Katie's thoughts

May 13, 2008

After much anticipation and worry about this trip, packing, and repacking over 4 times and still knowing that I am taking too much, I am ready, it is the day, and we are on our way! One long bus ride and we will officially be on the way, in the air, and started on our journey.

So, I though the bus ride from Orono to Portland was long, but I had no idea what nine hours in a plain would fell like. I have only slept for about an hour of it, and there is only about 30 min left by the screen in front of me. This whole trip I have been sitting here thinking and wondering about whether or not I will be able to filly appreciate all that I will see in Greece. Although I am a history major, I know very little about this time period and place in history, and I am worried that some, if not most, of the information that will be given in lectures and other places will go over my head. Hopefully I know more than I think I do, we will see.

Now I will try to sleep and when we land it will be tomorrow.

May 14, 2008

Today has been a good day for napping and taking in my surroundings. I am so tired, and I just can’t wait for bed. When we were all up on the roof for our lecture this afternoon all I could think about was the Acropolis and how beautiful it looked in the distance on top of our hotel. I am so excited to go and see it tomorrow. I was a little disappointed to see the scaffolding all around the Parthenon, I was not expecting that, and it kind of detracts from the feeling for me.

The lecture today seemed more like overview of Greece’s history, and I have to admit that I was too tired to really focus on much of it. I know that is what we are here for, but my brain was on overload, and I don’t think there was much more that I could absorb up there. I went back to my room and took a nap that lasted until dinner.

Dinner, now there is another subject! I think I could live in Greece forever just based upon their food. I loved the Tzatziki (I really love garlic!) and I loved the lamb. When the schedule said that we were going to be going for a family style meal I expected there to be many dishes of food that would be passed around, but instead we were given plates, just as in a restaurant, which I was a little sad about, but all in all I was pleasantly surprised by the food, the people, and the atmosphere. I really enjoyed dinner and it allowed be to see the culture of Greece from the most personal level. I was able to see that normal people would eat in

Greece, which was very valuable to me. In general I was glad to be presented first with this opportunity so that I will be able to know what Greek food is like, and how to order in the future days on this trip.

We didn’t do much else today, after dinner I was so tired. I think I will be going to bed here very shortly. Goodnight!

May 15, 2008

First may I just say that I was a little disappointed in breakfast. I was expecting breakfast foods and juice, and what was served were break, bread, more bread, weird tasting juices, cold cuts, cheese, and flavorless yogurt. Oh well, I guess I can’t be thrilled with every part of Greek cuisine.

Our day started with Dionysia taking us to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. I was shocked to hear from here from her that the Christians had dismantled so much of the history of Greece and used it as building material throughout the city. I can’t imagine where these peaces of stone that once held such a huge peace of significance have ended up. I want to know what peaces of concrete and stone I have walked on, looked at, touched that hold these tiny bits of history and significance and I didn’t know it, I don’t know it, and I probably never will know it. That conversation just impacted me in a way that really, truly, made me think. Where is our history, what we perceived as lost could merely be hidden by generations, time, or foolish destruction. I felt a pain down into my soul when I realized what this piece of information could mean. How could anyone believe that it was okay to simply dismantle and ruin buildings that hold such great significance? I realize that at the time they did not hold the same significance and appeal that they do today to historians, classicists, and others alike, but I cannot imagine ever believing that this type of destruction is okay. But then I though about the destruction of the World Trade Towers, and how someone might look upon that 2500 years from now with the same misunderstanding, loss, and reverence. I suppose it was not meant to be, but I am still saddened by the loss.

Otherwise, the Temple was great. I was mostly enthralled by the archaeological dig taking place behind the Temple. I spent most of the little time we had looking over the embankment at what they were unearthing below. I wish I could have been down there in the dirt with them finding new discoveries and cataloging their place and significance. Piecing together another piece of the puzzle, and wondering what will be next.

Next we went to the acropolis where we saw all the major things that one comes to Athens to see. However, what impressed me the most about that trip was Dionysia’s explanation of how Athena became the patron Goddess of Athens. I really enjoyed thinking about what impact that story, true or not, would have had on the population of Athens at that time in history. Dionysia stated that both Athena and Poseidon wished to be the patrons of the city, and that each offered a gift to the city and its people. Poseidon offered safe passage at sea, and far trade winds, while Athena offered the olive tree. Of course all the men wished of Poseidon’s gift, while all the women saw the choice of Athena’s as the wisest. Well, they put it to a vote, and at that time women were allowed to vote, so as it happens there was one more woman in the city than men at that time and so the vote was for Athena by one. The men of the city were outraged at the women’s choice, and although they could not change the vote, decided women were too incompetent to vote ever again. So women lost the vote. This all really impressed me as we were sitting at the bottom of the hill where the population of Athens voted, where no woman ever sat.

After that we climbed to the top of the Acropolis, which I found not to be as bad a climb as I had anticipated. I was not as impressed with the Parthenon as I though I would be, I think it was because of the scaffolding, but in general it was a good experience. I think I would have been able to learn more if the museum had been opened. I was very upset to learn that I would not be able to see much of the artifacts they had collected from the Acropolis. It was funny to learn from Dionysia that the Greeks though of themselves as such perfectionists that they would purposely place imperfections in their work to show the gods they were humble. Also, I though it interesting that although all the columns in the Parthenon look equal, they are built differently so that they look equal, but are not, and that it looks flat, but is built on an arc, so that it looks perfectly flat. Amazing engineers the ancients!

Finally we went to the Ancient Agora, which I was impressed by and plan to visit again, but Dionysia flew through it so fast that I was unable to process much of the information she gave me. I will have to go back again on an off day. One thing I do remember is the Church of St. George, and that it was an ancient temple, which was only preserved from the destruction of the Christians by itself becoming a Church. I did not climb up to see it, but I know I will later.

This has been such a long day! After the Agora many of us went to see Professor Bregman’s friend at Trinity College’s campus in Athens, but I was so tired and hungry that I opted to go with the group, including Professor Passman, that went to get lunch. After that a bunch of us continued walking around the Acropolis and found cave and spring that were used for worship in Ancient times, which was very interesting and an unexpected find. After that we went to the room and I fell asleep for quite a while. Dinner was not very eventful. Time for bed again.

May 16, 2008

Today was another early start just for a three-hour bus ride to Delphi. On the way Dionysia gave us a great tour of the countryside and explained to us that in ancient times, once a year all those able would make the journey to Delphi to see the oracle, and that for those coming from Athens, as we did, the journey would have taken three days on foot, not just three hours in a bus. On the way we passed Thebes, which I found interesting only from its interpretation in the Disney movie Hercules. As we passed Thebes, and Dionysia was telling us about how it used to be a much larger city, all I could think about what Hercules and how he went to Thebes to become a hero, as the people of Thebes were in constant trouble, peril, and many other situations only a hero could help. I found it funny to be driving through that same city; I hope it had only a fragment of the character described in Hercules. I know I should not be comparing and associating anything with Disney, as they are so often horribly inaccurate, but sometimes I can’t help but draw connections from movies I watched so often as a child.

