Following the Road to the Gods

View of Meteora

Our third day on the road, we woke up in Kalampaka. We met our guide, Dominique, for breakfast and she joined us on the bus up to Meteora. We learned that the area surrounding Kalampaka, including the rocks of Meteora, used to be part of an ancient seabed dating back to 60 million years. The flow of the water created the giant sandstone spires of the rock and formed natural caves. In the tenth century AD, many caves were inhabited by monks in order to isolate themselves from society. Later, they were joined by others who created monasteries, some of which are still standing today.

The word meteora derives from a Greek word meaning "a place without a base." The monasteries are perched atop mountains that are often covered with fog, so they look as if they are floating without a base.

We visited the Holy Monastery of the Great Meteora, which is an active Greek Orthodox monastery. Because the monastery was all male, we ladies had to wear skirts before entering. In the sanctuary, we saw very well-preserved frescoes dating to 1400-1600AD depicting the martyrdom of saints and other scenes from the life of Christ. After 300 stairs back down to the bus, we began our drive to Mount Olympus.

We settled into our hotel and wandered the quaint little town that lies in the shadow of the mountain of the gods.

– Cassie and Angel

On the Road (Again)

Keeping to the theme of our trip, today was a day of travel.  However, before departing from Delphi we stopped at its museum.  Arranged chronologically, it held artifacts from the Mycenean to Roman periods.  We experienced first-hand the masterful workmanship of the friezes of the SyphnianTreasury.  It was created in the Archaic period, and we were able to recognize it as Ionic due to its continuous frieze.  Three sides represented scenes from the Trojan wars.  We were also able to identify the various gods baed on their identifying features throughout a frieze depicting the battle of Ajax and Memnon. Zeus sat in a chair complete with back support while Athena wore her aegis and Ares was simply antisocial in full armor.

In conclusion to our museum tour, we viewed the famed Charioteer. The Charioteer is a cornerstone sculpture since it marked the shift from archaic to classical periods of ancient Greek art. It is a rare find since it is one of the most intact example of ancient Greek bronze statuary.

We spent the rest of the day on the road to Kalambaka. We passed over the mountains that Xerxes’ army didn’t want to cross before the famed battle of Thermopylae. This conflict was unavoidable since that one pass was the best way to move the massive army through the region without becoming stranded in the mountains.

As we entered the Thessalian Plain we saw a herd of  the famed Thessalian horses.  We stopped briefly for lunch at a Greek rest-stop. There many of us took the leap and ate at Goody’s, a Greek fast-food restaurant which served gyros, burgers and salads.

After arriving in Kalambaka, a few of us went on a hike to better view “Meteora”, or the famed monasteries built into the cliff sides. Today also turned out to be the feast day of St. Anthony. We were in for quite a treat when we heard chanting coming from the monastery. It was also wonderful to see that the monasteries were still in use despite their age and inaccessible they appear to be.

We had dinner at a fabulous restaurant where we were served yogurt topped with rose-water for dessert!

Tomorrow we will continue to explore these Meteora before heading to Thessoliniki.

-Stephanie and Katherine

Delphi: The World’s Belly Button (It’s an Outie)

After an early start to the first leg of our 8-day trek through Northern Greece, we arrived at the Monastary of Hosios Loukas. Hosios Loukas was a local saint who was believed to have healing powers, so a few of the more daring members of the group sipped the mountains’ spring waters in the hopes that any of their ailments may be cured. Inside the ornate monestary, we saw a relic hand of the saint as well as small, tin dedications that people have offered to the saint in order to receive his blessing of good health. We were all very impressed by the intricate mosaics in gold leaf depicting various biblical scenes including the Pentacost.

We then made our way to Delphi and set up our picnic lunch which we purchased the supplies for yesterday in the central market of Athens. We were surprised by a number of feline visitors who were keen to eat our food. The cats of Delphi ate like little kings today.
After lunch, we ventured up the mountain to consult Apollo’s famed Oracle at Delphi. One by one, we crawled on our hands and knees through the depths of the temple from which the Oracle would have emerged in antiquity.

