Delphi and Olympia (May 5-7, 2009)

Hello again! So…we begin again with our second multi-day trip, this time to the two great Panhellenic sanctuaries: the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, and the sanctuary of Zeus and Hera at Olympia. These sites were famous for their cults as well as their Games, the two major games of Ancient Greece (Pythian and Olympian) held every four years They were like the Summer and Winter Olympics in a sense, with the Pythian games being held in the middle of each 4 year Olympiad (of course the history is a little complicated, but I don't want to get into it). We got on the bus at around 7:30, and I shocked quite a few people, since I had shaved my beard off, prompting them to wonder what I would stroke while I was in class. But, anyhow, we set off for our first destination, Osios Loukas ("Blessed Luke") Monastery, a Byzantine monastery named not after the Evangelist, but after a local hermit whose relics are still in the church and are believed to exude myron, a healing oil used in miracles. The monastery itself was beautiful, high-up on the side of a valley, and the mosaics and murals were quite impressive. After a tour of the monastery, which included a "priests' movie theatre", we had lunch and were off. A couple hours later, we made it to Delphi (after an epic bus standoff in one of the mountain towns) and we went down to the lower site to see the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaos/Pronoia (either "before the temple" or "forethought"). During our site report, it started to rain, which honestly made the site so much more beautiful. The famous tholos (a round colonnaded structure) only had a few columns standing, but it was so majestic. After it stopped, we walked out past the gigantic ancient legos and headed to our hotel. That evening we discovered this awesome shop in Delphi called "Safeway," which sold these beautiful handmade olivewood objects (picture frames, bowls, salad sets, etc.) and where the owner gave us all sample of Mastic liquor and offered free olives to us all. We came back again later because he was so awesome. I also had a gyro that had ketchup, mustard, and mayo in addition to the normal fixins, and it was surprisingly good. After a pleasant night sleep, we went to the upper, more important site of Delphi. It was actually pretty amazing. Several of us had to do site reports pointing out certain historical aspects and locations of different dedications (I presented the history of the Pythian Games) and that made me feel more engaged with the site. Each important element, from the Siphnian treasury, to the Athenian treasury (where Alain got into a non-verbal confrontation with this serious bitch of a Greek guide), to the Temple of Apollo itself, which had orange columns which were once covered in stucco. Everything there seemed so important (and really everything was, because almost everything had some sort of dedication or decree inscribed on it). Unfortunately the evidence of where the Oracle would have been is arbitrary, but it was fun to sort of imagine how it went from what we know about the Oracle (especially since she was probably on a serious acid trip, and the priests interpreted her murmurs into really ambiguous lines of verse). After the site visit, we ventured into the Museum, which had some impressive pieces and dedications (including the monument of Aemilius Paullus), as well as the "original" navel of the universe. The most impressive piece was by far the Delphic Charioteer, a roughly life-size bronze sculpture of a charioteer likely from a dedication in honor of a Pythian Games victory. The same bitch Greek guide showed up behind us (she was kind of following us, trying to force us out of rooms with her annoying nature) and told her group of American tourists that bronze sculpture stopped with the Greeks, since there are no examples of bronze sculpture outside of Greece. I wanted to tell her she was an idiot, but calmed myself down especially after Paul told me she probably would've been very offended and possibly slapped me or something. After we were done at the museum, we grabbed lunch and headed out for Olympia on the Peloponnese, but of course there was a whole Corinthian Gulf between the two sites, so we had to take possibly the coolest bridge EVER: The Rio-Antirrio Bridge. This bridge is not tethered to either end of its span, but instead totally supported by piers along the floor of the gulf that can shift with the ever-moving nature of the Peloponnese, the fastest-moving landmass on Earth. As a result of these piers, the bridge is reportedly earthquake, tsunami, tidal wave, and terrorist proof. After crossing the bridge, we drove out into the middle of nowhere to Ancient Olympia, a tourist town with one main street lined with novelty tourist shops and jewelry shops that takes ten minutes to walk down. We got there later than expected, got overbooked out of our hotel, but luckily put into a "five-star" hotel right next to the site. We walked around a little bit, did some shopping (I found this shop whose owner's brother had run with the Olympic torch for the Moscow, LA, Seoul, Barcelona, and Atlanta games, and I even got to hold the torch from the Moscow games), and had a group dinner where I had a steak that dwarfed John P's cheeseburger. The next day, we went to the site, which was so beautiful! We started off at the museum, which had some fine pieces, including the Olympian Hermes holding the infant Dionysus by Praxiteles, and the Paeonian Nike, as well as the sculptures from the pediments of the Temple of Zeus. My group presented the temple, which was simply monstrous (see picture of me with column drum), and I focused on the chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statue of Zeus, which was added after the temple was built and was designed inside Phidias' workshop built to the exact proportions of the temple just to see how it would look and whether or not it would fit (apparently it was so large if Zeus were to stand up he would burst through the roof). After a pleasant walk through the site, which was essentially a park, we went to the stadium, where we discussed the Olympic Games and watched as people raced, including some of our girls. We walked out of the archaeological park, pausing a few times to look at the temple of Hera, where they have the torch lighting ceremony for the modern Olympics, the Philippeion in honor of Philip II of Macedon, and the palaestra, which had these unexplainable grooves carved in stone implanted in the ground. After we grabbed some lunch, we boarded our bus for the 5-6 hour bus ride back to Athens. So, until next time…

