Our first full day in Athens began with breakfast, of course, in the Hotel Plaka. I had their plain corn flakes with milk, drizzled with honey for the entire week; a recipe I devised in Delphi. Our outside excursion for the day was very busy. We started at the Agora (marketplace) of Athens; only a short walk from out hotel. The Agora had many trees covering the walkways that were littered with various statues and stones. Dr. Hood asked a question about Augustus’ friend Agrippa. Thinking I knew the answer, I raised my hand. For some reason I thought Agrippa was a woman’s name, so I answered (guessed) that it was Hadrian’s wife. I could not have been any farther from the answer. It was quite embarrassing, especially after the blank stare that Dr. Hood gave me. I felt like an idiot. Agrippa was actually Augustus’ right-hand man during the early days of the Roman Empire. We zigzagged through the Agora some more. We stopped by the Temple of Hephaestus on the north side of the Agora. The Temple of Hephaestus is perhaps one of the best preserved Doric temples of the ancient world. From the front side of the temple, you get a terrific view of the Agora. We descended the hill and went back into the Agora. We went in search of Socrates’ jail cell. This, however, is only a legend. The location of Socrates jail cell is not known; despite what maps and signs may say. After failing to find the jail cell, we went to the south side of the Agora to the reconstructed Stoa of Attalus. It was reconstructed by the Rockefeller family (as in the oil tycoon) in the early twentieth-century. The American Archaeological Society had the opportunity to reconstruct a part of the Agora and the Rockefeller’s decided to rebuild the Stoa of Attalus so that it could double as a museum for archaeological discoveries (on the lower floor) and as office space (on the second floor). Dr. Hood believes that it is now a sort of “eye-sore” because it is a relatively historically insignificant yet it stands out. I will admit that it does stand out and that they could have chosen a more important building to rebuild, but it does house a nice little museum for the Agora. The museum contains several interesting pieces. Hundreds of ostraka with the names of prominent (and not so prominent) men etched onto pieces of broken pottery. These shards of pottery were used to cast votes in ancient Athens. The winner (rather, the loser) would be exiled for ten years as a measure to protect Athens from men who grew too powerful. The Agora Museum also had a pot that served as a coffin for an infant baby preserved in ancient honey. This inspired Dr. Hood to tell us a story involving a similar honey pot. While in England during the 1960s, Dr. Hood visited a British museum and was invited to have tea with the curator. This tea was sweetened with a sample of ancient honey that they discovered in a pot. As they scraped deeper into this pot, they discovered something quite disturbing that caused them to never see honey the same way again. Gross. At the end of the museum, they had a very significant bronze shield. During the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians, led by Cleon, captured one hundred and twenty elite Spartan soldiers (an un-heard of idea in the ancient world) on the island of Sphacteria. The shield in the Agora Museum belonged to one of those captured Spartans. After the museum we went around the Acropolis to the south side to visit the Theater of Dionysus, which was a nice opportunity for some pictures and hanging out. Then we headed over to see the massive Temple of Olympian Zeus. To get there, we had to cross a busy street and walk through the Arch of Hadrian which watches the traffic zoom by every day. The Temple of Olympian Zeus was started by the tyrant Peisistratus in the sixth-century BC and was not completed until the second-century AD (nearly six hundred years later). Today, only a few columns remain standing; several have fallen over giving you a good idea of the size of the column drums. After this, we were free to go off to lunch. My little group went back near the hotel for lunch. We stopped by a place with a persuasive door advertisement our front. We sat and had lunch. The waitress tempted me with a “combo” plate with lamb, chicken, and pork accompanied by pita and French fries. Without knowing exactly what I was going to get, I ordered it (for fifteen Euros, big mistake). To my surprise, I had enough food for three people. The lamb, chicken, and pork each could have been a portion for one person each. I ate the entire plate, naturally. We had another lecture in the afternoon. That night Dr. Hood sent us (Amber, Jonathon, Matt, Alia, Stephanie, Victoria, Shaina and myself) on a mission. We had to find a restaurant to take the class to for the next night’s dinner. First of all, we got lost on the way to finding a restaurant that we had picked out. Secondly, the meal was dreadful. Lastly, it was very expensive. It started off well with saganaki and bread, but quickly went downhill. Their idea of pasta consisted of strange, overcooked noodles with a little sprinkle of parmesan cheese. I opted to try their dolmas (a beef/lamb/rice mix, wrapped in grape leaves), but they put a gray, bitter sauce on top that ruined it. Let’s just say that we left very displeased, but at least the company was good.
