For the last five days this has been the view from our hotel breakfast restaurant in the morning. It has been a joy for me to begin the day with a background of Athena’s rock. I was about to say “privilege” but privilege it is not. We have worked very hard to put together this holiday. And now the rewards come.
I have earlier suggested that the use of the word privilege in such a context misuses the word and sets apart those who enjoy benefits from those who miss out. Hard work brings its own rewards and this morning view is one of them along with a number of others.
I have already convered some of our wanderings. I have planned a series of articles with the theme “The Deeps of Time” dealing with aspects of our stay in the City of the Goddess from an historical perspective.
There will be two sub-themes.
The first is the Akropolis itself - Athena’s sanctuary. Part two under the theme of the Akropolis will be an article on the magnificent Akropolis Museum
The second sub-theme will address the Agora - Athens’ gathering place and there will be three articles under this heading.
The first will look at the Agora itself and fathom the deeps of time with a touch of imagination about the process of ostracism.
The second will deal with a particular site in the Agora - the State Prison - and consider the crimes, trial and fate of Sokrates.
The third will discuss a meeting between Sokrates and Confucius inspired by a modern sculpture in the Agora.
These articles will be released over the next few weeks. There will be others about our travels but this series - The Deeps of Time - addresses particularly Athena - the City of the Goddess.
I hope you will find the pieces interesting. Much of the research has come from the Akropolis Museum Guidebook (a valuable and fascinating work), commentaries from Guides and Docents at the various sites and the wealth of information that is available via download from the sites themselves. To all who provided information and assistance I am indebted.
Some of you may wonder about my use of spelling and my obvious passion for Hellas and especially the City of the Goddess. Athens and its contribution to Western Civilisation and thought forms my intellectual bedrock.This is the foundation of my culture and it stretches back thousands of years. That is why I have entitled the series “The Deeps of Time”.
It is from Hellas that the Renaissance developed and it contributed to the flowering of the Age of Enlightenment. All of this is part of my intellectual trajectory.
Were I to write about New Zealand and whatever culture it may have developed, I would probably call it “The Shallows”.
We really should recognise that we are in the overall scheme of things, in the words of David Bowie’s song, “Absolute Beginners”.
I like your classification of our ‘culture’ as “the shallows”, so true!
Wish you joyful and inspiring travels!