Greek Easter, Spring Break II, and Corinth (APRIL 27-30, 2009)

Hello again! This post covers a long period of time because I really didn't do that much. After submitting my final project for Helma, our class took a break for Easter and just to have a week off of school. Everyone else went off somewhere, but lucky for me, my vacation was coming to me. On Thursday morning, I got up early to pick up Katt from Piraeus, the Athenian port. She had been in Crete for the past month doing grunt work at INSTAP, an archaeological center in Crete. She had taken the overnight ferry from Iraklion to Piraeus, and she got in at 5 am, two hours before I could get to her. I met her in the train station in Piraeus, and she was exhausted and stressed, so I got her the closest thing I could to a chocolate muffin and we set out for Athens, where she would meet up with Angelo, her landlord, and settle into her flat in Athens, where I would also be staying until the last week of May and commuting to the Athens Centre. It was totally worth it, because I got to spend almost every night with Katt, and I lost a significant amount of weight just from walking roughly 6 miles a day. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Katt's first weekend in Athens was Greek Easter weekend, and if you are not aware of how they celebrate Easter over here, you should seriously look it up. All I can say is that one description we found said that they mark midnight Easter morning with fireworks, gunfire, and dynamite….and that's about right, because it sounded like a warzone. Anyhow, after Greek Easter/Blow Ourselves to Bits and Hope We Get Resurrected Too Day, I had a week off, and neither of us felt like doing much of anything, so we didn't. Pretty soon Greek Civ round 2 with Alain began (along with the reopening of my favorite gyros place, which made me so happy). The first two site visits were to the Acropolis/Theatre of Dionysus and the National Archaeological Museum, both of which I had been to before, so nothing really new there. The excitement arose, however, with our trip to Corinth on the 30th, where we encountered the chain-smoking, grizzled, British archaeologist we all secretly hoped we would meet someday: Guy Sanders. Guy is an archaeologist trained as a geologist who could tell you about the geological and archaeological history of Corinth if you asked him. He could even give you his interpretation of the Persephone myth in correlation with the rape of Helen, but apparently he does that a lot and his stories always lead back to Helen. He is in charge of excavations at Ancient Corinth, which is excavated by the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, and he knows Paul,, since Paul had dug there a few years back. He gave us a private tour of the ruins, and by private tour, I mean we walked behind all the ropes and down into old fountain houses and made other tour groups either jealous or confused by Guy's insistence that the areas we were in were closed and they were not allowed in. After thoroughly confusing several people, he led us to a Medieval house/structure with a courtyard and exterior shops where he explained the history of the site. He then led us to the pottery sheds where he gave us a lesson in trade and economics through pottery. He also showed us the newest excavations on the site, where we saw people digging and sifting away, trying to add to the roughly 4% of the city that has been excavated thus far. After offering our goodbyes and a bottle of wine, and petting his fun-loving Jack Russell terriers, we were off to lunch and our other sites. We went first to Perachora, where there is a sanctuary to Hera right on the coast opposite Corinth, marking the boundary of Corinthian lands but also giving us another opportunity to clamber on rocks overlooking the site of the old apsidal temple. We even found a cave to climb into. It was fun times. We hopped back on the bus to the Diolkos, the ancient precursor to the Corinth canal, wherein the Corinthians charged a fee to drag goods or even boats across the Isthmus between the Corinthian and Saronic gulfs. After a bit at the two long ruts in the ground, we headed back to Athens, where we got ready for a four day weekend, including of all things International Labor Day, May 1^st. So, faithful and patient readers, until next time…

Rhamnous and Marathon, etc. (APRIL 10-15, 2009)