Finally we arrived in Delphi, and I have to say that this is what I pictured all of Greece to look like. I was disappointed when we arrived in Athens, I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting of such a big city, but I found it in Delphi. I can understand why this was such a sacred place, a place to find answers, and a place believed to hold special powers. I was blown away by the beauty and the presence of this place, even in ruins, I can only begin to imagine what it would have been like fully standing, frescos painted in vibrant reds, blues, and greens, towering up this hillside. What would it have been like packed with people waiting to be answered by the oracle; tents pitched in any spare place, the smell of bodies, and the sound of life all around. What a picture, what a place.

I was taken in by the surroundings in Delphi so much that I got left behind from the group a few times, but one of the stories I did catch from Dionysia was that the oracle was, obviously, not actually possessed with powers, instead they would take different drugs, which would be given to them by the priests who interpreted their ranting, and this would allow them to rant, and seem possessed by the gods, when in reality they were simply doped up. Also, they would be given the presence of supernatural beings by the natural hot springs in Delphi. What would happen is that their place on the Rock of Sibyl was be built upon a hot spring, and steam would collect underneath them, and when extra effect was needed they would release some of the steam from below, and it would seem very powerful to the ancient people. Although I would compare these people to snake oil salesmen, I can still see how this business, for it was a business, was ingeniously put together. Apparently, according to Dionysia, allowing the elite, or anyone with enough money, to pay to get a place closer to the front in line, ran this business. They would not charge everyone to get their answer from the oracle, they would just allow payment to come first and not have to wait in line. I find that an interesting concept. They didn’t put doubt on their business by charging everyone for something, they just simply allowed for people to pay them for privileges. Interesting idea. After we had made it half way Dionysia gave us 15 minutes to get all the way to the top to see the Stadium, and back down, which I did, although half way up I got an asthma attack, which hasn’t happened to me in 5 years, so I was slowed down and only had enough time to snap a few pictures before heading back to the bottom to see the museum.

I really enjoyed the museum, and I think that it was really interesting the information I gleaned from answering Dionysia’s question right. Imagine it, the first women to win the Olympics were women who owned and trained the horses to win the chariot races. And after all that work they could not actually compete in the Olympic games themselves. For all their progressive ways the ancient world was lacking in this one major advancement.

We stopped at the spring, gymnasium, and the Temple of Athena. Of these sights I found it interesting that the spring was not discovered until road construction ran into it. Also, I found the gymnasium very interesting. I have always thought of gymnasiums as being inside, but here there was only a roof to keep rain off on part of the field, the rest of the place was open to the air. I was also very intrigued by the baths at the gymnasium. I have always thought of baths as Roman, as I’m sure many people do, but to hear that this gymnasium had baths was interesting. That they were filled by the spring made sense, but I would have expected that they were heated; I learned from Dionysia that only Roman baths, and baths taken over by the Romans would have been heated. I would have liked to see these Greek baths; how they were filled by the spring, and spilled over down the mountainside as drainage. I would have loved to see everything in Delphi while is was still a thriving oracle.

The ride home was uneventful, and I was sorry to learn that, after taking Dramamine to get through my carsickness, I had once again slept through some of Dionysia’s wonderful commentary of the land we were driving through.

May 17, 2008

Today we were given much of the day to explore for ourselves. Lenna and I decided to visit the Kerameikos and the Agora (again). Firstly, I could have spent all day looking through he Kerameikos, but I was very sore from the climb in Delphi, and very sleep deprived as I had gone out to the clubs with a group of my new friends, and only returned at 5:30am, but I am a trouper, and I was up at 10:30am ready for adventure!

The Kerameikos, or cemetery, was wonderful. All the artifacts found throughout it were wonderful sights, mostly pottery and statues, but all wonderful. According to my self-taught understanding this is a site that has gone through much transformations throughout its history. Directly in the center of the site is a road called the Sacred Way, which was the road, used by the procession of the Eleusinian mysteries to get to Eleusis, where we will visit tomorrow, and I am very excited to hear about it too. Then in the later times of the Classical period the Sacred Way evolved into a cemetery, and the Dipylon road, which related to the Dipylon Gate, became the road of the processions of the funerals of those who died in war. From the Dipylon Gate into the center of the city of Athens was called the Panathenaic Way, and was famous as the grand way into the city of Athens.

The city walls divided the Kerameikos into two parts, and eventually the inner part became a residential area where many potters were known to live, and the outer part became the cemetery. In this way it makes sense that the Sacred Way, with the Sacred Gate, and the Dipylon Gate, became the ways into the cemetery, as it was not approachable any other way from within the city walls. This cemetery gives us a lot of information about who and what were important to the people of Ancient Athens. The funerary monuments depict who and what were important to the dead people. I only wish I were better at interpreting what they mean. I will always remember how impressive they are though.

Next Lenna and I went to the Agora again, as neither of us felt like we were given enough time there earlier. We decided to make the climb up to the Church of St. George, of the most well preserved Temple in all of Athens, or Greece. On the way it was interesting to see how large the city of Athens around the Acropolis was. I loved to read the signs that said things like Civic Offices, Great Drain, and “I Am the Boundary of the Agora.” It gave me a sense of the town and where things would have been located in accordance with other things. The view of the Agora from St. George’s was beautiful! After that we decided to explore our way down. Lenna and I found a few areas behind the Agora and the Temple. We found a crop of burial statues and monuments here like they were simply waiting for us to stumble upon them. I know that someone put them there, and that it was a place the public was allowed to visit, but I found it really fun to be able to search through the woods for these artifacts. It was really intriguing.

After that adventure it was time for Lenna and I to make it back to the Hotel for a Lecture. On the way back I was really interested in what this new Professor from Britain, the US, and Greece was going to say, but when she started talking about Plutinus it went completely over my head, and I have to confess that I began to fall asleep, although I really wish I would have been able to understand her. I am sure that at another time, given the right background, I would really have enjoyed her discussions. All I really remember her saying is that Plutinus was not Greek, but wrote in Greek, and I had always thought that he was a Greek. I was not really sure what he had to do with our time in Greece, and I didn’t find him particularly relevant to myself, or my understanding of the Greek Ancient World.

May 18, 2008

Firstly, today we went to Elusis, which is where I was most interested in seeing since I had visited Kerameikos yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised that we received a lesson from both Professor Bregman and Passman while in Elusis. I found the explanation of the Cults of Mysteries most interesting. I had known before, but never understood the significance of Demeter, but after having listened to Professor Bregman’s explanation of the Cults, and especially Professor Passman’s overview of the myth of Demeter, I can understand these people and their need to worship this Mystery of Demeter. After Demeter neglected her duties of the crops for so long while she searched for her daughter, and became a wet nurse, the people starved, so they begged her to come back to her duties, and when she did they worshiped her for her gift of food. Probably what actually happened was a drought, or a blight, which caused the people to starve. They blamed it on the goddess for they did not know what to do, or what was actually causing the famine. They asked that goddess to give them food and when the crops again began to grow they thanked the goddess they had asked, and created this Mystery Cult to worship her. Like the rest of the sites we have been to so far Elusis had a long history beginning around 2000BC and changing throughout. According the Dionysia, in the 600s BC Elusis was incorporated into the Athenian state and the Eleusinian Mysteries became a festival for the Athenians. The Sanctuary was fortified in the 500s, overtaken by the Persian’s in the 400s, rebuilt, and taken over by the Romans until the decline of the Mysteries in the 4^th Century AD.