The Temple of Olympian Zeus
Hadrian's Arch
The next day in Athens started very early. After an early breakfast, we headed out for the busy day. We walked through the narrow streets of the Plaka suburb toward the Acropolis. First, we visited the new Acropolis Museum. The entrance is a wide walkway that is above an excavation site. There are some panels on the ground that are clear glass; you can see archaeologists working beneath your feet! Our group worked out an agreement with the museum so that we could enter an hour before opening to receive a special tour. Once we all entered the newly refurbished museum, we were all saddened to hear that we could not take any pictures indoors. As a group we went to the second floor to watch a bilingual movie about the Parthenon. Then we moved up to the third floor to see their exhibit on the Parthenon. It is laid out so that you can walk around it as if it were the real Parthenon outside. Looking up you can see reconstructions of the ninety-two metopes depicting scenes from mythology and Greece history. They are reconstructions because the real ones are in the hands of the British. At eye-level you can see the frieze that wrapped around the outer wall of the Parthenon. Some of the frieze is reconstructed because most of it is held by the British (big surprise). The remnants of the pediments are also on display, but they too are reconstructions of British possessions. After walking around the Parthenon exhibit, we went back down to the first floor to see statuary from the fifth- and sixth-century BC and remnants of the archaic Parthenon. Lastly, we walked through exhibits of the other buildings that accompany the Parthenon on the Acropolis; the Erechtheion, the Propylaea, and Temple of Athena Nike. The original Caryatids that lined the outside of the Erechtheion are housed in the museum undergoing repair. The exhibits were nice to look at, but they were only just a taste of what lay outside. After regrouping in the lobby, I managed to get a picture of a wonderful bust of Perikles. With this, we left to go to the Acropolis. We walked past the Odeon of Herodes Atticus along the backside to get to the Acropolis entrance. As I walked past the droves of identifiably Asian, American, and European tourists toward the Propylaea, my anticipation built up. The high walls and columns of the fifth-century BC Propylaea must have intimidated a foreigner, just as myself, in the ancient world. I caught a glimpse of the Temple of Athena Nike before going up the stairs. The masses of people flowed against each other, going in different directions; some coming and some going. I tried my best to stay with the group. At last, I laid my eyes upon the Parthenon on its level (not just from below on the street). Getting closer and closer, my anticipation began to crest. I snapped a few pictures. I got as close as we could only to find out that I could not go inside. For some strange reason I thought I would be able to go inside the magnificent center of the ancient Athenian world. We walked around it, viewing the various implements of construction and reconstruction that the Greek government approved to litter the site for the time being in order to rebuild the proud structure. The Parthenon is perhaps one of the most interesting examples of ancient Greek architecture. Here are just a few of the many interesting facts about the construction: the number of columns along the long and short sides (eighteen and seven, respectively), which is equal to the golden ratio (along with various other facets of the Parthenon), the base of the building has a slight curvature so that from a distance it would appear level, the columns are cigar shaped (fat in the middle and thinner on the top and bottom) in order to compensate an optical illusion that would otherwise make the columns appear too thin overall, the columns are also slightly tilted inward to again compensate for an optical illusion (if the columns were to eventually meet, they would touch nearly a mile in the sky). As you can tell, I like the Parthenon, but