Greece is Great!
Jan Migenda
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In 2016, I did a guided tour through Greece with a group of Irish students! From Athens to Sparta and more ... enjoy lots of history!
Blog Posts
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Areopagus - The City Council
This simple rock on a hill above the city of Athens is the orator's stage for the Areopagus, the historical city council of Athens that existed since the 6th century BC. Nobles and magistrates (later also more citizens) would gather here to decide on the state's...
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The Acropolis 1
The next day, we got to see an absolute highlight in Athens: The Acropolis! Having been settled since the Neolithic Age, it was used by the kings of Mycene and later re-designed under Pericles by Phidias, a genius architect in the 5th century BC. Walking up to the...
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The Acropolis 2
Here comes part 2 of the Acropolis because it is so big ;) An illustration showed us what the Acropolis looked like when it was intact in the Classical Period: A statue of Athena, protector goddess of the city, with some votive offerings, and a temple in the...
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At The Foot of The Acropolis
Coming down from the Acropolis, some nice sights await you: At the foot of the Acropolis, there lies the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. It was built in the 2nd century AD, and singers such as Maria Callas gave concerts here. This stone inscription is a dedication of the...
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Acropolis Museum
Why do we put old stuff from millennia ago in musea and pay to see them? There is something fascinating about delving into history using objects rather than books, marvelling at the skills of people in the past that lead up to the development of our technology and...
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Acropolis Museum Part 2 - Statues and Colours
Having finished the ground floor of the museum, we walked up to see the next part ... parts from excavations were to be seen along the walk upstairs. They used all the space available! The first floor of the museum showcased something surprising. Maybe we thought of...
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Acropolis Museum 3 - Statues!
Level up! Having come to the last floor of the museum, a huge collection of statues awaited us under the rooftop ... Entering, you would see a small cinema showing a film about the history of the Acropolis with all its destruction, reconstruction and reuse (see my first...
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War Museum
Greece, along with the rest of Europe, has had a fair share of the burden of war, starting perhaps from the Sea People (Myceneans?) devastating the Eastern Mediterranean in the Bronze Age, over the Trojan War, the defenses against the Persians, infighting between city...
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War Museum 2 - Modern Warfare
The War Museum in Greece, the country being part of the EU and NATO (together with Turkey), also exhibits some modern weapons, among them some from World War 2 (see below). Here's a fighting jet with the blue and white ribbon of the Greek airforce who have an eagle as...
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War Museum 3: Tribal Warfare
Skipping a bit back in time and over the continents, the souterrain floor of the museum exhibits archaic weapons used in different tribes. If I remember correctly, these spears, swords and bow and arrow are from the Eastern Mediterranean or Scythian. The shield with a...
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War Museum 4: The Western World
The long history of Greece has not only seen striking developments in military technology, but also lots of influx from the rest of Europe. Greek warriors (especially Spartans) were famous for their strength and courage, while the Athenians were also adept at naval...
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National Museum: Wonders of Archeology
Returning to the National Museum of Archeology is really worth it: Wonders of ancient technology and awesome artifacts are waiting for you! For example proof that Nazis already existed in Ancient Greece, that's why Hitler and his companions occupied the Acropolis ......
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National Museum: More Artifacts
It's not even finished yet! The museum holds treasures from millennia ... This marble relief shows young men engaged in a philosophical discussion; remarkably, also women are by their side. A bronze statue of a child (symbol of Eros, the god of love?) riding a horse...
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National Museum: Funny Ceramics
This post will be a hopefully welcome relief from the dead serious posts of last time, at least partly. Some things the ancient Greeks did would be ridiculous or scorned today. For example, Old Comedy had leather penises as props for the theatre, and public religious...
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National Museum: Marble, Marble, Marble
Classical Athens must have been an amazing sight: Lots of marble (though probably not in all areas) and some of it in vivid colours! Here I present you some marble reliefs and statues (unfortunately, I had to skip some marble statues and life-like bronze statues with...
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The Plain of Marathon
If you watched the movie "300" and "300-Rise of an Empire", you are familiar with the wars of Greece against the Persians. A famous event is the Battle of Marathon taking place on Greek shores 490BC after the Persian King Darios I thought it would be a good idea to...
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Gla - Mycenean Mountain Fort
Driving into Boeotia, a more rural region of Greece with maybe Thebes as a well-known city, we visited the mountain fort Gla. Passing modern buildings on our way, we had to get on top of the mountain to enter the fortified position. The thick and high walls were...
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Osios Loukas Monastery
One of the major monasteries in Greece (also a UNESCO world heritage site) is the Osios Loukas monastery near Delphi in Boeotia. It was founded in the 10th century by the monk Lukas of Steiris, also called Thaumaturgos (Doer of Wonders), as he lived an ascetic life from...
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Inside Osios Loukas Monastery
Entering the monastery through the main entrance, you see the main nave flooded with light: Up high, you see the figure of Christ surrounded by angels and Biblical scenes in the corners, all in golden mosaics. A smaller nave behind the main one is plain, with only...
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Osios Loukas Monastery - The Crypt
If you go downstairs, you will see the richly decorated crypt of the monastery: With its wide vault and floral as well as geometrical motives, it is surely an inspiring place, even if it may be a bit dark. This is the gravestone (taphos) of the holy man Loukas, though...
