Athens: Acropolis

Yesterday, July 11, we visited the Acropolis and the Acropolis museum.

Students worked in small groups to make observations and share them, in the roles of historians and archaeologists analyzing the site.  We sat down near the Parthenon and shared observations and analyzed what we saw.  JJ looked at theaters near the Acropolis, and offered observations that sparked a brief discussion of the significant role of theater in ancient Athenian culture, including rituals associated with Dionysus.  Zach enriched our conversation with compelling questions about mythology that placed many of our group's observations into a larger context.  Paris considered why mythology matters, and inspired a brief and productive digression about the role of story, myth, and ritual in cultures.

Later, we went to the Pnyx, where many of Athens' most important democratic assemblies and speeches took place.  There, we did some Greek folk dancing, and we read Pericles' Funeral Oration and discussed national identity and democracy past and present.

Zhouyi pointed out the significance and difficulty of decision-making as described by Pericles.  Max observed the role of games and leisure activity as described by Pericles.  Cora thought critically about whether Pericles' idea that anyone, no matter how humble in social and economic class, could wield significant power in a democracy.

After dinner, students broke into small groups and did a scavenger hunt around the Plaka neighborhood, looking for artifacts associated with key elements of contemporary Athenian culture, including street art and commerce.  A team made up of Claire, Zach, JJ, and Zhouyi collected photo evidence of all 20 items on the scavenger hunt list!  In addition, Zach and Claire were the first to correctly identify Corinthian columns in a contest we held earlier in the day, so they were double prizewinners!

Photos by Hannah Welch