories; we all reminisced over the exhausting journey that is coming to a close.

16 June

Today we left Greece. It was a very sad feeling to leave behind a place to which I've become so attached. As we boarded the bus for one last near-death experience courtesy of Tharnassis, I couldn't help but think about how much I've changed over this past month. Of course, I ahve learned so much about Greece, ancient and modern, and the venetians, but more importantly I made some great friendships with the nineteen other people in the group. Through these friendships I have begun to mature in ways I could not have anticipated.

Although most of this journal has been a narrative of the trip, I do not feel the need to recount the exact details of this day of travel. Suffice it to say that today was a very long day capped with undeniable bittersweetness, leaving Greece behind for the prospect of returning home, and arriving home with the knowledge that I won't see that beautiful country again for quite some time.

26 June

I miss Greece. Although it was an academic trip, the Classics in Greece trip was very much a vacation for me. I spent every day visiting amazing sites with a great group of friends. Now my days are spent missing those sites and those people.

I really thought I would be looking forward to the remainder of my summer. I have no more classes, no job. I have very little responsibility here, and I am free to come and go as I please. But every day I wake up (usually at 7:30 am still) and find myself wishing for another week on Crete or hoping to walk down to a hotel lobby to find the other 19 people of the group waiting on me. The Classics in Greece trip was the best time of my life, and it will be quite a long time before I have any experience to match it. Thank you DBL and Yiorgos, for leading us on a great and memorable excursion.