In addition, we had two student led presentations by Sarah and Angel. Sarah provided background on the Oracle, its history, and its mythology. Angel talked about the Treasury of Athens in which the spoils of war were stored and displayed during festivities.

We made a new canine companion today, affectionately dubbed Apollo.

He playfully followed the group to our last stop at the site from which Delphi draws its nickname: the Belly Button of the World. Delphi really did feel like the umbilicus of the planet. Professor Salowey joked that it was obviously an outie.

Hadley & Pavithra

National Gardens, Panathenaic Stadium & the Olympieion!

Today we woke to sunny, clear skies and we enjoyed a walk through the National Gardens, which are a park in the middle of Athens that contain ancient ruins and a zoo! During the Ottoman Empire, Otto von Bismark’s wife Queen Sophia attempted to get a tree from every country in the world with the intention of setting up an arboretum. Because of this there was a lot of interesting foliage to look at. We were also able to see various animals such as peacocks, rabbits, ducks, and a special type of goat native to Crete known as the kri kri.

There were many creative uses for ruins from antiquity in the park. One thing we noticed was that the remnants of a Roman bath (columns and capitols) were now recycled into permanent park benches!

We continued our walk out of the gardens and stopped at a building called the Zappeion exhibition hall. This was built during the neoclassical period by german architects who copied the building after the previous classical style under Otto von Bismark. Today this area is populated on weekends by many Greeks who are in search for entertainment.

One of the highlights of the day was our visit to the Panathenaic Stadium, also known as the Marble Olympic stadium that was the host of the 1st modern Olympics in 1894. We were able to go on an auditory walking tour where we stopped at 12 various stations around the stadium to learn of our history, providing an abundance of information. Some of us also took a jog around the track and then enjoyed taking celebratory pictures on the podium.

Finally we finished off our day with a visit to the Temple of the Olympian Zeus. This was an Ionian greek temple that had several layers of columns surrounding the building before you actually entered the temple. The building was never completed and was left half done for around 800 years until it was completed during the Roman empire. While we were there we also saw the arch of Hadrian, that has an inscription on one side of the arch that faces the acropolis which says “This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus”, and on the reverse, “This is the city of Hadrian”.

We ended the day all together with a dinner in a lovely restaurant called la Pasteria, where we enjoyed an Italian family-style meal and talked about our time in Athens while looking forward to our journey to Delphi tomorrow. As the greeks say, herete (goodbye)!

January 13, 2013

Kalispera! (Good evening!)

A few days after seeing the Acropolis, today we went to the Acropolis Museum. In order to preserve and display the foundations of an early Byzantine town, the museum was raised up above ground level, and the excavations were visible through glass floors within the building. The first floor of the museum displayed pottery and votive offerings to the nymphs, who were associated with marriage and childbirth.

The second floor of the museum, the archaic floor, had scattered statuary from the first temple to Athena. The statuary included large depictions of fights between man and beast as well as Kores, female figures, as offerings to Athena. We split into groups to analyze different aspects of the statuary, and we saw examples of gender identities in the active males and passive females.

The third and final floor of the museum was possibly the most important feature, as it consisted of a to-scale representation of the Parthenon and the placement of its metopes and friezes. The reliefs depicted the victories of the Athenians against various barbarians on the outer level, and on the interior, the Panathenaic Festival was portrayed. Some were plaster cast to show, very obviously, which reliefs are in the hands of the British Museum.

After exploring the Acropolis Museum, we found a quaint restaurant that served ten dishes of our choice to each small group. It was a family-style restaurant, and we all greatly enjoyed trying out different dishes such as dolmadhes (stuffed grape leaves) and a fava bean dip.