Next we went to Corinth, which has now tied on my favorite places in Greece with Delphi. Not only was it a beautiful day with a nice breeze off the water, but also Corinth itself was beautiful. It was enlightening to see a peace of an ancient city and not only how it was laid out, but also how expansive it must have been. It was yet another glimpse into the lives of the ancient Greeks. I was so fascinated by the museum that I got left behind on Dionysia’s tour and did not hear a lot of her explanation.

Finally, we went to Epidaurus, and I have to admit that by this point in the day I have come to my wits end. I am thoroughly saturated by information and completely too tired to think about any more, absorb any more information, or do any more. After looking through the Museum, and the Temple we went to the Stadium, where listening to the wonderful performance made by Professor Ogle revived me. I was amazed at the acoustics this Stadium possessed. I know that Ancient Greek engineers were good, but I had no idea how good. I would like to research how, and why this stadium had, and still has, such wonderful acoustics.

The rest of the day was more travel on busses. I am so bushed from all the driving, medication, and knowledge I have tried to absorb that I could sleep for days! Goodnight!

May 19, 2008

This is going to be one long day. Before we get on the Ferry to go to Crete we are going to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. At the museum Dionysia rushed us through every room to get us to the Santorini room, which I was excited to see, as I am not going to Santorini. Here we were able to see much of the artifacts found in Santorini, and some of the beautifully frescoed walls. But of all the things in the Archaeological Museum that I saw, my favorite by far was the Antikythera Mechanism. I have watched a couple of documentaries on this mechanism before, but for some reason I had forgotten it was in this museum, and then I turned a corner and here it was, and to my surprise Dionysia didn’t even stop to mention this wonderful machine. As you may or may not know the Mediterranean is unpredictable, with storms cropping up all the time without notice. This happened to a crew of sponge divers who decided to dive after the storm had thrown them off course. They did not find sponges, but instead found a shipwreck of artifacts, one of which was the Mechanism. This mechanism is so unique due to its complex nature. There 32 gear wheels within the mechanism that can still be seen with x-ray looks. It is though to be a very intricate astrolabe, which uses the sun and the moon as time markers. Professor Derek de Solla Price created a copy of what he believes to be a working Antikythera Mechanism. I was just so excited to actually see the Mechanism!

I really enjoyed the museum greatly. Every time I turned a corner I saw a statue, or an artifact that I have seen before in books, or heard about in class, but to be there and really see it was an experience of a lifetime. I am so glad I was given this opportunity. I can’t describe to you the feeling I got when I turned the corner and there right in front of me was the famous statue of Zeus. That was such a powerful feeling, like an “I have arrived” feeling. Simply wow. I also enjoyed Dionysia’s explanation of the grave stone relief. It was something I was wondering about from my visit to Kerameikos, and being able to tell who is alive, and who is dead in a relief is a great skill to have learned.

So, we have been on the ferry for about 2 hours now and I am just so excited to be under way. I can’t wait to see Crete, but for now I think I am going to call it an early night, we are going to be up very early. Goodnight.

May 20, 2008

5:30am. That’s all I have to say. We had to get up at 5:30am. I was seasick all night, and I am so tired. I think this is going to be a really short entry tonight. We got to Hersonissou early, got our rooms, were not allowed breakfast, and so I decided to get some sleep, which did not last very long. Then we decided to go down to the beach, where I spent most of my day. We had lecture, which I found rather unhelpful as I was very tired and not in the mood for a lecture. I suppose I was able to glean a little helpful information about what we will be seeing later this week. I went back up to the room and fell asleep until around 8:30pm, so I got some food to go around 10pm, ate in the room, and now its lights out again. Goodnight.

May 21, 2008

Today we went to Knossos and the Heraklion Museum. I have to say that Knossos was wonderful and probably my favorite place on Crete, and tied for that for Greece. I really loved George’s interpretation of the sites, and his inclusion that the first excavator, Minos Kalokerinos, was only experimenting with the idea of archaeology, and decided to recreate much of what he found and figured to be correct. These Palaces were placed in two periods, the pre-palatial, or old palace period, and the palatial, or new palace period. Unfortunately in Knossos the second palace was build right on top of the first palace after earthquakes destroyed it. This all took place in the Bronze Age, which I find fascinating in and of itself. I was thrown by the advanced technologies of the Minoans. Their complex water systems, drains, toilets, and even their architecture as it included beams in the walls to help protect it against earthquakes. The fact that the palace was structured around a central courtyard means that they probably used it for ceremonial purposes as well as entertainment. One of the frescoes we saw was of a man doing acrobatics on top of a bull, I wonder if that is the type of entertainment they enjoyed. I was really surprised at the size of this Palace and all the many rooms and functions within the rooms it had. There was the throne room, which looked incredibly dark to me, but I’m not sure if that is how it would have been, and the Queen’s quarters, the King’s quarters, official rooms, rooms for production, which were close to the river, which no longer flows. I was just as impressed with the theatrical area as I was with any other part of the Palace. If nothing else this was evidence that entertainment was important to the Minoans.

Next we went to the Heraklion Museum, which like every other museum we have tried to go to was under construction, so we just went to a small building which was displaying only a small amount of the artifacts from Knossos and Phaistos. What I found to be the most interesting in the whole museum was the disk containing Minoan glyph writing, and the sarcophagus that is so well preserved that it tells the story of the man who had died and his funeral, if that is what to call it. All in all I was a little unimpressed by what was in this small museum, and I was ready to leave long before George had finished his tour.

The rest of the day I was able to go to the beach back in Hersonissou at night, which was a wonderful experience. Now it is again time for bed, it’s another early day tomorrow. Goodnight.

May 22, 2008

Today we went to Grotyna, Phaistos, and Matala, on the south side of the island. I was unimpressed by much of Grotyna, as it was mostly unexcavated, but I did find the writing on the walls to be fascinating, along with the later period Church, which was a good juxtaposition between two worlds. The most fascinating part about Grotyna for me is the tree, the evergreen maple tree that was the center of much myth in ancient times, which we now know why it is the way it is, but I still find it fascinating.

Next we went to Phaistos, which was another palace, and I really enjoyed it. I think that Phaistos is going to be more helpful to archaeologists for the pre-palatial period as one, the palatial palace was built a little off from the old, giving more of an insight to the pre-palatial palace, and two, because the hill upon which it stands is eroding, so eventually it will all fall to the ground revealing more of the pre-palatial palace than has even been seen before.

Now, back to the comment I made about the Bronze Age before, I want to go into how the Bronze Age fascinates me. How could people get the idea to mix medals together that don’t even occur close to each other, and in some cases have to be imported far distances. I really want to know what was going through their minds. The smelting pit that George showed us on Phaistos brought about this discussion. All in all I really enjoyed Phaistos, but not to the same extent I did Knossos.

Finally, as the last place I will visit on Crete, and in Greece, we went to Matala, which was beautiful. Not only is it where caves that served as both a Roman Cemetery and where hippies lived in the 1960s, but the beach was the most beautifully blue Mediterranean water I have ever seen. We all just enjoyed the 2 hours we were afforded here and really kicked back.

I slept the entire way back to Hersonissou as I had taken both Benedryl and Dramamine. The rest of this trip is going to be rather relaxing for me; I am not going to Santorini tomorrow. Goodnight.