Hello again! This post covers 6 days because not much of interest occurred for most of those days. I didn't do much on the weekend since I was exhasted from the week before. On Monday morning we went to the National Archaeological Museum, only to find it didn't open until 1: 15 pm. So instead we did our planned to visit for Tuesday to the Pnyx which I had already been to before as you should already know. We did go a little further up the Hill of the Muses to the Monument of Philopappus, which provided a pleasant view of the land between Athens and Piraeus, with remnants of the long walls still somewhat visible. On Tuesday, we actually made into the museum, which I had already been to as well, but we did walk through half of the sculpture collection which we had skimmed over minimally before; the other half was preserved for Alain in two weeks. On Wednesday, we boarded a bus early in the morning for Rhamnous, the northernmost ancient deme (political subdivision) in Attica. We saw the temple of Nemesis which was almost 6 inches away from another smaller temple and covered with modern inscriptions in the vein of "Stavros was here" (some of which were in script). After passing through a locked (but not very sturdy) fence, we walked down (and up and down) a ravine/road lined with tombs and dedication bases until we saw our final destination: a fortified ruined city on a promontory flanked by two stunningly blue bays. We proceeded into the city, which had impressive stone walls and other remnants such as herms, broken pottery (which we had fun identifying) and just absolutely gorgeous views of the sea and the surrounding countryside. There was no question why those who settled here did so, as it was both secure and beautiful. After a quick look at the unpublished materials excavated from the site, we went on to Marathon, site of the great Athenian victory over the Persians in 490 BC. We had lunch overlooking the Plain of Marathon and then entered the museum, which was impressive (but unfortunately didn't allow photography) and had within it the Trophy, a monumental single Ionic column set up by the Athenians where the Persians turned to run. We left the museum to see the early tombs on the site, and were lucky enough to be there when the archaeologists were on site, so we could be allowed into the Tomb of the Plataeans, where the Plataeans who died in the battle were allegedly buried. After admiring their bones, we went off to the Tomb of the Athenians, which looks like a gigantic mound of earth. We then got back on the bus for the ride back. When I returned, I was excited, because I would see Katt again the next morning, since she was getting in on the EARLY ferry from Crete. Well, faithful readers, until next time... (pictures later)

The Argolid Pt. 2 (APRIL 8-9, 2009)

Hello again! I know it has been a REALLY long time since I've updated this blog. I've been really busy and doing too many awesome things that if I were to write about them immediately my computer would likely burst into flames or something. Anyhow, in order to get caught up, I'm going to be much more brief in my posts. So, where were we? Ah yes... days 2 and 3 of my Argolid trip. After a night in Nafplio I woke up and set out for another Mycenean period acropolis, Tiryns. Not much to report on there except for gargantuan rocks in orderly piles resembling walls. They were made more interesting by Eric's insistence on jumping off one of the Rocks making up a gateway about 12 or 15 feet high. He fell on his side when he landed, his sunglasses flew off, and he skinned his palm, but otherwise he was fine. After leaving Tiryns, our next stop was Argos and its archaeological site, in which was an immaculately preserved greek theatre, as well as the remains of a Roman bath. After bounding around the ruins of the agora looking for hidden treasures, we visited another archaeological museum with a preserved mosaic depicting personifications of all the months of the year (this was of course of Roman period or later). After lunch, we headed to the Argive Heraion (which wasn't as close as the name suggests), and Paul enlightened us on the importance of the site from the archaic period onward. Also during this time, Eric tripped on a rock or something and sprained his ankle, needing to be carried down the hill the temple was on by John P. After those fun times, we went back to Nafplio for a wine tasting and dinner. After our last night in Nafplio, we headed for Epidavros to the Sanctuary of Asclepios, the Greek god of healing. While we were there we learned much about the cult of Asclepios and the procedures pilgrims would undergo in order to be cured of anything from blindness to a five-year pregnancy! After wandering around the sanctuary and witnessing the re-erection of Asclepios' tholos-Heroon, we went to another immaculately preserved theatre, where Nick serenaded us from the bottom while we stood at the top. We then left to return to Nafplio for our visit to the Venetian fortress Palamidi overlooking the city (which in some places seems rather precarious). After enjoying the breathtaking view, we had lunch and slept on the long bus ride back to Athens. So, readers, until next time...

