Week 7 was a very busy week for me. It was definitely a good week overall and there was plenty to do. I did not have any class on Monday since it was the last day of our Easter break so it was very nice to sleep in. However, I did have a paper to write for my Myth and Reception class due on Wednesday, so I spent most of my Monday writing that paper. The prompt was to analyze the tensions between the gods being seen as protectors of humanity while, at the same time, seemingly treating humans in cruel ways. I explored the gods’ treatment of mortals via their creation and facilitation of human destiny. I argued that the gods’ relationship to human destiny, specifically being able to create and facilitate it, shapes the contradictory relationship between gods and humans. Within the paper itself, I analyzed Zeus and Athena’s characterization in both The Iliad and The Odyssey. The paper turned out really well and I am very happy with it. The craziest part of the whole paper writing experience was that it was the last paper I’ll ever write as an undergraduate. As I think back to the papers I produced my senior year of high school and compare them to the paper I just wrote, it is incredible how far my writing has come. I came into Carleton relatively confident in my writing and have always done relatively well in writing classes, but I am truly proud of how much I have improved as a writer at Carleton. Everything flows so much nicer than it used to and my vocabulary has really improved. I owe a lot of that improvement to the great professors that I have had at Carleton. I truly appreciate everything that Carleton has done for me and seeing the improvement in my writing is just another example. I am really proud of the final paper I wrote as an undergraduate.
Much like Monday, Tuesday was also filled with paper writing, but I had some class as well. Despite not having any class for Digital Archaeology, I did have Alex’s class. While in class, we set up our trip to central Greece by learning about the Early Iron Age and Archaic period. Then, on Wednesday, I had another relatively normal day here in Athens. I had my Myth and Reception class and also turned in my paper that day.
Thursday consisted of our visit to the Acropolis Museum for Alex’s class. As I have stated in previous blog posts, I have been to the Museum many times, but it was great to return. We learned about the archaic Acropolis and the buildings that precede what we see up there today. There were at least 3-4 temples on the Acropolis previous to today’s such as the “Old Athena Temple,” the “Older Parthenon,” and the “Bluebeard Temple.” The “Bluebeard Temple” gets its name from the men with seemingly blue beards on the remains of its pediment. It is also important to note that although many of the sculptures, friezes, pediments, and many other objects in the Museum are white, many of them were actually painted. Another interesting aspect about the Acropolis Museum is its relationship with the British Museum. Many of the items from the Parthenon’s frieze and pediment, along with many other artifacts, are at the British Museum and not the Acropolis Museum. This can be seen throughout the Acropolis Museum with replicas in place of the real items that are at the British Museum. Overall, it was a great visit to the Acropolis Museum and I feel that I have fully explored everything Acropolis related while on this trip!
Friday was an early morning as we departed for our trip to Central Greece. The trip itself was fun and really packed. We did a ton of stuff so I will briefly touch on all of it. We started off in Thebes and went to the Archaeological Museum of Thebes. The museum itself was set up chronologically and we learned a bunch while there. For example, during the Mycenaean Period, Boeotia, the region where Thebes is, was actually the second most densely populated place in Greece. Also, in the Classical Period, Thebes started to come into power and took Sparta’s side in the Peloponnesian war. However, after Sparta won the Peloponnesian war, Thebes did not want to be controlled by them and ended up defeating Sparta in the Boeotian war. After the Museum, we went to the Acropolis of Gla, which was once one of three palatial centers in Boeotia. The Acropolis was at the center of drainage works in the Copais Basin. Alex called those drainage works the “greatest engineering feat of the bronze age.” However, Gla was only around for about 80-100 years due to a fire. After Gla, we briefly stopped at Orchomenos and Church of Pangria Skripou. The weather was not great while there, but something interesting about the church was that it is partially made out of column bases. We then finished the night in Delphi. At the hotel, we got a lecture about Delphi from Edward Harris who is an expert on the topic. This lecture provided context for our tour of the sanctuary at Delphi the next day. One key piece of information we learned from the lecture is that Delphi acted as the “billboard of Greece” since so many people came from all over to visit the sanctuary. I finished Friday night with a great dinner and went to bed early since we had another early morning on Saturday.
We started Saturday at the Delphi sanctuary and archaeological site. Edward Harris gave us the tour and it was really interesting. We learned about the Treasury of Siphnians, which oddly faced West whereas most Greek temples faced East. We also learned about the Serpent Column and Temple of Apollo as well. We then visited the Delphi museum. While there, we learned that there is actually evidence for a Mycenaean warship at Delphi and how the Siphnian Tresury’s frieze depicts gods fighting against giants but the gods are not wearing armor because they were so powerful that they did not need it. After the museum in Delphi, we went to the Osios Loukas Monastery, which is the “Holy Luke’” Monastery. There are many posthumous and non-posthumous miracles associated with Holy Luke such as levitation and healing. The Monastery itself is beautiful and I purchased some seemingly delicious monastery honey and olive oil. The Monastery is actually known for their honey! We then finished the night in Chalkis with a walking tour.
Sunday was yet another jam-packed day that started with an early morning. We started off the day with a visit to the New Archaeological Museum of Chalkis. We learned that the museum’s building used to be a wine factory. We also got to see some items from the burials in Lefkandi that were right next to the Toumba, which we learned about in class. They even had the garment that the male wore, which was incredible. We then went to the Eretria Museum and Archaeological site. In the museum we saw some lead bullets which were used in slingshots to shoot down olives from olive trees. Then, while at the site, we walked down what was the narrow, ancient street. We also saw some beautiful mosaics in the House of the Mosaics, which is the most famous house in Eretria. Then, we went over to Amarynthos and learned about the 3 prehistoric settlements that were there in the bronze age and Mycenean times. We also saw the Sanctuary Artemis, but the gate was locked and it was mostly covered anyway. The large-scale excavations at the Sanctuary are actually relatively recent and have only been going on for 10 years so it was cool to learn about some ongoing, developing excavations. After all of the visits, we had lunch in Eretria and then headed back to Athens. To get back, we took a ferry and had a bus ride. The ferry was beautiful and the bus ride was pretty easy. I was really tired after everything so I was glad to have an easy trip home. Great trip overall and a fun, busy week!
