| Submitted by: Mark Nowak United States |
| Submission Date: 10 February 2005 |
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I recently returned from a three-week vacation to Greece where I had an absolutely great time. The country is more beautiful than I ever expected it to be. The people are friendly and the prices are relatively inexpensive compared to the rest of Europe. I learned a great deal and had much more fun than I had hoped for. The trip was a special treat for me because I have a good background in ancient history and Greek and Roman mythology. In a way, it felt like I was completing my classical education by visting the places where all the action took place.
Here's a basic description of the tour:
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1993 MYTHOLOGICAL STUDY TOURS IN Greece
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Students, teachers and friends of Greece are invited to participate in Brockport's 37th consecutive mythological study tours to Greece. As they travel, participants study the developement of myths and their connection with the life of Greece. Various aspects of art, architecture, history and religion are encountered. Tour members also acquire a greater appreciation of developing Western civilization and of modern Greek culture. While opportunities for ordinary tourist travel are many, this program provides an insider's view of Greece, and a look at men, women, and legends of the past.
The program includes visits to, and lectures at, selected Mycenaean, Classical and Byzantine sites in Greece, affording the opportunity to examine the expression and development of mythological themes.
Credit can be arranged for students who are interested.
The tour director, Nicholas Mouganis, from Brockport New York has been giving these tours with his father and now on his own for over 20 years. He is fluent in modern Greek and in Greece, its mythology culture, people, and customs.
The basic itinerary is about 6 days are spent in and around Athens, visiting such sites as the Acropolis, Mts. Lykavettos and Philopapos, the temple of Poseidon at Cape Sunion and museums. A five day study tour of the Peloponnesus by private bus includes Delphi, Olympia, Mycenae, Sparta, Epidaurus, Mystras and Corinth. The course includes about 5 days of island travel in Crete, 2 in Santorini and 2 in Mykonos (with an excursion to Delos).
Since I took care of my own flight arrangements, the tour cost me $2155. My Alitalia flight tickets were another $1040. Plus, I spent another $500 or so out of my own pocket while there. I also put in another $40 to cover the unplanned addition of Mykonos and Delos to our itinerary. Armed with brochures from the Greek National Tourist Organization, printouts of the wealth of knowledge I collected and compiled from the more than generous people on the net and a Greek phrase book, I felt confident I wouldn't be completely lost when I reached Greece. As far as luggage went, I had my backback and a sort of rolling duffel bag that could be carried by hand or via a shoulder strap.
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I took Alitalia flight 665 to Rome from Chicago at 3:15 PM. I did my best to sleep at my window seat during as much of the flight as possible. I noted that it was the first time I'd ever seen a cockroach on a flight -- just crawling up the window. The movies were 'Groundhog Day' and 'Forever Young.' The flight crew seemed pretty adamant about having the shades drawn at night -- couldn't figure out why. I stole a peek at the sun rising above the clouds. It was spectacular. It was about 7:30 AM when we landed in Rome where I got to see guards carrying automatic weapons and wearing bullet proof vests -- brought back memories of when I was in Rome three years ago. Rome is 7 hours ahead of Chicago time.
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I took Alitalia flight 480 to Athens at 10:00 AM. The airport was busy. Athens is 8 hours ahead of Chicago time -- that meant that calling someone at home who was home from work and not sleeping would have to be done in the middle of the night. I exchanged $150 while waiting for my bag. The exchange rate was about 227 drachmas to the dollar. I hoped to be met by Nick, but no one seemed to be there, so I had to figure out my own way to the Grand Hotel. Although I didn't know it at the time, Nick had left a message for me to do just that. I knew it was near Omonia Square, so I asked at the Tourist Police booth which bus would take me there -- #91. The officer also gave me a map of the city when I asked him for one. The bus only cost 160 drachmas. As is typical of European buses, you have to validate your bus ticket (insert it into a little box which either stamps it or cuts off a corner) on the bus. It was quite a ride for me since this was all so new to me. Riding through the city, I noticed how street signs and a lot of advertising were written in two forms -- the Greek alphabet on top and the Latin alphabet on the bottom. It was interesting to see what I was used to as symbolic notation actually used as an alphabet. When I got off the bus, I spoke with a few tourists to orient myself, stopped in at a nearby hotel for final directions, walked the last block or so and checked in at my hotel -- Room 611.
