Catching up on the days

Sorry for the lack of posting... Things have been busy
5 June 2008
We went as a class to the Acropolis again. This time we talked about the Parthenon. Archaeologists are working hard at restoring it, which I think is kinda sad. I think that it ruins different set ups from later time periods (they're restoring it to what it was in the 5th century BC), like the fact that it was later used by Christians. It also won't be the same broken down building that we always imagine it as. It'll have bright white spots in parts of it where they placed the new marble. It's meant to contrast, but it loses some of its romanticism in restoration. We also talked about the Erectheion, which is by far my favorite building on the Acropolis. It's got an interesting mish mash of architecture, with several different levels, all tied together by the ionic columns. At least eight different deities were worshiped or recognized there. It's a pretty building.
6 June 2008
This day was spent at the National Archaeological Museum. We looked at Classical, Hellenic and Roman period art today. Most of the Classical period pieces were grave stele. In the Hellenic period we looked at bronzes and marble pieces that were meant for different kinds of display. The Roman period had (of course) many Romans, but also many Greeks. You can start to see individualism in this time period, so we can recognize Augustus and the emperor Hadrian, and of course, where we find Hadrian, we find Antinus. We've seen about 3 or 4 statues of him in our travels around Greece thus far, and it's becoming a game: Where's Antinus?
We also looked at pottery and it's so cool to see some of the geometric pottery that I've studied in the past. It's so much larger scale (when it's funerary urns) in person. It's nice to see it outside of a book.
7 June 2008
Victoria and I woke up (a little later than expected) and took the metro to Piraeus. From there we hopped on a ferry to Aigina, a little island not to far off the coast. We arrived in Aigina Town and walked around, visiting the museum there. We stopped for lunch, before catching a bus to Agios Niktarios, a monastery near the middle of the island. It was gorgeous. It was all done in elaborately carved wood, gold, and marble. We also went to the ancient Temple of Aphaia, which is fairly well preserved. It's a the top of the one of the mountains on the island. We were going to walk down to the Marina on the other side of the mountain. We were told it wasn't too long of a walk, but as we started, we noticed that it was a long, winding, narrow road and pretty dangerous. A woman that worked at a restaurant at the Marina picked us up on the road and drove us down to the city. We bought a few souvenirs and had dinner before catching a ferry back to Athens for the night.
8 June 2008
Study day - not too much happened here. I talked to Mom and Dad and shared some pictures with my flat mates.
9 June 2008
The class went to the Theater of Dionysus below the Acropolis and did a reading of Lysistrata, which is very funny. If you've never read it, I suggest it. It's one of the better Greek comedies. Dave took the part of Lysistrata (an Athenian woman) and did it with distinction. We were in hysterics. We also went to look at a temple of the healing cult of Asklepios. We'd previously discussed stories associated with this cult, but the site was mostly closed off, so it was a brief glance at the general layout.
Christina, Constance (a friend of hers) and I went out to a choir performance. They were from the high school that Christina went to. They did some gorgeous renditions of the Pater Noster, Fields of Gold, Your Song, and a few greek songs. After we went out for a few drinks.
10 June 2008
The class went to the Roman Agora and Hadrian's Library, but I stayed home in bed, sick. We hadn't stayed out too late, but I woke up in the night with a fever and chills. I had another fever during the day and was completely exhausted and sore. I've also started coughing and sneezing a bit. I hope to get rid of this soon. I've been drinking lots of orange juice.
11 June 2008
I was feeling well enough to go on the class trip to Eleusis today. We went to the temple of Demeter where the Eleusinian mysteries were performed. After, we had lunch up a mountain at Gyftokastro, or the "Gypsy castle". It's actually a fortification wall on the boundary of Attica, defending against Thebes. After this we went to Porto Germeno to a gorgeous little beach. The water was extremely clear and a group of us swam out fifty yards or more. It was beautiful and calm. I didn't reapply sun screen however, and got a bit burnt, but nothing too bad.
12 June 2008
We were supposed to have met up at the NAM today, but class was canceled on us until later this afternoon. Tomorrow's the final, so today is a day for study.