Oles in Greece 2020

After getting to our next hotel in Thessaloniki, Saturday morning we left at 9:00 to go on a tour of the city. Starting from the highest point in the walls of the original city, we learned about the importance of the circular structures that provided extra strength against attacks. From there, we followed the city walls to the Rotunda that was built in the early 4th century A.D. that was originally built as an imperial mausoleum but since then was converted into a Christian church. It was used as a mosque until 1912. At this site we heard the declamation of Acts 17:1-15, a section from 1 Thessalonians. Following the wall, we came to a point that depicts biblical scenes in the stonework. We ended our tour at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. Here, we focused on Macedonian antiquities including stone mosaics, marble sculptures of the emperor, and an emphasis on bronze and gold. After the tour, we had the opportunity to explore the city to find a new place to eat lunch and dinner before getting reading to see the church services the next morning.

By: Matthew Jaeger

No better way to spend Sunday than church-hopping! Visiting our first service at Agios Dimitrios, we entered at around 9:00 am —2 hours into what is usually a 3-hour experience, no intermissions. Despite our inability to understand the hymns, Greek Orthodox churches, in it of themselves, are beautiful sites full of icons and paintings to behold. After enriching ourselves for about half an hour, we headed for the Church of St. Sophia to get more of a feel for this important piece of Greek culture. There were only minor stylistic differences between the two churches considering they were built in the 6th and 7th centuries. Regardless, it was an amazing experience to hear the different voices of this service.

We continued with the church theme by exploring the Museum of Byzantine Culture following our holy adventure. Sadly, the museum was understaffed so we were only able to see half of what we could have viewed. Nonetheless, its contents consisted of what one would find in an early Christian church, more specifically from the Byzantian period. Whether it was the tombs or mosaic depictions, we truly found out today how much architecture and religion go hand in hand!

Though we finished venturing for the day around 12:30 pm, there was no shortage of amazing findings. We shall see what other great experiences Thessaloniki has to offer in the coming days! Can’t wait!

A couple of days late, but time really is only an illusion when you’re traveling abroad. Getting lost in the Greek culture isn’t so bad and this trip has been so eye opening to me, but anyway.

Our journey started at 8:30 sharp as we headed for the ancient city of Mycenae! It was here that we got to see the magnificent Lion Gate that was constructed around 1250BC! That is very old folks! The surrounding walls from pre-historic times were so large that we were told when the Greeks appeared they believed that cyclops had to have built them because what else would have been strong enough to lift those rocks. It was also here that most Oles took a short stroll into a dark cave that was used to help transport water into the city walls and also was used as an escape route out if invaders were approaching. Overall a great time and coming out of that cave felt something similar to how the man in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave must have felt!

From Mycenae we drove to Nemea the alleged place where Hercules battled and defeated the Nemean Lion as one of his 12 labors. We also learned about the ancient starting mechanism used during sporting events, the hysplex! This starting line was used to make sure no athletes got a head start or cheated because if they were caught cheating it was a good old fashioned flogging that could be expected!

We Oles ended our day by visiting a local winery where we learned all about the process of wine making as wine is a central part of Greek cultures and has many connections to the Greek god Dionysus. Our tour guide for the winery, Dmitri, was so full of energy and was so passionate about wine that he got all of us re-energized after such a long day of touring other sites! We were treated to a late lunch at the winery and then we headed back to Nafplio were we had the rest of the night to explore to our hearts content! Til next time!

By: Sally Manninger

Another glorious day in Greece! We started out the morning by leaving our hotel in Meteora and visiting the Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron. The monastery was incredibly beautiful, especially the church that was filled with hand painted walls and intricate woodwork. The views from outside were also quite incredible. This monastery, along with others near by, was formed on top of gigantic rock formations many years ago so that the monks who lived there could truly be in complete solitude. Originally, before stairs and a way to get to the monastery were built, everyone who came and went had to sit in a net and be lifted up and down the huge rock, perhaps being the inspiration for the childhood tale of Rapunzel. Although it was such a cool place to visit, it is sad that it has become such a touristy attraction and that the monks and nuns who live in these monasteries don’t get the solitude they once would of had.

Next, we drove for a few hours with two breaks for food before taking a quick stop at a monument of the Apostle Paul in Macedonia. This was a very interesting monument to see, and had art work of the vision Paul had telling him to go to Macedonia and Paul preaching to the Macedonians.

