Archaeologists Make the Best Tour Guides – Day 3

If you’re going to go on a tour of ancient Athens, as we did today, be sure to have an archaeologist as your tour guide. Her name was Antigone and the depth and breadth of her knowledge was astounding.  She could point out architectural tricks used by the designers of the Parthenon at the Acropolis to make it look larger than it truly was and then highlight archaeological finds of the site when we toured the new Museum of the Acropolis.  We became fans of the Goddess Athena and the temple Nike dedicated to her.

While describing the Theater of Dionysos, an outdoor amphitheater that seated thousands, we learned it was there that the terms scene, chorus and thespian originated.

It was at the Ancient Agora where we were shown the site where a government of, for and by the people-a true democracy-was born.  Our guide reminded us where the Olympic games originated (Olympia, Greece) and then capped the day by snapping our photo as we posed on the winners’ podium in the 70,000-seat capacity Panathenaic Stadium.

This spectacular marble track and field site was built originally in the fourth century BC and then rebuilt for the Olympic Games’ rebirth in the late 1800s. My respect for Greece and the contributions they made to civilization was heightened due to our guide and her love and knowledge of her country’s history.

– Naomi Bechtold

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