We met our Athens tour guide, James, just outside of our home this morning. As our bus took us on the trip into the city, we noticed in small scatterings a handful of white buildings against the landscape of brown rock on green mountains (Greece is about 80% mountainous terrain even though we usually first think of the blue waters when we think of Greece). We also saw the silvery green of the olive trees, the tall shoot-up-into-the-sky cedar trees, and then the orange trees as we entered the city, lining the sidewalks of the streets. We noticed the architecture of the 1960s/70s square buildings, which were put right amid the buildings from years ago with the columns and beautiful facades. During our ride, James told us of the history of Greece, the many wars, and the development of the first democracy upon which all Western civilization is built. James also gave us an explanation of many words developed from the Greek language. My favorite was when he taught us about the writing in Greek at the beginning of the book of John - In the beginning, the Word was... Word in the original Greek is "Logos," which means logic, truth, thinking, wisdom, everything, more than our meaning of one simple word...easier to understand if someone explains the Greek!
We made our way to the Acropolis and toured the grounds of the most important part of Ancient Greece. The architecture lesson about the Parthenon was so interesting. There are no straight lines of columns (they tilt slightly on purpose because they wanted it to appear perfectly straight) but looks that way because of the trick of the eyes. The thickness of columns from the outside columns to the center columns is different because of the sun's light making shadows on the columns (they wanted the thickness to appear the same, and if a column has a shadow on it, it appears slimmer). The floors are slanted down a little bit from the center of the building to each edge so that the base doesn't appear curved; it appears straight. The golden ratio proportion of the measurement of the base of the building is pleasing to the eye. Also the columns grow thicker from the base toward the middle and get thinner at the top in order to allow the viewer to see the great weight and majesty of the top of the building. James informed us that the scenes on the freezes of the temple used to be in color – they were painted. On one end of the Parthenon is a battle scene, and on the other end is a depiction of the naming of the city for the goddess Athena. The ancient Greeks purposefully built the Parthenon imperfectly so that it would appear to have a perfect image.
Greek mythology proves that the Greeks remembered the stories of the creation passed through the generations. There are a couple of great mythology stories that have scenes on Mars Hill. Today we sat at Mars Hill which is an ancient court place, open roofed (outside) because they wanted the participation of the gods; it was a gathering place. We sat to read Paul's message to the Gentiles beginning in Act 17:16. Greeks were polytheists, and we discussed Paul's polite beginning because he wanted to be heard and Paul's brilliance in quoting words from 700 years before him to connect these people to the message of the Gospel that he wanted to deliver to the Gentiles. He could become a Greek to the Greek and a Jew to the Jews when God needed him to because of his own studies. Some people say that Paul's speech has a discouraging end because of the small number of individuals who believed; the Athenian people were not convinced as a whole. We wondered if they truly listened to Paul--they didn't jump to agree, they didn't quickly disagree or get truly angry. We wondered if they were too arrogant to admit that they were sinners. Sometimes our pride gets in our way, and here was Paul talking to the brainiacs of the ancient day who were in the center of the universe at that time for philosophy and thought. The Bible gives us a lesson in humility here. Therefore, in order to spread the gospel quickly, Paul then went to the center of the action at that time - Corinth. But no matter how much Paul was disheartened, he held his ground here in Athens. What courage it took. Five hundred years after Paul died, every single temple that existed was either a church or empty. This makes us know that Paul was, in fact, successful, even among paganism. Even now, the Greek flag has a cross at the top. God used one man to have this impact that has lasted for years and years. When the men said, "Who is this babbler?" it might've been discouraging to Paul, but he kept his courage. They called him a seed picker, when actually he was a seed planter. We can be seed planters, too. So even though Paul had to leave Athens, the person to which he was referring, Jesus, is still here in this beautiful country. In fact, most people claim Christianity in this country.
After an American lunch at TGI Fridays, we toured the Acropolis Museum, which houses all of the artifacts from the ancient Acropolis. We saw the sculpture that first shows movement in stone because of the slight unevenness of the spine. We saw many other items that were in the buildings on the Acropolis. The students were so tired, but when James spoke and told his stories and shared his knowledge, they were all engaged because of his talent and because of the subject matter.
