χωριάτικη σαλάτα

Every Friday our neighborhood has a farmer's market, known as a Laiki in Greece. It's a great way to shop for fresh, local produce that changes with the seasons. Lately, I have been buying the ingredients for a Greek salad (without the tomatoes and onions) and my lunch meals have been delicious and healthy. Normally, I use Kalamata olives, but this week I branched out a bit and bought Amphissa olives which turned out to be fantastic. My salads often look so good that my friends eating at Loring Hall offer to switch meals with me! Yum!

Choragic Monument to Lysicrates

In ancient Athens, the Street of Tripods connected the Agora and the Theater of Dionysus. These "tripods"along the street were prizes awarded to the choregos (leader/sponsor of the chorus) for a victory performance at the Theater of Dionysus. The only remaining "tripod" today is called the Monument to Lysicrates and sits below the east side of the Acropolis. Lysicrates was the wealthy benefactor in this case and the monument was built in 334 BC to commemorate his first place finish at the theater. It's actually one of the first examples of the Corinthian order. We owe it's preservation to a group of French Capuchin monks who bought it in 1669 and incorporated it into their monastery as a library and reading room. The monastery was destroyed in the war for Greek independence, but the French School of Archeology restored the monument soon after the war.

Cabin Fever

Rob and I were feeling a bit restless today so this afternoon we headed over to the Acropolis Museum. No, we weren't going to see the Caryatids from the Erechtheum nor the metopes from the Parthenon, it was the cafe we were looking for. Yep, it's the best and cheapest cup of coffee Athens has to offer. Plus, it has indoor and outdoor seating with a fantastic view of the Parthenon and Acropolis.

West House #1

 

Rob and I live in what is known in Loring Hall as the West House basement. West House #1 was also our room when we lived here in 2009-2010 and we chose to have this room back instead of moving upstairs to a larger room. Our room, although smaller than the others upstairs comes with many perks that the rest don't. For example, we have the highly coveted "blue key." This key allows us into Loring Hall from the side of the building rather than the main entrance, making us feel as though we live in a small apartment, not a dormitory. We also have our own hot water heater so the hot water will never run out on us! Plus, our heat is controlled by the folks who live in the West House above us. This means that when the weather starts getting colder we will have heat while the rest of the Loring residents will have to wait until it's officially cold enough for the heaters to be turned on. As a bonus, our heat will not turn off during the day (when everybody should be over in the Library) so our room will always be nice and toasty.

Lord Byron

Although the archeological finds at Sounion date back as far as 700 BC, the Temple of Poseidon is also known for a more modern piece of history. Carved onto one of the columns on the temple is the graffiti of the famous English Romantic poet Lord Byron. It is believed that this inscription was left during Byron's first trip to Greece, but it is unknown if Byron himself did the graffiti work. We do know that Byron visited Sounion at least twice and he mentions Sounion is his poem Isles of Greece: 
  
Place me on Sunium's marbled steep, 
Where nothing, save the waves and I, 
May hear our mutual murmurs sweep...

In 1823, believing in the movement for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire, Byron sailed from Italy to Greece to become a revolutionary. After arriving he spent much of his own money refitting the Greek fleet but subsequently died of pneumonia while fighting the Ottomans in 1824. Today, Byron is known as a hero in Greece and the anniversary of his death is celebrated each year. 

Temple of Poseidon

Cape Sounion, located at the southernmost tip of Attica (the region of Greece in which Athens is situated), is most famous for the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon. Poseidon was the god of the sea in ancient mythology and his wrath could be manifested in the form of sea storms. Because sea storms usually resulted in shipwrecks and drownings, the Greeks came to the temple to leave gifts or sacrifice animals in order to gain Poseidon's favor and goodwill. The temple dates to 440 BC and is perched 60 meters above the sea with cliffs on three sides and spectacular views.