The Argolid Pt. 1 (APRIL 7, 2009)

Hello again! Sorry I haven't been keeping up to date. I've been busy here, and with all the stuff we do, I just feel so exhausted. Anyhow, this post picks up where the last one left off. On Tuesday, I had to get up early to catch the bus on our three day excursion to the Argolid, the region in the northern Peloponnese surrounding Argos. I slept for most of the trip out of Athens, but I woke up right as we were driving over the Corinth Canal, which is actually quite an impressive sight to see. The canal, interestingly enough begun personally by Roman Emperor Nero shortly before his death, is 6 kilometers long and cuts through the narrow Isthmus connecting Mainland Greece with the Peloponnese, essentially rendering the latter an island. The sheer cliffs that compose the side walls of the canal are simply amazing. I saw in Michael Palin's Around the World in 80 Days how they get ships through the canal: three men board each ship, a pilot and two men who watch over the sides, and through communications between the three men they are able to guide ships unscathed through the canal. It was actually pretty cool. After our snack break at the canal, we boarded the bus and continued on to nearby Isthmia, a site that had been excavated by Oscar Broneer of the University of Chicago. Because of our connections, we received an exclusive tour run by the site architect (the member of the excavation team who essentially pieces everything together and draws out plans and elevations among other things). We were allowed into the new museum, not yet open to the public, where we were treated to artifacts associated with the cult of Poseidon (including remains of the cult statue of Poseidon's wife, Amphitrite, still in bubble wrap), the Isthmian games (including an iron discus and part of a chariot wheel), and the sunken harbor of Cenchreai (including decorative glass panels). Outside the museum we walked around the site, even going beyond the ropes into the foundations of the Temple of Poseidon (which was awesome). Our guide showed us a reconstruction of the ancient wall surrounding the sanctuary as well as the old altar and running track, where he explained how footraces worked in ancient Greece, with the starting line where the runners were tethered until the race started (and how the starting line had to be rebuilt because it was so easy to cheat using the old one by simply stepping on your opponent's string). Next to the starting line was the Roman shrine to Palaimon. Palaimon was the son of a Boeotian prince and Ino, the rearer of Dionysus. When his father was driven mad by Hera, he cast ino and Palaimon into the sea. Palaimon's body was taken by a dolphin and deposited beneath a pine tree on the Isthmus of Corinth, where he was discovered by his uncle Sisyphus and brought to Corinth. At the command of the Nereids, Sisyphus established the Isthmian Games in Palaimon's honor. The shrine to Palaimon, the third or fourth of its kind, was supposed to have been constructed above Palaimon's grave (it's actually above a sewer pipe). Here sacrifices were made to Palaimon for good fortune during the games. As we were running out of time, our guide led us to a cavern/dining room and allowed us a distant glimpse of the Roman Baths before we were herded back to the bus for our next destination: Nemea. Nemea is well known for its role in one of the twelve labors of Heracles, the slaying of the Nemean Lion (a fact acknowledged accidentally by Sarah when she insisted she was Heracles and her fleece jacket the skin of the Lion). Our first stop at Nemea was the Archaeological Museum, housing the finds from the excavations conducted by UC-Berkeley. There we were treated to very nice models reproducing the Sanctuary of Zeus as well as the nearby stadium, site of the Nemean Games. After a gander at the miniatures (and Helma mistaking graves for sheep) we set off for the real thing. We walked along the path past fields of grapevines first arriving at the Roman Baths, which had a recognizable frigidarium and caldarium. After basking in the fallen glory of Roman luxury, as well as strange fascination with an octagonal trash can, we moved on to a strange circle of pavement which we really couldn't figure out the purpose for, but decided it was certainly something having to do with religion, and moved on, passing by the ruins of a Roman monastery. We then arrived at the Temple of Zeus, which was clad for the most part in scaffolding. The reason for this was that Berkeley was re-erecting several of the fallen columns, which is at one level good, because they're recreating the experience for future generations, but on another level it removes the romanticism of the site, with its former silhouette of three columns against a sunset with other columns fallen upon the ground looking remarkably like round dominoes. Beyond the temple, we saw the Great Altar of Zeus, where competitors in the Games would sacrifice and proceed to the Stadium on foot, but we decided to take the bus, because we had a few buildings and fences in our way. When we got to the Stadium site, we first passed through the apodytrion, or changing room, then through a tunnel into the stadium itself, which is practically perfectly preserved. Our group gathered at one end, but I clambered to the top of the hill the stadium was built into to get a better view and to see the footrace about to ensue. After that, we reboarded the bus and headed to Mycenae, the location of the citadel of Agamemnon (and his tomb, according to Schleimann). After a brisk trip through the museum, we entered through the Lion Gate, something I've been waiting to see for a long time, and proceeded past the "grave circle of Agamemnon" where Schleimann gazed into the face of Agamemnon to the Megaron and the cistern, which was at least 50 if not 100 steps below ground, cut into solid stone. It was amazing. After those escapades, we went to the tholos tombs nearby, named arbitrarily by Schleimann the tombs of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra and the Treasury of Atreus, which were pretty impressive (especially once we realized the Treasury of Atreus was a whisper dome). After the tholoi we boarded the bus headed for Nafplio, where we stayed in a hotel for the next two nights. That night we went on a hunt for an amazing gelateria which eluded us but was eventually found by accident. Afterwards, we had a very nice dinner as a group at this nice tavern which seated all 26 of us outside in the alley, but it was so cool and the food was delicious. We of course had a repeat run at the gelateria, this time knowing precisely where it was, and later I fell asleep satisfied and awaiting my next day with more ruin-hopping. Well, reader, in the interest of preserving your interest, I'm going to start the next day in a new post. So, until next time…

