Days 8,13 - Athens

The Home of Democracy - Athens, Greece - Our Final Destination

After coming into Athens on Day 8 from Delphi, we will check into our hotel and then get oriented to Athens, capital of Greece.

We will be treated to a "Greek Evening" that first day in which we will eat some Greek specialties ...

and see some authentic Greek dancing.

After a good night's sleep, we will board the cruise ship for our 4-day cruise around the Aegean Sea. On Day 13, we will be back in Athens and ready to spend our last full day in Greece getting to know its largest city.
Our morning tour will probably begin at the famous Acropolis, where the famous temples of the Golden Age of Athens still can be seen. An "acropolis" is just a "high place" or "sacred rock" and, though there are many of them in Greece, the Acropolis of Athens is by far the most well-known. Of course, the most famous building on the Acropolis is the Parthenon, built in the mid 400s B.C., Athens' Golden Age. The Parthenon has been called the world's most perfect building. Its symmetry, optical illusions, and grandeur still awe those who see it. It has been through modern history and is an inspiration for architects to this day.

It was the life work of the sculptor Phidias, who also made the large statue of the goddess Athena, which stood inside.
Although the Parthenon could have been a temple, many scholars think it probably functioned more as a the Treasury of the Athenian Empire. It was here that the "votive offerings" or "taxes" of other city-states were kept.

The 41-foot tall gilded statue of Athena Parthenos ("parthenos" means "unmarried and virginal") stood inside the temple. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and civilization and was considered the protective goddess of Athens. Indeed, Athens and Athenians got their name as "followers of Athena." She also protected them in war. In her left hand is a spear and shield; in her right hand is the winged goddess Nike, goddess of victory.


The Parthenon served as a Greek temple for over a thousand years, even after Athens became just another city within the larger Roman Empire.

In the 500s A.D. it became a Christian church, Parthena Maria, the "Virgin Mary." It remained a church for another thousand years until the Ottoman Turk Empire took it over in the 1600s and it became a Muslim mosque. Though the statue of Athena was long gone, it was still in relatively good condition for a 2000-year-old building. The Venetians and the Turks were at war at this time. The Turks used the Parthenon as a gunpowder storehouse and the Venetians shot a cannon at the Parthenon in 1687, causing a large explosion, collapsing the roof and blowing out some the columns on one side. The Parthenon we see today is evidence of the destruction.

Another area of antiquity is the Agora. The Agora was the heart of Ancient Athens, kind of like the Forum in Rome. It was an open area of temples and a place for people to meet. It had been built over and was re-excavated when Athens became the capital of

the modern Greek nation in 1834. It spreads out from the base of the Acropolis. It was here the the tradition of "government by the people" (democracy) developed over the discussions people had about their concerns.

Also at the base of the Acropolis was the open-air Amphitheater. The Greeks developed the idea of theater. In Ancient Athens, plays were performed at religious festivals in which tragedies and comedies were performed over several days. The festivals were dedicated to the god Dionysus, the god of wine. (He was known as Bacchus to the Romans and was kind of the opposite of Apollo.) He was also considered the patron of theater and agriculture, the lover of peace and liberator from one's self. Though wine flowed and people were entertained, these plays followed the known myths of the time.
The symbol of drama, the twin masks of comedy and tragedy, may seem a little foreign to our definitions. In the philosopher Aristotle's definition, tragedies were about "above average" people such as gods and royalty who, through a "tragic flaw" went from good to bad. Comedies, on the other hand, were about "average" people whose circumstances went from bad to better. Greek drama used a "chorus," a group of singers who acted as narrators and commentators. All actors were male. The most famous playwrights of Athens' Golden Age were Euripides, Sophocles, and Aeschylus. The dramatist Thespis, in the 500s B.C. was the originator of tragedies. We get the name of actors' groups, Thespians, from him.

If you scroll up to the larger photograph at the top of this blog posting, you will see where the Theater to Dionysus in Athens is in relation to the Acropolis.

Athens is the home of democracy, rule by the people. Whatever the most people vote for wins. This was a very radical idea in those times. Most places had kings or a tyrant in control. A king or queen was seen as having divine right to rule and a tyrant controlled the military and political power. Athens wasn't the only Greek city-state to rule itself democratically, but included more than most - all adult male citizens. In other city-states only those men who owned land or their own houses could vote, in other words, just the rich men. Athens let everybody who wasn't a slave, child, foreigner, or woman. People voted directly on all issues, although that could get tough for some people who had to work and didn't have time to be voting all the time. The Council of 500 representatives were chosen by lottery (no elections) for a 1-year term. This kept things probably more honest than they are today!