May 23, 2008

Today is the day that most people are going to Santorini. It’s sad that I was not able to go, but it’s nice that I have the whole day to shop and go to the beach, which is exactly what I did. Not exactly as educational as what those in Santorini are doing, but very relaxing all in all. There is not much more to say about today, I slept in, slept on the beach, shopped, and went back to the beach. B-E-A-utiful!

May 24, 2008

The only thing on the schedule today is lecture and the farewell dinner, so that leaves most of today free for another beach day, which I will fully take for granted. I finished what little shopping I had to do, packed my bags, and went to the beach today. I went back to the room around 5:30pm and got ready for the lovely farewell dinner. It was a wonderful dinner, but it was remarkably like the dinner we had in Athens as our first dinner. After dinner a large group of us went out to say goodnight to the city, which we did, and I stayed up to see the sunrise on Crete, and get on the bus for the beginning of the ride home.

May 25, 2008

Today we are going home. I’m tired, but really excited.

Throughout this whole trip I have been really interested in the History and the Archaeology, but I have not really thought about what I have learned. I’m not sure what I was supposed to have learned. One thing I do know is that I was impressed in a way that I never could have been in the classroom. I have absorbed all I could to the point of saturation, and I am impressed. Impressed by the cultures, the architecture, what we know, what we don’t. I am impressed and truly thankful for this experience. I wish I had had more time to be able to absorb more information and depictions of this wonderful place and these wonderful people. I am glad to be going home, as anyone is at the end of a journey, but a part of me will never want to leave.

Cameron's experiences

Cameron Wellman

Travels in Ancient Mediterranean

Travel Journal

I would like to begin my journal in retrospect, first of all I would like to say that this trip was amazing, I am sure it will be one of the best journeys of my life, I owe a great deal of this to the professors, who enhanced every location we went to with their knowledge. I would like to explain the approach I took to this journal, I am not an honors student, or classical studies, or history, so my knowledge on most of the topics that I came across on this trip were very limited. However, I approached this trip as a student of Anthropology, which I am. The mythology portion of this trip was very interesting, but I found the ongoing excavations and the modern culture of Greece to be the main topics in my journal entries. Although we experienced each day on our trip together I really hope you enjoy some of my thoughts during our journey.

5-13-08

Well we are off, we have actually been traveling now for almost 10 hours but once we get off this plane we will be out of the US and at our destination of Athens Greece. The trip is going great so far, no travel delays, my anticipation grows as I watch the monitor that shows the distance we cover, inch by inch, it’s like watching the clock on a Friday afternoon, you know it makes time go by minute for minute but you just cannot help it. We have 26 people on our trip; I would have liked it if the group were smaller so that we don’t create a crowd everywhere we go, but oh well. I have not really been introduced to anyone yet but I am looking forward to meeting some interesting people on this trip. Breakfast is being served now on our plane and we should be there shortly, I can’t wait.

5-14-08

We have now arrived and settled in to our hotel, sitting on the rooftop patio writing this I cannot imagine a better classroom. The view is incredible, not only on the roof of the hotel but anywhere that overlooks the buildings of the city has a terrific view. I have already ventured out to explore, and I am very surprised at what I saw. I had a postcard image of Athens in my head and I now realize that Athens is a city like any other, so it naturally has dirty streets, stray animals and graffiti everywhere. Another surprising feature is the amount of ancient ruins that go unnoticed. A person could be walking and come across an unmarked ancient structure and not have a clue what it is. I came across an Ancient Roman cistern that was unmarked and fenced off and only after several minutes of looking for a label did I finally spot a small inscription labeling it. I cannot wait to see more of this diverse and intriguing city.

5-15-08

Today has been a very exciting day; I have experienced the highs and lows of what this country has to offer. The day started out great, we drove around the city for a while sightseeing until we stopped at the Temple of Zeus, this is the first temple that we have come to, and it is unbelievable how massive that it was. Although there are only a handful of pillars still standing out of the original 160, I was still able to picture how grand of a scale the temple had been. While waiting for the bus to take us to the Acropolis the group stood beside a very busy street with cars speeding by. I am very surprised no one got hurt, this is a very different scene then back home. When we arrived at the Acropolis I was sad to see that there were so many other tour groups there, I hate large crowds, it really takes away from the experience for me. Our tour guide, Dionysia, took us first to the Areopagus, to avoid a lot of the crowds. This is a small hill compared to the Acropolis, but it still had a great view overlooking the Ancient Agora. After that we finally make our way to the top of the Acropolis, this was one of my most anticipated moments of the trip. Seeing the Parthenon was amazing, the view from atop the acropolis could see the whole city, no wonder the most sacred monuments were placed up here. As great as all of this was I was distracted by something up there, The Greeks were in the process of rebuilding/ renovating everything up there, so all of the staging and construction equipment made the atmosphere a little less inviting. Also, I am not really a proponent to the reconstruction of ancient sites, I believe that they should be protected and preserved but kept in the condition they were found, in order to respect the people who built them. Passing through the massive Ancient Agora after Acropolis I am surprised again at the scale of everything that was built so long ago. We make our way to the Temple of Hephaitos, one of the best preserved temples in Greece. I really enjoyed this, because it was in great condition considering how long it has been standing. As if the day was not already interesting enough, this is when it got really interesting; the group decided to split up, one small group when to the hotel, another went with Professor Passman to get some lunch, and the last group went with Professor Bregman and Professor Ogle the Trinity Institute in Athens. I chose the later which required a trip by the metro to the destination, I always love to see what a city’s public transportation is like. Arriving at the metro station was like any other place I have ever been. I felt very comfortable and safe boarding the train; I covered my pockets and walked cautiously. I was close to the back of the group, and when I was just about to get on, a fury of people came rushing on the train from behind, and when the rush stopped and the doors closed, I realized that my wallet had been plucked from my front pocket without my knowledge. Looking out the window I saw three well dress men fleeing the scene. I lost almost everything I had, with the exception of my passport. This is by far the lowest travel moment of my life, but also the most exhilarating. To make matters worse, Professor Bregman was also pick pocketed at the same time. My day was very interesting and for the record books, I have no money right now, but I know I will be ok, all of my new friends as well as the professors have offered me all the support I need until I can get money from back home, everything will be alright.

5-16-08

All in all today was a better day, although we did have to wake up early and then ride on a bus for three hours. Our destination was Delphi, which just might be the highlight of my trip. Along with the ancient and sacred significance of the site, the setting was hard to ignore, set high in the mountains, the view from all directions was spectacular. This site was very special to me. It is no wonder why Athenians would travel the 99 miles in three days just to get here. A student came up to me today and mentioned just how ambitious the Ancient people who built this must have been, building way up on a mountain like this, it requires a lot of devotion to the gods. The day could not have been anymore perfect, although there has been another crime committed. A girl had her credit card stolen today, which leads me to make the assumption that there is a petty crime problem in Greece, or maybe we are just easy targets.

5-17-08

Today was a beautiful day, although I slept a lot of it away, finally curing my jetlag. The rest of the day was spent shopping and exploring the wooded area that lay just beyond my window. Several of the students traveled to the top of a hill where we found the Monument of Philapappos, and I would say the best view of Athens yet, easily outdoing the view from the Acropolis. We also noticed that this wooded area was massive, like a large park in the center of Athens. We stopped and listened to the flutes of a Greek dance theater that was practicing their routine, and made our way to the prison where Socrates was kept. Along the way we came across a modern Greek wedding, it was beautiful. Today was extremely rewarding through our aimless wanderings.