something about seeing it up close was anti-climactic. Perhaps it is because of the optical illusions that it just did not look right or maybe because I could not go inside (or even see inside). The next building we went to see was the Erechtheion. This building is quite strange in terms of conventional architecture, ancient or otherwise. It is asymmetrical and multileveled. There is a deliberate hole in the roof of the north side of the temple where supposedly Zeus impregnated Gaia (Earth) with a bolt of lightning. On the west side of the temple is an extremely unique tree. Dr. Hood told us a story that during one of his past trips to see the Parthenon that a Greek tour guide, speaking terrible German, convinced some tourists that this tree was the first olive tree planted by Athena on the Acropolis. It has grown quite a bit in the past few decades. Strange how that worked out. After lunch we stopped by Ice Grill for some ice cream. This ice cream was paid for by our travel agent, Dmitri. We had saved money somewhere along the way and he wanted to get us ice cream back in Delphi, but we had not found a good place in Delphi, so we opted to wait until we got back to Athens. It was so worth it. Once again, I managed to acquire some more roses for Stephanie. I am not sure what happened to all those roses I gave her… oh well, at least she enjoyed them. Dr. Hood lectured in the afternoon again as usual. For dinner, another small group of us went to a restaurant to find a place to eat for the next night since we failed the night before. This place was much better! I got a lamb dish with a lemon sauce and rice that was great! The lamb leg was very tender and flavorful! After dinner a group of us acted out Aristophanes’ Lysistrata so that we could read it for the class during the next days’ lecture. I got to be the horny Spartan ambassador. Great.
The Parthenon
Bust of Perikles in the Acropolis Museum
The next day’s plan was to visit the National Archaeological Museum. We walked a long way to the museum while our sick classmate and two other took a taxi to meet us there. Sometime between lunch and lecture two days before, our classmate Madison got terribly sick! She had to miss our visit to the Acropolis! Luckily she was good enough to go to the National Archaeological Museum. We met on the steps of the museum and took a group photo among the hoards of pigeons and feral dogs. To our disappointment, most of the exhibits in the museum were closed due to… guess what… budget cuts. The government cannot afford to pay enough employees to have all the exhibits open, especially during the winter off-season. This museum was home to thousands of priceless artifacts from Greek history. We were able to see the famed “Death Mask of Agamemnon” from the “Tomb of Agamemnon” in Mycenae. Various frescos, bronze swords, gold jewelry filled the glass cases. One of my most favorite bronze statues, the statue of Olympian Zeus, was on display Another enjoyable statue was a large bronze statue of a slave boy riding a horse, bareback without stirrups, like a real cowboy. Dr. Hood tried to convince some of the museum staff members that they should open some exhibits to us so that we could see what we came to see. They declined, of course. Disappointed, we began the long walk back to the Hotel Plaka. For lunch, Stephanie and I went to the little ice cream café and feasted on one last chocolate soufflé in a very empty establishment. At lecture, just as promised, we acted out selections from the Lysistrata. It was a huge hit; everyone enjoyed it. Amanda gave an especially convincing performance as a Spartan woman named Lampito. Dr. Hood gave us another synthesis to prepare us for the next day’s final examination. For dinner, we went back to the restaurant we sampled the night before and we had that lamb dish again. After dinner, a few of us went to Bretto’s, a fun wine bar just around the corner, to sample some fine liqueurs. People did not stay too long because they needed to go and study for the final exam and prepare for the last day in Greece tomorrow!