National Museum, Epigraphical Museum (APRIL 4-6, 2009)

Hello again! This weekend was relatively uneventful, as I was simply exhausted from my first full week in Athens. On Saturday, I slept in and just relaxed all day, going out for lunch and dinner and the occasional trips up to the Athens Centre to sit on the steps and leech off of the wireless connection so I could talk to Katt. On Sunday, seeing as it was a free day at all museums and sites, I went with Paul, Helma, Eric, Stacy, and Prya to the Epigraphical Museum, where they had over 13000 inscriptions found across Greece. Some of the highlights were the oldest inscription found in Athens from the 8^th century BC, the order by Themistokles to retreat to the Acropolis during the Persian Wars, the decree found on the cover of Mastronarde's Introduction to Attic Greek (which was my favorite), large stelae inscribed with the Athenian tribute lists, a catlog of deceased soldiers from ca. 411 BC (likely form the Sicilian Expedition), and ostraka (potsherds inscribed with the names of men nominated for ostracism, or forced exile) inscribed with the names of Themistokles, Pericles, and Thucydides (the politician, not the historian). After the Epigraphical Museum, Helma bought us lunch at a café and we then went into the National Archaeological Museum, my first of MANY visits in the coming months, to get a taste of it all. We saw the geometric funerary krater with the woman on the bier and hair-pulling mourners, the golden "Mask of Agamemnon" complete with the fake 19^th-century Bavarian mustache added by Schliemann, as well as the Vase Collection upstairs and the frescoes and finds from Akrotiri, the Minoan site on Thera/Santorini. After that we made a quick stop for caffeine in the museum café, browsed the museum shop, and since it was rainy and could get worse, and Eric was worried about his bank card (he went to the bank and then realized it was Sunday), we headed back, where I sat and relaxed in my windowsill listening to The World According to Clarkson, and just relaxed, having pita and feta for dinner. After sleeping in and being woken up by the schoolkids across the street, I went to get food, talk to Katt, and finally catch up on my blog. So, that being accomplished, until next time…

Acropolis (APRIL 2-3, 2009)

