Sun-Day

Michael - and a pedestal of the Zanes


Sorry for the delay in posting - explained below:

Yesterday - We survived the climb to the top of Delphi in sun-soaked 105-degree heat. We took the opportunity to cool off in the Mediterranean (not the kind of beach we’re used to – all rocks, and not worn smooth like the marble we’ve been walking on – but some concessions must be made, I guess). We witnessed a brilliant sunset over the mainland-mountains from our Peloponnese seaside hotel in Patra.

Today - After a quick 2-hour drive to the site of the Olympics of antiquity, Olympia, we found ourselves once again enduring the sun and heat. The heat was as much a competitor in ancient days as it was today. According to my good friend and history teacher colleague, Michael, many competitors in antiquity dropped dead from heat stroke after competing. Michael was witness to a historical equivalent today when the high school kids we’re traveling with decided to re-enact an Olympic footrace in the stadium. One of the kids, Mike, was overcome shortly after the race and had to take nearly half an hour of rest and fluids before he could rejoin the group. Michael plans to add this experience to his classroom teaching for decades to come.

Olympia was amazing. The area was completely covered by a flood a thousand years ago and laid under 20 feet of silt until it was excavated a few decades back. Now you can walk the grounds of ancient athletes – through the gymnasium, the stoa, the temples to Zeus and Hera, and one of the four round buildings of antiquity (these buildings are still a mystery – there are only four in all of Greece – there must be some significance, but it still eludes archeologists and historians today).

My favorite part of the grounds, besides the tunnel into and the stadium itself, was the pedestals of the Zanes. These pedestals hosted the statues of those athletes caught cheating, paid for by the cheaters themselves, to bring shame on the individual, his family, and his city-state for generations to come. The steroids of the ancient Greeks? Rooster, because of the testosterone. The Greeks certainly valued honor and knew how to deal with the cheating cheaters of their era. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens beware!

We stopped for a quick lunch of stuffed tomatoes (plump, roasted tomatoes filled with rice) and a Coke (soda is expensive here – good thing I’m drinking 2-3 liters of water to deal with the heat and sun - soda is a luxury best bought sparingly).

We were able to escape the relentless rays of Helios and were whisked away on a four-hour jaunt through the heart of the Peloponnese to the small coastal town of Nafplio. We are spending two nights here. There was a small earthquake shortly before I tried to post this. Soon after we lost wi-fi. Don’t know if the two are related. Tomorrow we will hit the Theater of Epidaurus (our science teacher and former theater-major, Kamie, is really excited about this) and the city of Mycenae before returning to our hotel. More then.

Entering the Olympic stadium. And yes, Wolverine made the trip, too.

I'll have Mondays antics posted in a couple of hours.