Vance - Greek adventure 2014 off to explore the wonders of the world again!

From Vance's email 24th September 2014.

Subject: greetings friends, off to explore the wonders of the world again! 9/24/2014 9:04 PM

 

this time traveling first to greece to experience thousands of years of culture, and other civilizations followed on september 7 to Florence, Italy to observe some opera rehearsals and then work with a choir to learn how to rehearse in italian. 

Greece: first the Minoans - 2000-1400 BC -peaceful traders in pottery, jewelry, and foods - wine, olive oil, and saffron. this civilization disappeared, no explanation.

then the Mycenaens - 1600-1200 - warriors, the lions gate, rock tombs constructed like stone igloos, think Agmemnon and Clytemnestra or google them, Homer's Illiad and Odyssey, perhaps he wrote about the Mycenaean civilization which like the Minoans also disappeared, earth quake, volcano eruption, a mystery.

 

then the Dorians and Ionians and finally the Athenians who constructed a temple to Athene on the Acropolis (high city in greek), the most important ancient site in the western world. The Parthenon is the most famous temple on the planet, a symbol of ancient Athens golden age from 2,500 years ago.

im bringing history to life by visiting Athens and some greek islands. you will remember athens had  great philosophers and mathematicians which we know both by name and association -

<socrates -  his favorite words - "know thyself" angered authorities who thought those words might pose a threat to Athenian youths, socrates committed suicide rather than change

<plato - a follower of socrates, mathematician

<aristotle - a follower of plato, emphasized the natural world

<pericles - charismatic, promoted democracy

<pythagoras - gave us a2 + B2 = C2

<euclid - laid out geometry as we know it

<diogenes - lived just below the acropolis, in the agora, today a fun market area

<aristophanes, sophocles, euripides wrote comedies and tragedies still performed today, i hope to see one

<hippocrates -  medicine as science resisting superstition re the body

<pheidias - designed the statuary of the parthenon

<praxiteles - scuplted lifelike, beautiful human figures

ancient Athens was a city-state, population 80.000, gathered around its

Acropolis (high town), and was both religious center and fort. good farmland and a harbor brought Athens prosperity. the best craftsmen, thinkers, food (souvlaki). amphitheaters with music, drama and poetry festivals made for a bustling city with great art, architecture, science and philosophy. this really set the pace for our civilization. and, all this from a small town in greece no largeer than Muncie, Indiana!

the golden age
the golden mean, balance, order and harmony.
balance in everything, the concept that nature is orderly and man is good.

hellinism

alexander the great was tutored by aristotle. he loved greek culture, he was hooked on it but he loved military power finally conquering today's turkey, palenstine, egypt, iraq, iran, and moved even into india. he founded new cities on greek models, opened greek schools and spread the language. hellenism gave us realistic art, real people with real emotions.

roman greece

as alexander conquered country after country rome was rising and eventually conqued greece. however, curiously the greeks conquered the romans. rome adopted the greek gods, art styles and fashion. they even sprinkled their latin with greek expressions much like we might slip in a french or italian word to suggest sophistication. the greek slave was without a doubt more sophisticated than his roman master.

greek culture did live on through the invation of the turks, justinian, resurfacing throughout our Western history and influencing the medieval christians, renaissance sculptors and even the neoclassical architects of Washington, D. C. in an exceedingly heavy greek style.

now lest you think, i really remembered all that from history class -

no no no, rick steves travel book on Athens provided the info. i found it interesting enough to share it with you. there will be more but it will be illustrated with pictures of places and descriptions of food!

be well all
vyg