While in this class on the OCS we have been heavily discussing history, especially of the specific places we are visiting, in one of my other classes, Classical Myth and Reception, we have been covering more of the mythologic side. It has been really interesting to see how these two classes have intersected as a couple of times somewhere we have already or will later visit comes up in our readings. Alex’s class has mainly been covering the physical remains of a site and some of the major history of the site (like the wall and famous battle at Thermopylae, the castle at Lamia and its strategic advantages due to the landscape, Eleutherae and Oinoe’s locations, orientations, and logic) but there is almost no discussion of the mythology tied to the site or the ways in which the ancient inhabitants and others thought of this land (aside from potential strategic and agricultural advantages). This is not true across the board, as at the Acropolis we discussed the mythic basis for some of the imagery and symbolism depicted on the temples that tie the Athenians to that land and their foundation myths. We also briefly discussed the cave which may have given Elutherai its name and how people speculate on whether Jason is from Volos and where in reality he would have been from. However, in the other class this dynamic is drastically different. The root of the class is based in the myths and what took place in this fictionalized cultural history while it is supplemented by the type of discussion we have in Alex’s class when necessary.
When we recently read Hesiod’s Theogony there was a mention of Eleutherae, after we had visited. This was one of the first places we visited and it was incredible and I learned so much about the history of the place and the building itself, but Hesiod added another dimension that changed how I view the place in hindsight. He said that the Muses “were born on Pieria after our Father Kronion/Mingled with Memory, who rules Eleutherae’s hills.”(Hesiod Theogony 53-4 translated by Lombardo) There was also mention in class of a connection between Eleutherae and the establishment of the Dionysia. Neither of these mythological connections are necessarily something that was overly relevant to our trip, but thinking back to how it felt to be there and looking back at my pictures the idea that that was a place that was tied to, or ruled by, Memory adds an extra dimension to the location. Hesiod was writing before the main events that we were discussing at Eleutherae, which I believe were in the 4th century BCE whereas Hesiod was writing several centuries earlier, but it would be interesting to see if this fortress and the corresponding one at Oinoe tied into this association later at all. There was also the inscription that we saw that was reminding travelers to remember to pay their taxes as they passed through. Eleutherae was and is clearly a place with a heavy and long history attached to it, but I think it adds a lot to the location itself that it was associated with memory. However, it is clearly not what is most important to our trip as it is a brief mention in Hesiod that connects the location as a whole to memory, not any physical “history” or change in the landscape or inhabitation.
We did not have official class on Thursday because Alex had a conference so some of us spent the day at some museums! We first went to the National Museum of Contemporary Art and then the Benaki Museum. The Museum of Contemporary Art was huge and super interesting. I am always a bit skeptical about contemporary art and while we did not manage to see the whole museum before we had to leave (we will be back!) I liked a lot more than I thought I would. I felt a lot more as thought I had to read the signs and understand the process and inspiration than I do with some of the Classical and older material that we look at, but we are also prepped for that in class and I have spent far longer looking at that material than modern art. It was a really interesting insight into modern Greek culture, politics, and perspectives on history that I do not get much of because of the classes I am enrolled in while here.
This was also true of the Benaki museum. This museum starts with some neolithic material and moves practically into the modern day. There was a ton of really gorgeous ancient material, including some golden botanical wreaths and amazing earrings and hair accessories. One of the most striking pieces was something reminiscent of a snood with Athena on it. This appears to have been designed to be worn over a bun and is gorgeous and such an ostentatious and detailed display of wealth.
There was also a good amount of Byzantine material and its layout emphasized to me its tight color palette and subject range – most of the material is about Christian subjects, primarily Jesus and Mary, and has a warm color palette and a lot of gold. I was super interested in the displays of costumes that they had as well. They were all from the last couple centuries as fabric does not survive well but seeing them displayed on bodies emphasized their beauty and the ways in which the fashions changed throughout the centuries and also held onto traditional elements that differ from other European fashions. Having studied fashion history a good amount it was super interesting to see how these clothes both aligned with and differed from French, English, and American styles of the same era that are more associated with that era in popular western imagination.
Since we also did not have class on Friday, Ruby, Suwanne, and I decided to take the bus over to the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion. This was a super easy and beautiful bus trip that followed the coast providing almost constant sea views. The temple itself was I think the prettiest temple that I have seen yet on this trip. It is fairly well preserved with most of the columns still standing and walking around it provides some of the best views of the sea that I have seen on this trip. It is on the top of a hill that is quite a hike up to and we did not see obvious evidence of ancient houses, so it would be interesting to research who was primarily using this temple and where they were living more. There was also a temple to Athena right nearby, but it was not nearly as well preserved. It was interesting to see these two temples so close but in such different states of preservation, as the Athena temple appeared to primarily be the foundations like the temple to Dionysus that we saw on our first day trip. We have yet to see a ton of temples, we have mostly seen fortresses, but this temple is my favorite so far and makes me excited to see future temples!
