This week, we thought about how we classify communities. In general, we tend to think about a community progressing from band to tribe to chiefdom and finally to state. The introduction of hierarchies was one of the indicators of a proto-city. We talked about how Tholos Tombs demonstrated an interest in signifying social power and I thought about similar sentiments resonated today. In the most direct sense, some families had pretty elaborate crypts in the First Cemetery of Athens. Our anthropology professor also talked about how paying respects to your ancestors, while done alone, is a very public ritual. When you pay your respects, you not only light incense and say prayers, but also clean off the grave. Thus when walking through the cemetery it is quite apparent which families are taking care of their crypts and which are not. As we walked through rows of graves in varying states of repair, we talked about how neglecting one’s grave could also be seen as a family “losing face.” While these modern graves may not try to convey superiority as with Tholos Tombs, it is still interesting to think about how Greeks then and today buried their dead in family crypts, and different messages that these elaborate structures were trying to convey.
My roommate Aselya had a project for her digital archaeology class in which she had to take about a hundred pictures that she would then develop into a digital 3D model. I was there for physical and moral support, but mostly as another pair of eyes. So, we set off to walk around the National Gardens, a place that others in the class had found some promising objects. First, we passed shining fountains and classically-inspired sculptures. There was a playground with brightly painted wood, which surprised us Americans, who had played on plastic structures and of course, the legendary metal slides at the peak of summer. Lesson learned: do not ever put yourself in a position in which the friction of your sweaty skin is skidding down these metal slides in the Baltimore summer sun, even if you think you are Iron Man. Moving on from the playground, we came across some resident ducks, who flapped their wings and quacked very loudly, presumably to welcome their favorite Pangrati residents. This could not possibly have had anything to do with the granola bar in my hands. At last, we saw the perfect candidate: a little stone sphere at the end of a long bench. It was perfect. Aselya took pictures while I went to get donuts. It was a lovely day.
On Saturday morning, we decided that we were long overdue for another museum. The Byzantine and Christian Museum, which was right next to the Benaki Museum of Art and Culture and the Cycladic Museum of Art and Culture. I was particularly struck by the amount of work that Emperor Justinan sponsored. I am excited to come back in a few weeks!
If, after spending time looking at artifacts in varying shades of beige, you decide that you would like a pop of color, look no further than the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens. Unlike archaeological museums, these exhibits were spaced out in cavernous rooms, such that one might have to cross a fair amount of red carpet to view the next work. Part of the reason for the ample real estate might be that each of the pieces was equipped with its own lighting system, with colored lamps and flashing lights. Moreover, many pieces had different soundscapes as well, whether it was ambient music particular to that work, or an accompanying video. In the case of the candle exhibit, I thought it was interesting to explore the idea of preserving a moment in time. The artist has decided to burn the candle and stop it at a particular point, likely to display the melted wax. At sites that we’ve visited, they, too, been restored to a particular period, likely to display human life. The candles and the archaeological sites each tell a story of how they were used by humans, and show what we value today.
