Our first stay in Athens came to an end this morning and we had to pack our bags again (which seemed already to have expanded quite a bit!) and wait for the bus that would take us on our road trip around the Peloponnese. We were all eagerly waiting on the curb with our luggage when our bus pulled up right on time! Ms. Mellican recognized the bus and the bus driver since she said it was the same bus and driver as last year-which was a good thing! We were introduced to George, our bus driver, and after giving our bag to him, we climbed aboard. Ms. Mellican had been telling us how important it was to have small suitcases and she was quite pleased because all of our luggage fit in the trunk-with room (not much, just a little) to spare! After everyone was settled, we bid farewell to Hotel Herodion (though we will be back for our last night) and started our adventure. Our first stop, however, was only 20 minutes away-the National Archaeological Museum. This place houses some of the most important and famous ancient artifacts-like the Anavysos Kouros, the Dipylon Vase, frescoes from Akrotiri, and the golden death mask of Agammemnon (unfortunately, it’s not really him cause it dates to way earlier than the time of Agamemmnon….another misidentification by Schleimann. Who let that guy have a shovel?!). The museum is huge, but unfortunately only some of the wings were open due to the lack of funds to pay enough guards to have all the rooms open. It was a bit of a bummer, but we actually did see lots of stuff-including a bunch of artifacts we had studied in the Archaeology class. It was awesome being able to see these artifacts right in front of you-the detail was amazing. One of the coolest rooms was a special exhibit on a famous shipwreck-the Antikythera. Tons of transport amphorae sunk with the ship, along with several sculptures-not only of bronze, but also of marble. The exposed marble had corded from the seawater, so there were these sculptures that were barely distinguishable on one side, but then perfectly preserved on the other side which had been buried in the sand. The weirdest and most unique find from the ship is this metallic device that appears to be some sort of machine that looks like the inside of a clock, with all these discs that appear to rotate and move around each other. There are notches and dials, but the markings have been so corroded that it’s been impossible to determine exactly what this device was used for-but it was still cool nevertheless!
Outside the National Archaeological Museum
After gathering the last of the few stragglers that had lost track of time, we hopped back on the bus to head to our next stop, Eleusis. The other chaperone, Ms. Gajendragadkar, was very excited for this stop, since she said it’s one of her favorites and also because what went on here, no one really knows! She was referring to this thing called the Eleusinian mysteries-some sort of religious activity/ceremony in honor of the goddess Demeter. The oddest thing we saw was this hole in the ground in which we couldn’t see the end and as we were peering down in, these people told us it was the entrance to the underworld! We were rambling all over the site and Ms. Gajendragadkar informed us that if we were back in the 5th c. BC, and we weren’t ‘initiates’ of the cult, we would be put to the death! Yikes-good thing it’s 2012!
Mitch just chillin' in the Sanctuary of Pluto at Eleusis
Is the part of the Eleusinian Mysteries?
Back on the bus again we drove along the coast, finally seeing the Aegean sea and came to the Corinth canal. The Peloponnese is connected to Attica and the rest of the landmass of Europe by this very narrow strip of land called an isthmus. Around this area, the ancient city of Corinth grew, gaining its wealth from all the trade ships from both the East and the West that came to this point, rather than sailing around the entire Peloponnese. The bus stopped so we could jump out and walk across the canal that has been dug through this strip of land-certainly an amazing feet of engineering! The water looked soooo blue and it’s hard to believe that cruise ship and barges can fit through there!
What turned out to be our last stop was the site of ancient Isthmia, where Molly gave us a great presentation about the Temple of Poseidon and the history of the Isthmian games. We got to see the famous starting line for the stadium that shows this elaborate wooden contraption that was used like modern starting gate. Unfortunately, the sky became very dark and lighting began to strike across the sky! We scampered back on the bus and made our way to the modern city of Corinth where we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the hotel during the rain storm. It was kinda fun just hanging out and relaxing with everyone! Luckily the rain stopped enough so we could head out into the town to grab dinner-a bunch of us tried these chicken souvlaki pita wraps and they were simply amazing, and extremely cheap! The surprise of the evening was a concert and fireworks display that was happening along the waterfront! We asked the waitress what it was for and she told us that the local Corinth soccer team had won some sort of tournament! The fireworks were pretty cool and the band even sang some songs in English!
The evening ended with everyone, including Ms. Mellican and Shrita, hanging out on this veranda at the hotel and we were all reminiscing about our classes and sharing funny moments/stories. It’s pretty amazing to think that our four years at Thayer are coming to an end, but hearing all these stories about classmates and teachers made us realize just how special a place TA really is.
