April 15

The temple of Zeus in Athens.  During the Turkish occupation, many of the columns were pulled down to cut up for use in building houses.

Hadrian's  Arch.  This arch divided the old Greek Athens from the Athens built by the Romans.

Here you can see an interesting difference in attitude between Athenians and Americans.  Rather than capturing and putting strays to sleep, the Athenians have public welfare for stray animals.

National Archeological Museum

On the right is a Roman copy of the Athena that was in the Parthenon.   On the left is a large bust of her.

Our guide, Kathryn, was a delightful help.   Having someone to guide your observations in a large museum helps to prevent fatigue.

When Schliemann discovered this mask during his excavations of Mycenae during the nineteenth century, he remarked, "I have looked upon the face of Agamemnon."  On the right are weapons that were also found at Mycenae.   During the Homeric period, Mycenae was the most influential city in Greece.   They even sent more ships than either Sparta or Athens.  Seeing the ruins from Mycenae gives you a good picture into life during the Homeric period.  Many of the following pictures are from the Mycenae room in the museum, so let yourself think of the various Homeric characters using articles just like these in their daily lives.

This necklace contains the double eagle motif from Delphi.  The location of Delphi was discovered when Zeus let two eagles go on opposite ends of the earth and then marked where they meet.  The double-eagle motif was used many times again through history- for instance, it was used as a symbol in the Austrian empire.

Schlieman was convinced that the mask above was that of Agamemnon because he also found these two burial figures near the tomb he found the mask. The woman with whom Agamemnon returned from Troy, Cassandra, had a pair of twins whom Clytaemnestra killed when she murdered Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra.

The Mycenean crown was quite large and covered with gold gilt.

The warriors at Troy most likely wore helmets of boar's tusk.

Ancient clothes-pins!

Frescos from the wall of the palace

The writing used at Mycenae was "linear B".  Later they adopted a form of the Phoenician alphabet.

The jewelry worn by the women of the time was amazing.  Modern jewelers say that many of the techniques have yet to be repeated.

Many of the gold utensils found at the site.

I had often seen these pots with pointed bottoms and wondered what they were for.  We found on our tour that they were actually for shipping.  The pointed bottom allowed them to be stored in holes in planks and thus would not tip in a storm.

Ancient lyre.   One of only musical instruments to survive from antiquity.

This small piece was carved from layered marble.

These two columns stood on either side of the Tholos tomb.

The spiral motif was common and stood for the Myceneans belief in the eternal repetition of life.

The bear jar.  The ancients did have a sense of humor.

Crown

End of Mycenae room

Before the Mycenae age was the Cycladic period.  Pablo Picaso was inspired by the art of this period.

Clay and stone sling-shots.

Looking at these statues, you can see the development of Greek statuary.   Look for the progression in the following aspects: 1) Is the body static or in motion?  Are the feet planted flat? Are the arms locked at the side? 2) Is the muscular structure shown?  3) Does the face show expression?  Can you differentiate an emotion?  Or is the statue's facial expression distant? Can you see a smile? 3) Is the statute clothed?

Very large urns in this style were used as grave markers and held oil for the deceased.  The detail depicts the deceased and those mourning his death.

There are many vases in the following pictures.   You will find them more interesting if you learn to identify these styles; (left to right) geometric, black figure, red figure and luekos.

Grave stele

Hermes leads a woman to Hades.

The four horse chariot race- one of the most exciting of antiquity.

A symposium (drinking party)

The Greeks have been able to recover a number of statues from the bottom of the sea.  Notice how the sea water has eroded the marble.

Small Altar

These frescos came from the island of Santorini.  It is delightful to see how creatively the ancients decorated their homes.them

Sieve

Tripod

.  Some symbols have an older origin than you might think.

  Beautiful geometric design

On this vase, you can see a chariot race that was held in honor of the deceased.

This is a model of a merchant's cart for selling liquids.

Small bath

.  Don't listen to this woman's song no matter how flattering she might be to your male ego.  She is a siren -- half bird and half woman.

I was surprised to see how many models the Greeks made in clay.  In the center picture are models of a game the Greeks played.

Dice

On the left, you can see ivory offerings that were brought by wealthy citizens to the temple.  And on the right, you can see small lead offerings that would have been brought by the poorer citizens.

The remains of ivory flutes.

The soldiers fight for the body of their fallen comrade.

A man cowers before the riddle of the sphinx.

A ram's head cup

Can you identify the period of this vase?

The arts found on Greek vases covers a very wide section of Greek life.  Looking at a large number of vases will give you a good idea of what every day Greek life was like.

These vessels were turned from alabaster stone.   Their design is intricate and very light.  They must have been very difficult to turn. 

On this vase, you can see a Greek grave and its decoration.

This vase shows the abduction of Helen by Theseus when she was a young girl.

Lyre

These were children's drinking vessels.  Young children were allowed to drink a mixture of wine and water.

A very ornate knee thimble.  Knee thimbles were used when doing handiwork.

When an athlete was victorious, he was given a vase in this shape.

Vases with handles such as these were used for drinking wine.

The expression on this woman's face appears similar to the one often used for Mary in later painting.

This terra-cotta figure shows Aphrodite emerging from the waves on a sea shell.  Later Botticello would paint the same scene.

This vase comes from a very late period and even contains gold gilt.

There are a number of beautiful bronze statues in the national Museum of that were pulled from the bottom of the sea, usually by fishermen.   The statues are remarkably well preserved and are some of the best examples of Greek statuary that we have.  Notice what a difference the presence of the eyes makes in expression on the face of the bust.

Charming, don't you think?

There was a decree published after the death of this wife of a Roman emperor stating that all statues of her must be destroyed.   Hence, the poor condition of the statute.

Small household altar.

Battlefield of Marathon

On the way to Marathon, we found this bridge made entirely of marble.

Near these shores, the Persians landed their ships.

This burial mound is for the Plataeans who died at Marathon.

This burial mound is for the Athenians who died.

After the Greek victory at Marathon, a Greek warrior in full armor ran over these hills back to Athens in order to bring the message of the victory.

The narrow straits between Athens and Salamis where the Athenian navy defeated the Persions.

The temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion

The acanthus leaf was the inspiration for many Greek architecthetural motifs.

The faces of modern day Athens

The Athenians appeared to need more power than the Italians.

Sunset over the Aegean

The Academy of Plato

The Academy of Plato

Section of flooring still intact from The Academy

Various photos around the academy

The Greeks very appropriately named the street next to The Academy, "Euclid Street".  The rigor of Euclidian geometry inspired much of Plato's philosophy.