Daily Updates
Week Five: April 18
18 April: Evan and Melissa Reporting: We left the Apollon Hotel at 8:00 in the morning and headed through the marvelous city of Sparta. It was too early in the day for the Spartans to be exercising naked outdoors, but we assure you, they still do that. We made our way through the light rain to the really low acropolis, which is barely a hill (not that size matters, but if it did, Corinth would get all the ladies). The remains were few, mainly consisting of a Roman era theater that had one of the first rolling stages. To the disappointment of many, we did not perform anything. We then walked through even more of the fabulous city of Sparta, passing by rusted-out automobiles, stores selling broken washing machines, and kid-friendly industrial debris, in order to reach the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia. This site included the largest extant piece of monumental Spartan architecture, which needless to say, was not much to look at. In the 4th century BCE, young boys would attempt to steal cheese from the altar of the temple while old men stood around trying to whip those who got close. Nothing much has changed. Walking by more wasteland, we arrived at the museum, which had some great pieces, including grotesque masks, a statue of Leonidas, a mosaic of the infamous Alcibiades, and an allegorical statue of Tyche (good fortune). After getting our bags from the hotel, we trudged up a hill and traversed some paths that were super sloppy with mud to reach the Menelaion, a shrine to the hero Menelaos and his woman, Helen of Troy. From there we drove to Corinth and hiked up to Acrocorinth, the most impenetrable acropolis in ancient Greece. On top we ran into a former member of our entourage, the now Dr. Schultz, who was there with his own rowdy crew of classical archeology monkeys. We explored some of the buildings, crawled up a guard tower, and discovered the bones of a goat floating in a spring. Upon our descent, we checked into the Hotel Ephira, which, to our delight, had hot water and shower enclosures. Later that night, a bunch of us met up with Dr. Schultz and his students for a social gathering, of which we will discuss neither the details nor the participants.
18 April: Our Leaders. A certain amount of internal discord evidently broke out. Fortunately it was rapidly resolved, after careful discussion of the issues.
18 April: The Roman Theater on the Acropolis of Sparta.
18 April: Sarah in the Theater on the Acropolis of Sparta.
18 April: Ani in the Theater on the Acropolis of Sparta.
18 April: A Terracotta Mask in the Sparta Museum, Probably Used in Initiation Rites.
18 April: Statue of King Leonidas in the Sparta Museum.
18 April: Liz and Evan in the Sparta Museum.
18 April: Walking Up to the Menelaion.
18 April: It Turned Out to Be a Little Muddy Up There.
18 April: As These Pictures Make Clear.
18 April: The Mycenaean Mansion Near the Menelaion (c. 1350 BCE).
18 April: The Modern Town of Sparta and the Eurotas River, from the Menelaion.
18 April: The Modern Town of Sparta and the Eurotas River, from the Menelaion.
18 April: Panoramic View, from the Menelaion.
18 April: Elizabeth at the Menelaion in Sparta.
18 April: Atop the Shrine of Helen and Menelaus at the Menelaion in Sparta.
18 April: Randy at the Menelaion in Sparta, Mount Taygetos in the Background.
18 April: Chris and Sarah at the Menelaion in Sparta, Mount Taygetos in the Background.
18 April: Christos Demonstrates The Fine Art of Making Ice Coffee On the Go.
18 April: Climbing up to the Acrocorinth.
18 April: An Unexpected Meeting with Dr. Schultz, on the Acrocorinth.
18 April: Some of the Fortifications of the Acrocorinth. It's a Rather Large Place (60 acres).
18 April: Panoramic Shot from Atop the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth. The Black Dot on the Wall is Sarah. As We Pointed Out, It's a Rather Large Place
18 April: On the Acrocorinth. Evan Demonstrates the Proper Evasive Moves to Employ When Attacking a Fortress
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On The Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: The Peirene Fountain on the Acrocorinth.
18 April: The Peirene Fountain On the Acrocorinth.
18 April: The Remains of an Unfortunate Goat, in the Peirene Fountain on the Acrocorinth.