Although we had a very busy week back after Easter break, I still managed to enjoy Athens. One highlight was watching the sunset from the top of Kallimarmaro Stadium with Charlotte as we looked out on the Acropolis. It was a nice way to wind down after a long day.
During class on Thursday, we visited the Acropolis Museum in Athens. I had planned to visited before we went as a class but never got around to it, so I was quite excited. The museum was brand new and had lots of fantastic artifacts. I especially enjoyed seeing the Caryatids from the Erechtheion up close–I hadn’t realized that what we had seen on the original building were replicas of these originals. It brought back memories of our first full day in Athens when we climbed up the Acropolis!
I really liked how they organized the top floor of the museum to mimic the Parthenon in orientation and decoration. One thing that I started thinking about was the ethics behind the British Museum’s possession of many sculptures from the Parthenon. I got to enjoy these sculptures when I was London but had not thought about why the British would have Ancient Greek art. Upon seeing the plaster versions of the Elgin marbles, I realized how strange it was that the Greeks cannot own and display all of the artifacts from the Parthenon in one place. It is a little bit sad. On the flip side, I was considering how the British Museum may have done a better job preserving and restoring the sculptures, especially since the new Acropolis Museum was only constructed fifteen years ago. Did the British do a better job conserving or did they just take the really good stuff? Should the British Museum return the artifacts now that the Greeks have a suitable museum? Will more people have access to the artifacts if they are in London? These are all questions I pondered during our visit.
On Friday, we set out to explore Central Greece. I enjoyed visiting the Church of Panagia Skripou, where we could see elements of earlier buildings and construction built into the walls. We saw column drums, old stelai with inscriptions, and bricks from Roman times. They were all very artfully incorporated into the walls of the church. It’s a great example of ancient peoples reusing and recycling old materials, which we have seen at many other sites. It made the church all the more beautiful, too, in my opinion.
We visited Delphi on Friday. One of the reasons I was drawn to this OCS was the visit to Delphi, a storied site that I had read about in the Odyssey and Illiad and learned about in Latin class. I must admit that I was a little disappointed by our visit because we did not venture down to the Sanctuary of Athena or the Gymnasium and didn’t spend much time at the Temple of Apollo. Maybe I had hyped it up too much in my head and had unrealistic expectations but I don’t think we had time to fully understand and feel the gravity of the site. The setting was incredible and I definitely enjoyed the views. I’m still very glad we got the chance to visit.
While I was grieving the Sanctuary of Athena, I got one lovely surprise in the museum at Delphi. I learned about The Charioteer back in my art history courses and it was awesome to get to see him in person–he definitely helped lift my mood. It’s one of the earliest, best preserved bronze statues in the world! It is a very rare treat to find a bronze statue intact.
After visiting Delphi, we went to the Monastery of Osios Loukas, which was situated in the mountains nearby. I had fun exploring the monastery and found great peace there. The landscape was quiet and felt spiritual in a strange way (but it’s not strange because it’s a spiritual place). There was a guy giving us samples of their honey and it was delicious.
The interior of the Katholicon, the main church of the monastery, was spectacular. I had never really been into a Byzantine church like this one. The gold mosaics on the ceilings were beautiful and everything was so well decorated. In Italy and in my art history courses, I saw a lot of Trompe L’oeil marble where artists would use paint to create the effect of marble. In this church, all of the marble was real and I counted at least six different kinds! I really appreciated the marble and all of the natural, floral designs in the church.
We spent the last night of the trip in Chalkis. I loved Chalkis. It felt similar to Volos to me because it wasn’t a small town but it also wasn’t a big city. I like the in-between of Volos and Chalkis because it’s manageable but lively. We learned about the narrow waterway that runs through Chalkis and seperated Euboea from the mainland, and I found it fascinating. The currents on either side of the canal run in opposite directions, making crazy currents that are impossible to navigate. The current fluctuate greatly and are often only calm for eight minutes at a time–enough to get a few boats through.
During dinner, the Prime Minister of Greece gave a speech outside our restaurant!
I am quite exhausted from the weekend, but had a good time exploring Central Greece. I can’t believe we only have three weeks left.