We made a quick stop at the Panathenaic Stadium which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 in order to take a group picture. On the bus ride home, most of the students took a quick nap or took a nap as soon as they got back to their rooms. We ate at a seaside restaurant in our new home town. Each table had an order of fried zucchini, a Greek salad (the Greeks do not have lettuce in the traditional Greek salad – and only fresh vegetables with feta), potatoes, bread, and either a gyro or kalamaki. We were all still fairly full from lunch, so we came back with leftovers from our traditional Greek meal that we had (by the Aegean Sea!), which will be gobbled up tomorrow. Teatime will be in a few minutes, but I do not anticipate needing snacks for the group tonight – only tea! The students will be able to sleep in a little bit tomorrow, for which I am sure they are grateful!
We made our way to the Acropolis and toured the grounds of the most important part of Ancient Greece. The architecture lesson about the Parthenon was so interesting. There are no straight lines of columns (they tilt slightly on purpose because they wanted it to appear perfectly straight) but looks that way because of the trick of the eyes. The thickness of columns from the outside columns to the center columns is different because of the sun's light making shadows on the columns (they wanted the thickness to appear the same, and if a column has a shadow on it, it appears slimmer). The floors are slanted down a little bit from the center of the building to each edge so that the base doesn't appear curved; it appears straight. The golden ratio proportion of the measurement of the base of the building is pleasing to the eye. Also the columns grow thicker from the base toward the middle and get thinner at the top in order to allow the viewer to see the great weight and majesty of the top of the building. James informed us that the scenes on the freezes of the temple used to be in color – they were painted. On one end of the Parthenon is a battle scene, and on the other end is a depiction of the naming of the city for the goddess Athena. The ancient Greeks purposefully built the Parthenon imperfectly so that it would appear to have a perfect image.
Greek mythology proves that the Greeks remembered the stories of the creation passed through the generations. There are a couple of great mythology stories that have scenes on Mars Hill. Today we sat at Mars Hill which is an ancient court place, open roofed (outside) because they wanted the participation of the gods; it was a gathering place. We sat to read Paul's message to the Gentiles beginning in Act 17:16. Greeks were polytheists, and we discussed Paul's polite beginning because he wanted to be heard and Paul's brilliance in quoting words from 700 years before him to connect these people to the message of the Gospel that he wanted to deliver to the Gentiles. He could become a Greek to the Greek and a Jew to the Jews when God needed him to because of his own studies. Some people say that Paul's speech has a discouraging end because of the small number of individuals who believed; the Athenian people were not convinced as a whole. We wondered if they truly listened to Paul--they didn't jump to agree, they didn't quickly disagree or get truly angry. We wondered if they were too arrogant to admit that they were sinners. Sometimes our pride gets in our way, and here was Paul talking to the brainiacs of the ancient day who were in the center of the universe at that time for philosophy and thought. The Bible gives us a lesson in humility here. Therefore, in order to spread the gospel quickly, Paul then went to the center of the action at that time - Corinth. But no matter how much Paul was disheartened, he held his ground here in Athens. What courage it took. Five hundred years after Paul died, every single temple that existed was either a church or empty. This makes us know that Paul was, in fact, successful, even among paganism. Even now, the Greek flag has a cross at the top. God used one man to have this impact that has lasted for years and years. When the men said, "Who is this babbler?" it might've been discouraging to Paul, but he kept his courage. They called him a seed picker, when actually he was a seed planter. We can be seed planters, too. So even though Paul had to leave Athens, the person to which he was referring, Jesus, is still here in this beautiful country. In fact, most people claim Christianity in this country.
After an American lunch at TGI Fridays, we toured the Acropolis Museum, which houses all of the artifacts from the ancient Acropolis. We saw the sculpture that first shows movement in stone because of the slight unevenness of the spine. We saw many other items that were in the buildings on the Acropolis. The students were so tired, but when James spoke and told his stories and shared his knowledge, they were all engaged because of his talent and because of the subject matter.
We made a quick stop at the Panathenaic Stadium which hosted the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 in order to take a group picture. On the bus ride home, most of the students took a quick nap or took a nap as soon as they got back to their rooms. We ate at a seaside restaurant in our new home town. Each table had an order of fried zucchini, a Greek salad (the Greeks do not have lettuce in the traditional Greek salad – and only fresh vegetables with feta), potatoes, bread, and either a gyro or kalamaki. We were all still fairly full from lunch, so we came back with leftovers from our traditional Greek meal that we had (by the Aegean Sea!), which will be gobbled up tomorrow. Teatime will be in a few minutes, but I do not anticipate needing snacks for the group tonight – only tea! The students will be able to sleep in a little bit tomorrow, for which I am sure they are grateful!
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