Editing notice - Multiple posts

Normally, if I want to update a post, I'll just put a little "Edited" message at the bottom explaining what was changed. However, it was pointed out to me that this blog has pretty consistently misspelled the names of the lecturers that we've spoken with over the past two and a half weeks. That will not be a problem going forward and I've just done a pass over the entire back catalog to make sure that the names are fixed. If there continue to be typos, please do not hesitate to contact me with corrections.

Thanks

7/5 - Monastery Dafni, Eleusis, Eleutherai, Aigosthenos

Woke up a little bit earlier than usual to work out and eat breakfast, which was earlier today because of our trip. Breakfast was good as usual and we piled onto the bus. Our group of 20 has become 21, as Amy’s daughter Sophie joined the trip! She just finished school for the year in England and will be with us for most of the remainder of the trip. It has also added another shoutout to our bus count off with “kai ena” (and one) on to the last number said by Paniotes.

Anyways, we hopped on the bus and headed for Eleusis. On the way though, we got extremely lucky when the Monastery Dafni turned out to be open. We went in to a pretty unassuming church and saw some of the most beautiful mosaics I have ever seen in my life. The tiles were so unbelievably detailed and honestly looked more like a painting than a mosaic at a distance. The whole panoply of Byzantine Christian iconography was on display, including a massive Jesus icon on the center dome. We moved on from there to Eleusis, which was once the site of the Eleusinian mysteries, a practice about which we still know extremely little.

Looking up the steps to the actual site of the mysteries at Eleusis.

Our lecturer there was Dr. Isabel Pafford, an expert on religion and the site. She too us on a tour of the site and discussed what we know about the Eleusinian rites. There was “something seen,” “something heard,” and “something shown” but beyond that no more is known about the rites themselves. We do know that it cost money tube initiated, but foreigners, women, and slaves could be initiated, which its uncommon. I also made a dog friend! He came over to the group and I patted him during the introduction. I named him Cleisthenes and he tailed the group for most of the site visit. After that we were back in the bus to head to Eleutherai.

Such a cute fluffer.

Eleutherai is a fort. A big fort. We were greeted at the base of the hill by Dr. Sylvian Fachard and the sites co-director, Dr. Alex Knodell. We hiked up with our lunches in tow. I carried the case if water bottles and while my legs were on fire by the end, I made it. We listened to a lecture about both the site and the Mazi Project, which is an archaeological survey and excavation coordinator of the region. There are a lot of fortifications in the hills surrounding the fertile plain, suggesting that this area was a disputed birder in antiquity. I walked the north walk 300 m end to end and was almost to the south before I had to head back for lunch. I also had a really interesting discussion about siege tactics and weaponry in antiquity with the lecturers.

The fort at Eleutherai.

From there it was on to another for, this one at Aigosthena. After a 1981 earthquake significantly damaged the almost perfectly intact fort, the Ephorare, or local branch of the Archaeological Service, decided to completely reconstruct one of the towers. They're in the final stages of their work, and 90% of the tower is original material. It's close to 40 feet high with archer slots and catapult holes dotting the outward faces. In just a few months, people will be able to go up and experience the tower as it once was.

Looks kind of like a porcupine.

After that, it was time for the beach in the gulf of Corinth. And what a beach it was. Warm water, little fish, hot sun, and good company made for a wonder ninety minute stopover. The swim stops are an awesome perk of the trips and I definitely am happy I brought swim trunks. Now I'm sitting on the bus back after which we have dinner and probably an early sleep. We leave in two days for our 10 day Peloponnese trip and I'm super excited to do so.

Thanks for reading.

Updated to clarify that it is spelled Eleusis, not Eleusina.

7/4 - Agora, Acropolis North Slope, Fourth of July Party

Woke up to a very early alarm and Skyped the family, who are currently on vacation in the Caymans. I hadn't seen them in a couple weeks and it's always good to catch up. Then it was breakfast and down to the Agora. We were greeted first by Rex, the titanic floof of a dog that hangs out at the site and then by Dr. John Camp who directs the whole Agora excavation.

