Tuesday was our last morning in Athens, and we traveled on the bus a lot that day. It was about an eight hour bus trip from Athens to Meteora, the area where we were going next. On the way, we stopped at the “gates of hell,” where the myth of Persephone going to Hades took place. Zeus and Demeter (the goddess of the earth) had a child named Persephone. Hades wanted a wife, and he chose Persephone, and Zeus was totally okay with it; one day when she was playing with some of her friends, Hades came and stole her away and brought her to hell. Demeter was frantic with worry, looking for her daughter. When she found out that Zeus allowed Hades to take her to hell, she was pretty angry, to say the least. She was so upset, in fact, that she stopped all of the seeds that have been planted from taking root, and caused all other plants to stop growing. Eventually, she was able to find a way to get her daughter out of hell. The only problem was that if you eat anything in hell, then you are forced to stay there forever. Persephone held out for as long as she could, but she did end up eating 3 pomegranate seeds. As legend has it, she has to stay in hell for three months out of the year, and Demeter is reminded of her anger and again 
stops all of the plants from growing, a time also known as winter.
So, we got there, and there was snow all over, and the people at the front gate had to caution us to be careful, as wet marble can be exceptionally slippery. Someone quipped that “hell had frozen over.” The gate of hell is the place where Persephone was allowed to be released from hell, and where she apparently comes out ever year at the beginning of spring.
stops all of the plants from growing, a time also known as winter.So, we got there, and there was snow all over, and the people at the front gate had to caution us to be careful, as wet marble can be exceptionally slippery. Someone quipped that “hell had frozen over.” The gate of hell is the place where Persephone was allowed to be released from hell, and where she apparently comes out ever year at the beginning of spring.
We also visited Thermopylae, where the Spartans defended their lands and eventually fell to the Persians. There were some monuments to the Spartans including statuary and also plaques. It was really cool to see, especially since we had just watched the movie 300. There were many inaccuracies in the movie, but it was very easy to imagine the place where the Persians would have come out over the hill, and how the valley of Thermopylae would have a militaristic advantage for the Spartans, right in between the mountains and the sea.
Meteora has a very different landscape from anything we had seen so far. “Meteora” means close to the sky, and that is a very accurate name for the town. It has sandstone mountains, peaks really, that are slightly Devil’s tower looking, that is, they just seem to pop up in the landscape out of nowhere. Our view from the hotel was absolutely magnificent, a big difference from my view of other windows in the hotel in Athens. As we stared out the mountains, we noticed shining monuments that looked like exceptionally small crosses. There are monasteries on the top of these peaks. At the most, there used to be 24, but after some fires and looting and pillaging, there are now only six left, and we visited three of them. It was easy to see why the monks decided to go up on the mountain in the first place. The scenery up there was absolutely magnificent. Actually, people who were like hermits were the first people to inhabit the tops of these peaks. They went up there to try and escape the sins of humanity, to live by themselves and be closer to God. However, it was quite difficult to get food, water, and most importantly communion up on the hill, so they would come down periodically, maybe two or three times a year. Eventually, these hermit-like people decided to band together and build monasteries on the top of these mountains. Legend has it that the first person to go to the top did not have to hike up; he was so holy that an eagle carried him up to the top. They got the supplies for these buildings by using pulleys and baskets and carrying up each piece tediously, one by one. The results were well worth it though. The monks had a great view, and they definitely used to be really far away from earthly matters to enjoy God’s goodness and beauty. However, there are so many tourists that travel by bus up to these monasteries now that it can’t be nearly as peaceful as it used to be. However, tourists are how the monks make their living and are able to pay for necessities. There were gift shops at every monastery.