Probably the greatest leader of Athens was Pericles. He was a great speaker in the Agora, a general at war, and great statesman who occasionally served in the Council. Like the Medici in Florence, Italy in the 1400s A.D., Pericles was behind making Athens what it was in its heyday from 461 to 429 B.C., only about 33 years. This was a time of peace between the previous war with the Persians and the later war with city-states (particularly Sparta) in the Peloponnese. In this time, Pericles and the Athenians accomplished a lot. Most of the buildings that stand on the Acropolis date from this time. Besides democracy, drama, literature, architecture, music, philosophy, and science made great advances. This Golden Age is also called the Age of Pericles. It was this time of great creativity and "civilization in high gear" that the Medici family and the people of Florence re-created in the 1400s. In is no coincidence either, that the next time in history that democracy flourished was in the city-states of Northern Italy in the 1300-1400s. It was Pericles who opened Athens' political life to members of the lower classes.

During this time, people brought many of their older notions into question. They sought wisdom, which is what "philosophy" is, "love of wisdom." A pioneer philosopher was Socrates. Though his real job was as a stonemason, he is noted as a teacher and philosopher. Socrates would tutor or sit with the youth of Athens and teach by questioning. We still call this the "socratic method," answering a question with a question and thus probing deeper. His thoughts and influence eventually got him into trouble with the leaders of Athens and Socrates, accused of "corrupting the youth of Athens," was condemned to death. He chose to drink poisonous hemlock. This famous painting depicts that moment.

Socrates' death particularly disturbed his star student, Plato, who went on to write some of the most brilliant writings in the Greek (or any) language. Though Socrates did not write anything that survived, Plato used the trial and death of his teacher as a framework for his Dialogues. In the Dialogues, we see Socrates' views of the world as he discusses them with his inner circle of pupils. They discuss everything from politics to religion to the nature of reality in conversational format. Plato was a mathematician and master of logic and rhetoric (the art of persuasion). His arguments, analogies, allegories, allusions, stories, and fables influenced many later writers. After traveling around different parts of the Mediterranean as a young man, Plato returned to Athens and founded the earliest school, the Academy, located in the Agora. There he formalized the teacher-pupil relationship he and others had had with Socrates. The Academy existed for nearly 1000 years.

Probably Plato's most famous student was Aristotle. Aristotle came from Macedonia, the the far North of Greece, to study at Plato's Academy. As a young man he too traveled, but spent his time observing nature in the Greek islands and Asia Minor (Turkey). Aristotle came to know things by careful observation and analysis of how things work and what they are made of, particularly living things. He had training in medicine and became interested in biology. Science (which comes from the word for "knowing" in Greek) didn't really exist before Aristotle. Aristotle founded his own school in Athens, the Lyceum, and wrote a series of writings called his Treatises. Though he wrote about 150 of them, only 30 survive, and they have truly changed the world. His Treatises each covered a great variety of subjects. He first came up with a classification system for living things, introducing the ideas of genus and species. In his treatise Meteorology, he writes not just about the weather, but what he observed about what we would call "earth science." A famous teatise of his, Poetics, talks about much more than poetry; he described storytelling and analyzed the structure of drama. Even to this day, probably 80-90% of movies and novels pretty much follow Aristotle's famous "3-act structure," with a beginning, middle, and end, with turning points between the acts and a climax. The "character arc" of the hero is still something Hollywood screenwriters and directors discuss when making a movie.

After the Acropolis and Agora, we will venture out into modern Athens.
Here we see the Changing of the Guard in Syntagma (Constitution) Square, on the other side of the Acropolis from the Agora. Here we see the Guard in their "unique" costumes with pom-pom tassles on their shoes. (Don't laugh - the Greeks take this quite seriously.) They are guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament Building.

About half a mile away from the Acropolis is Omonia Square, the real hub of modern Athens. This is a transportation hub for the city. In the background, you can see Mount Likivatos, a "mountain" in the middle of the city of Athens. Athinas Street connects Omonia Square with the Acropolis Area. Along Athinas Street, there is abundant shopping, but the most traditional is the Marketplace. There you can see a traditional food market. Closer to the Acropolis is Monastiriki Square, where a famous flea-market is located. (And, previously, a "little monastery.") Everything from true antiques to modern souvenirs is sold in the flea market.