Rex! Probably my favorite dog on the trip.

We started off in a small depression just north of the area open to the public where we looked at the Royal Stoa, a building for the man who essentially was the Vice President of the Athenian democracy. Nearby there are indications that the Athenian the cavalry officers had some sort of administrative building, thanks to lead strips with the color and owner of the horses on them that were found in the well. To be in the cavalry, you supplied your own horse but the state would reimburse you for its worth if it were to be killed in battle. John also told us a story about excavating under the railroad tracks that cut across the site. This story and everything else we did was punctuated by a train in each direction every four minutes.

The railroad was built before the site was granted to the American School to excavate, but in 2010 part of the rail bed had to be repaired. The Greek Archaeological Service conducted rescue excavations and was given a two month time limit to do so. They found the main area of the Altar of the Twelve Gods but were going to have to shut down the dig so the rail line could go back through. Then a neo-pagan group, the Followers of the Twelve Gods, got wind of the find and sued the railroad on religious grounds to prevent them from covering up what they claimed as an extremely holy place. To prevent the railroad from sneaking in and burying everything in a hurry, they posted a 24 hour vigil and even, according to John, had at least one pitched battle with the police. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where the pagans lost, but the 4 months they bought were invaluable for the excavation. A corner of the shrine is still visible in the Agora proper.

We also looked at the tholoss, which served as the nerve center of the Athenian democracy. Each month, one of 10 Athenian tribes sent 50 men there to essentially be the executive committee of the full assembly. Every night, at least 17 members of the delegation had to sleep in the Tholoss to respond to any messenger coming in to the city late at night with urgent news.

Sculpture/tripod base from the Monument of the Eponymous Heroes.

After a quick break in the Stoa of Attila, which houses the modern research staff for the Agora project, we met Dr. Laura Gawlinski, an Agora researcher and expert on the North Slope of the Acropolis. The main feature on that part of the hill are the caves. There are at least four caves for which we have literary attestation, to Pan, Zeus, Apollo, and Aphrodite. While much of the rocks the caves have since collapsed, there are still a few hollows worth scrabbling into. Some fantastic views too.

Looking out over the city from the cave.

After we descended the Acropolis it was time to head for home. I stopped at the local bakery to buy a tasty cake for the party tonight. Then I took a nap for a little longer than I intended (naps are great, take more of them) and woke up to head to the library to do work. I got a lot of work done! Handout for the Olympia treasuries is finished, so I'm just working on the actual presentation script now.

After some hard work, it was time for a break. I showered, grabbed my cake out of the fridge, and walked over to the garden for the Fourth of July party. The food was incredible. Everyone brought their own dishes and we had a great time. Song choices included American Pie and lots of country music. The cake was delicious and I talked to so many cool people! The Agora diggers are awesome and both the stuff they pull out of the ground and their personal interests are fascinating. After the party wrapped up, we headed out back to hang out and shoot the shit.

Had a good time today, stoked for a day trip to Eleusis tomorrow. Maybe we'll figure out the Eleusinian mysteries after all these years.

7/3 - National Museum for Vases and Sculpture, Post Antique Athens

Alarm went off early again this morning, but I was undeterred from heading out to the courtyard/porch area for some calisthenics. I took a lot of time off of working out after frisbee ended this year and getting back into it somewhat feels good. After that it was time for breakfast, but I had to hunt it down because Loring Hall is closed on Sundays. I walked 4 or 5 blocks to Kolonaki square, where I bought two ham and cheese rolls and a roll with part of a sausage in it at a local bakery. Then I headed back towards the school and picked up a delicious fruit tart from a bakery just around the corner. Its ingredients list was essentially pastry, whipped cream, and fruit. I devoured the food and we headed out as a group to the National Archaeological Museum.