5-18-08

Today was another event filled day, with three stops on the menu. The first stop was Eleusis, which was very surprising to me, at first glance it appears to be a very small site, but it is actually very deceiving. I really enjoyed this because the majority of this stop was a lecture, where we sat on the monuments and listened to the professors. It gave me the feeling that I was experiencing the same thing the people who built this did in Ancient times. On our way to Corinth we stopped for lunch along the Corinth canal, an engineering marvel, and one the most impressive modern things I have seen in Greece. Next was our stop in Corinth, which was a large ruin in the midst of a massive mountain top Acropolis, which I wanted nothing more to do then to climb to the top of, I really wish we had the time, I know it would have been worth the effort. Corinth was very fascinating, and I believe everyone was impressed to find that the majority of the excavation was credited to a Maine man. The last stop was to Epidaurus, a large sprawling site with great views. It reminded me a little of Delphi, but just not so high up. This is where the highlight of my day came, when we arrive at the theatre in Epidaurus. I just had to run to the top, just for the experience. As I sat there taking in the views and catching my breath, I received a gift that allowed me to fully enjoy and experience what the Ancient Greek Theatre was like. Professor Ogle began singing, it was beautiful, words could not even describe how much that made my day, and I heard many other students say the same. I would like to take the time here to thank her for that wonderful experience. Thank you.

5-19-08

Right now I am sitting in my cabin sailing to Crete; I am so excited this day just flew by in my anticipation. This morning was spent finally receiving money from back home via Western Union and then buying all the souvenirs I had already picked out but could not afford. After we checked out we went to the Athens Archaeological Museum, which was amazing. I surprised myself at just how many things I recognized, many of the frescos from Santorini, the Mask of Agamemnon, the Lyre player, the statue of Aphrodite, and many of the friezes. I also enjoyed their display of Minoan writing, which I did my paper over and have a lot of interest in. After the museum we traveled straight to the port of Piraeus and boarded our massive ferry to depart for Crete, our voyage will take 8 or 9 hours but I can’t help but wonder just how long it took the Ancient Greeks to make the same voyage.

5-20-08

There is such a difference between mainland Greece and Crete. I really do not feel like I am in the same country or geographical location. Today was a very relaxed day where I unwound myself from the speed and hassle of the city of Athens. After a short nap in my room and then a longer nap on the beach, I went for a swim, did some shopping and saw some local traditional dancing during dinner. I really liked how mellow today was, it allowed me to get perspective on what I need to accomplish from the rest of the trip.

5-21-08

Today has been great, it seems like each day of this trip has been a highlight for me. It is only two o’clock in the afternoon, and already I have seen one of my most anticipated archeological sites, Knossos, as well as the Heraklion Museum, that contained many recognizable items. Knossos was amazing; after I got over the fact that most everything standing was a reconstruction, which I do not agree with, I was astonished at just how large of a site that Knossos was, it really seemed to go on forever. I can see how they know that this is the site of the story of the labyrinth and the Minotaur. I know that the double bladed ax is a common symbol in Minoan culture, but I was very surprised to see all the original cravings out in plain sight unprotected. At the Heraklion Museum I impressed myself with how many objects I recognized, I am more familiar with Minoan culture then Ancient Greek. The highlight of this trip was to actually get to see some Minoan script in Crete, so seeing Linear A and Linear B was amazing, but to actually see the Phaistos disk was unbelievable. I have heard about this a long time ago and for some reason it fascinates me, it was an honor to see it in person.

5-22-08

We are currently driving back to the hotel from our event filled day that was full of surprises for me. Our first stop was at the ancient city of Gortyn, which was very beautiful, it was in a very nice setting surrounded by two thousand year old olive trees. At the start of our tour our tour guide, George, took us across the street into an olive tree grove. There the ground was riddled with pottery shards. This olive grove sat on a two thousand year old Roman ruin that George informed us that everyone knew about but no one cared. I could not believe what I was hearing, so much history and culture laid beneath our feet but no one would take the time to dig it up. In the actual site of Gortyn was a beautiful church that was still partially standing and then the highlight of Gortyn was a wall that contain the first law code of Europe predating the Roman occupation of Crete by 500 years. This was so impressive to see that the social structure was so advanced back then that they had rules for marriage and ownership and crime and everything you could imagine. I was very impressed by this. Lastly we came to a tree that always had leaves even though it was an evergreen, this was the site of Zeus and Demeter encounter where Zeus was in the form of a white bull. From there we headed to the site of the Palace of Phaistos, where the Phaistos Disk was located. This place was beautiful, set on the side of a large hill overlooking the country side. Walking up to it I kept thinking that this was like a mini Macchu Picchu, although much older and smaller. The place was amazing and from the site you could see the highest mountain on Crete that contained a cave where a lot of pottery was found. From Gortyn we traveled to Matala for lunch, swimming and exploring Ancient Roman burial tombs in caves high on cliffs overlooking the sea. This was very surprising, I never expected to see such a beautiful beach in Crete. I just got back from Hawaii three weeks ago and I was stunned by the beauty of this beach. Along with the beauty of the beach the caves and tombs were amazing. None of them were preserved as the result of a 1960s hippy encampment, but were impressive to say in the least.

5-23-08

I am on a cruise ship now sailing back from easily the highlight of my trip; we have just visited one of the most picturesque places of my life, the island of Santorini. It was so beautiful and worth all the time it took to get there. There are a lot of people that are disappointed with the trip with the planning, but I would pay that same price to go back any day. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to see any of the archeological sites, but I was happy with what I did see and experience. I ate in a nice local place overlooking the caldera, I tasted a lot of local wine, I visited a large church along with its worshippers, and then I rode a donkey down a massive cliff to return to the boat, which was probably the highlight of the day. I did not want to leave this place, it was incredibly beautiful, and despite the tourists it was very relaxed in an old world where modern worries seemed inexistent.

5-24-08

Today is the last day here and I am really glad we get a chance to reflect. I spent a lot of the day by myself walking on the beach and thinking about this entire trip. This has been a great journey with a lot of ups and downs. I feel I have gained a lot from this trip, not only knowledge about the classical world, but a lot about myself as well. With it being the last day here it is so bittersweet, on one hand I am extremely homesick and cannot wait to return, but on the other I am in paradise and I don’t ever want to leave.

5-25-08

We are on the bus now driving from Portland to Orono, it has been a long day, I am not quite sure how long we have been traveling, but I believe it’s close to 26 hours. This trip was amazing, and I would really like to thank all of the Professors for such a great time and for their support for me during the trip, you all made this a wonderful learning opportunity for me. I think I have gained a new interest, the classics have grown on me because of this trip, and I cannot wait to learn more about them. I have always been acquainted with Greek mythology, but now since I have actually been to the places, I think I can have a better respect for the material. This trip also reinforced my love for archeology which I think that I will pursue for a degree. I am still interested in cultural Anthropology which I also got a big taste of here, so this trip has definitely reinforced my interest but also made it harder for me to narrow down a plan for a career.

