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| Tolo beach!!!:D |
Yesterday, we started the morning with a class focused on
the Iron Age and the Archaic Age. We honed in on the topic of synoikismos: the
process by which scattered village begin to think of themselves as one
community. This crucial lesson aided our understanding of the interactions
between villages and overarching communities, though, truth be told, a lot
cannot be proven beyond a shout of a doubt due to a lack of written records
about the communal structures of the time. The written language of the day was
coined “Linear B,” was found on tablets, and mostly contained lists of
commodities—not really a key tool to our investigation. Either way, the
phenomenon by which people are able to put aside their many differences in
order to find some semblance of homogeneity: a loyalty to the same mother city
is completely fascinating.
Our trip for the day was to the city of Asine, a city by the
sea with wondrously fortified (and well preserved) walls of Cyclopean and
Mycenae architecture. The Argives destroyed this city in 740 BC because the
inhabitants aided the Spartans in the war against the Argives. In return, the
Spartans gave the people of Asine land in Messina in which they could settle as
recompense for the loss of their city in the war. Not much but these walls and
the gateway were left for us to see.
After tropping over the ruins of Asine, we had a short walk
to the beach at Tolo—one of the nicest beaches I have ever been. Crystal clear
and warmJ.
One of the things that I find rather interesting here is the pessimistic view the Greeks had of their pagan gods. They had certain "favorite" gods, but even these gods were not always looking out for the humans best interests. Yes, they hold their gods in reverence, but they live in constant fear of them. These gods needed constant appeasement, and are rather petulant--they become angry if another is worshipped more than them or for a plethora of other reasons. There are so many forms of the gods that the Greeks have fabricated, and worship, and yet they still never seem to get a handle on how to truly please them. It makes me all the more grateful for the relationship--the kinship I have with our Lord, our God. I can approach Him with a humble, yielding heart and he will listen. His love is boundless, His justice pure and His mercy knows no measure. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and I am not afraid of His might. I simply stand in awe and reverence of the person He is, and I am humbled by his love, understanding, and forgiveness.
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| Chimney at the art workshop we went to: Fougaro. |
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| Some of the lovely landscape at the art workshop. |
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| More of Fougaro. |
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| Mycenaean Wall at Asine. |
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| Soo blue . . . |
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| Ahh . . . |
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| Tolo beach. |
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| A little piece of paradise. |
More Greek trivia:
- In museums, you are not allowed to pose with the statures. It is considered disrespectful. In addition, you are watched like a hawk by museum guards the entire time you are in there.
- There is no food service in Greek hospitals. The family of the ill person is expected to bring them food. Hence the need for 24 hour little cafes in the area around hospitals.
- Greeks are not fond of cats that have splotches of color--they prefer ones with solid coat colors.
- Around dinner time, at the open air restaurants, the waiters will aggressively (they respect you if you say "no" though) approach you and start reciting the menu in an attempt to get you to eat at their restaurants.
- Here, a patty melt is coined a "toast."
I have to know- was it topless beach? The water is such an incredible color- really no words to describe the beautiful color. I wish we had beaches in the United States with such beauty.
ReplyDeleteI am also really impressed that you are actually taking the Grecian culinary tour. Immersing yourself in the culinary practices will actually give you a better understanding of the culture. It truly enhances your experience.
Love you, AG