Another interesting area to explore is the Plaka. This is another part of town at the base of the Acropolis and not far from Syntagma Square. The Plaka is the district with a concentration of restaurants, shops, bars, and hotels. It makes a nice area to go strolling in, with its narrow winding streets.

Later we will undoubtedly visit the site of the Modern Olympics. The Ancient Olympics took place for over 700 years on a 4-year cycle. Athletes trained in the Gymnasium, which comes from the Greek word "gymnos" meaning "naked." A Gymnasium was a place where running, throwing, and wrestling events were practiced in the nude, as were the Ancient Games.

There were also races on chariots in great stadiums such as this one.





Athletes in the Modern Games wear a bit more clothing. The Modern Olympic movement began in the late 1800s as modern nations felt the need to compete in more positive ways than war! The first Modern Olympics were, appropriately, in Athens in 1896. The stadium built then was modified for some of the last games. Athens, as you probably know, hosted the Modern Summer Olympics for the second time in 2004. I'm sure we will be taken to see some of the facilities where the different events took place. This picture is at the entrance to the Olympic Village.

Well, tomorrow we fly home from Athens. We have seen some amazing things that we'll remember all our lives. Who knows, maybe some of you will one day return to Italy and Greece for a more in-depth look on your own!

Days 9,10,11,12 - Aegean Sea Cruise

Let's Go Cruisin' in the Greek Islands!

After Delphi, we will head to the capital city, Athens. We will have an introduction to Greek nightlife that night in Athens with our "Greek Evening." Our more extensive visit to Athens, however, will be after our 4-day cruise. (See the next blog posting for information about Athens.) On Day 9 (Monday), we will board our luxury cruise ship in the Port of Pireus and begin our cruise around the Aegean Sea. We will enjoy four days of lots of good food, six interesting ports of call, and the experience of being at sea.

Unlike the trip up to this point, our cruise will not include pre-planned guided visits. Though there will be various opportunites to visit places of cultural and historical importance, we may as a group or part of a group opt not to do some or any of the extra visits. We will have to make our own arrangments to get to and pay to get in some archeological sites and other things that require a fee.

The Greek Islands are incredibly beautiful places, with deep blue sea and sky and many houses and buildings are whitewashed to reflect the bright sun.
Many tour members will just want to relax in the islands after a week and a half of rather intense historical immersion in Italy and Greece. Each port we visit will have picturesque medieval towns with narrow winding alleyways and whitewashed houses. One can stroll, shop, watch and meet people, and look for interesting places to eat.

The opportunities to snag some Greek Island crafts will be a temptation for some. Just mixing with a very international crowd will be interesting. The Greek islands are a draw for tourists from all over the world. We will be hanging out with Germans, Danes, Swedes, British, Japanese, Indians, French, Spanish, Italians, you name it, you will hear many languages in the islands - even Greek!

I will present the six ports (five Greek islands and a mainland city in Turkey) in a clockwise order from Athens. I am not absolutely sure this is the order we will go in, but I think so.

First is the island of Mykonos (MEE-koh-nohs). This is the least historical and perhaps most "quaint" in a touristy way. Mykonos is well-known as a "party island," although much of the hard-core nightlife will happen after we have left. Our visit will be during the day. As we dock in this harbor, we will see the quintessential Greek Island village with its fishing boats, marina cafes, and white windmills on the hill behind the village.

Both the windmills and the town pelican are landmarks. Mykonos is perhaps a rather staged and theme-parked version of what Greek Island towns once were (and still are on some less-visited islands) but you'll get the idea.

Besides eating, we will probably spend our time ashore wandering the interesting sidestreets and alleyways. Use sunblock and stroll to your heart's content.




The next port will be in Kusadasi, Turkey on the west coast of that country. Turkey is a country with a radically different culture from Greece. The town of Kusadasi is basically a resort town with hotels, restaurants, shops, and nearby beaches. Though Turkish is the local language, this place is as international as the Greek Isles. You may be more likely to hear German or English than Turkish when you first come ashore.

