Catching up on the last few days

The lack of posts has only been due to exhaustion. The days have been filling. Wednesday the class took a trip starting bright and early (7:45am) to hit three cities: Marathon, Brauron, and Sounion. Marathon (as the name implies) was the origin of the marathon race, which was run from Marathon to Athens after the Battle of Marathon in which the Greeks surprisingly beat the Persians with fewer numbers and no cavalry. We got to see the tumulus of the Athenian soldiers that died in that battle. Brauron held the Temple of Artemis. This was an awesome place. We discussed the rites and rituals young women would go through in this temple on their way to becoming adult women. Some of the students held a footrace, many of which were held in the temple courtyard. I also got to wash my hands and feet in the sacred spring there (which felt so good and cold compared to the 99 degrees it was outside that day!). At Sounion, we climbed up to the Temple of Poseidon, which apparently has the most beautiful sunset in Greece. My tan on my arms and shoulders has gotten much deeper at this point.
Yesterday, we back tracked to the Kerameikos (that we saw on Tuesday) to the museum. We also went up to the Pnyx, the meeting place of the democratic Athenian assembly. This site had at three major building stages. We had a guest lecturer who led us around the site and showed us the different points of building and talked about the orators we might have heard from during each time period.
Today was a long day. Up at 6:30am to be at a bus (which showed late) to Delphi. A three hour trip both ways, we got a few hours at Delphi and the museum. Delphi was a fun site to explore, though a really steep hill, making it a difficult climb. I touched the navel of the world (the point at which two Eagles of Zeus met, indicating the center of the universe). It is said that if you touch the navel you'll be sure you return to that point again. It's also said to have strong fertility powers. My prof, Nicola Wardle, told us that she was taking a class on a tour once and touched the statue, telling them about this strange power, and 9 months later, she had her first child. On another tour she gave, she was telling that funny story, when she touched it again, and 9 months later her second child was born. Let's just say she didn't touch it on this trip :) . After a day at Delphi, we stopped in a little mountain town called Arahova. It was very quaint. We walked down through the city, stopping at shops, and then made the three hours back to Athens. We didn't get back until about 7:30pm, so it really was a full day.