At this time I would like to just write in some of the stuff I left out of my entries. I would like to start by listing some of the food that I tried in Greece that I had never before had, I think this was one of the best cultural experiences. Between mainland Greece and Crete I tried at least five meats and fish I have never tried before: swordfish, octopus, goat, ox meat, and rooster. Also I found that an American place that I went to “taste” Greek cuisine before I left, is a horrible substitute for the real thing in Greece. Thank you all once again for the time of my life and I really hope you enjoy some of my thoughts.

Felicia's thoughts

Felicia King

Greece Travel Journal

5/30/2008

4/2

I’ve never really been good at these things- journals or diaries. It’s just never been my thing I guess you could say, but I’ll give it a shot. In class we had a discussion on the book we’ve been reading. One of the aspects that Goldhill discussed in the very beginning was the importance of understanding our pasts so that we can know ourselves today. I feel that it has less to do with knowing the past so that we do not make the same mistakes and more to do with understanding the foundations of civilization. What I mean by this is that when one discovers the past one can understand the evolution of society and how or why society is the way it is today. I feel that learning your past can get you in touch yourself and change your view of the world around you.

For our particular society in the West rediscovering the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome can truly open your eyes to our world today. Looking around one can see the connection between the past and today. One of the examples that come to mind is architecture and even our founding fathers and the formation of our government. In grade school I was never taught that these great men were influenced by the ancients or that George Washington was a lover of classical architecture. It kind of reminds me of the book Lies My Teacher Told Me or something on those lines. However it’s not like I was lied to as much as people left out some quite interesting details. In any case I feel strongly about the learning of our past not only of US history but where our ancestors came from.

I agree with Goldhill that Classical studies should be brought back. To be honest on more than one occasion when people have asked me what my major was and upon my telling them that it was Classical studies, they think that I’m studying classical music. Although I find it frustrating, I explain to them that it is not classical music but the study of the classical world of Greece and Italy as well as other civilizations of the time. Now I just say that I’m studying ancient history. But Classical studies are so much more than history. It is about literature, language, art, philosophy, and history. So when I say ancient history I know that I am not doing my major justice.

4/18

Reading the section on democracy really made me realize the huge differences in our “democracy” and that of ancient Athens. I especially was interested in the part about the citizen not being active in politics was known as an idiot. Well I suppose that makes most of the US a bunch of idiots. It truly makes me wonder what our country would be like if more people got involved. Would Bush be our president still? Would we still be in the Middle East? Would there be No Child Left Behind? Would music programs at schools still be funded? If any thing I feel that we have done this to ourselves. Especially in education, where many young people can find outlets and inspiration in the performing arts or music and these programs are being closed down. What would the United States be like if we had people who were active and cared about what was going on? What would the United States be like if the government actually encouraged its people to be a part? Now that I’ve made myself pissed off about the United States government yet again I’m just gonna stop writing or I’ll really start thinking about moving to Europe for real this time.

5/13

So here we are on our way to Greece….well almost on our way since I’m writing this at the JFK airport. One of the reasons why I wanted to come to Greece was so that I can make the history that I have read about and been lectured about real. It just seems that history is something that I’ve always been interested in but it never truly feels real. It’s like a whole other universe that I acknowledge but don’t ever really believe in. Like life on Mars it may have been there but since we can’t truly be there to see then it is a kind of believing without seeing. So learning the history of other countries without ever seeing them face to face, would it be considered blind history? All you ever do is read and believe what the authors have to say without ever having gone to that area to see for yourself whether or not the Parthenon is majestic or if there really is a wine dark sea. So yea it is blind history. I am a blind student of history. I just read but can never manage to get there to make myself a seeing student of history. I suppose this is my chance. Thank goodness I brought 3 weeks worth of contact lenses and an extra pair of glasses. I’m ready to see and soak it in. Besides who wants to be a blind historian their entire life? Not me!

5/14

So you think to yourself this is going to be magical, extraordinary, and better yet majestic. Well what happens when you feel slightly disappointed? I ask myself, “Have I set myself up for some kind of magically pieced together acropolis where no bits have been blown to smithereens…….Well yes, yes I did.” Now please realize at this point we have not actually gone to the acropolis, and I can only speculate as to the massive building that lays before my eyes as I sit on the rooftop of our hotel here in Athens. But I have to admit I’m not that impressed. Reading this you may be shocked or dismayed at my blasé attitude and that is ok. But my imagination has lead me across time on a fantastic voyage of ancient Greek buildings that seem to sparkle in the sunlight and remain white as snow, despite my knowing that there were painted but if I do say so myself they look way cooler as plain janes because it allows you to paint them with your mind’s eye but yet again this is my opinion. But anyway I set myself for a Disney version of the true acropolis. How did this happen? Overactive imagination I’m sure. Wanting the perfect romantic ideal of the real world? Even closer to the truth. Oh, if only our world could be full of genuine compliments and people who would tell you if you had something in your teeth instead of letting you go around with spinach just hanging out in your mouth. Bringing myself back to the harsh reality where people let you walk around with that speck of pepper on your left upper canine, I feel as though I must have missed something. Aren’t I supposed to feel excited, completely taken aback by a giant building scattered with metal scaffolding and massive numbers of rude tourists ruining the scenery with their existence…here I would like to point out that yes I am a tourist but one has to admit that they detract from the surrounding beauty of everyplace they go…

So why do I feel this way? I think that the reason I have discovered a lack of enthusiasm for the real situation of the Acropolis and the grossly crowded streets is that fact that my idealistic and romanticized version has been completely blown to bits- kind of like the Parthenon. So I shouldn’t really blame the tourists that are staring up at the Parthenon in wonderment as I sit here on the rooftop greeting reality with a scowl on my face. But just because my fake reality has been destroyed does mean that I am not just a tiny bit curious as to what it would be like standing before the great Parthenon looming ahead.

Tonight my dreams will turn into realistic nightmares of bringing history to the real world- to life in the here and now. Who knew that I would be so disappointed with the present? Well certainly not me. I thought that finally linking the history that I have come to love so much would be a smooth transition and it would make it all that more real. But I think that there is something to say about a reaction such as mine. It may be unique among the people in the group who are discussing how awesome it looks from our view, which I can’t deny but I definitely lack the enthusiasm in my agreement with them. And so to make myself feel better I would like to blame all those who took part in the ruining of the ancient ruins all over the world, those who took the time to break statues, steal marble to make something else that was not as cool in any way, and for those who thought it was a good idea to store explosives in ancient temples….yea about that! I would like to thank you all during these past hundreds of years who have now ruined my opinion of this great architectural structure with multiple acts of stupidity. Does anyone else feel the same? Because I would like to pop a few of these dumb asses for ruining the idealistic views of history in future generations, such as myself. However, I suppose I could let go of these views a little better but reality just isn’t my style in the historical sense. I think that this session of therapy has better acquainted myself with the poo which is reality and that reality is a sitting in front of my face- more than likely rude tourists who will probably touch the marble and ruining the scarred piece of historical architecture called the Parthenon. Bastards.