Our first stay in Athens came to an end this morning and we had to pack our bags again (which seemed already to have expanded quite a bit!) and wait for the bus that would take us on our road trip around the Peloponnese. We were all eagerly waiting on the curb with our luggage when our bus pulled up right on time! Ms. Mellican recognized the bus and the bus driver since she said it was the same bus and driver as last year-which was a good thing! We were introduced to George, our bus driver, and after giving our bag to him, we climbed aboard. Ms. Mellican had been telling us how important it was to have small suitcases and she was quite pleased because all of our luggage fit in the trunk-with room (not much, just a little) to spare! After everyone was settled, we bid farewell to Hotel Herodion (though we will be back for our last night) and started our adventure. Our first stop, however, was only 20 minutes away-the National Archaeological Museum. This place houses some of the most important and famous ancient artifacts-like the Anavysos Kouros, the Dipylon Vase, frescoes from Akrotiri, and the golden death mask of Agammemnon (unfortunately, it’s not really him cause it dates to way earlier than the time of Agamemmnon….another misidentification by Schleimann. Who let that guy have a shovel?!). The museum is huge, but unfortunately only some of the wings were open due to the lack of funds to pay enough guards to have all the rooms open. It was a bit of a bummer, but we actually did see lots of stuff-including a bunch of artifacts we had studied in the Archaeology class. It was awesome being able to see these artifacts right in front of you-the detail was amazing. One of the coolest rooms was a special exhibit on a famous shipwreck-the Antikythera. Tons of transport amphorae sunk with the ship, along with several sculptures-not only of bronze, but also of marble. The exposed marble had corded from the seawater, so there were these sculptures that were barely distinguishable on one side, but then perfectly preserved on the other side which had been buried in the sand. The weirdest and most unique find from the ship is this metallic device that appears to be some sort of machine that looks like the inside of a clock, with all these discs that appear to rotate and move around each other. There are notches and dials, but the markings have been so corroded that it’s been impossible to determine exactly what this device was used for-but it was still cool nevertheless!
After gathering the last of the few stragglers that had lost track of time, we hopped back on the bus to head to our next stop, Eleusis. The other chaperone, Ms. Gajendragadkar, was very excited for this stop, since she said it’s one of her favorites and also because what went on here, no one really knows! She was referring to this thing called the Eleusinian mysteries-some sort of religious activity/ceremony in honor of the goddess Demeter. The oddest thing we saw was this hole in the ground in which we couldn’t see the end and as we were peering down in, these people told us it was the entrance to the underworld! We were rambling all over the site and Ms. Gajendragadkar informed us that if we were back in the 5th c. BC, and we weren’t ‘initiates’ of the cult, we would be put to the death! Yikes-good thing it’s 2012!
Back on the bus again we drove along the coast, finally seeing the Aegean sea and came to the Corinth canal. The Peloponnese is connected to Attica and the rest of the landmass of Europe by this very narrow strip of land called an isthmus. Around this area, the ancient city of Corinth grew, gaining its wealth from all the trade ships from both the East and the West that came to this point, rather than sailing around the entire Peloponnese. The bus stopped so we could jump out and walk across the canal that has been dug through this strip of land-certainly an amazing feet of engineering! The water looked soooo blue and it’s hard to believe that cruise ship and barges can fit through there!
What turned out to be our last stop was the site of ancient Isthmia, where Molly gave us a great presentation about the Temple of Poseidon and the history of the Isthmian games. We got to see the famous starting line for the stadium that shows this elaborate wooden contraption that was used like modern starting gate. Unfortunately, the sky became very dark and lighting began to strike across the sky! We scampered back on the bus and made our way to the modern city of Corinth where we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the hotel during the rain storm. It was kinda fun just hanging out and relaxing with everyone! Luckily the rain stopped enough so we could head out into the town to grab dinner-a bunch of us tried these chicken souvlaki pita wraps and they were simply amazing, and extremely cheap! The surprise of the evening was a concert and fireworks display that was happening along the waterfront! We asked the waitress what it was for and she told us that the local Corinth soccer team had won some sort of tournament! The fireworks were pretty cool and the band even sang some songs in English!
The evening ended with everyone, including Ms. Mellican and Shrita, hanging out on this veranda at the hotel and we were all reminiscing about our classes and sharing funny moments/stories. It’s pretty amazing to think that our four years at Thayer are coming to an end, but hearing all these stories about classmates and teachers made us realize just how special a place TA really is.