It’s Week 3. By now, my roommates and I have started settling in to a routine, and adapting to some Greek norms. In particular, we’ve felt an affinity for the siesta.
For this week’s museum trip, we went to the Museum of Cycladic Art. When we first entered, we were greeted by the largest Neolithic figurine I’d ever seen. While most figurines that I see are usually about the size of a coffee cup, this one was centrally displayed in its own glass box, about as tall as a golden retriever. It was so thin that the marble turned translucent when you looked at the light shining through it. When we asked our tour guide about the purpose of these figurines, and she gave us a few hypotheses. We then joked about how in prehistory, every hypothesis is correct.
As amazed as I was to see that first huge figurine in mint condition, I was even more surprised when I walked into the adjoining room. I was admiring the other palm-sized pots and bowls when I looked across the room at a cycladic figurine the size of a human being. Though these figurines are usually displayed upright, they were meant to be lying down inside a coffin. This one would have been displayed upright for all to see. Though it was less imposing, my favorite display object might have been the small, round pig.
After class, we got free range of the museum. My favorite floor was definitely the 4th floor, which described the everyday lives of the Ancient Greeks. We learned about rearing children, marriage rituals, and preparation for battle.
Quite possibly one of my favorite museums thus far was the Benaki Museum. I’ve loved getting to spend time with a lot of Neolithic artifacts and we’ve talked a lot about movements and chronology in that era, so I was prepared to take in the first floor of the museum, which is organized chronologically, from oldest to newest, starting on the first floor. I admired the Cycladic figurines and the pig vases with them. But when I got to the second floor, I was jarred by the onslaught of colors and gold after having looked at bare stone for the past few weeks. The Benaki Museum houses the collections of Antonis Benakis and his three sisters. I was taken aback by the elaborate altars and the intricate jewelry.
Week 3 was also our first Friday in Athens, meaning that we could go to the Farmer’s Market! I was amazed by the bustling crowds and calls of the vendors. There was every imaginable sound and every imaginable color, from the deep reds of the flower-topped strawberries, to the lush green of the leafy vegetables that I didn’t recognize, to the rainbow of colors from the tents selling potted flowers. When we got home, I truly learned what it meant for an orange to smell “sweetly fragrant.” The peel came off like butter. Inside, I bit into wedge after wedge of deliciously flavorful orange flesh. The whole room smelled like orange blossoms.