5/15

So the day began with the Temple of Olympic Zeus…someone remind me to find a priest when I get back home and have him personally explain to me the reason for Christians ruining everything awesome by building churches on top of them. Although this is not the case for this temple, I already know that my loathing of stupid ancient people will make me rant on for hours. Despite the temples lack of over 50 of its original columns I’m willing to let go and let karma. No one ever really gets the sheer size of these structures until they actually get there. In your mind’s eye you think of “how cute it’s the size of my house”, not “whoa, this is bigger than a football field”- which just so happened to be my reaction. However, despite my being awe struck by the size of this beast, was my longing to see it as it had been. How amazing would it have been to walk up to this massive structure back in its heyday? That would have been a sight to see.

Backtracking our way to the Acropolis and reflecting on my thoughts from the night before I talk myself into letting the Acropolis have one more chance to redeem itself in my mind forever. Did I think that it was beautiful? Not so much. Did it make me long for the ancient days just for a moment in time? Yes it did. Again with the massiveness! Even looking at the pictures that I took on my camera today does not give it justice. People look like ants in comparison to the Parthenon. How did these ancient peoples do this? How did the Egyptians, or should I say slaves, create the pyramids? How did the ancient people over there on the island of England create Stonehenge? Because if someone has a definitive answer I will be beyond ecstatic. These are the things that really get my attention. These are the things that make me impressed. It is hard enough even in our own societies to build such impressive buildings, how the hell did they do it? Even if no one ever finds out, it’s ok I’m still impressed.

So it got me. The Parthenon, that is. It got with the awesomeness of its size and presence. Awesome, definitely.

5/17

I waited a day to absorb, as well as catch my breath from the hike, from that which is Delphi. One has to really think back on the plethora of stories that link back to this very place. I remember reading about the importance of the Delphic oracle and wishing that I could be a priestess of Apollo. Which in itself may sound completely corny to other individuals, but to me would be the coolest thing ever. I’m more than sure that if I had an opportunity to go back in time I would be a priestess of some really awe inspiring god- plus for the most part they had it pretty good for women of the time. What was even better about the place was the stone that Dionysia showed us with the three holes for a possible tripod and a hole for the gases or whatever came out of it. At the moment it didn’t even have to be true, ‘cause I was sold before she even got past the tripod business. Even though deep down inside I knew I should be a good scholar and remain somewhat skeptical, I’m more than sure I just didn’t care because I was in love with the idea.

Let’s move on to the absolutely ridiculous view from Delphi. I mean if I was that struck by the amazing view when I turned around to face the mountains I can only imagine what it was like for the people thousands and hundreds of years ago. The mountains, the structures truly make it a surreal place because you can not take it all in at once. I had to keep turning around because it felt like a picture from a movie that I saw once. It just didn’t seem real, even though I was there. Right there! Still I could not believe my eyes. This is the kind of place one needs to go to because it makes you realize that these things are not just in movies or books they exist and you can be a part of it. You and the real world side by side with no idealist views or grand expectations because history mixed with nature is always an impressive sight.

Now this part has really nothing to do with ruins. James and I were discussing what we should say in our journals at one point in the beginning days of the trip. A thought came to mind about how I perceive the people of this ancient city. Take Socrates for instance. This man was indeed a Greek. But when I visualize him in my mind I do not see him with dark brown or black hair, olive skin, and brown eyes. On the contrary I see him with white hair, blue eyes, and fair skinned. This brought me back to the Japanese art history class that I took this semester. My professor said that the Japanese took Chinese art and “Japanized” it- it is the process of “Japanization”. Then it clicked. I was “Causasian-izing” these ancient people. Now I realize he would have already been considered Caucasian so maybe a better word would be “Anglo-cizing”. It’s taking a dark eyed, dark skinned, and dark haired Jesus and making him the fair skinned, blue-eyed man that white people go crazy over. I’m not really sure why I do this to people of regions I know not to have such characteristics. Maybe it is because it’s just easier to imagine people that you have no idea as to how the truly appear in a manner that is easily relatable. This reminds of what someone wrote whom I cannot remember the name at the moment, but he said that if horses had gods then the gods would be in the image of a horse or something along those lines. This was referring to the images of gods being that of humans. In any case I just thought it was an interesting point of view- to imagine all of these dead ancients as fair-skinned and blue eyed even if they weren’t. To be frank I see Socrates as a white haired man, fair-skinned, blue eyes, wearing a robe that covers one shoulder and he uses a long staff like cane. Maybe the images of Charles Heston have messed any future visualization of ancient philosophers, historians, and politicians. I suppose it could be worse for them, Charles Heston was a good Moses.

5/18

After learning of the mystery religions in the Greek and Roman Mythology course that I took with Dr. Bregman, I always wanted to see Eleusis. Every time I think of Eleusis I see a procession of people on their way to be initiated into the mysteries of Demeter and Persephone. When we got there it was easy to visualize this. Sitting in the hall of initiation and looking into the Plutonion, was a very surreal feeling. What makes the whole experience that much more unreal is the fact that the Mysteries are mysteries themselves. No one knows what truly went down here at these ruins. There isn’t much else I can really say about this site. This was one of the places I was really looking forward to and although none of the buildings and temples were standing I could easily see them with my imagination as well as the people that came there.

The theatre at Epidaurus was amazing not to mention huge! The thing that made it that much more special was Nancy’s singing. She has a truly wonderful voice. While she was singing I thought to myself, “Finally! We get to see her specialty!” We had heard from Tina and Jay already and it was awesome to see her bring something to the table as well! The acoustics of the theatre were incredible. When I stood on the center stone and spoke it was out of control! It was seriously like Dolby surround sound. All I have to say is very, very cool!

Corinth was another incredible site. To be honest I never gave Corinth too much thought before. I never thought about what the city may have looked like. It was much bigger than I thought it would be. I thought it was interesting to see where shops would have been and, which was funny, the Roman toilets! It was interesting to hear that they would just go in and chat it up while doing their business. If anything I have to give these people props for being that comfortable. Nowadays people barely go in to the bathroom without hoping that no one is in there with them. This information was important despite its content because it let us in to how they felt about these kinds of situations and what they thought about natural human functions.

5/19-5/20

This is where I admit that I hate ferries with a passion. Also I spent most of the day at the Thalia Hotel sleeping off the sea sickness that I have only had one other time in my life- when I was 7.

5/21

Snake goddess! Ow! See what you may not know is that this is the theme song that I created for the snake goddess quite a while ago when I took an art history class in the fall. So when we came to Knossos I knew that I could definitely apply it to this situation. Once we got up to the ruins it was very, very easy to see why people thought that this was a labyrinth. The whole place is like a giant maze with all these rooms scattered all over the place with no real architectural plan.

One of the random thoughts that came to my mind was whether or not Theseus, Ariadne, Jason, and Medea were real people twisted by time and a lot of story telling. They say myths and legends stem from real people, places, and events. I for one would like to know who the real people were that allowed for these awesome stories of the Minotaur and golden fleeces to reach our ears in contemporary society. They must have been amazing people or at least did one amazing thing to have started such a story. But what of the women? I mean it’s not like they could actually do the same things as men or so we are told. One of the greatest myths of a female that we know is that of Helen being taken to Troy and the thousand ships that were sent to get her and all because she was so beautiful, not to mention someone’s wife. In the end, I know that we will never truly know and will only be able to speculate.