Olympian Zeus in the National Archaeological Museum
On the last morning in Athens, I felt quote anxious; about the final exam, getting packed up, going home, and the realization that my trip in Greece would be coming to an end. I got up a little earlier than usual so I could get into the breakfast room. My intention was to get a head-start on eating so I could finish off my studying. I sat by myself at a table for two eating my corn flake/honey cereal. Amber joined me for some studying. Eventually, we all found ourselves in the midst of a final exam. Some of us were disturbed in our final by Dr. Hood and a hotel employee. They had to move some of us around to allow room for other hotel guests to eat breakfast. Amber and I were moved, but I was not worried. After the exam, everyone was so excited. My group had BIG plans for the last day in Athens, which was a free day to do anything. A group of us (Jonathon, Amber, Stephanie, Alia, Shaina, Matt, David, Joel, and myself) wanted to rent mopeds and drive about thirty miles to see Marathon, one of the most significant places in Greek history (the site of the Athenian victory over the Persians in 490 BC). When we went to inquire about renting mopeds, we found out that they were all out of the 50cc mopeds. The mopeds that were100cc and up required a license, so we could not use those. Then we went to a car rental place, but they wanted someone to give their credit card information and put up about $9,000 or so as collateral. That was not going to happen. By this time, it was too late to catch a bus and be able to explore, so our plan to get to Marathon was scraped. Our second plan was to get to Piraeus, the port of Athens, which some of the Turkish Elite tried to do when we first arrived in Athens nearly three weeks prior. I knew that the Piraeus was six miles away from Athens; it would be a long walk. At first it was stressful because we had all been bickering about what to do, but we just started walking. We stumbled upon a confectioner’s shop that had an amazing smell that brought us in. Some of us bought gelato and we continued on our way. After about an hour, some of us started to complain about the walk. I do not blame them, it was sort of boring and not very much fun. At some parts, there was not even a sidewalk, so on a certain level it was not even safe. As we neared the harbor, we stumbled upon a boat in dry-dock. It was a real trireme (an ancient Greek warship)! I am pretty sure it is a reconstruction though. Only Jonathon stopped to appreciate it with me. After escaping a near-mutiny and dealing with Shaina’s terrible blisters, we finally made it to the water around 2pm. We found a waterfront café (a very expensive one at that) and had lunch. It was getting late because we had to be back at the hotel by 5pm; there was no way that we could walk back. David, Matt, Joel, and Shaina took a taxi back. The rest of us decided to travel by rail. It was fun. Alia took a picture of a train standing on the tracks; we all got a little nervous then. I trusted Jonathon’s leadership in the matter since I had never taken a train anywhere. I was just concerned about being late. After transferring from the first train to the second, I had accepted the fact that we were on the right path. We made it back to the hotel right on time. Dr. Hood summoned Amber and me to his room to help him think of proper names for everyone for the toast that he was going to give at the final dinner. He also gave us back our final exams; an A for both of us. At 6pm, the class congregated and went on one last hike up Lycabettus Hill in the heart of Athens. The hike was pretty tough after the long day of wandering. We all reached the top and just hung out for about an hour. It was a brilliant view of Athens. You could see the Acropolis, the Piraeus, the Olympic Stadium, and all of the white-sided high-rise building that make up Athens’ suburbs. Everyone took pictures and videos with each other. I, on the other hand, opted to be by myself. I went to the east side of the hill to look out at Athens with the sun at my back. I was in a melancholic-type of mood; the trip was coming to an end. I needed to process everything. When it was time to leave, we all wandered back down the windy trail. We found one peculiar hand-made sign posted on the wall. It read: No justice, no peace, fuck the police. We all stopped, one-by-one, to take a picture with it. When we reached the bottom, the “party girls” were nowhere to be found. I ran back up the hill to find them, but I could not. The group decided they had waited enough and we figured they could find their way back. They did. We had dinner that night at a restaurant that no one had ever been to called Psarra’s (expect Dr. Hood, Cecil, and Art). For me, it was in my top three meals of the whole trip. We had the usual saganaki and tzatziki followed by a main course of beef medallions, potatoes, and feta cheese in a tomato sauce. I consumed quite a bit of delectable red wine. Dr. Hood toasted everyone who went on the trip. At this dinner, I had my legacy forever etched in stone as the “telephone pole with half a brain,” which is fine by me. It was a great final meal with everyone. After dinner, everyone strolled on down back to Bretto’s for one last hurrah. After having much to drink, we all sang Bryan Adam’s hit “Summer of ‘69” as loud as we could. It was a night I will not forget. We wandered back to the hotel one last time to finish packing. Strangely enough, Stephanie and I got our picture of the Acropolis at night for the first time in the last hours of the trip. We stayed until about 2am talking and looking at the stars. The wake-up call to get ready to get on the bus was at 2:30am. Everyone stumbled their way out of the Hotel Plaka and made their way to the charter bus. Some of my classmates drank a bit too much that evening to “celebrate” their last night in Athens. They enjoyed their drinks so much that they had the opportunity to see them again, and everyone on the bus got to hear about the reunion. We drove off to the airport and said our farewell to Athens.