From the restaurant, we walked down a very busy pedestrian walkway (Athenians traditionally come out to socialize on Sundays) to make our way to Pnyx, which is a hill that was used for political debates and votes in antiquity. It was quite large (in ancient times it had a quorum of 5,000!), held up by huge blocks of bedrock, but it also had a beautiful view of the Attic basin. In modern times, it’s a popular place for families to sunbathe and play with the dogs of Athens.

 

 

– Katie and Shoshana

January 12, 2013 – Island of Aegina

 

“The isles of Greece! the isles of Greece

 

  Where burning Sappho loved and sung,

 

Where grew the arts of war and peace,

 

  Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung!

 

Eternal summer gilds them yet,

 

But all, except their sun, is set.”

 

-Lord Byron, The Isles of Greece

 

 

 

Taking a bus, train, and a boat, we left the comfort of Athens to visit the island of Aegina, which was only about an hour off the coast.  We planned to visit the Temple of Aphaia, but the buses were shut down over the weekend due to austerity measures, forcing us to take yet another mode of transportation: the taxi.  The taxi drivers were quite friendly, pointing out monuments and pistachio trees.  Fun fact: Aegina is one of the best producers of pistachios in the world.

 

 

Aphaia was a water nymph, originally from Crete, who fled from the rather inappropriate King Minos.  She was captured by pirates and brought to Aegina.  She’s become associated with Athena, who is also well represented in the temple.  The temple held lots of colored pigment unlike many of the classical temples we expect.

Afterwards, we went to St. Nektarios Church, a local pilgrimage site, where many come to be healed by the saint, who we found out was sainted in the last century.  He didn’t seem to like us, since the beautiful sunny weather turned into a ferocious windy and rainy storm that lasted from when we went inside to when we returned to town.

 

 

 

Since Greek weather is even crazier than Virginia’s, the sunny weather was back, so we visited a local cafe and got some coffee while we discussed our homework readings about previous travelers to Greece.  After we went to lunch, which heavily featured seafood and two cats that continuously begged for our food and love.

 

 

 

When we finished eating, we were left to our own devices on the island.  Some went shopping, some went on a photoshoot, some went to a cafe, and others simply relaxed by the Mediterranean Sea.  We met back up to catch the ferry back to Athens (and the train and the bus).  We got to watch the sun set over the Mediterranean but we’re happy to be back in our dorms with food after a long day.

-Melissa and Sarah

Byzantine churches and The Archaeological Museum at Agora

After some technical difficulties we are here to report on Friday’s activities! After another early start, we were ready to see more of beautiful Athens.  We headed out on the metro to Syntagma where we saw the parliament building.  Luckily there were no protestors today!  We continued on through downtown until we reached our first Byzantine church of the day. Professor Salowey talked about the different styles of architecture.  It was surprising to see such an old building in such a modern area. We went to see two more churches, one of which is still in use. We got to see the insides of both of them. The one that was still in use had a very serene atmosphere, and it was a privilege to get to be inside.

We headed over to the museum to see their collection after visiting the churches. We had the special treat of being able to go behind the scenes to see what it is like to work at an archaeological museum. We learned what it takes to keep all the artifacts maintained and where they store all the objects not on display. Finally, we learned about the process of digitizing their records. It was fascinating to see how much easier new technology like the iPad is improving their research methods. But, having these notes at their fingertips can sometimes make it easy for archaeologists to make assumptions about their digs.

After we stuffed our brains with all of the information we set off to stuff our stomachs. We went downtown and learned how to order ourselves “toast”, the Greek version of a panini — delicious! On the way to eat in the park we walked past a bakery and we were enticed by the smells. We unanimously decided we needed to get some cookies. It turns out its not so hard to get a quick meal in Athens. We enjoyed our goodies in the park and soaked up the sunshine.

Brittany and Angel

January 10, 2013 – Agora and Acropolis

After a restless night and an early wake up call, we set off on an adventure with Athens’ public transportation. After a bumpy bus ride and a crowded metro ride, we made it to the historical Agora. We obtained a very protective dog guide that we dubbed Django (he was unchained). He passed us onto another dog when we entered the Agora.