Kusadasi is also noted for its proximity to the ancient city of Ephesus, about 10 miles away. Ephesus was a major Greek-speaking city, first colonized by Athenians, but which later became an important trade and cultural center in the Roman Empire. It had a forum, an amphitheater, and many temples, but especially, the Temple of the virginal huntress and sister of Apollo, Artemis ("Diana" to the Romans). The Christian apostle Paul founded a church here in the First Century and came into much conflict with the local craftsmen when he opposed the worship of Artemis and the making of idols, which gave a strong local sense of identity and brought much income. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians is one of the books of the New Testament.

Like Rome and Pompeii, one can see ruins of ancient Roman baths. The ruins of Ephesus are in relatively good shape - somewhat better than in Rome itself.

Ephesus is also famous for its ancient Library and Theater.

After Kusadasi, we will sail a short way to the Greek Island of Patmos. where Saint John, one of Jesus' original disciples was exiled late in his life and where he wrote the visionary final book of the New Testament, Revelation.

We will arrive in the main village of Skala, in the middle of this small island. Not far away is a famous Byzantine monastery and a Cruaders Castle.

Patmos is perhaps most famous for the "Cave of the Apocolypse" where John was said to have gotten his vision from God and written the Book of Revelation.

This medieval picture depicts John receiving these visions.

Our next port of call is the larger island of Rhodes. Rhodes is the largest island of the Dodecanese ("dodeka" means "twelve" in Greek ) and Rhodes is one of twelve islands in the Eastern Aegean. Rhodes is famous for a huge statue that stood at the entrance to its main port in ancient times - the Colossus of Rhodes. This was a gigantic statue of the sun-god - Helios and was as big as the Statue of Liberty in New York. It was built in the 200s B.C. and destroyed by an earthquake a couple of centuries later.

Rhodes has a very fortified main town as it was a key stopover by European Crusaders during the Middle Ages on their way to Jerusalem. As you leave the harbor area you can head into the walled Old Town. The less-historic New Town is to the right. The Old Town is not even close to being laid out as a grid. It's easy to get lost in its maze of streets. Old Town Rhodes is the oldest inhabited medieval town in all of Europe. Let's just "get lost" together as we follow the footsteps of medieval knights.

For our next stop, we cross back west over the Southern Aegean to the "big island" of Crete. The largest city is on the northwest coast, Heraklion (sometimes also spelled Iraklion). Heraklion is a modern Greek city with an extremely old past. A thousand years before the heyday of Athens and Sparta, a rather advanced civilization, the Minoans, lived on Crete and several other islands in the Aegean to the north. We don't know exactly what they were called; the name "Minoan" was applied by the early British archeologist Arthur Evans, who used the name of the mythic King Minos, who had a labyrinth (maze) with a Minotaur (a half-bull/half-man monster) in it. The Minoan civilization was Europe's (and maybe the world's) most advanced culture in the 3rd milennium B.C. The Minoan civilization, which began in the 2700s B.C., ended rather abruptly in the 1400s B.C. One can visit the palace of Knossos, not far from Heraklion, and one of the earliest archeological digs. People talk of the Knossos as being the "Home of King Minos and the Minotaur" but that is pure speculation.

Knossos as it appears today for visitors.

What many now believe spelled the end of the Minoan civilization was a huge volcanic eruption on the island of Thira (today called Santorini) 90 miles to the north of Crete. The island of Santorini was one big volcano and it literally blew its top in the mid 1400s B.C. The mountain-sized tsunami this eruption would have caused, let alone the ash cloud, would have doomed the nearby island of Crete.

Here is a current map of Santorini. Imagine its shape 3500 years ago with the whole island filled in and being about 10 miles across. That blue water in the middle of the cresent is the ancient caldera (crater) of the volcano filled in with sea water. The little island in the middle is a barren lava flow that is the result of more recent smaller eruptions that bring lava up to the surface.

Santorini is one of the most breath-taking places on Earth! When one gets a mental image of Greek Islands, the sunset on the caldera of Santorini comes to mind. The whitewashed houses of the main village of Fira (FEE-rah) cling to 1000-foot high cliffs overlooking the sea. We will arrive at a small port at the bottom of the cliff and can take a cable-car (unless you want to walk or take a donkey up the old switchback path) up to the village.

From in the village, we can stroll the alleyways and get views along the cliffs. There are no bad views! Santorini has its own archeological site, Akrotiri, which shows Minoan-era village life. I doubt we will have time to visit it.