Amy was our lecturer for the first half of the morning, taking us through galleries dotted with sculpture but focusing on the evolution of pottery from Geometric to the more Classical. We saw some incredible pieces of pottery, including the two massive Diplyon Vases. These massive vases depict scenes of mourning and were probably used for funereal purposes.

The massive Dipylon Vase.

We also saw tons and tons of lekythoi, which are small vases with a funerary purpose. Although some appear to be large, we saw one cut away that revealed how much of the pot was actually fillable by liquid. Which makes sense if you’re trying to be economical with your offerings to the dead.

After a brief break, we jumped back into another lecture moving through the same galleries with Dr. Anne Stewart, who is one of the few lecturers who actually teaches class in the museum. Each semester, she said, she goes through the rooms, one per class period. While we certainly didn’t have that kind of time, she gave us a brief tour. We started with the oldest sculpture available and worked our way to the more recent. While the details of the talk are interesting, there is really one major thrust that Dr. Stewart pressed. Sculptors are figuring out what the human body looks like. From more stylized creations to the extremely realistic, Greek sculptors show a gradual progress from stylized to naturalistic. Look for example, at the Sounion Kouros and then the bronze of Zeus from a shipwreck off of Artemision. While the Zeus is not perfectly lifelike, mostly due to the proportion of the arms, it’s still an impressive transformation from old style to new in the space of a few galleries.

The Sounion Kouros.

The Artemision Zeus.

When the lecture concluded, we were released to rustle up lunch and generally have time to ourselves before our 4 pm seminar. I walked home with a bunch of people from the group, stopping along the way to buy a sandwich. I ate quickly and went to the Blegen, where I had the first half of this post to write and report to create for our Peloponnese trip. Then it was time for our seminar on post antique Athens.

Bob Bridges was our lecturer about the more recent history of the city. He is a former secretary of the ASCSA before the position was renamed to Assistant Director. He gave us an overview of the development starting when the Greek state became independent in the 1830s. The area outside of the former site of Old Athens was planned and replanned endlessly in the 1830s due to lack of funds before the final plan was decided upon. The city went from a dot on the map of at most 10,000 people to around 160k by 1902 to 500k by 1950 to 4.5 million today. Athens was really chosen by the western powers as a Capitol and barely was known before it was decreed to be the new center of administration.

After the talk, we walked. And we walked. We saw loads of architecturally significant buildings that represented different evolutions of architectural periods in Athens. We ended up over near the Agora. And even though I managed to take a wrong turn on the way back, Luke , Clinton, and I still ate delicious gyros. I also grabbed gelato closer to home (raspberry and chocolate make a good combo) and hung out until Game of Thrones. I've now finished S6. HYPE!

Thanks for reading. Tomorrow morning I'm out in the Agora early but I have the rest of the 4th off. There's even a party tomorrow evening in the garden behind the Blegen.

Thanks for reading. Only 3 days in Athens until we're off on our 10 day Peloponnese trip.

7/2 - Keramaikos, Acropolis Museum

I woke up before my very early alarm somehow and headed out to the porch. Asia and I did some calisthenic workouts before I headed back to shower before breakfast. Breakfast was the standard affair of yogurt with granola and honey, water, juice, and bread with butter. We set off walking at 7:45 for the Keramaikos, which is just north of the Agora. Along the way, the group found ourselves escorted by a stray dog with the tendency to bark at cars. Fascinatingly, as we approached the north side of the Agora, the excavation dogs came out and actually ran off our stray. One of them, Ulysses, is a big German Shepard looking dog with surprisingly blond fur. I'd estimate him at 70 lbs easy. He followed us around the site too. I guess he's just used to archaeological visits, but he also didn't escort the other tour groups that I saw.

Rex, our constant companion around the Agora and Keramaikos. He appeared many times on the trip.