The experience at the airport was run-of-the-mill; frantically trying to check baggage, get boarding passes, get through security, and wait around for an hour before the flight. I had my bag searched because I forgot to take out a bottle of water. I sat next to Stephanie for the flight. For a majority of the flight I sat in silence thinking about all that happened on the trip; all the friends I made, and all of the memories that I will not forget. But when I was not thinking about that stuff, I watched a movie on Stephanie’s laptop or ate one of Luftansa’s many great in-flight meals. Seriously though, Luftansa knows how to feed its customers! (They also have free adult beverages… just saying.) The flight itself is draining; combine that with the fact that I had thirty minutes of sleep and you get one very tired person. The seats are nearly impossible to sleep in since they are pushed so close together. It felt great when the plane landed in Los Angeles. I was excited to see my family again after a month away from home. We went through customs and got our passports looked at with ease. Some of us were concerned about the amount of alcohol that we brought back, but they did not search any bags. It was easy to get the stuff through. One person literally had five bottles of alcohol. My Dad and sister met me at the arrivals gate. It was so great to see them! Most of the class must have felt a similar feeling of excitement since they all pretty much disappeared once they got past customs. That is fine because most of us stay in contact anyway. We may have left Greece, but the experiences and memories will never leave us.
My experience in Greece was truly a blessing. Greece is a wonderful country with so much to do. I hope to go back one day. The people of Greece were very hospitable and welcoming. Perhaps the remnants of the ancient practice of xenia remain in their blood. The unwritten practice of xenia established a bond between a host and guest that transcend generations. I have not established a true form of guest-host relationship with anyone particular in Greece, but rather, with the whole country. It served as a lesson to how we should treat our guests. I can only hope to repay this debt by spreading the word about how great a place Greece is to visit. Traveling abroad for the month in Turkey and Greece has changed my worldview. As American’s, we tend to think of the rest of the world as this foreign place with people that are different than us. The reality is that people are the same everywhere. Just because they speak a different language, eat different foods, or practice different customs does not take away from their humanity. They breathe the same air, feel the same emotions, share the same joys and sorrows, and hope for the same things. Our concept of nationalism sometimes covers up our understanding of people in other countries because they are given a label that takes away from the uniqueness of individuals (i.e. the Germans, the Chinese). My studies as a history student have already deflated my opinion of my own country, but going to visit a foreign country has put things into a different focus in terms of what being a person is all about. Greece has had just as great an impact on world history as our own. We borrow from their philosophy, culture, and language. They also played an important role in the early history of the Christian Church. Their ancient pagan games in honor of their Olympian gods has been the inspiration for our modern Olympic Games. Their concepts of beauty and aesthetics set the precedent for modern perceptions of beauty which has had a profound effect on conceptions of race, ethnicity, and gender. Even their architecture has been heavily borrowed from, even in our own mighty political building such as the Capitol Building and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia. And how could I almost forget democracy! The Greeks have left us with the wonderful concept of having the voice of the people set the agenda for government. Though the Athenian practice of democracy is far different from our own, we still own them a tremendous amount of credit for paving the path to the freedom of popular voice in our current age. Since the time the Romans fully conquered Greece in the second-century BC, Greece has not had the type of power it had in its Golden Age. Greece today is struggling financially and has been recently bailed out of bankruptcy by the European Union. It survives on tourism from places like the United States and Europe. I know that many other countries are struggling just as they are. All we can hope for is that they will be able to preserve their history so that we (and future generations) can study it. Knowing about our own lives means nothing with knowing where we came from. Hopefully this reflection has highlighted just a few of the many ways the Greeks have shaped our lives, past and present.