What we will have time to do (besides, of course, eating, shopping, and strolling) is time to contemplate not only the wild, wonderful beauty of this special place, but contemplate its past. In 4th-century Athens, the phiosopher Plato wrote about an advanced lost civilization called Atlantis. He wrote how the "Atlanteans" were wiped out in a cataclysmic act of nature. There have been many theories about who the Atlanteans were, where they lived, and even if they existed at all. One of the more widely-held theories is that Atlantis was the Minoan Civilization on Crete and the eruption of Thira - Santorini ended it.

As you stroll Fira and look out at the calm Mediterranean Sea, think of lost civilizations and how vulnerable we can be on this fragile planet.

Sitting beside a blue-domed Greek Orthodox church may seem far away from volcanos and minotaurs, but may we be reminded how life and civilization gets rejuvenated out of the ashes of destruction.

Days 7,8 - Greece (an overview) and Delphi

Greece!

Days 7,8

On Day 7 we're going to get up onboard and arrive in Greece. In many ways, Greek culture is the foundation of what we know as our culture, Western Culture. This small European country of 10 million or so people seems a little less European than Italy; you sense the link with the East here, in the food, the music, the rhythm of the language. Known in Greek as Ellas, Greece has charmed people for thousands of years, and will hopefully charm us as well.

Greece is basically a peninsula with many smaller peninsulas attached, as well as hundreds of islands of all sizes. It's easy to see how the sea has shaped Greece. The largest of the peninsulas of Greece is the Peloponnese, the land mass in the southwest of the country.
The ancient city of Corinth serves as a crossroads between the Peloponnese and the mainland. The main rival to Ancient Athens, Sparta, a militaristic city, is also on the Peloponnese. Athens, the capital and largest city, is east of the Peloponnese on a much smaller peninsula, Attica. Thessolonica, the second largest city, is in the north. The Aegean Sea, which contains most of the Greek islands, separates Greece from Turkey. (More on the Aegean in my next blog - the cruise.)

The port of Patras is on the northern coast of this peninsula. It is here we will begin our journey.

We will meet a new bus driver and get on a new bus for the Greek portion of our adventure.

But first, I'd like to talk a little about some aspects of Greek culture I think you may find interesting.

Greek Food

Greek food, along with Italian, are two of my favorite cuisines. The both epitomize what "Mediterranean" food is. Greek food relies heavily on olive oil, breads, fish, meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Ingredients tend to be very fresh. But what is "Greek Food"? You will form that opinion yourself but, as teenagers on a budget, you will gravitate toward the typical, easy, and cheap. The "hamburger" of Greece is souvlaki. (This comes from the word souvla, which is a "skewer." and is pronounced soov-LAH-kee) The Greek put meat on skewers and roast it, then put them in a pita bread with salad vegetables and creamy dressing. There you have it. The other sandwich food, gyro (should be pronounced HEE-roh) is eaten similarly to souvlaki, but the meat is roast on a large vertically rotating spit and sliced off. You will see this all over Greece.

There you have it - lunch!

Souvlaki can also be enjoyed in a more "civilized" fashion on a plate in a restaurant with a Greek salad.

Speaking of salads - Greek salads are awesome! They are made very simply and usually consist of tomatoes, olives, onions, feta cheese, and cucumbers with an olive oil and vinager dressing over top. They are very refreshing in the summer. (And HEALTHY!)

Greece offers somewhat more exotic foods. Stuffed grape leaves are a delicacy that you should not miss. The grape leaves (dolmades) are filled with a rice-meat mixture and steamed. These make a nice appetizer.




Another excellent Greek "finger food" is spanikopita. These are basically cheese and spinach turnovers. Try them!

There is so much I could write about Greek food, but I think it would be better to direct you to this website that has quite a few different pages about aspects of Greek dining. Check out especially the pages on "What to expect," "Types of Restaurants," "Greek Foods: the Basics," and "Souvlaki."

http://greecefoods.com

Greek Dance

Greeks are very emotive, expressive people and it is not uncommon to see Greeks dancing in public. Traditional dances are everywhere - we will see some them at our "Greek Night" in Athens. Most dances are danced either in a line or in a circle, with arms either intertwined or over the shoulders. The Hassapiko is considered the Pan-Hellenic (or "All-Greek") dance. Perhaps one of the most famous dances is the syrtaki (also known as "Zorba's Dance"). It really isn't such an old dance, as it was developed for the 1963 movie with Anthony Quinn, who played the role of the life-loving Zorba. The main feature of this dance is that it starts slowly and then speeds up.