Sounion

This photo was taken at the beach near Sounion where Rob, myself, and our two friends, Will and Evren spent the day. We rented a car in Athens and took the coastal road about an hour southeast to the tip of Attica where we had a light seafood lunch at the beachfront taverna followed by a nice swim in the beautiful Aegean Sea. We had a fun day swimming just beneath the Temple of Sounion. Check back tomorrow for pics of the temple itself.

Museum Thursday

For "Museum Thursday" this week, I made a trip over to the Byzantine Museum. I had a nice visit to this museum once before (Ryan, Rachael, Rob and I visited a few years ago), but this was a much different experience. I was probably one of three visitors in the entire museum and I could feel the eyes of the museum guards follow me as I looked about each room. In many rooms the guard would actually follow three steps behind me around as I looked at each display. It felt a bit creepy and I have to say that the experience was less than enjoyable.

Rob and I had visited the Byzantine Museum in Thessaloniki about two years ago and have taken an interest in Byzantium ever since. If you ever get the change to go to Thessaloniki I HIGHLY recommend the Byzantine museum there. Amazing! Anyway, over the past year or so I've been reading up on Byzantium and was eager to apply my new knowledge at the museum in Athens, but because I was being stared/glared at I could barely focus on anything I was viewing. I'll try my luck again later this year, perhaps on a busier day. I managed to snag a few photos on this visit, including this icon of the Virgin and Child painted by Emmanuel Tzanes in the 17th century.

Stay tuned for updates this weekend, we have a swimming trip to Cape Sounion planned!!

Ouzo Hour

Like I mentioned yesterday, Ouzo
hour takes place in the Saloni & back porch each weekday from 7:00 until 8:00 when dinner begins. Ouzo, just in case you don't know, is an anise flavored aperitif that can be consumed straight or diluted. Most folks dilute their ouzo with water or ice which causes it to change from clear to milky white in appearance. Although Rob loves his ouzo (he even has a favorite brand) I tend to avoid it, enjoying a mini Mythos beer instead. We love sitting out on this patio in the early evenings because the cool breeze comes through and we have a great view to the Blegen Library across the street and Mt. Hymettus just beyond the apartment buildings.

The Saloni

These two photos show the Saloni in Loring Hall. It's basically the living room of Loring and we all tend to hang out here especially during the winter time when it's a bit chilly on the patio. As you can see the photo on the right every weeknight at 7 p.m. we have "Ouzo hour" before dinner. This room is also used after our American School lectures as a place for cocktail receptions. In the photo below you can see our great piano. Each year we always have a few great players and many riotous singalongs take place!

The Gennadius

The second library on the American School of Classical Studies at Athens campus is the Gennadius Library. This neoclassical building holds a richly diverse collection of over 119,000 books and rare bindings, archives, manuscripts, and works of art illuminating the Hellenic tradition and neighboring cultures.The library (opening in 1926) has become an internationally renowned center for the study of Greek history, literature, and art, from ancient to modern times. In addition to its role as a library and research institution, the Gennadeion is also an active participant in the Athenian and international community through its public lectures, seminars, concerts, exhibitions, and publications. I was able to make use of this library during our first stay in Athens when researching the music of Epirus as well as Cretan music and dance. There were many resources important to my research including musical scores and audio CD's readily available at the Gennadeion.

Revenge

Rob goes to work each day at the Blegen Library. The library is just across the street from our place in Loring Hall and it is one of the finest research libraries in the world for the study of Greek Archeology, history and culture. As one of two libraries at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, the Blegen library focuses on all aspects of Greece and the Greeks from the earliest prehistory through late antiquity. The Library currently has more than ninety thousand volumes and nearly 700 periodicals. Wow! Most classicists and archeologists feel right at home amongst so many books. It is also a non-circulating library, so at the end of the day all of the books and materials stay in the library. Currently, Rob is working on his dissertation, a lexical study of the Greek word *timoria* (revenge) in the law court speeches of classical Athens (508-323 BCE). Rob's research interests are in the legal and social history of this period, and he hopes that his research will provide a better understanding of Athenian attitudes towards revenge broadly as well as the ways in which the speakers reconciled their vengeful desires to get even with positive, democratic values.

