Temple of Athena Winnie Foster (Delos)

 On Monday we were in Mykonos! 

Well, our ship was in Mykonos. We spent the day at the archaeological site of Delos. If you're starting to see a theme, you're right! We love exploring ruins, history, and ancient cultures. 

I used Athena in the title because she is sometimes known as the goddess of warfare and wisdom, and when this tabby cat popped out of the ruins like she ran the place I had a whole new understanding of Ms Winnie Foster. If you've met her, and most of you haven't for very specific reasons, you know she is a fierce defender of me and her home, and also has a wry way of looking you up and down like she knows waaaay more than you do. I'm going to try and keep her royal lineage from her, lest her head get that much bigger. 

Delos was settled in the third millennium BC, and also was the birthplace of Artemis and Apollo. I'm just going to leave that right there and let you Google if you're interested. Our brains are full of Greek (and Roman!) mythology, and fact and...fiction? are merging rather seamlessly. 😉

Delos was a religious destination, housing several temples dedicated to Apollo, Artemis, Leto, Zeus and others. It was also a major trade hub, and during its heyday, around 30,000 people lived here. During the Roman rule, it was declared a free port, and no taxes were collected. As a result, a wide variety of people lived and traded here: Syrians, Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, and many more. 

It lived several lives before being abandoned. I think pirates had something to do with that, but I'm not quite sure anymore. I do know it wasn't a volcano! Because of its relatively long life, there are different kinds of architecture, art and decoration to be studied. 

Only about 10% of the city has been excavated, but even so, they know that it was a place of great wealth and grandeur.  Some doorways still stand of marble, and mosaic floors. Most wall frescoes have disappeared, but a few remain to give clues to what it might have been like. 

Marble doorway.

Mosaic floor.

Same floor, original mosaic from the museum. 

There are marks in the window frame where bars would have been. They assume this was a bank, because the frame is made of marble, showing it as a place of wealth.

One of the few remaining frescoes. It's so similar to something that we saw in Akrotiri!

 

In Akrotiri the excavations have revealed the top floor of some houses, with evidence showing there are possibly three and four stories. In Delos, columns indicate that there were two story houses (the top floors missing), and there are errant staircases to support that theory. 

And like any bustling town, there were shops! You can see in this fish market that there are two doorways. One would have been for the fisherman, and the other to his home. Other shops only have one door, showing that the shop was rented, with the housing not being attached. This fish shop has a marble surface that would have kept fish cool, and also has two fish shaped impressions, and cutting marks. It's amazing both how much is lost in ruins, and how much can be learned from what is left behind.

They even had sunken pots to keep the contents cool!

There was also a theater, evidence of plumbing, and water collection. For an ancient town, it was pretty advanced! 

When Delos was abandoned, there was a lot of pillaging. Even so, there are pieces of architecture scattered as far as the eye can see in every direction. Excavation began here in the late 1800s, and there is so much left to do. 

Mykonos might be an incredibly cute town, but there were several cruise ships in port, and as mentioned, it was H-O-T, so we retreated to our room to gear up for the next adventure!

How cute is this traveler?

We're Cruising!

 

Let's be honest here: We got on the ship on Saturday, and I think it's now Tuesday! We wake up at the crack of dawn, go see amazing things and learn lots of stuff, sweat more than is natural to do so, go "home", rinse and repeat. We are overwhelmed with information, history, and the gift of being out in the world. There is Artemis and Apollo, John and Peter, Corinthian and Doric, Phoenician and Venetian, Fira and Thera, warthogs and boars, corned beef and roast beef, Zeus and Athena...I could go on! We're going to get some details wrong, so apologies for that! 

Our first stop on the ship was Santorini. It's a lot like Crater Lake, geologically speaking. Santorini was formed by volcanic eruptions and caldera collapses. The walls are steep, and the water is deep. Until you catch a glimpse of the town, you feel like you might be in the middle of nowhere! It is beautiful. 

From our cruise tender we took a boat to Oia (ee-ah), where we explored the archaeological site of Akrotiri. 

Akrotiri was settled in the 16th century BC. That already has capital letters, or I would have capitalized them myself. Because, you know, that is a loooooong time ago! Akrotiri, like Pompeii or Herculaneum, was lost to a volcanic eruption. They think that Thera erupted sometime between 1627 and 1600 BC. Well, even that is sort of up for debate. They think some 10% of the village has been excavated, so they haven't learned all the things there are to know about this place. It was initially found in the 1860s, and then rediscovered with active excavations in the 1960s. 

There is evidence of three story homes, circulation through strategically placed windows, markets, and beds. 

Excavations have been on hold for several years because their funding was coming from a Russian oligarch whose money is tied up in the Ukraine war at the moment. Honest to goodness. 

There are no human remains, so the current understanding is that the residents were able to get out in time, no one being killed by the eruption. They may even have had time to gather their valuables. Only one item  of value has been found, this little gold ibex. It was found in a nesting box in an area that they believe might have been part of animal sacrifice; over 300 antlers were also found stacked. Perhaps they offered this gold item to the gods as a way to save their village?

Also, and I can't state this enough, it was H-O-T! These dogs are not dead, they are seeking some sort of relief from the heat. Also, this was weird toilet number 2 of that day. Keeping it real!