I would invite you to visit this website that has steps and music for some of the most common Greek dances. At our party in May, we may try to dance one of them, how about that!

http://www.btinternet.com/~argyros.argyrou/dances/Dances.htm

Greek Language

The Greek language is the oldest of all of the major modern European languages. Some form of Greek has been spoken for over 3000 years. It is the first alphabetic language that used vowels. Actually, both the Latin alphabet (what English and other languages uses) and the Cyrillic alphabet (what Russian and some other Slavic languages uses) is based on Greek. If you are ever in a fraternity, sorority, or honor society in college, your organization will use Greek letters to identify itself. Many letters are similar to ours, but others you will learn.

Greek is not an "easy" language to get into deeply, but I would highly encourage you to do two things while preparing for this trip. 1. Learn the alphabet and how to sound out words. There will be signs and place names all around you in Greece and it would be good to know how to say them. 2. Learn some basic phrases. (I will greet your day in Greece with kalimera! (kah-lee-MEH-rah), which means "Buon giorno" in Greek!) Learn to count at least to 20 or 30; learn the days of the week; and especially, learn BASIC TOURIST GREEK. (Things such as "Where is...?" "How much...?" "I want that." "I don't like it." "Please" "Thank you" "How are you?" or just "Hey!") I will give you a handout later of Greek phrases and place names. In the meantime, learn the sounds of the letters of the Greek alphabet from this website.

http://www.greek-language.com/alphabet/

Day 7,8 - Delphi

We're on our Greek tour bus. We cross over onto Mainland Greece and head east toward Athens. About halfway there we come to what the Ancient Greeks called the "Center of the World" - Mount Parnassus. This 8,000 foot-plus mountain, which today sports two ski resorts, was considered holy in ancient times.

It was considered home of Apollo, the most multi-faceted god of the Greeks. He was the god of light and reason as well as healing and medicine. He was considered the "Sun-God." He was also the leader of the Muses, nine females who embodied the arts and who inspired the creative process. One speaks today of "listening" to one's "muse" when trying to be creative. They and others, including the winged-horse Pegasus, inhabited Parnassus. The other "holy" mountain of Ancient Greece, Mt. Olympus, was said to be the home of Zeus. Just as there were the Olympic Games in Olympus every four years in ancient times, the second most famous festival in Greece, the Pythian Games, were celebrated every four years in Apollo's honor. Because Apollo was god of music and the arts, the Pythian Games at Delphi had more artistic contests than the Olympic Games.

The most important aspect of Mount Parnassus in the ancient world was the Oracle of Delphi. Delphi is a spot high on the side of Mount Parnassus where an "oracle" resided. An oracle is a woman who can give wise counsel and tell the future. The "oracle" at Delphi was said to receive her insight and inspiration from Apollo, although the oracle dated back earlier, when she was the earthly repesentation of Gaia, the Earth-goddess. Leaders from all over Greece and beyond would come to Delphi for advice on tough decisions, such as whether to go to war or to expand and found new colonies. Individuals would also come to the Oracle to try to get wise advice about personal problems. The was an impressive Temple of Apollo at Delphi where the Oracle, named Pythia, would receive the pneuma or spirit, of Apollo. She alone would enter into the Adyton, an inaccessible "inner sanctum" of the temple where a spring was located. The Oracle of Delphi received visitors there from as early as the 800s B.C. until the year 393 A.D. when a late Christian Roman Emperor, Theodosius, ordered all pagan temples to cease operation.

We will probably head to our hotel in Delphi first. Delphi is located up high with great views of the valley below.

The first evening we will have a chance to eat Greek for the first time and walk around and explore the town.

The next day is when we will go to the ancient archeological site. We will see the remains of the Temple of Apollo. Though there is an outdoor theater and various other buildings here, the Temple of Apollo is the centerpiece.

In literary and artistic circles throughout history, Parnassus has come to be a metaphor for artistic and creative inspiration. Indeed, the most famous quarter of Paris, France, high on a hill, is called Montparnasse, traditionally where artists and writers in Paris have lived and worked. Maybe we too, standing in the fresh mountain air of Greece, will be inspired to create something!