This week we went back to the National Archaeological Museum, this time to look at the pottery section. Will Austin led us through the pottery displays in chronological order. I enjoyed seeing the art styles and how they changed throughout different periods. My favorite style was the black figure which was when the figures were in black slip rather than the background. Black slip is created by iron oxide that turns black when the clay is fired. My favorite piece of pottery there was one that the artist created a face using the handles as eyebrows.
The rest of the week we had off for Easter so Sophia and I had planned a trip to the island of Zakynthos to spend our break. We arrived in Zakynthos Wednesday morning. The first day in the area we were staying was very quiet and empty. Hotels and restaurants were just starting to open up for the busy season and we were one of the first to arrive. We spent the day at the beach relaxing after our journey to the island.
On Thursday we decided we wanted to go on a hike. Our first attempt at a good hiking location failed; we ended up on a hill surrounded by trees and houses. Then we walked down towards the ocean and found a perfect hiking path up a small mountain overlooking the sea. The view for the entire hike was gorgeous and making it to the top was very rewarding; there was a tavern up there where we got snacks and water. We walked around the small town on the top of the mountain but turned around when a dog didn’t want us to go further. The hike down was just as gorgeous as the way up. When we reached the sea we spent the rest of the day swimming and relaxing at the beach.
On Friday we wanted to visit an old Venetian Castle near Zakynthos town, but unfortunately, it was closed so we spent the day in the town of Zakynthos. There were a lot of people in the town. It was Good Friday so families were meeting up, multiple marching bands were there, and a church event was happening in the main square. We walked around for a bit and visited the Byzantine Museum of Zakynthos. It was cool to compare the Byzantine Museum in Zakynthos to the Byzantine Museum in Athens. The biggest difference I noticed was that the Byzantine Museum in Athens displayed art as well as other objects and information about living during the period, on the other hand, the museum in Zakynthos was mostly just art from the Byzantine period. Another interesting difference was that the media of the art was mostly wood in Zakynthos but in Athens, there was also marble and stone art. The art had similar styles and colors in both Byzantine museums. There was a beautiful fresco in the Zakynthos Museum that was more intact than the fragments in the Athens Byzantine Museum. Another interesting observation was that the depictions of religious symbolism seemed different. At the Byzantine Museum in Athens, there was a lot more cross symbolism, and in Zakynthos, the art depicted stories from the bible, Jesus, angels, and saints; there were more depictions of humans and figures rather than crosses.
On Saturday we enjoyed the beautiful views Zakynthos has to offer through a horse ride through a forest and in the sea. It was scary for me to ride a horse but it was super cool and a really fun experience.
Our last day in Zakynthos was Sunday but since we left in the evening we got to enjoy one more day at the beach and walking around the town. I enjoyed spending a few days in a new place and exploring the island of Zakynthos.