Meteora has a very different landscape from anything we had seen so far. “Meteora” means close to the sky, and that is a very accurate name for the town. It has sandstone mountains, peaks really, that are slightly Devil’s tower looking, that is, they just seem to pop up in the landscape out of nowhere. Our view from the hotel was absolutely magnificent, a big difference from my view of other windows in the hotel in Athens. As we stared out the mountains, we noticed shining monuments that looked like exceptionally small crosses. There are monasteries on the top of these peaks. At the most, there used to be 24, but after some fires and looting and pillaging, there are now only six left, and we visited three of them. It was easy to see why the monks decided to go up on the mountain in the first place. The scenery up there was absolutely magnificent. Actually, people who were like hermits were the first people to inhabit the tops of these peaks. They went up there to try and escape the sins of humanity, to live by themselves and be closer to God. However, it was quite difficult to get food, water, and most importantly communion up on the hill, so they would come down periodically, maybe two or three times a year. Eventually, these hermit-like people decided to band together and build monasteries on the top of these mountains. Legend has it that the first person to go to the top did not have to hike up; he was so holy that an eagle carried him up to the top. They got the supplies for these buildings by using pulleys and baskets and carrying up each piece tediously, one by one. The results were well worth it though. The monks had a great view, and they definitely used to be really far away from earthly matters to enjoy God’s goodness and beauty. However, there are so many tourists that travel by bus up to these monasteries now that it can’t be nearly as peaceful as it used to be. However, tourists are how the monks make their living and are able to pay for necessities. There were gift shops at every monastery.
The actual churches themselves are very interesting. I think that I might have described this before, but these icons were so much more vivid than anything than I’d seen in a Orthodox church prior to this. Most of the churches had two rooms; one was full of icons which showed how the saints, disciples, and other followers of Christ were martyred. It was actually pretty gruesome; they showed people with swords sticking through them, people getting their spins broken by tying them to a wheel and crushing them, and even a woman getting her breasts cut off. There were severed heads galore, and Peter being crucified upside down, and people being hung, and stoned, and being boiled to death in pots of water, and so many other ways of dying that I can’t even remember them all. They were showing what the followers of Christ had to endure, and encouraging the monks and other people who enter to be just as strong for Jesus. Above the entrance/exit of this building showed the corpse of Alexander the Great, showing how even the most powerful man in the world at the time could not escape death, and his skeleton was still in his coffin. Some other famous icons in many of these churches was one of Constantine and his mother Helen and the nativity scene. The crucifixion is also in every monastery, and an interesting thing about this icon is, shown buried beneath the cross, a skull and crossbones, representing Adam, the very first man to die. Maybe this was just Orthodox tradition or maybe I missed this in Sunday school, but it is believed that Jesus and Adam died on the very same hill. It was the place where the first man died and where the first man to be raised from the dead died. The resurrection is another great icon; it shows Jesus standing on the gates of hell, which 
looks a lot like a broken apart cross, and taking people from hell into heaven. It’s Orthodox tradition that the first people to be raised from hell were Joaquin and Anna, Mary’s parents, Jesus’ grandparents. There are also many scenes from the life of Mary in every church, including her birth, her presentation at the church, Anna teaching her, into the nativity, the crucifixion, and then finally her death. We were all to choose an icon that we were going to follow from church to church, and the one I chose was the death, or the dormition, of Mary because the place that I researched for this trip was Ephesus, the place where it is believed that the Virgin Mary went with John the disciple after Jesus went to heaven and the place where she lived out the rest of her life and eventually died. Her house has been discovered there, and also the place that was thought to be her tomb is also there. In this icon, Mary is lying on a bed, surrounded with people mourning her, and a man incensing her corpse, but there are many saints and angels looking on in the background from heaven, and right beside Mary is Jesus with a baby in his arms. It is Mary’s soul that Jesus is taking up to heaven. It is also believed that Mary’s corpse disappeared from her tomb after she was buried, probably playing into the Roman Catholic tradition of t
he Assumption. There are also many icons of John the Baptist who definitely looks as though he spent most of his life out in the wilderness, and also of Jesus as a child and Mary enthroned together. In many icons, saints have one hand up and have the ring finger touching their thumb, and their pointer and middle fingers in a cross above that. This stands for the letters “X” and “P” in Greek, pronounced “kye” and “row,” the first two letters in the word “Christ.” The churches are just completely filled with icons, and at the last monastery we went to, we went into the crypt where many of the monks were buried. The founder of that particular monastery, who died quite a number of years ago, I want to say 1000, was entombed inside of the monastery. His dressed skeleton was in a glass case inside of the sanctuary, which was a little bit weird. There was still some skin attached to his hands. There was also a room at another monastery that we went to that was called the “osseo” that was filled with a whole bunch of 
skulls, around 100, that belonged to the monks that had died at the monastery. Apparently, according to Roy, they are there so that they will be remembered by the other monks, and to remind them that death, and reunion with Christ, is not far away. A little bit weird though. Nothing that I’m used to, anyway.