After some more driving we came to our final site for the day. We stopped at a very unique museum in Vergina. This is an interesting museum because, unlike all the others we have been to so far, it is in the dark. The objects that it holds are lit, but the rest of the rooms are dark, which our eyes had to get used to. The lighting really set the atmosphere for the museum because it is housing three tombs. The first is a pretty standard tomb and was looted before archaeologists could find it, but the second two had not been touched before they were found. One of the tombs was filled with royal items and gold, and when it was dated, it was believed to be the tomb of King Phillip the II! This was a jaw dropping find for the archaeologists and amazing that it was found intact. The final tomb was still a significant find because it had not been looted, even though it did not belong to a king, and it was thought to have belonged to Alexander the Great’s son. This was probably my favorite museum so far in Greece because of the amazing finds it contained (even though all the museums we have been to have amazing artifacts).

After a long day filled with driving, a monastery, and tombs, we had class on the bus as we made our way to our new hotel in Thessaloniki. I am looking forward to being able to explore this new city over the next few days and can’t wait for our next adventure in Greece!

By Katie Johnson

By 9 AM this morning, we were leaving Delphi and heading towards Meteora,..but not without a stop at the historical Thermopylae (which means Hot Gates, named so because of the hot springs found there)! At Thermopylae is a statue erected in honor of the 300 Spartans (…yes the 300 like “300” the movie starring the dreamy Gerard Butler 300) who fought to the death trying to hold off the Persians from conquering Greece. King Leonidas dismissed most of his army after realizing that a traitor had helped the Persians flank them and stood strong at this narrow, fortified passage with just his small army. These men were very proud and brave having responded to the call for surrender of “Give us your weapons!” with “Come and get them!” This is relevant to our course because it celebrates the bravery of these soldiers, who gave themselves completely to their nation. This rhetoric is transferred to Jesus and His death. Jesus stood with His values and was crucified for it. Just as the Spartans fell (on the surface, a defeat but on a deeper level very symbolic for the Greeks) Jesus fell but as a martyr which is obviously very important in the Christian religion. 

Finally we made it to Meteora where we had the opportunity to go to another monastery. St. Andrew’s Monastery sat atop one of the glorious rock columns overseeing the beautiful mountains and town below. Inside this isolated monastery, we felt the beautiful peace, interpreted the ornately painted Biblical stories within the Church, and saw the relic of St. Andrew. We learned, through one of the depictions of Jesus’s life, about a subtle difference between the Eastern and Western interpretations of Jesus’s death. The depiction showed Jesus opening the door to the underworld, reaching out to Adam and Eve, and bringing them up to God’s Kingdom. The Greek Eastern Orthodox view of salvation was explained to us as Christ saving all through His death, thus using His own death as a tool for salvation. The Western notion views Jesus’s actions towards God either as Jesus paying for our sins and thus restoring our relationship with God, or as Jesus helping with the balance of God’s wrath and mercifulness as He steps in and takes the wrath of God and extends His mercy to us.

– Lexis Julsrud-Wertjes 

Good morning from the beautiful town of Delphi – the city of an abundance of Olive trees, two very very narrow streets, and “the navel of the world”. We started off the morning with our usual hotel breakfast which we had all to ourselves! We then took a one minute bus ride to the Delphi Archaeological Museum where we saw many ancient artifacts, statues, and Latin inscriptions (which reminded us of the power Rome held over Greece in antiquity). We then took a small hike up to the Temple of Apollo and on the way learned more about why Delphi is often called “the navel of the world”, as it is the center of the world according to Zeus’s test in which he launched two eagles flying at the same speed to see where they would cross. When the eagles crossed in Delphi, he threw down a stone which now represents the “navel”. While visiting the Temple of Apollo, we learned about his strategic placement of it for the purpose of it providing an Oracle for visitors, something Delphi is now also famously known for. We then walked to the bus and on the way filled up our water bottles with fresh water from the Castalian spring. After another one minute bus ride, we arrived at the Temple of Athena which was in the lower portion of Delphi since it was the first temple that Athenian travelers (who mainly worshipped Athena) would encounter on their journey to the Temple of Apollo.

After our morning of touring the famous sites of Delphi, we all parted ways and enjoyed some lunch, shopping, rest and relaxation, and homework until we had class at 6:00 and our group dinner at 7:00. It was another great day of touring the famous archaeological and historical sites of Greece and we are looking forward to driving to Kalambaka tomorrow!

Hello from Delphi! Today, we began our journey from the Peloponnese to Delphi, where we will be for the next two days. Our first task was a Hercules sing-along on the bus to celebrate the good things in life, Disney music and Greek myths! Then, we made our way to Patras, the third-largest city in Greece and the home of either the fourth largest Byzantine church in the Balkans, or the first largest, depending on who you ask. It was an impressive sight, with detailed mosaics and paintings in the characteristic Orthodox style of iconography. The Holy Church of St. Andrew also contains several important relics of its patron saint, and we learned about the interesting history of the relics. After that, we crossed the Gulf of Patras… by ferry! We then stopped at a bakery for lunch and continued our way north.

