Sunday, July 19, 2015
Hello from Rome!
We have been enjoying Rome busily these past few days! I have been having some continuing troubles with the wifi in my hotel room, and this has gotten in the way of my uploading pictures into a blog post. As a result, I haven't made a proper post recapping our adventures. This isn't a full post with pictures and descriptions either, but this is a placeholder for things to come. Since my last post, we have visited Pompeii, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Capuchin Crypt, and many other wondrous places. Please check back soon for a more thorough update!
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Arrived in Rome!
We have arrived safely in Rome, and are on our way from the airport to the city. More updates soon about our final days in Athens.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Athens: Mycenae and Nafplion
On Monday, July 13, we took a day trip to Mycenae and Nafplion.
Mycenae, named in the Homeric epics (the Iliad and the Odyssey), is a critically important site of ancient civilization.
Paris explored widely. He found the "secret spring," the cunningly-built water source that sustained the Mycenean citadel.
After exploring the citadel, we all entered the Treasury of Atreus, one of the most famous tholos tombs at Mycenae.
Cora took many pictures during our visit at Mycenae--she's one of our most active student photographers!
Alex and Claire enjoyed the architecture of the tomb--it looks like a beehive, with the walls becoming more narrowly rounded as you approach the top. We all played with the strange acoustic effects the walls created.
Later, we picnicked and enjoyed some time on a beautiful beach at Nafplion.
Then, we explored Palamidi Castle, a fortress built during the Venetian and Turkish occupations of Greece in the early 18th century, later repurposed as a prison after Greek independence in the early 19th century.
Mycenae, named in the Homeric epics (the Iliad and the Odyssey), is a critically important site of ancient civilization.
Paris explored widely. He found the "secret spring," the cunningly-built water source that sustained the Mycenean citadel.
After exploring the citadel, we all entered the Treasury of Atreus, one of the most famous tholos tombs at Mycenae.
Cora took many pictures during our visit at Mycenae--she's one of our most active student photographers!
Alex and Claire enjoyed the architecture of the tomb--it looks like a beehive, with the walls becoming more narrowly rounded as you approach the top. We all played with the strange acoustic effects the walls created.
Later, we picnicked and enjoyed some time on a beautiful beach at Nafplion.
Then, we explored Palamidi Castle, a fortress built during the Venetian and Turkish occupations of Greece in the early 18th century, later repurposed as a prison after Greek independence in the early 19th century.
The castle has many stairs inside, and there is also an exterior flight of stairs that goes all the way from the castle to the beach below--it's said there are 999 stairs! Some students chose to descend to the beach using the stairs, while the rest of the students went by bus.
We broke into small groups to look around the town of Nafplion, and then we met up as a larger group again and had an excellent traditional dinner, before driving the two hours back to Athens. It was a long day, and a good one!
Photos by Hannah Welch
Athens: National Archaeological Museum
On Sunday, July 12, we visited the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Students broke into pairs, each pair with a thematic "mission" to research using the museum artifacts. Each group chose an artifact, thought critically about it, placed it into historical and thematic contexts, and prepared a short oral presentation about the artifact.
Alexis and Chloe explored the museum with wonder as they searched for a statue of Nike (victory).
Alex and Claire were asked to find an example of an ordinary household object, and they chose a fibula, a large safety pin from the Mycenean period, similar to this one:
(http://www.greek-thesaurus.gr/images/p5/bow_fibula.JPG)
Max and Paris presented on the Antikythera Mechanism, a sophisticated device found in an shipwreck. The device has been referred to as an ancient computer.
Cora and Zhouyi were asked to find an artifact related to war, and they identified a marble statue of an archer or boxer. They expressed that they were struck by the ordinariness of the image--that it represented a "regular person," not a heroic figure.
Griffin and JJ located an image of Athena, and identified the symbols associated with Athena that helped them to recognize her statue.
Nila and Emila considered the Kore and Kouros statues, an important part of ancient religious art.
Roarke and Zach were asked to find an artifact related to death. Many artifacts that survive from ancient Greece are related to death and dying. They chose to present on a stele depicting a Mycenean charioteer, found at a grave. This was a terrific preview for the next day's activities, which would include a visit to Mycenae. More on that in the next post!
After the museum, we enjoyed an optional activity, a Greek coffee tasting. Zach, Roarke, and JJ all participated in the coffee tasting, and our local Athenian hostess, Alexia, used the coffee grounds to tell fortunes as she had been taught to do by her grandmother.
JJ especially enjoyed learning what the coffee grounds foretold for him!
Photos by Hannah Welch
Alexis and Chloe explored the museum with wonder as they searched for a statue of Nike (victory).
Alex and Claire were asked to find an example of an ordinary household object, and they chose a fibula, a large safety pin from the Mycenean period, similar to this one:
Max and Paris presented on the Antikythera Mechanism, a sophisticated device found in an shipwreck. The device has been referred to as an ancient computer.
Cora and Zhouyi were asked to find an artifact related to war, and they identified a marble statue of an archer or boxer. They expressed that they were struck by the ordinariness of the image--that it represented a "regular person," not a heroic figure.
Griffin and JJ located an image of Athena, and identified the symbols associated with Athena that helped them to recognize her statue.
Nila and Emila considered the Kore and Kouros statues, an important part of ancient religious art.
Roarke and Zach were asked to find an artifact related to death. Many artifacts that survive from ancient Greece are related to death and dying. They chose to present on a stele depicting a Mycenean charioteer, found at a grave. This was a terrific preview for the next day's activities, which would include a visit to Mycenae. More on that in the next post!
After the museum, we enjoyed an optional activity, a Greek coffee tasting. Zach, Roarke, and JJ all participated in the coffee tasting, and our local Athenian hostess, Alexia, used the coffee grounds to tell fortunes as she had been taught to do by her grandmother.
Photos by Hannah Welch
Sunday, July 12, 2015
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
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.
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
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Athens
Yesterday, July 10, after arriving safely in Athens, we took a bit of quiet time to settle in and rest and restore ourselves after traveling. Then we enjoyed an early family-style dinner in Psiri, a neighborhood of Athens.
Photos by Hannah Welch.
Good food and plenty of water are great remedies for jet lag!
On the way back to our hotel after dinner yesterday, Alexia, our Athenian local contact, guided us on a scenic walk that allowed us a few glimpses of the Acropolis. Today, we visited the Acropolis and inquired into its significance and history, working together and discussing its connections to the past and the present. We also visited the Acropolis Museum, where many of the original archaeological finds from the Acropolis are housed. Check back soon for photos and remarks about our experience at the Acropolis!
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Welcome!
Welcome! This is the blog for the Abbey Road Western Civilization trip for 2015. We're all getting ready to depart soon! Over the course of almost four weeks, we'll visit Athens, Rome, Florence, and Paris, and use inquiry-based and experiential methods of teaching and learning to encounter the past and present cultures of these places. Check back soon to follow our travels and learning!
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