We were joined by bioarchaeologist Dr. Maria Liston, who also lectured to us at Thorikos during the first week of the program. The Keramaikos is a an area with various uses. It sits astride what would have been the old city walls. There are many tombs in the area and according to Amy, the name does not come from the Greek word that gives us "ceramic" but from someone's actual name.

The highlight and simultaneously maddening part of the site is the Spartan tomb. Filled with 13 skeletons of Spartans killed during the years of the 30 Tyrants, we actually have the names of the men in the tomb from an account from Xenophon. Two were prominent leaders and the surviving inscription on the tomb corresponds with the names given in the written sources. This is the only marked grave for Spartans known. The maddening part of the tombs is that the skeletons have never been properly studied. Dr. Liston explained to us that there is a German archaeologist  who hasn't written anything in 40 years who still technically has a the "right" to the bones. Dr. Liston was hopeful that she would be able to examine in the next couple years however.

The Tomb of the Lacedaemonians.

Then we found a shady spot and talked about the plague that struck Athens between 430 and 426 BCE. We have an extensive description of the symptoms from Thucydides. A plague pit was found far from the walls on the site of the Keramaikos filled with bodies as well. While modern medical science has never fully pinpointed what caused the plague, the most recent analysis points towards small pox in conjunction with typhus.

After a quick tour of the museum on site, we returned to the school, stopping for a quick gelato on the way. The ice cream here is fantastic and anyone traveling to Greece should certainly indulge themselves a little bit.

Once back at Loring Hall, we ate lunch with Dr. Andy Stewart, our next lecturer. He's pretty much a titan in the field of classical sculpture. Then we walked over to the Acropolis museum, taking a scenic cut through the National Garden's winding paths. He took us on a tour of all of the lower floors of the museum. Some cool things I saw but was unable to photograph were the thesauros, or treasury box, of Aphrodite and the friezes from buildings that once stood on the Acropolis.

After he talked, we were set free into the city to find food as Loring Hall is not open on the weekends for Saturday dinner or any meal on Sunday. Talia, Abi, and I, all very hungry, walked back towards the school and stopped at Stick Diner, which specializes in meat on sticks. I had 3 and we split fava, a Greek salad, fries, and tztiki (sp?). That was a good decision. I was very full.

Back at the school, I grabbed my stuff and headed to the Blegen Library to start my research on Olympian treasuries for my presentation on the Peloponnese trip. The library is non-circulating, so no books leave the premises. The catalog system is also used nowhere else in the world. When you take a book off the shelf, you fill out a card stock card, put it in place of the book, then move the books to your assigned table where you can do research. If someone needs that book, they find your card, get your table number, then go down to your table and replace the book with another card. It's an antiquated process, but the clientele of the Blegen like dealing with antiquities.

Finally, after some good research that turned up a lot of German (who are the primary excavators at Olympia) but also some excellent material in English, I went back to the residence hall to get ready for bed and write this post. Tomorrow is another day of lecture and we're starting at the National Museum.

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to contact me by email at mcartier@uchicago.edu to discuss the blog or classics things.

7/1 - Athens, Parthenon, Olympeion, Areopagus, Pnyx, Philopappos Monument

Alright here's the deal. My laptop is kill until I can fix the charger. Thanks to the Herculean efforts Kostes the IT guy, Lenovo is going to fix my laptop and I have only the support staff of the school to thank. In the meantime, I'm blogging from an iPad loaned to me by the amazing Asia, one of my comrades in the program. Hit up @anotherasia on Instagram if you want some quality content. At some point I'll borrow a friend's laptop to upload pics but that's still a work in process. Anyways, to the post!

The night on the boat was great. I hung out with people outside on the deck until everyone dispersed. Then I hit the restaurant and got the saddest chicken and fries I'd ever seen. It was really tasty though, so I guess the meal was a reminder not to judge a book by its cover. I went to bed pretty early and slept well. I woke up at 5:20, couldn't find my glasses, panicked, found my glasses, showered, and got off the boat. We got on the bus one last time for the drive into Athens. When we got to the school, we had to eat really really quickly and then go to the Acropolis. The school ordered us a fleet of taxis though, which meant we actually arrived with some semblance of timeliness. 