The view from my balcony gave me an unobstructed view of the Acropolis. It was literally within walking distance. My roommate Tae, a 32-year-old Korean engineer from California, wasn't around. No one else seemed to be either. The clerk at the desk told me they went for a walk before dinner, so I did the same. It was pretty hot, and the diesel fumes were pretty strong. I noticed that the locals seemed to only wear long pants or skirts. Even with temperatures in the 90's, you can pick out the tourists because they're the ones wearing shorts. There were plenty of young beautiful women around. They tended to have long dark hair and wear blue jeans with fairly thick black leather belts. They were thin and well proportioned. I may be accused of filtering out men, but I'd say that there were more women around than men. I also saw a lot of street vendors selling their wares. I'd heard about Athens being a hot, polluted city with dirty streets, but being from Chicago, it didn't seem any worse. It was actually more comfortable because Chicago is usually pretty humid during this time of year.
When I returned, I met the rest of the group -- there were 12 of us -- and Nick. It had a Jesus and the Apostles ring to it. We ranged in age from 18 to a couple in what seemed to be their 70's. Eight women, four men. Five of us were taking the tour for credit and would have to write a paper. Tae and I were the only ones who weren't from New York. There were Anne (18) and Erin (20), two attractive blonde sisters. I mention that only because of the seemingly magical aura of special treatment their physical appearance gave them. I called it the Blonde Effect. I'm surprised it hasn't been documented in any scientific journals. Mary Jane (49), wife and mother of three, and Audrey (59), an alumna of my alma mater (U of I in Champaign-Urbana) were friends rooming together. Frank and Marriotte Lane knew Nick's father. Carol (probably 60's) and Barb, a hip great grandmother, were roommates. Luz, a mother of two who seemed to be in her mid to late 30's originally from Colombia, and Janet (40), a member of Mensa, roomed together. I'm 26 and an electrical engineer who develops software for a living and pursues a PhD part-time. Anne, Erin, Audrey, Mary Jane and Luz were taking the tour for credit.
If my spelling changes for different Greek names, places or things, it's often because the spellings weren't consistent in Greece. I saw numerous cases of different spellings and misspellings for the same things throughout Greece. It seemed that in Greek there was usually one spelling, but when translated to the Latin alphabet numerous phonetic spellings are possible, and a dictionary must not have been consulted in some cases for words like garbage -- on a ferry it was spelled carbage. Close enough. The letters C and G don't exist in the Greek alphabet, so it's probably not unusual that the letters would at times get confused with each other. I've heard that the Latin C comes from the Greek Gamma, and the Latin G is a variant of the Latin C. I think one of the most interesting things I learned about the Greek alphabet is that Beta is pronounced like a V, and the B sound is created by a Mu followed by a Pi. That means Beta really sounds like Veta, and the word alphabet would be pronounced as alphavet.
We had a traditional Greek dinner at the hotel -- plenty of bread, Greek salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, olives and feta cheese made from goat's milk), water and dishes (I have yet to learn how to pronounce) with plenty of olive oil everywhere. I never did get to like that cheese. The Greeks aren't as big on butter as we are, but tsatsiki, a spread of yogurt, cucumbers and garlic, was delicious on all the bread they served. Afterwards, we took taxis to the base of Lykavettos Hill where most of us climbed the rest of the way up to the top where the Church of St. George stands -- there is an extra charge for calling for a taxi. From there you get a spectacular view of Athens. Nick told us that there are many churches dedicated to the prophet Elijah in Greece. Elijah is Elias in Greek which is a lot like Helios, the sun god in Greek mythology. That's why churches named for Elijah are built at high points -- close to the sun. This is just one example of how elements of Greek mythology have filtered into the Greek Orthodox Church as well as other religions.
From the top it can be seen how Athens is mostly surrounded by hills which make it difficult for the pollution/diesel fumes to air out. Nick told us that Greece has about 10 million people and that about half of them live in Athens and the surrounding areas. The Greek people don't expect as much from their government as far as social programs go because the family is expected to take care of its own more than is the case in the US. They have casinos in Greece, but citizens of Greece are not allowed inside. You need a valid passport to get in. The Greeks are very upset that the former Yugoslavian area bordering Greece has decided to call itself Macedonia which is the Greek area from which came Alexander the Great among other famous Greeks. In the church an old woman and her husband told us in great detail about the history of the church and the images it contains. Nick, of course, did the translating. |
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