Climbing around ancient ruins!

   I’ve spent my entire life going on trips with high school kids – so why should Greece be any different? This past weekend, I was invited to join the high school Humanities class on their three-day exploration of the ruins at Delphi. I’m so glad I said yes because I had a great weekend!

           We left Saturday around noon and headed out of Athens. My main thoughts on the drive were: 1. High school kids here are EXACTLY like high school kids in America. And 2. The landscape of Greece is not very pretty. Turns out, I was only right about one of those things! You see, Delphi is surrounded by mountains and from these mountains, you can see the path through the valley to the shore where pilgrims would have begun their journey to consult the oracle. According to Greek Mythology, Zeus released two eagles, one from the west and one from the east. Delphi is located where these eagles met – the center of the world. And when you’re there, looking at the mountains, you can see why people believed. 

          We spent Saturday night exploring the lower site of Delphi  - this was the training stadium for the Pythian games and the Temple of Athena Pronaia. The gymnasium was so interesting because there is evidence of showers – plumbing, hot water, etc, from hundreds of years ago! There is also a circular building known as the Tholos – but researchers aren’t sure what it was used for. We also saw the Castillian Spring. This was used for ritual cleansing before a pilgrim would approach the temple to seek advice from the oracle.

          That night, we checked into our hotel and I was instantly struck by the differences between Greek and American hotels. This hotel used real keys that were left at the reception desk when you left the hotel so you wouldn’t lose them. The hotel room had tile floors and just the bare necessities – a bed, pillow, chair, bathroom. But what it didn’t have in luxury, it made up for in view. The whole town of Delphi seems to be built on the edge of the mountain, as if a slight breeze could blow it down to the sea below. The hotel rooms each had a balcony that showed the entire valley, mountains, and down to the sea. The sunrises and sunsets were simply breathtaking. God’s scenery never fails to impress me

The view from my hotel balcony!

         

          Sunday was spent at the upper site of Delphi. The humanities teachers were the best tour guides. They know Greek Mythology, world history and random fun facts that made the place come alive in a historical way that I would never had gotten alone. We wandered along what is known as the Sacred Way – the path to the Temple of Apollo. It is lined with treasuries . These treasuries were both for the gods and men. They housed spoils of war and other trophies of the respective city states. Though they were displayed as tributes to the gods – they were also a way for the city states to honor particular heroes or display their power and wealth.

Me standing in front of the Temple of Apollo

          The most famous treasury is that of the Athenians. It is mostly restored on the site and many artifacts from it are housed in the museum. My favorite part about this treasury is the south wall. It was inscribed with hymns to Apollo. These inscriptions are some of the earliest forms of notated music in the world. While the notations made no sense to me, it was still neat to see how music has progressed.

 The Temple of Apollo was nice,  but what I really enjoyed was the view from the top. We climbed up to the stadium and I paused when I was directly above the theater. This theater was used for the choral and instrumental competitions during the Pythian games. The view down to the valley was indescribable. If “All the world’s a stage” then this stage has one of the best natural views ever. I don’t think I’d be able to focus on the play with that view stealing the limelight.

          

The view from the top. 

  After exploring the rest of the site and the museum, we went back to the hotel where I proceeded to crash for about an hour before dinner. The teachers and myself went back to the taverna we had visited the night before. I had chicken souvlaki and it was phenomenal. They also treated us to dessert both nights. I had walnut cake and tiramisu –both delicious!

          Monday was our day to travel back  and we had one more stop. We visited the Orthodox monastery of Hossios Loucas – a blessed in the Orthodox church. Again, the view was outstanding. This monastery is also one of a handful of places that still has intact gold mosaics. They were beautiful. All in the Byzantine style – depicting Our Lord and the Virgin Mary. Beautiful. We couldn’t stay long because we had to be back to school, but I’m so glad we were able  to stop!       

Gold Mosaic in the Narthex

       

          It was a crazy weekend, but one that I’m so glad I was able to have while over here. I’ll be posting again with an update about my week – but I think this post is long enough for now. So, I’ll leave you with a prayer and a reminder to keep taking it one step at time – especially if you’re climbing a mountain!