Our next stop was Nafpaktos, a beautiful coastal town with a medieval harbor from the time when the area was ruled by Venetians. Our group enjoyed singing “Mamma Mia” on the beach while skipping rocks, and generally enjoying the sunny weather. We loaded up into the bus again and continued on our winding journey until the town of Galaxidi, another picturesque coastal town. The view of the mountains was beautiful, and a nice break from the bus. Finally, we traveled through the mountains with the help of our amazing bus driver, who always navigates the switchbacks with ease. We have found Delphi to be a sweet little town, and by little, we mean that almost the entire group ended up at the same restaurant tonight by complete accident! This time together has been wonderful and we can’t wait to see what’s in store tomorrow at the site of Delphi.

Enjoy these pictures of our day – the church, the little towns we passed through, and the harbor!

By: Annalissa Lane

Our first (and only) full day in Olympia was dedicated to none other than the archaeological site of Olympia and its connected museum. This large, spread out area of land was built in dedication to Zeus. It is, however, perhaps more well-known for being the home of our beloved Olympic Games. While the origin for these athletic competitions is greatly debated upon-some cite Hercules as its founder, while others believed it to serve as source of nonviolence and unity between all of the outside city-states-what we we do know is that this tradition began nearly 11 centuries ago in 776 B.C. Although the events now greatly differ from those originally competed during Greco-Roman times, we deemed it only necessary to pay tribute to the foundation of athletic competition by competing in an event of our own: a running race. Ultimately, we crowned Matthew the Olympian of our class and presented him with an olive crown, as they did in the old days. After visiting this very special and influential location, we proceeded into the Museum where our lovely tour guide showed us a variety of important statues, bronze items, and excavated ruins of Zeus’ temple.
For lunch, we dined at various cafes and restaurants in this quaint little town and eventually all made our way to the Apollo Jewelry store, where many purchased souvenirs for friends and family.
Following this busy morning, we relaxed, took in the beautiful mountain scenery, and ended the night with class and a dinner together.

By: Meredith LaVine

Today was one of my favorite days on the trip! Right as we started off, the sun was out and shining. It was the warmest day we’ve had during our time in Greece so far. The first stop we went to was Mars Hill – just a short walk from our hotel with the most beautiful view of the city. The “hill” is actually a giant rock formation that overlooks all of Athens and the mountains that surrounds it. This is the exact location where Paul did his Areopagus sermon, discussing the dangers of idolatry and the corruption that filled the city during this time. The Acropolis stands directly behind the hill, emphasizing the pressures felt by an advancing empire and those grappling for power amidst the speech. Our next stop was Agora, a space used as a residential, commercial, or assembly gathering place. We walked through many alleys and side roads to get here, a very scenic tour of the city. Artisans and local restaurants stood left and right off the road, with some of the coolest art I’ve ever seen painted on the walls we walked past. Agora looked like a modern botanical garden – many of us were shocked at the number of plants that were able to stay so green and lush during Greece’s winter months. The area was scattered with different structures, statues, and one of the best preserved temples in the country. Dedicated to Athena and the God of metal workers, the Temple of Hephaestus is standing in it’s full form with only a few spots showing it’s weathered conditions. Cats were roaming around Agora – it felt like a dream to walk through. We wrapped up this site by visiting a small museum tied to the space. The final stop in our day was Kerameikos, known as the “potter’s center” of the city. It has an important cemetery with large gravestones, an old bath house, and other structures that have turned to rubble over time. This was one of my favorite days, where I was able to visit breathtaking archaeological sites and spend time in the sunshine with my classmates!

Today we started our day with a free morning in Nafplion. Some of us got up and decided to conquer the 900 step hike up to the Fortress of Palamidi which is Venetian-built fortress ruins! One interesting fact about this fortress was during the time of the Turkish occupation, Christians were not allowed to enter the fort. It did not take as long as we had originally thought. We made it to the top (with a few breaks to catch our breath) and finally got to see some of the most amazing views Nafpilo has to offer.

We then descended back into town to get our stuff packed up for our journey to the ancient city of Olympia. We then took the 3.5-hour bus ride west to the other side of Greece to Olympia! During the bus ride, we wound up into the mountains and reached an elevation of around 800 meters before descending into the river valley of Olympia.
We got checked into our hotel, Hotel Europa and had a few minutes to unpack before we headed up to the hotel restaurant for class. We have been enjoying various classrooms during this trip so we were well acclimated to “non-traditional” classrooms. After class, we enjoyed a delicious dinner from the hotel which included traditional Greek dishes like Spinach Pie along with many other options! After dinner, we all participated in traditional Greek dance lessons. Our instructor taught us a few of the traditional Greek dances and we got to dance the night away!