looks a lot like a broken apart cross, and taking people from hell into heaven. It’s Orthodox tradition that the first people to be raised from hell were Joaquin and Anna, Mary’s parents, Jesus’ grandparents. There are also many scenes from the life of Mary in every church, including her birth, her presentation at the church, Anna teaching her, into the nativity, the crucifixion, and then finally her death. We were all to choose an icon that we were going to follow from church to church, and the one I chose was the death, or the dormition, of Mary because the place that I researched for this trip was Ephesus, the place where it is believed that the Virgin Mary went with John the disciple after Jesus went to heaven and the place where she lived out the rest of her life and eventually died. Her house has been discovered there, and also the place that was thought to be her tomb is also there. In this icon, Mary is lying on a bed, surrounded with people mourning her, and a man incensing her corpse, but there are many saints and angels looking on in the background from heaven, and right beside Mary is Jesus with a baby in his arms. It is Mary’s soul that Jesus is taking up to heaven. It is also believed that Mary’s corpse disappeared from her tomb after she was buried, probably playing into the Roman Catholic tradition of t
he Assumption. There are also many icons of John the Baptist who definitely looks as though he spent most of his life out in the wilderness, and also of Jesus as a child and Mary enthroned together. In many icons, saints have one hand up and have the ring finger touching their thumb, and their pointer and middle fingers in a cross above that. This stands for the letters “X” and “P” in Greek, pronounced “kye” and “row,” the first two letters in the word “Christ.” The churches are just completely filled with icons, and at the last monastery we went to, we went into the crypt where many of the monks were buried. The founder of that particular monastery, who died quite a number of years ago, I want to say 1000, was entombed inside of the monastery. His dressed skeleton was in a glass case inside of the sanctuary, which was a little bit weird. There was still some skin attached to his hands. There was also a room at another monastery that we went to that was called the “osseo” that was filled with a whole bunch of 
skulls, around 100, that belonged to the monks that had died at the monastery. Apparently, according to Roy, they are there so that they will be remembered by the other monks, and to remind them that death, and reunion with Christ, is not far away. A little bit weird though. Nothing that I’m used to, anyway. Today we are traveling to Delphi!!
Delphi is gorgeous. There is water, mountains, and greenery everywhere. Our hotel again has a completely awesome view, right on the side of one of the hills, looking over an inlet, which many small villages near the water, and mountains framing the background and clouds so low that they touch the tops. The sunlight beaming down on them is simply magnificent. The sun was setting just as we arrived and it was gorgeous. Words aren't even close to being adequate to describing how breathtaking this place is.
Today, we left the hotel at 9:00 to go to the temple of Apollo to see the place where the Oracle of Delphi prophesied. It was so awesome to see the place where so many prominent people in history and literature – Socrates, Alexander the Great, Nero, Jocasta and Laius (Oedipus’ parents), Croesus the Lydian king, Lysander of Sparta, Cicero, Nero, and many others – went to receive predictions about the future and answers to their burning questions. Incredible to imagine walking in their footprints up the sacred way to the temple of Apollo. Just incredible. This place was also considered to be center of the ancient world; Zeus took two eagles and placed them on opposite ends of the earth and let them fly toward each other. The place where they impaled each other indicated the center of the earth. The rock on which the fell is considered to be the belly-button of the earth, or the omphalos (I really don’t think that is spelled right), and Delphi itself is known as the naval of the world. Delphi was also the site where the Pythian games. Another reason why Delphi became a place to celebrate Apollo was because this was where Apollo slew a python that had been plaguing the citizens of the area. So, the Pythian games were played in honor of Apollo. These games were the fine art equivalent to the Olympics; they determined who was the best actor, orator, playwright, and the best lyre player was invited to play at the Olympic Games. The Pythian games were also held every four years, kind of like the winter Olympics now.