After Akrotiri, our bus took us into Fira Town, which is what you probably think of when you think of Santorini - blue domes, white buildings, cute shops...

We had lunch at the cutest spot. Everyone is so friendly, and we had a delightful time trying local cuisine. These tomato "meat" balls were delicious. I might try and make these at home if I can get my hands on some really good tomatoes. 

Before heading back to the ship we stopped at the Museum of Prehistoric Thira. Our guide had told us that most everything that had been found in Akrotiri was being housed at the museum. We were quite unprepared for just how much was on display. There was everything from clay pots to fishing weights, and so much of it!

Random stranger included for size!

The pots were impressive enough, but the frescoes? Those were on another level; the colors are so vibrant!

Louise's favorite.

Thelma's fav!

We almost skipped the downstairs. The attendant said there were "paintings" down there. Something was definitely lost in translation! Downstairs they have replicated the floor plans of the houses that have been excavated, and you can walk in, and feel what the space would have really felt like. 

Behind the "fence" are rows upon rows of FULL drawers of pieces of pottery, fresco etc. The puzzlers in us wanted to stay and put some of it together for them!

Akrotiri itself was amazing. but putting it together with these artifacts brought it to life. The frescoes had some storytelling, but also were rife with decoration - birds, rosettes, crocus etc. There was even one fresco of monkeys, proving that someone at some point had traveled abroad. Amazing!

Both Akrotiri and the museum were impressive in their own rites, but seeing them together in one day painted a very full picture of these ancient peoples. 

And just like that, we were down a cable car and back on the boat and "flying" off to Mykonos!

💙💙

The Acropolis

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." ~Louis-Charles Fougeret de Monbron?

This quote was recently featured in the president's message in the Whitworth Today magazine. Scott McQuilkin attributed it to St Augustine, but a little research told me that it was actually written by a Frenchman, though the wording is not the same. But I like the quote, and Thelma and Louise are out here turning pages! The Acropolis has been on my list since my art history days when I was trying to get the Parthenon and the Pantheon straight for a test. ;)  One of us had a very BIG birthday this year 🙌, and it seemed like the appropriate time to knock it off the list. 

Getting here is no small feat! After spending approximately 15 days on 7 different airplanes, we made it the Athens. 😂 We originally planned on going to the Acropolis on Thursday night, but once we arrived at our hotel, it was very apparent that it wasn't in the cards, so we changed to Friday morning. We stayed at this super cute hotel called Moxy. It's a Marriott property, super whimsical and fun. 

Moxy had a very cute pop art feel and they made a mean cup of coffee!

At this point I don't think we'd slept for at least 24 hours! 

Louise is the travel agent (always), and never leads us astray. We had an 8 am tour that got us in the front gates before the long line of people that assembled. It's unclear why there aren't pictures of the climb up the hill, but it's probably because both photographers were focused on survival! It's actually not a very long climb up, but the stairs are steep, and the walkways are mostly marble, which can be slippery. Oh, and the Grecians built this thing on the surface of the sun! Ha! All of these factors made for a very sweaty and red faced existence. It's also how I got separated from the group. 

I mean, I could hear the guide through my earpiece, but in order to protect my new knees (and my sanity!) I took it at my own pace. The result was that when I got to the top, I was able to take in the Parthenon mostly on my own. Getting there early is definitely worth it because you beat the crowds!

There is really no way to describe the sheer size of the Parthenon. Well, I mean I can tell you the dimensions, but until you are standing in front of it, it's hard to understand. Even more difficult to comprehend is the speed with which it was built. Construction started in 447 BC, and finished in 438 BC, with some of the finishing taking another six years. About 100,000 TONS of marble was mined from a mountain about ten miles away. No semi trucks were used in the making of this item! ;) 

As I mentioned I was separated from the group, and so when I got to the foot of the Parthenon, completely overwhelmed with the idea of just being here, and with being here on my new knees, I pretty much just sobbed. Until a nice lady asked if I would take her picture. Here is the one she took of me. Let's not focus on the color of my face, or my hair, or the liters of sweat coming off my body....look at those knees!!!

Don't worry, Thelma and Louise were soon reunited!

The Temple of Athena Nike was maybe what I was most excited to see. It features six maidens as columns. The ones in place at the Acropolis are replicas, the originals being housed safely at the Acropolis Museum, and at the British Museum. 

On the way down, we were able to also see Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which is an amphitheater that seats about 5,000. It's much newer than the Parthenon being built in 161 AD, and rebuilt in 267 AD. SO much newer. ;) I was pleased to see that it has a black and white tiled floor, just like Westminster Abbey, just like my kitchen (linoleum style!). 

There is so much history here; it is difficult to comprehend, and even harder to describe. Even if you don't buy into Athena and Zeus and their Greek and Roman counterparts, there is something magical about this spot.  This was a good day. 💗

After a loooooong nap, we wandered back out into the city, found an amazing restaurant where met the nicest people - shopkeepers, restauranteurs, and even tourists. This was a great day! 

 

Thelma and Louise have been to some amazing spots, and we are so grateful to have added this to our list. Next up, cruising through the Greek islands!