We were met at the east side of the Parthenon by Dr. Julia Shear, an extremely learned scholar on all things Athens. She explained the Parthenon inside and out, starting with the buildings that used to be on the site. The current Parthenon is on top of several older temples, with one being pretty far along before it was sacked by the Persians in the Second Persian War. The Parthenon is bigger than it's contemporary temples, boasting extra columns across the front and down the side. 

Probably the most photographed facade in Athens.

The Parthenon also curves. Like actually. The lines that appear straight are actually slightly curved, according to Vitruvius, a Roman architectural commentator, to prevent the appearance of sagging. For the record, the Parthenon does not appear saggy at all, so maybe he's onto something. Then it happened. Dr. Shear disappeared to the guardhouse with Amy (to clarify, Dr. Amy Smith is our Summer Session Director) and returned with good news. We were going over the rope! Much to the envy of the rest of the tourists, we climbed over the fence and got to onto the pronaos, or porch, of the temple. There we took loads of pictures and generally freaked out about BEING IN THE PARTHENON OMG DREAMS ARE REALITY. 

INSIDE THE PARTHENON! Incredible in every way.

We went down the south side of the Acropolis and made our way to the Olympeion, of which only a few famous columns still stand today. One is notably sprawled out across the ground, toppled by a 19th century windstorm. There we spoke to Dr. Bob Lamberton. He's an expert on epigraphy, and the statues that once dotted the area around the temple are rich with inscriptions. The remains currently standing are Hadrianic, and Bob told us about how one statue contains an inscription in honor of the emperor, and a later statue shows that that man became priest of the Olympeion. We also looked at some of the periphery buildings to the temple, including a house similar to one mentioned in Plato's Phaedrus. It's always so cool when written and archaeological sources line up. That's when you know you're really on to something.

We departed the site headed to Loring Hall and the promise of lunch. Upon returning to the school, I made a beeline for IT and managed to get a plan in place for fixing my laptop. Then a quick bite and back out the door for the Areopagus. 

Dr. Susan Rotroff, master of stratigraphy, met us on a bench near the famous rock. Paul is said to have spoken to a council of aristocratic Athenians and converted the first Athenian Christian there. The site is popular for pilgrims and there are even "pope stairs," as Susan called them, for when John Paul II visited. We went up on the rock and took in a gorgeous view of Athens and the Parthenon. We didn't stay for long though and were soon descending from the rock to hike to the Pnyx. 

Looking back at the Acropolis from the Areopagus.

The Pnyx is a site as puzzling as the spelling of the site name. Historians are still unsure from where the name derives. This theatre-like structure was the place of assembly for Athenian democracy and underwent three distinct periods. Between the first and the second, the whole theatre was rotated 180 degrees for reasons unknown. The site is unfinished and while there are indications that further building was likely, no superstructure was ever found. 

The remains of the Pnyx. There is not a lot left.

We left the Pnyx and hiked up one of the tallest hills in Athens, which is the site of the the Philopappos monument. An Anatolian king in exile who was also a Roman citizen who died in Athens, the monument highlights his diverse background. It juts out of the landscape, drawing the eye for miles around. It was at this point that I ran out of water and fortunately we were released back to the school. On the way though, we had to make a delicious gelato stop. I had the Taste of the Day at the small shop, which turned out to be apricot.

Upon returning I chilled until dinner and enjoyed a meal outside with Asia, Luke, and Sally. I also did laundry, which was desperately needed. Another fantastic day with the the promise of something amazing tomorrow as well. Feels like I'm living the dream here. 

Thanks for reading. I will try to get a photo post up soon. All historical essay things are very on hold until further notice.  

