Greece!

How fabulous was the Greece portion of the Summer Rome Program!  We went to Delphi, Athens, Mycenae, Nafplio, Corinth and took a ferry and went island hopping to Hydra and Spetses.  What an amazing history and what a beautiful sea, land and sky!

Here are the ruins at the ancient site of Delphi, one of the best preserved site of ruins in Greece.  I gave a site lecture about the Temple to Apollo, at which resided the Delphic oracle. The oracle said that Socrates was the wisest person in the world.  Socrates heard this and was perplexed.  He knew he was not wise.  But finally, he realized that his wisdom lay in knowing that he did not know--unlike so many others who presume great knowledge.  This is the foundation of Western philosophy.

Here is the stadium at which races were run in Delphi at the equivalent of the Olympic games (the Olympic games were in Olympia, but such games were held in many such cities throughout ancient Greece.)  The games were held after the huge celebration of the feast of Apollo, god of logos, order, and light.  No more child sacrifices; no more chaos.  The Greeks now worship an orderly, honest, righteous god, and along with their religious sacrifices they play music, run, wrestle, race horses, and enjoy their athleticism.  It is a new day, in which life is enjoyed and festivities are part of the religious life.

Here is the Parthenon in Athens, with the gleaming light shining upon this symbol of Western civilization.

Here is the "Harpist," a Cycladic sculpture from 2700 BC.  An artist (sculptor) depicting an artist (musician): no longer a culture trying to survive.  This is a sign of true leisure and comfort.  Plus, it is so beautiful!  The Cycladic sculptures discovered in the early 20th c. influenced artists such as Picasso and Rodin.  The Cycladic civilization is the under-appreciated third great civilization, along with the Minoans and the Myceneans, that ruled the Aegean Sea, before the arrival of those whom we think of as the "ancient Greeks" of Athens, Sparta and the other city-states.  

Here is a cup that is from 6500 BC.  Can you even imagine how long ago that was?  If it has been 2000 years since the birth of Christ, and 2000 years before that that Abraham lived in Canaan, this cup is more than two more of those 2000 year blocks.  It's so lovely, you could sell something like it in Starbucks.

Island hopping was a great delight!