May 19, 2005
May 19 Photos: Katherine
Caleb with a Roman sarcophagus in the courtyard of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.
Nkosi as human scale for the Derveni Crater, a bronze gilded crater from 330-320 BCE.
Another view of the Derveni Crater. The crater is decorated with the marriage of Dionysus and Ariadne, as well as maenads and satyrs.
Detail of the Derveni Crater.
Laura examines gold sheet ornaments used to decorate burial shrouds. The gold leaf pattern, attached to modern cloth, is from the 2nd century BCE while the gold rosettes at the bottom of the case are from the 6th century BCE.
Neha peers into the sarcophagus of a woman and child from the late 2nd century BCE.
Detail of the painted interior of the sarcophagus.
Most of our day was spent on the bus, driving back from Thessaloniki to Athens.
Napping was the most popular activity of the day.
We drove past Mount Olympus, mythic home of the gods.
We also made a quick stop at the Vale of Tempe. This shot was taken on the bridge over the Pinios River, which flows through Thessaly to the Aegean Sea.
High cliffs surround the Vale of Tempe. The area was sacred to Apollo in ancient times.
The group poses in the Vale of Tempe.
We also stopped at Thermopylae. It is believed that the hill where we are standing was the location where the Spartans made a fatal stand against the invading Persian army in 480 BCE.
A view of the hills of Thermopyle.
A modern memorial to the 300 Spartans killed in the battle was constructed in the mid-20th century.