Home Sweet Home

I thought I would use a few posts and take you on a tour of our home in Greece. It's been very steamy in Athens, around 92 degrees each day so finding a shady oasis is a must. Luckily, we have a few options around Loring Hall including the porch seen in this photo. The key to staying cool is finding a shady spot with a breeze and the porch usually has both. It's also a place where late night shenanigans are known to transpire.

Museum Thursday

Every Thursday our room is cleaned by the "Ladies" of Loring Hall. This means that I need to leave at about 10 a.m. and can usually return around noon. I've gotten into the habit of using this as my excuse to visit various museums throughout the city. This past Thursday I took a walk over to the Cycladic Art Museum, partially because it's close by and partially because Rob and I have a Cycladic island excursion planned for ourselves in about three weeks. Anyway, the museum contains a great variety of ancient artifacts from the Cycladic islands, Cyprus, and a nice exhibit called "Scenes from Daily Life in Antiquity." My favorite piece is a female figurine from the Early Cycladic II period (2800-2300 BC). These types of figures usually have their head tilted back, knees flexed, and toes slanted down with their arms folded beneath their chests. It is unclear what these figurines were used for, although the evidence does suggest that they were used in funerary practice as they have been found in graves.

Aegean Sea

This view from Philopoppus Hill looking southwest (opposite the Acropolis) shows the lovely Aegean Sea including the Piraeus and in the distance the island of Aegina. Piraeus has been the port of Athens since ancient times and is about 5-6 miles from central Athens. It's probably the busiest port in the Mediterranean Sea and provides service to all of the major Greek islands. Aegina is about 17 miles from Athens and is one of the Saronic islands. I've been there a few times, once with friends, and once with classicists/archeologists. There are some ancients sites on the island most famously the Temple of Aphaia. Aegina is also known for it's pistachios which are often found in the islands many sweet delicacies.

Philopappos Hill

Not only does the walk up Philopappos Hill award the climber with great views of the Acropolis and surrounding area, the monument itself has it's own unique history which sets it apart from the other ancient monuments surrounding it. This monument is actually an ancient Greek mausoleum and monument dedicated to Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos. Philopappos came from a wealthy Athenian family and at his death his sister commissioned this structure to honor his memory in 115 AD.

Crowded?

Have you ever wondered how crowded the Acropolis can get in the Summer? Take a look at this photo. It's definitely worth scheduling your trip to Athens during the "shoulder" and off seasons. Not only is the place packed, it was also 90+ degrees when I took this pictures. Yikes. I hope they were all wearing their sunscreen.

The structure you are viewing is called the Propylaea. This served as the monumental gateway or entrance to the Acropolis. The Propylaea had been covered in scaffolding for restorations for a number of years, but it was finished in 2009 just in time for our first trip to Greece.

Great View

This morning I took a 45 minute walk/climb to the Philopappos Monument (of which I will talk about in a later post) for the magnificent views. In this photo you can see the Acropolis with it's Parthenon, Erechtheum (just to the left/north of the Parthenon), and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (below the Acropolis). It's important to note that the word 'Acropolis' means "high city" and includes remnants of many ancient structures of which the Parthenon is the most famous. (You can see these more clearly if you click the photo to enlarge the image).

On a side note: The hill in the distance behind the Acropolis is called Lycavittos and is the highest point in the city. Rob and I live just below where the line of pine trees ends and the apartment blocks begin on the right side of Lycavittos pictured in the photo.

Arrival in Athens

Hello from Athens. Rob and I have been in the city for about three days now and are finally settling in. We haven't had the chance to visit any of our favorite places with our camera, so stay tuned for pictures. I've been challenged to post one picture each day from Athens with a few comments and will begin this assignment soon!

Fun with Johnboy

Only about a week left until takeoff. We've been busy with last minute appointments and spending lots of time with friends and family in Omaha. This afternoon we took John (our nephew) to the Old Market slides and for ice cream at Ted and Wally's.