Hello again! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy/lazy. I'm combining days 8 and 9 because I had the morning off on Thursday, and all I did was get my laundry done and go to classes. On Friday, however, I was treated to the gigantic elephant in the room that is Athens: the ACROPOLIS. I went to sleep early so I would not be drowsy when we met up at 8:30 am to make the expectant journey to the Rock. We walked through the National Gardens toward the familiar strand leading past the Areopagus and the new Acropolis Museum and made our way up the hill, accompanied by the necessary dogs and constantly bugged by vendors trying to sell us water and other sundries, and congregated at the top to wait for our free tickets into the Acropolis. After an overview of the site, we entered through the crowded entrance gate and continued further up the hill to the ancient entrance to the Acropolis, the Propylaea. The Propylaea was a quasi-symmetrical portico/building supported by Doric columns along the front and Ionic columns along the entrance gate (the reason for this is that Doric columns had to have a certain proportion between height and width, while Ionic columns are able to reach higher with narrower shafts). To the right of the Propylaea is the Temple of Athena Nike, currently under restoration, as well as a hole cut in the fortification wall, showing the Mycenaean period foundations on the Acropolis, a testament to the stability of the site's occupation. To the left is the monument to Agrippa, the builder extraordinaire of Augustan Rome. We walked up the switchback steps (in ancient times it would have been a ramp, presumably to accommodate the Panathenaic procession) through the Propylaea into a wide expanse of ruins, cluttered with fallen marble and the modern machines and scaffolding erected to commemorate the modern Greek insistence on reinstituting their past to emphasize the perseverance of Democracy in a country which had been crushed under the oppression of so many. The cranes lifted old and new marble blocks, shaped by workers on site, into place to try and build up again monuments destroyed by centuries of conflict and siege. To the left where a woman was preparing a large block of marble there once stood the great bronze Athena Promachos (possibly made in the "foundry" at the base of the hill), a statue depicting Athena as the defender of the city, fully clad in armor and bearing a spear, once taken to Constantinople and destroyed during the Fourth Crusade, and only known to us today through smaller copies. Beyond that was the Erechtheion, a "split-level" temple erected in the late 5^th century BC and once used as the harem for the Ottoman ruler of Athens. The temple is bedecked with a frieze-band of blue limestone, a "sky-light" marking the spot where Poseidon supposedly struck the Acropolis, creating a salt-water spring, and a majestic olive tree which is the "descendent" of that which was given by Athena in her battle with Poseidon for patronship of Athens (like we would be as fascinated with a city called Poseidos). The most recognizable feature of the temple, and possibly my favorite feature on the Acropolis, is the Porch of the Caryatids, or "Porch of the Maidens," a seemingly random porch on the North side of the temple with a roof supported by 6 caryatids, or female-shaped columns, which was built to simply mask a support beam, but comes to us as a monument to beauty even for mediocre purposes (even though the original caryatids have been worn horribly by the modernization and pollution of the Attic basin and were replaced by copies). The maidens overlook what is today an open field toward possibly the most recognizable (though often misnamed) building in the world: The Parthenon. The Parthenon was erected between 447 and 432 BC as a "victory monument" and treasury for the Athenians and the Delian League (the Athenian quasi-empire). The Parthenon housed the statue of Athena Parthenos ("Athena the Maiden"), a massive chryselephantine (gold and ivory) sculpture by Phidias whose golden armor and crown could be removed to be melted down as a source of emergency money (also, Phidias supposedly made them removable to prove that he didn't steal any gold by weighing them). The Parthenon, while from the exterior a typical Doric order temple, is special in that there was no cult associated with it, so there is no recognizable altar, and the inner chamber has been altered into a massive opisthodomus ("back-porch/back-room") for the storage of the treasures and offerings of the Delian League. While the Pathenon is wonderful, it is mostly decrepit as a result of the destructive nature of the conquerors of Athens and the cursed venetians who in 1687 bombarded the Parthenon, then the munitions cache of the Ottomans, blowing a massive hole in the side of the temple, still seen today and which will likely remain despite the restoration activities elsewhere on the Parthenon. Another glaring absence on the Parthenon and Greece as a whole are the Parthenon marbles, taken by Lord Elgin under Ottoman auspices in 1801-2, and now housed in the British Museum. While the argument for preservation of the marbles by bringing them to England is sound in hindsight (see: caryatids from Erechteion), the new Acropolis Museum was erected to replace the inadequate shack of a museum on the Acropolis in order to bring them back to their homeland, and of course they plan to emphasize this by noting in their Parthenon exhibit all the marbles missing and where they are currently located. Veering away from ranting, another fascinating fact about the Parthenon is that the building has absolutely no straight lines, with the foundation curved to follow the curvature of the earth, and the columns leaning inward at an angle which, if traced, the lines of all the columns would converge 5 miles above the Parthenon (neat huh?). Anyhow, after taking in the rest of the ruins on the Acropolis, including the column bases of the Temple of Augustus and Roma and the Frankish tower where during WWII Greek patriots scaled the Acropolis cliffs to raise the Greek flag in place of the Swastika, we headed out the Propylaea, which was now filled to the brim with tourists, and went down to the Peripatos, once the haunt of Aristotle who waxed philosophic in the cool shadow of the Rock. Along the Peripatos, we passed the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, still used today for concerts and shows, and the truly massive Theatre of Dionysus, taking up the north slope of the Acropolis. Luckily we had Paul with us, who had done reports on the caves and sanctuaries along the Peripatos for the ASCS, so he showed us all the cool things along the path, including the massive stone that denoted the pathway as the Peripatos, and the Sanctuary of Aphrodite and Eros, where the niches are even today used for offerings (usually of rocks or the occasional candle or pomegranate). After the long walk around the Acropolis and the long morning in general, I headed back to relax. I talked to Katt, did some work, went to class for my "quiz," and just relaxed from a long week and got ready for a long, lazy weekend. So, reader, until next time…