Written by Elena Gottlick
The morning after our concert at the Athens School of Music, two buses filled with sleepy but excited Gusties (accompanied by their trusty tour guides, Alexandra and Maria) headed to two of the famous nine hills of Greece, the Areopagus Hill and the Acropolis.
Students learned that the Areopagus Hill is well known for being both the site of the ancient Supreme Court and the hill on which Paul the Apostle first spoke to the Greeks about Jesus Christ. Instead of merely listening to bus lectures given by Alexandra and Maria, the “cold” weather was braved by all the GSO and Jazz Lab members, as we climbed up the steep and rocky hill to experience the view of Supreme Court members and Paul the Apostle ourselves. Once we got to the top, beautiful and fun pictures of yellow flowers against the cityscape and Gusties with windblown hair ensued.
After seeing many pictures of the Acropolis in history classes (or Pinterest, let’s be honest), many of us had lofty expectations of what it would actually be like. But let me tell you, those lofty expectations were more than exceeded. We stood captivated and were completely beside ourselves. It was almost entirely overpowering to think of all the thousands of Greeks who had preceded us in our journey to the top. These emotions were only intensified when we went to the Acropolis Museum, where we were able to see original fragments of the lifelike sculptures that once decorated both the inside and outside of the Acropolis.
After visiting the Areopagus Hill and the Acropolis on Saturday, we woke up early on Sunday to visit four new cities: Corinth, Epidaurus, Olympia, and Patras.
Climbing the steps of the The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, Peloponnese, “regarded as the best preserved ancient theatre in Greece in terms of its perfect acoustics and fine structure. It was constructed in the late 4th century BC and it was finalized in two stages. Originally the theatre had 34 rows of seats divided into 34 blocks by stairs and walkways.” Source: www.greeka.com
Members of our ensembles took a run at the stadium in Olympia where the first Olympic games were held.
To get to these cities, the buses had to turn quickly around sharp bends in the mountains, at the expense of students’ stomachs. Nonetheless, the sites were spectacular, especially on such a brilliant, clear, sunny day, and the views of the mountains and ocean kept students stunned during the three hour travel time between the cities. Greece has yet we Gusties with its landscape. It’s no wonder the Greeks believed in their Gods!
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