Date: May 19
Partners for the day: Nkosi(text) Katherine(images)
Site(s):Thermopylae, Vale of Tempe
Museums: Thessaloniki Museum
Principal Buildings/Monuments:
Time Spent on Each Site: from ca. 8 am to ca. 5:30pm [ _9_ hours]
Weather: 75 degrees and sunny.
We are back in Athens after a seven hour drive through Greece. We had a good old fashioned road trip with a stop at the battlefield of Thermopylae and a brief excursion to the Vale of Tempe. Before leaving Thessaloniki this morning, however, we toured their Archeological Museum, which is currently being renovated.
Unfortunately because the entire museum was under renovation only one exhibit was open to the public. The exhibit was suitable titled ‘The Gold of Macedon’. Though the museum owns a large amount of material from the Neolithic to the Roman Imperial period, during this time of renovation they have chosen to display objects mostly from the Hellenistic period. The two-room exhibit is further broken down into subsections: metal working, consumption and use. The museum was modern and the signage was informative, but the displays were very dark. Prof. Rutter commented after we had left that the Greek Museums were entering an era of subdued lighting.
We got out of the city and were cruising down the national highway by 10 am. Around 10:30, right before everyone had fallen asleep, we stopped by the side of the road for a quick photo opportunity of Mt. Olympus. The snow capped mountains were spectacular to see on this warm day. The Gods picked an amazing location to build their playground.
Less that an hour later we had another quick stop at the Vale of Tempe. The Vale of Tempe is a glen, which is home to Thessaly’s principal river, Pinios. The Vale is important because it is one of three sites in Greece, which will allow the person who holds it to control all of Greece. It has, therefore, been the site of many ancient battles. Lyric poets enjoy this site for its beauty, but also the myths associated with it. Apollo apparently killed a serpent here and afterwards planted a laurel, taken from the area, at Delphi. It was exceptionally beautiful when we arrived.
At 2:30 our stomachs began to rumble, but fortunately we had come to our last stop of the day, Thermopylae. Before we visited the site, we first got a quick bite at a local restaurant. After we had eaten we went to the site of the battle. The battle occurred over a pass, which is currently covered by the national highway. We walked up the grave mound where three hundred Spartans were buried and had a discussion about the importance of the site in modern times. Across the highway stands the modern monument erected in 1955. It was an excellent backdrop to talk about the importance of classics in today’s world and our personal interest in classical studies. After our talk we decided that, instead of attempting suicide by crossing the busy highway to see the modern monument, we should just continue our drive to Athens. We arrived in Athens at 5:30 and were happy to once again be at the Pan Hotel.
While taking Classics 14, this past fall Prof. Christensen stressed the topography of Greece. Actually seeing the topography of Greece and its varying weather conditions has altered my understanding of this country. In class we were told that Greece was approximately the size of Alabama, but until today’s drive it never seemed that small. In my own home state of Illinois, it takes approximately 8 hours to drive from Chicago to the southern tip of the state. Today we drove Thessaloniki, in the Northern tip of Greece, to Athens in less than 5.5 hours. It is now not so difficult to realize why the Persians felt that Greece would be easily taken. It is a tiny country, but while traveling I have also noticed how complicated the terrain is. There are snow-capped mountains and beaches pressed against one another. So even though on a map Greece looks small and to my modern American eyes it is, what ancient Greeks or Persians might have thought of this complicated and varying land is hard to imagine.