We started our term off with an amazing trip to the Acropolis! The weather was perfect and it was just the way to begin our time here. There were some lovely smaller sites on the way up, like the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, where they still host performances! We intend to see some at the Athens Festival in May– stay tuned for that in later posts. To sit where the ancients sat!!!
Once we got to the top we had fun learning about the history of the site and trying to imagine it in its former glory. I found it hard to picture since so much of the original detail has been lost or altered, but it must have cut an incredible figure with all the paint and the giant statue in the middle. I’m very excited to see recreations of what it looked like in the Acropolis museum. I was also happily surprised by the appearance of Agrippa, my favourite Roman (or his column anyway).
A few of us (Helen, Ruby, Suwannee, Will, and myself) went to see the National Archaeological Museum on our own and saw some of the golden details from graves at Mycenae; Helen and I fell in love with the jewelry. The ancient world must have sparkled so much (at least for those who could afford it, but let me live my fantasy for a while)! I wish we used gold and other decorative elements in similar ways today, I think the fear of garishness holds us back from some beautiful art. We also saw some work by a sculptor who was said to have made some friezes for the Parthenon, and his work was incredible up close. It’s crazy how much effort was put into work that they knew would be displayed so high up. I’m writing this sitting on my balcony, imagining how much nicer the view would be if there was some art up here.
The Mazi Plain wasn’t exactly my thing, but I see the appeal. I was most interested in finding sherds and drawing the different rock formations rather than the history of land ownership in the Plain. Also, I’m not sure how good I would be at survey archaeology–I think I would miss a lot of sherds. Actually, it seems like there are a lot of factors that could skew data, but I think this is more a problem with archaeology in general than survey archaeology specifically. I loved the restoration efforts taking place at Aigosthena, and I think I’d be more suited for that. It seemed like a giant puzzle, which is exactly up my alley! Not to mention the beautiful views at the work site.
Looking ahead, I’m very excited for our trip to Volos. I’ve seen a few pictures of the ruins and the beach and they look stunning!