Yes! I saw the Snake Goddess with my own eyes! Fantastic!!! Of course this is referring to our visit to the Heraklion Museum. (PS Did I ever mention that I was very disappointed that we could not go to the Acropolis Museum ‘cause I was!) Even though there were not that many exhibits the ones out were fantastic. It was great to finally get to see some of the images that I was given to me in my art history be there right in front of me. One of the things that I had not seen before was the board game. I mean one never really things of these people from 2000 years ago having a games like that. The only form of entertainment that I thought they had involved religious festivals. If any thing this just makes them seem more like real people and not just really old and very old peoples.

5/22

In my opinion I would say that Phaiestos is very similar to Knossos but maybe a little smaller. Nevertheless it was still a site that one should definitely see. Plus the view of Mount Ida was gorgeous! I always read about Mount Ida but I never thought that it would be that big! The site itself was very cool. Now I’m still slightly skeptical over this, but the so called olive press room, or whatever it was, was an interesting section. I really liked the King and Queen’s room. Even though there wasn’t that much to them I could visualize people living in them. Phaiestos palace has a lot of storage rooms, or what looked like storage rooms. It was a fascinating place and made me wonder even more what these places would have looked like in their heyday.

Gortyn was small, but pretty interesting. The most interesting part of it for me was the wall of laws. Despite the fact that I could not read any of it, which is fine, I was just really overwhelmed by such a massive wall and the laws written on them. So to make it easier on myself I bough a translation of the law codes, which I will be making a part of my summer reading.

Matala! By the way did anyone know that the hippies through the sarcophagi and bodies/bones into the ocean? No, well neither did I until I asked our guide George on the way back to Heraklion. What the hell, hippies? I thought you people would respect people’s burial sites! As we can see I was wrong. Nevertheless the tombs were pretty neat although I felt as though I was disrespecting the people that were once laid to rest here. So I made the visit to the caves extremely short, just long enough to say that I went there. As for the beach- so nice! Not minding the fact that I was almost taken out by the large waves coming our way, like many other victims around me, I had a blast. Then I realized on the ride back that I was swimming in an area where people’s bones where chillin’ somewhere on the bottom of the ocean…..slightly creepy.

Also I can’t recall when I had heard a story of Zeus dying. But it doesn’t really matter because the mountain definitely looked like the profile of someone’s face and that always catches my interest. Now that I have caught wind of such a myth I will be searching for it!

5/24

You don’t know people until you travel with them. I have heard that many a time but after some time here in Greece with 23 students I think it’s safe to say that you know their true character. This is my conclusion that I have come to while sitting on the beach. Many of the people I know I will want to stay friends with and others, well I could live without. It makes me wonder about the ancient notion of the guest-friend. What if the host really did not like the person that came to stay? I’m guessing that they took them in anyway so that they would not offend any gods. But still it must have been frustrating at times.

So after people came back from the Santorini trip, I heard a story that the island is known for their vampires. By the way, very cool. I’m not sure what the fascination is with vampires in my own world, maybe it was my reading Dracula that started it all. Oh! Another interesting story that has been passed on to us by our tour guide a couple of days ago was that Crete was known for its piracy. Cretan version of the Pirates of the Caribbean anyone? Who ever knew that Crete would have an action packed history? I didn’t.

You know I never thought to ask anyone around here or in Athens how they feel about having such a rich history around them. Personally I feel pretty disinterested in US history. When I look at our young country and then look to the histories of say China or Greece for example there just doesn’t seem to be much comparison. I am more interested in where we all came from here in the United States. The only true natives of this country are the Native Americans. The rest are, well, mutts. Take me for example. Not only am I Irish, but somewhere along the way I got a dash of French and pinch of Cherokee. For most people having a mix a nationalities and ethnicities is a norm. True Americans are a people of diverse backgrounds. However I want to know the history of these diverse backgrounds. I want to know about the Chinese and the rice noodle, the Egyptians and their pyramids, or the Sumerians and their writings. It all goes back to the idea that to know the past is to inevitably get to know yourself. Also, it gives a sense that you belong to something much older and greater than you. That is where I want to belong. There is so much out there to discover and learn that I feel that it would be a shame for people to miss out on any of it. The point of this world is to get what you can out of life, but at the same time to realize that past is as important as the present or future. History can take you to places in time that you may have never thought of before. Remembering the first time I read the myth of Psyche and Eros way back when I was in my single digits I was completely taken in. Now, I do realize that not everyone is interested in history, and that is perfectly fine. However, I think that it is about the way in which you are presented to history that will affect the way you perceive for the rest of you life. When people think history they think of how boring it can be. Well sure even I can agree that history can be absolutely dry and blah. On the other hand, I have had teachers and professors who have approached with history with enthusiasm and brought with them a sense of mystery and excitement that sucks you in. Those are the people that make history something worth exploring. Everyone has their specific place in time or topic that they absolutely love and obsess over. For me I have many areas in time that I love and want to learn more of. And when I discuss anything to do with history with my friends I make it exciting. Why? Because that’s they way it should be. It should be the Indiana Jones whip and fedora, Brandon Frasier taking down mummies, Gerard Butler as King Leonidas kind of action packed story of our civilizations. But in all honesty we know that there are things that are not so action packed and completely disheartening. However if we make the effort to learn about all the good, the bad, and the ugly can we become better as a result of it? I like to think so.

Coming to Greece was a major experience in my life. If only for 2 weeks, I got to see a whole new culture and the birth place of democracy. I got to eat a massive amount of feta cheese and baklava. For 2 weeks I got to stumble upon random ruins in the city of Athens, I was able to follow the steps of thousands of people who traveled to Delphi, and I had the chance to lay my eyes upon the original home of the Snake Goddess on Crete. I realized I see the Parthenon as not beautiful but as a breathtaking piece of architectural history. I recognized that I like to make all the ancient people look like me. Finally got my taste of Greek macho-ism and was not impressed at all. I had my fair share of Greek driving and was glad that Maine was not as bad. Discovering the multiple uses of olives and their oil, I was happy that at least one country was progressing somewhat with going green. I was able to become a seeing and knowing student of history. So how can I describe these feelings and experiences that I was able to have while in Greece? Well…I can’t. Finally being able to get the place that I have studied for over 4 years know was simply indescribable. Which seems disappointing to some extent, but how many times can you say fantastic or amazing without feeling that you simply aren’t getting across the awesomeness that you experienced. So all I can truly say is that it was more than memorable and that now I can really connect myself to the ancients. But yet again it is simply indescribable. Indescribable.

Last Words:

Now if I recall correctly we were supposed to do a final evaluation at the end of our journal. I felt that giving us time to explore and sleep off the jetlag was great. The amount of activities that were scheduled was balanced because I think that if we did anymore tours I would still be recuperating by sleeping through this entire week. Of course there was still so much more that we could have seen, but we saw the major things on the mainland and I thought that was a good choice. For being in an area for a short period of time seeing the most famous is usual the best technique. On Crete I had kind of hoped to see more of the island that we did not get to see. I feel that all three of our professors to accompany us were wonderful. Everyone had something interesting to show us, and as a lover of learning I appreciated it. For me this trip was less about a relaxing holiday as the Greeks kept referring to it as, and more about connecting to the world that I had read so much about. Thank you all for your patience during the more frustrating parts of the trip as well as the good parts and again thank you for the opportunity.

And like I mentioned before I’ve never really been good at the whole journal thing so I hope that I at least came somewhat close to what you were expecting from our journals. Thanks again!