From Canines to Corinth

    I arrived at my hotel in Athens to be told that I couldn't check in for a few hours, so I decided to leave my bags with the front desk and go exploring. I soon noticed a stray dog following me around. The dog would stop at the door of any shop I entered, as it knew shopkeepers would hit it, but waited patiently for me until I stepped back onto the street to follow me again.

    I spent almost two hours exploring Athens in this fashion, having the dog wait outside every portal I entered, but resume following me once I came out. Along the way, we passed many other stray dogs, which I gather are very common in Athens, making a fine living off the kindness of tourists like myself.

    However, I decided to make my canine companion earn his keep. I turned around and appointed him my tour guide to Athens and decided to follow him to better explore the city. After a slow stroll through some random streets, we came across a hill covered with a lattice of dirt paths and stone steps. Greek Dog started running up a seemingly random series of steps, and I trustingly followed him. Eventually, the two of us reached a high point from which I could see much of sprawling Athens. It was a beautiful view of a not-quite-beautiful city. I then took the lead again and we descended back into the city where I purchased a souvlaki (grilled meat cubes on a stick) and shared it with the dog. Thus being paid, he ceased following me and I never saw him again.

    A few days later, it was off to Sounion, where a temple to Poseidon was built on an out-jutting promontory. Surrounded by cliffs and water on 3 sides, it had served as both a fort during the Peloponesian War and a pirate stronghold. The columns are still visible from some distance away, and the location makes it truly impressive. Later that afternoon I attempted to visit some other local ruins, but they had closed for the day.

    Still, I saw some stray dogs traipsing through the ruins. Greece is like a real-life version of "Lady and the Tramp". I spent the evening in Corinth, and the following day went to see the ruins and temple of Apollo at ancient Corinth.



Of Archaeology and Arbitrariness

    The way that Greece deals with archaeology is very different than what we do in the states. Since we have this little teenager of a country, whenever we find something ancient we dig it up and encase it in 3 feet of solid glass. The Greek way of dealing with architecture seems more arbitrary. Some Corinthian capitals are indeed enshrined in local museums for preservation, but hundreds more lie strewn about ruins that are open to the public. Somehow, it seems more natural. Granted, a section of column may stay better preserved in a museum, but it then becomes merely a museum piece. There is something more pure about being able to sit on a fluted piece of column at the site where it was once part of a colossal structure.

    Being able to touch the past and not merely see it is worth something. Perhaps it is because Greece has so much in the way of ancient ruins that they don't get as excited about them as we would. At the Mycanean site of Argos there was a large area covered with sand with some patches where you could see the ground, which was a mosaic! Kicking away a bit of sand, I was able to uncover more mosaic. I was astonished that something like that would be allowed to sit unregarded beneath sand that could obviously be removed with little effort.

    Days later at Olympia, the ruins were clearly being haphazardly reconstructed. Some columns had pieces that had fallen over that wouldn't be difficult to put back together, some capitals lying on the ground were propped up for no apparent reason, certain sections of the ruins were roped off that looked no different than any other section. The ruins even close to the public at random times based on the whims of various individuals on any particular day. I've come to believe that most regulations in Greece are entirely arbitrary. Museums have rules ranging from the normal (no flash photography, no photographs in certain rooms) to the incomprehensible (no pictures of visitors, no coats in the cloakroom).



Ancient Ruins - How Ionic!

    There are a few quintessential sites in Greece that I managed to visit. Epidarus was the site of a large theatre where the original Greek tragedies began to flourish. It was built back when they understood the concept of the open amphitheater, meaning that merely speaking (not yelling) from the center of the stage, you could be heard from 30 rows up amidst the higher stone steps and benches. I took the opportunity to perform an appropriate joke for my friends in the stands ("A Greek goes into a tailor's shop with a pair of pants and says 'Eumenides?', and the tailor says, "Why, Euripides?"), and was advised to go look at the rest of the site.

    Far up in the mountains is the city of Delphi, where the Oracle once gave prophecies from the temple of Apollo. Actually, the oracle was a madwoman who danced around and the priests interpreted her in dactylic hexameter. But the advice they gave was generally sound, and between that and the location, many people were soon flocking to this "belly-button of the world"

    Finally, no voyage to Greece would be complete without visiting the Acropolis. One enters through the very impressive Propylon, which was heavily embellished considering it was merely a secular entrance gate. (Generally only the religious structures were granted such splendor) The Parthenon there is absolutely colossal, a very well-preserved temple (under reconstruction) which is visible from much of Athens. I was even able to make out some of the carving on the frieze from my hotel room. After the Parthenon, anything else would pale in comparison, so I found it a fine place to end.