Rhodes ended up being one of my favorite places we visited while in Greece because our tour guide Tony did a fantastic job of immersing us into the culture of the island. In just a few short hours, I was able to take part in some typical activities that occur in Rhodes. I rode a donkey named PipPip through a Grecian village, and passed through houses painted traditional blue and white. My favorite activity perhaps of the whole twelve week trip was when we watched a potter and his assistants mold and paint beautiful pottery. I could tell that the man was so invested in his work because it was a family business and sadly a dying art in Greece. We learned that the beads tour guide Tony kept clutching were not rosary beads, but rather worry beads, a staple in Greek culture, and now most of us are proud owners of our own worry beads. :)
As we approached the theater of Epidaurus, I was initially pretty skeptical of this whole “If you whisper on center stage, they can hear you all the way on the last row of the theater” thing. This theater was so large I never could quite capture it all in my camera screen, and I just could not wrap my mind around the fact that even without a modern sound system, one could still be heard at all points of the theater. However, I raced to the very top row and eagerly awaited one of my comrades to divulge some deep dark secret from that center square. Surely enough, I could hear Casey Webb’s voice loud and clear and my skepticism had now been disproven. How this phenomenon occurred, I’m still not sure. Some scholars say the Greeks stumbled across this by accident, others believe many specific calculations were used to produce these almost perfect acoustics. I tend to side with the latter, but as I wandered around the theater, I couldn’t help but wonder what all those walls could divulge after thousands of years of secret telling.
As I look out my hotel window, the Acropolis gleams with a splendor as it overlooks all of modern-day Athens. Even though it is quite a site to behold in 2009, I can only imagine how magnificent it must have been thousands of years ago when it was fully operational and everyone in the town milled around the acropolis daily. In our society of independence and individuality, it is hard for me to envision that the whole community would gather here on a regular basis to chat, worship, or settle political matters. Even though it was under construction, the Parthenon was an amazing site to see. The precision in which the architects built the Parthenon seemed to me to rival that of the twenty-first century. Just down the hill a little bit was Mars Hill, and it was a surreal experience to worship in the same place that the apostle Paul once did. Visiting the Acropolis and understanding its importance to the Greeks’ lives helped me see Paul’s reasoning for choosing to speak there.
“The Roman Persecution of Christians” was a thought provoking yet disturbing article about Nero and what kinds of cruel tactics he used against the Christians to provide entertainment to himself and others in Rome. I think that part of the reason that Nero was so evil and self-seeking was because he was put into power at such a young age and his mother had so cunningly paved the way for him to get to the throne. It was so puzzling to me that the Romans thought people fighting each other to the death was an entertaining thing, while today when I think entertainment I think about the latest movies and music. Christians in Rome under Nero’s rule suffered such extreme persecution that it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around. I can’t imagine having to sneak away to the catacombs for worship and being burned alive if I was caught. I admire the Christians that were being persecuted during this time- the author describes them as “every Christian was a missionary” and that despite all the persecution, this only drove the church to flourish more.
The Aeneid, written by Virgil, tells the story of the Trojan horse but from a more personal, poetic perspective. I thought this was an interesting way to learn more about that time period and event, and reminded me of Herodotus and how he wrote elaborate stories to boost the morale of the people and to educate future generations. Aeneas said that retelling the story caused him to relive all the pain from that time. This line at the beginning instantly drew me in and I was reminded of a grandfather telling war stories from his rocking chair as the whole family gathered around him. I enjoyed the fact that Laocoon was mentioned in this story, because that has been my favorite piece of artwork we have studied this semester, and I didn’t know that it essentially plays into the downfall of Troy because they wheel the horse in the city because they think Laocoon’s attack was an omen that they must please Minerva. Once again, the will of the gods is incorporated in this story, and it perplexes me to think that the people of that time put so much belief into what the gods’ will was, and didn’t try to create their own destiny.
Ghent- another city, another cathedral to gaze upon. Although my burning desire to visit cathedrals is beginning to wane, this cathedral was a little more interesting due to the epic artifact that it housed. The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, painted by Van Eyck in 1432, is not only famous for its great religious symbolism, but it is also unparalleled in the attention to detail that Van Eyck had. This masterpiece was full of so many different characters and transcended the time period from Adam to the Pilgrims. To me this was a strong statement to the physical barriers, such as time and location, that Christ can overcome. I marveled at the intricacies of the painting and could not fathom how much time and effort Van Eyck must had devoted to this painting, all the way down to the hair on Adam’s legs. I also thought it was pretty neat that this altarpiece has been stolen and fought over for the past several centuries and that they made a life-size replica and make people pay to see the authentic one.
The subway system of Paris is a peculiar thing- loved by some, hated by others, but needed by all. I never realized just how big Paris was until I was presented with a humongous map of what seemed to be millions of little lines that were supposed to get me to my destination. It appeared to be a pretty simple process though, and I was confident in my navigation skills to get my group where we needed to be one night after supper. I mean, I have never been lost driving my car back home, so I just assumed I wouldn’t encounter any problems on this night at the subway. I led us onto the line that we had taken several times before, and then I totally forgot that we had to get off at a certain stop to make another connection. So, after about fifteen stops, Emily realized that we had missed our stop, and we ended up riding all around Paris for another half hour trying to get back to the hotel. In conclusion, am I going to miss the Parisian subway system? Probably not. The accordion player that entertained me while I rode? Most definitely.
On Friday, September 11, we visited the beaches of Normandy where the United States fought to free the allies from German oppression during World War II. I thought it was very fitting that we visited these beaches on the same day that our country back home was remembering the terrorist attacks that occurred eight years ago. The beaches were beautiful and serene, but I had to remind myself that this was not just an opportunity for me to get to play in the sand and sun, but rather the very ground I was strolling on was where thousands of men fought for liberation. It was a gorgeous, sunny day when we visited, but on that day it was cold and windy, and many were throwing up from seasickness as they trudged through the wet sand. I knew little about the D-Day beaches when the day began, but by the end I had learned the history of the battle and how what happened on the beaches where I stood had a direct impact on how my life is today.
The Eiffel Tower is one of the most famous and easily recognized buildings in the entire world. It is made out of iron lattice, and stands as the tallest building in Paris, and the second tallest building in all of France. It is the most visited paid monument in the world, and acts as a symbol for the city of Paris. It has appeared in countless movies, books, and television shows in many countries. I find it very ironic that when the tower was first built, the people of Paris hated it and called it ugly. Today, however, it is seen as a beautiful representation of the city and has drawn tourists from across all ends of the Earth and in turn, made Paris one of the wealthiest places in the world. The Eiffel Tower today stands as not only a great architectural achievement but also as a symbol of Paris’ development as a city over the years.
This past Sunday we spent the day at a World War II concentration camp in Dachau, Germany. There was nothing architecturally spectacular about the buildings; they were simple, one story, and white. The land was flat and mainly barren, save a double row of towering trees that lined the walkway, but it was one of the most moving sights I’ve ever seen. The uniformity, the bleakness, the silence were all surreal. Despite learning about the Holocaust in school and even seeing images on television, nothing prepared me for the weight of death that hung in the air that day. Seventy-five years have passed since the gruesome cruelties occurred in Dachau, but as I perused the area with hundreds of other people from other countries, I realized that those historical events were still pertinent to my life. It may have very well have been one of my ancestors that was tortured or worked to death on the very ground I was now walking on. All the sorrow and grief that manifested there made my heart ache, but also made me grateful for my blessings and the opportunity to visit places that shaped the world’s history.