The Oracle was an old peasant woman that was somehow secretly selected from the village (no one knows how), and was one of the most prominent citizens of the area, and considering that she was a woman, that is really saying something. She was exempt from taxation, she received a salary, she had a place to stay, and she received front row tickets to every public event, usually reserved for dignitaries and royalty. Because she was considered to be married to Apollo, she was one with Apollo. There were actually three Oracles in the temple at any given time, just to make sure that there was a back up. The Oracle only gave prophecies during certain times of the year: only in the summer and only on the seventh day of the month. Scientists are now speculating how the Oracle would be able to give such accurate information, being as she was a simple woman who was in no way connected or perhaps didn’t even knew anything about the affairs of the world (I’m such a Concordia student). It is known that there were two fault lines that crossed right under the temple where the prophecies were given, and in the cracks, hydrocarbon gasses such as ethylene (which was used as an anesthetic during medieval times, but was later revealed as being extremely flammable so it was put out of commission in that use), methane, and ethane. These gasses would be collected over the course of the month as vapors in a sort of covered basin, and when the oracle was called on to make a prophecy, she would inhale these vapors, putting her in a type of trance like state, which may be some explanation for the ambiguity of the prophecy. Many times, these prophecies would play out as predicted, but whether that was fate or whether the person simply acted in a way that made the prediction inevitable is uncertain, in a way kind of like horoscopes. The last prophecy that an Oracle of Apollo made was to the emperor Theodosius who reigned after Constantine in 393 A. D. He was in charge for only two years, but he wanted pagan worship to again become the law of the land. The Oracle predicted that no one would continue to believe in the prophecies and never again have any kind of measured influence in the land.
We also went to the temple of Athena in Delphi, which was also really neat. Many of the buildings had been knocked down and destroyed by earthquakes, only needing to be rebuilt again. Now, there are computer programs that archeologists use for aid in reconstructing buildings from the stones around the foundation of buildings. They scan all of the rocks in, and then the computer can determine if any of the rocks can fit together. It is kind of like a really elaborate and somewhat damaged 3D jigsaw puzzle where no one is quite sure what the end result will look like.
After that and a ham and cheese pie, I went back to the hotel, which reminds me of a lodge with wood ceilings and doorways, and basically just hung out on the balcony/veranda all afternoon. It was kind of chilly, but the view is so worth it. I watched the sun change the landscape for about 4 hours, listening to the most relaxing music that I have. It is just breathtaking how gorgeous this place is, and I hope that the people living here don’t take it for granted.
The Oracle was an old peasant woman that was somehow secretly selected from the village (no one knows how), and was one of the most prominent citizens of the area, and considering that she was a woman, that is really saying something. She was exempt from taxation, she received a salary, she had a place to stay, and she received front row tickets to every public event, usually reserved for dignitaries and royalty. Because she was considered to be married to Apollo, she was one with Apollo. There were actually three Oracles in the temple at any given time, just to make sure that there was a back up. The Oracle only gave prophecies during certain times of the year: only in the summer and only on the seventh day of the month. Scientists are now speculating how the Oracle would be able to give such accurate information, being as she was a simple woman who was in no way connected or perhaps didn’t even knew anything about the affairs of the world (I’m such a Concordia student). It is known that there were two fault lines that crossed right under the temple where the prophecies were given, and in the cracks, hydrocarbon gasses such as ethylene (which was used as an anesthetic during medieval times, but was later revealed as being extremely flammable so it was put out of commission in that use), methane, and ethane. These gasses would be collected over the course of the month as vapors in a sort of covered basin, and when the oracle was called on to make a prophecy, she would inhale these vapors, putting her in a type of trance like state, which may be some explanation for the ambiguity of the prophecy. Many times, these prophecies would play out as predicted, but whether that was fate or whether the person simply acted in a way that made the prediction inevitable is uncertain, in a way kind of like horoscopes. The last prophecy that an Oracle of Apollo made was to the emperor Theodosius who reigned after Constantine in 393 A. D. He was in charge for only two years, but he wanted pagan worship to again become the law of the land. The Oracle predicted that no one would continue to believe in the prophecies and never again have any kind of measured influence in the land.
We also went to the temple of Athena in Delphi, which was also really neat. Many of the buildings had been knocked down and destroyed by earthquakes, only needing to be rebuilt again. Now, there are computer programs that archeologists use for aid in reconstructing buildings from the stones around the foundation of buildings. They scan all of the rocks in, and then the computer can determine if any of the rocks can fit together. It is kind of like a really elaborate and somewhat damaged 3D jigsaw puzzle where no one is quite sure what the end result will look like.
After that and a ham and cheese pie, I went back to the hotel, which reminds me of a lodge with wood ceilings and doorways, and basically just hung out on the balcony/veranda all afternoon. It was kind of chilly, but the view is so worth it. I watched the sun change the landscape for about 4 hours, listening to the most relaxing music that I have. It is just breathtaking how gorgeous this place is, and I hope that the people living here don’t take it for granted.
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