Our mighty guide, Django! He is unchained!

We started in the Stoa of Attalus, where Professor Salowey jokingly revealed that it was built by the American School in the 1950s. They did incorporate the original plans and some original pieces into the reconstruction. Most of the buildings we saw in the Agora were in ruins or reconstructed but we did see the only remaining full standing temple in Greece, the Temple of Hephaistos. It has remained standing without any major renovations since 452 BCE.

A photo taken of the Temple of Hephaistos was we walked along the Panathenaic way!

After a somewhat slippery hike over the worn stones of the Panathenaic Way, we found ourselves on the Acropolis with a breathtaking view of Athens. The skies were clear and we could even see the Island of Aegina. There was a lot of construction, and but we were still able to enjoy the splendor of the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike and the Erechtheion.

A picture of Athens from atop the Acropolis!

We trekked back down to modern Athens to enjoy a traditional Greek lunch, complete with yogurt and honey.

We once again braved mass transit to return to Deree and relax!

We can’t wait to see what adventures await us tomorrow!

-Cassie and Stephanie

Καλησπέρα, from Athens! – 8 & 9 January 2013

(Good evening, from Athens!)

After a total of 10 hours in the air, landing in Athens was a pleasant surprise. We were welcomed by the fresh air and startled by how intense the sunlight was. Having left gloomy weather in Zurich, we all readily reached for our sunglasses as the light reflected back off of the white buildings that filled the basin of Mount Hymettus.

A view of Mount Hymettus from the van on the way to Deree.

Despite the long travel hours and excessive sleep deprivation, we were eager to begin our adventures in Greece. We met our ambassador at Deree College, the undergraduate division of the American College of Greece. After depositing our luggage in the dorms, we went on a walking tour of the campus. Deree began as a small institution devoted to educating women in a time when it was not the norm. It continues to boast small class sizes, averaging 15 to 20 students, and easily accessible facilities. Deree is quickly becoming a home away from home for us.

By the time we finished the tour, the sun was beginning to set, and we still wanted to hike a nearby mountain to see the view from the top. After a very brisk walk, we reached it just in time to see Athens drenched in a spectacular sunset. In the fading light, Professor Salowey pointed out major points of interest, some of which include the Port of Piraeus, the island of Aegina, and the Acropolis.

Professor Salowey describing the Attic Basin.

We descended the mountain in the final rays of sunlight. We enjoyed our first authentic Greek meal at a local restaurant and returned to our dorms for some much needed sleep.

All of us in Greece. Woo-hoo!

Catherine & Pavithra

Καλή Χρονιά

Mount Olympus, the highest peak in Greece, is the home of the gods.  Thessaloniki , the second largest city in modern Greece, was also the second largest, after Constantinople, in the Byzantine, and later the Ottoman Empires.  Under the Ottoman Turks it was nicknamed  “Jerusalem of the Balkans,” due to its large community of Sephardic Jews.  Opulent chamber tombs of Macedonian royalty were discovered  in the town  now called Vergina.   Meteora,  literally meaning “middle of the sky,”  is the site of Orthodox monasteries dating to the 14^th century, that perch atop towering sandstone outcroppings.  Thermopylae is the name of the pass where the famed three hundred Spartans held off a much larger invading force.  And Mount Pelion, home to ancient centaurs, remains a realm of mysterious beauty.

Thirteen intrepid Hollins students, led by two wise and brave professors, will experience these and other places in Greece firsthand this January.  We will learn about the history and culture of ancient and modern Greece.  We will sample the food, walk the land, view the art and architecture, and try to dance.  And we will document it all here, in words, images and video.  We set out on January 8, and our next entry will be written in Greece–but not in Greek!  Follow us, and share the link to the blog with any friends or family who may be interested.

In the meantime, we offer this greeting to our Greeks hosts: Καλή  Χρονιά, Χρονιά Πολλά, Happy New Year, Many Years!