6/30 - Crete Day Six - Azoria, INSTAP, Gournia, Boat!

I've talked to the absolutely amazing IT guy at the Blegen Library here and it appears my computer's adapter is no longer working so it will not charge. We're working on getting a replacement, but until then, no photos. 

An early start sent us off to Azoria, which is high on a hill overlooking a village. We arrived at the village and were met by two workmen from the site with pickup trucks. We hopped into the beds of the trucks and headed up the mountain. We also convinced Jessica to play country music on her phone to make the experience of riding in the bed of a truck complete. The trucks could only take us so high though, so we had to hike for about 10 minutes to reach the site, where Doctor Donald Haggis met us.

The site at Azoria.

The site was in an active state of excavation, with dirt being hauled off and pottery shards being picked at. Dr. Haggis led us across the site, stopping for a while to discuss different archaeological and historical ideas about how we view time and the occurrence of history. One awesome thing he pointed out to us was the presence of Etio-Cretan (sp?) on the site. It’s an indigenous language that was being written with Greek letters at Azoria. So the settlement was somewhat bilingual, which is interesting to think about.

Back of the truck on the ride down. Left to right: Abi, Cassia, Jessica, Luke Munson, Tim.

On the way down we passed by a massive olive tree. At the site, Dr. Haggis said that it was probably roughly 1500 years old and had been used to make victory laurels for the 2004 Olympic Games. We stopped briefly to take pictures and then continued down the mountain. After a quick break, we got back on the bus and headed for the Institute of Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP). On the way, we stopped for an hour to eat lunch in a small seaside town with a gorgeous view, pictured below. The food was excellent and the crashing of the waves no more than 30 yards from our table made for a great meal.

The view from lunch. Picturesque.

Then we were off to INSTAP. Funded by Martin Wiener, a U.S. lawyer turned hedge fund manager, the Institute provides support for many sites on Crete. For example, Mochlos and Mallia, where we visited previously, both conduct analysis there. We spoke to Dr. Tom Brogan, director of the Institute and archaeological veteran. He took us on a tour, showing off the large stoa, or open air area covered with a roof, where pottery is sorted and catalogued. We also got to tour the basement of INSTAP, and wound up in the metals room, where we saw some of the most beautiful pieces of ancient metalwork that we have to this day. The standout for me was the trident from Mochlos, which made waves in the journals when it was discovered. I did not take pictures unfortunately, but I can try to get some from my other session participants.

Finally, we left INSTAP and headed for Gournia, which is a site nearby that also analyzes at the INSTAP compound. We were given a tour by Dr. Matt Buell, director of the excavations. Gournia is a site that was initially excavated by Harriet Boyd-Haws (sp?), the first American to excavate on Crete, and the first woman to do so in all of Crete. She’s a bit of an archaeological legend and contributed significantly to the field during the early 1900s. Her legend continues in the name Harrieta, which is not unheard of in the nearby village. Gournia consists of “Sixty-four houses, one palace, planned streets, and two cemeteries,” according to Doctor Buell. We toured many of the salient points of the site and eventually ended after the site monitor started blowing a whistle at us because the site was technically closed.

From Gournia. The site is pretty sprawling.

So back on the bus! We drove to Herakleion and while we got off at the wrong exit the first time, successfully made it to the port city. We had some free time, so I went and found the delicious bougatsa place from when we were previously in the city. I also used my free museum card (ASCSA perk, does not expire for several years) to get into the archaeological museum with the express purpose of using their restroom. I also did wander a bit to look at some of the highlights from the trip. After that it was back on the bus for the drive to the port and the ferry. So here I sit in the cabin, writing this post. Tomorrow is an early start with the alarm at 5:30 am.

Crete was fantastic. I learned so much information about the Minoan and later civilizations on the island. I really hadn’t before, either, so this stuff was all new. The group really bonded on the bus rides and I’m excited to be learning with these amazing eighteen other people for the next four weeks.