Daydream Tourist

Sep 20

Ancient Delphi

According to myth, Zeus released two eagles to circle the world and in their flight they crossed above Delphi – the center of the Earth. Delphi is an expansive site on the side of Mt. Parnassus with sweeping views and layers of ruins to explore.

Delphi is perhaps most famous for the Oracle at the Temple of Apollo. The heart of the temple was situated over a crack in the ground which spewed noxious gas. Under its influence and perhaps other substances, the temple priestess would speak which in turn was “interpreted” by the savvy and current events-conscious temple priests. Pilgrims, diplomats and kings came to Delphi for this divine advice which was not always so clear. On his second consultation regarding the impending Persian invasion, Themistocles of Athens was told famously (in cryptic oracle language) that “Though all else shall be taken, Zeus, the all seeing, grants that the wooden wall only shall not fail.” After the Persians captured and burned much of Athens, it was the decisive Greek naval victory near Salamis that sent the Persians back home. It seems the Oracle’s “wooden wall” was not a city wall but a fleet of ships!

Delphi – Temple of Apollo

As you would imagine, the Athenians were elated after their victory and most likely brought fine sculptures and gold to the Apollo in thanks. This is actually what every Greek city-state did after a victory storing the offerings in their own dedicated Treasury building. The road leading to the Temple of Apollo is lined with Treasuries which acted like both a museum and a bank vault meant to show off the generous gifts of the city to Apollo and to protect the objects. Today only the Treasury of Athens remains complete after extensive restoration. At the site today, you can see up the mountain to the Temple, but during the Classical Greek period, the view must have been obstructed with a winding street of proud, glittering Treasuries.

Treasury of Athens – Delphi

Delphi hosted the Pythian games every four years for about 900 years beginning in 582 BC. Since the games focused more on arts, there is a well preserved theater in addition to a stadium for athletic competitions above the Temple of Apollo. The modern road through Delphi cuts the Treasuries, Temple and event venues from the lower portion of the site. Here you’ll find an athletic training grounds and a large temple complex dedicated to Athena – Apollo’s sister. Beside the main Temple is the elegant round Tholos building which is usually (and incorrectly) associated with Apollo, the Oracle and Delphi in general, because of its beauty. If there is not a picture of white and blue buildings from Santorini on the cover of your Greek guidebook, then it is probably a picture of the Athena Tholos at Delphi!

Temple Complex of Athena Pronaia – Delphi

Delphi does have a small museum which contains some sculptures and architectural elements from the ancient site. The most notable piece is the bronze Charioteer which survived because it was buried during a landslide. The figure is elegant, youthful and executed with great detail. Since the modern world has inherited Roman stone copies of now lost Greek statues, we often forget that bronzes constituted about half of the ancient Greek statues.

Charioteer of Delphi

I have a lot of travel tips for seeing Delphi so I’ll post those separately. In the meantime, let me say that Delphi is an impressive sight – well worth the trip and greatly enhanced by some historical background before you visit.

Sep 17

Athens at Night

The Acropolis at night as viewed from above Monastiraki Square

On the flight back from Greece, I was getting excited to post about my trip but I have been a lazy girl since I got back. Normally I get jet-lag for a day at the most, but I have been out by 8pm almost all week! I’m finally feeling back to normal and am now sorting through my 600 photos. Greece was so much fun. It was one of those 10 day vacations which is so relaxing and so filled with sights that it feels like you were gone a month! (Maybe that’s why it took so long to adjust when I returned…)

In the meantime, here is a Acropolis view taken our first night in Athens from a sixth floor bar on Monastiraki Square. The view was well worth my 9 Euro Metaxa-sangria (which itself was good too)!

Sep 11

Travel, Fear, and the Legacy of 9/11

I just got back from Greece which was amazing! I have stories and photos to share, but first a little catch up. Before the trip I was reflecting on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and wrote a little something. I didn’t post it because I would be missing all the national reflection the week before the anniversary and wanted to see what the mood of the remembrance was like. Given that my flight from Paris to the US today was half full, I think the point I was originally trying to make is still very valid and so here it is.

We always visit my husband’s family for Thanksgiving. Last years, I found myself chatting with one of their family friends (let’s call her Donna) after church. She has one son close to my age that we’ll call Adam, so I made small talk by asking how he was doing. Here is more or less how it went:

Me: So how is Adam doing? I haven’t seen him in so long.

Donna: He is doing wonderful, thank you for asking. He’s studying in Australia and just loves it there.

Me: That’s so great! I’ve heard Australia is amazing.

Donna: He definitely thinks so. And he’s got a pretty serious Australian girl-friend that he is head over heels about.

Me: Oh I love it! That’s great. Has he brought her home to meet you yet?

Donna: No, he hasn’t been home in about a year and a half.

Me: So have you gone to see him?

Donna: Oh no dear, I don’t fly.

Me: (Laughing) Oh those long flights aren’t so bad. You fall asleep and in no time you’re there. You have to go, you’d have so much fun. He could give you the real insider tour of Australia!

Donna: Oh no, I don’t fly because of the terrorists.

Me: (serious pause to make sure I heard that right) What?

Donna: After 9/11, it’s just not safe to fly. I’ll see him whenever he comes back.

Me: You know that security has really been beefed up. I fly a lot and feel very safe.

Donna: No, no, it’s just too risky to fly.

So what do you say to that? Maybe she didn’t want to admit the flights were too expensive or that she couldn’t get off work or maybe, really she was and is afraid of terrorists. I know she loves her only son and it must have been killing her not to see him.

The definition of terrorism is the “systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion”. The very purpose of the 9/11 attacks was to damage America and make us fearful so that we would change our daily lives. When people started making jokes again afterward, you often heard the “…then the terrorist win” phrase, as in “If I can’t get into this movie, then the terrorists win.” The crux of that joke was that we were not going to give up what we wanted to do in spite of a handful of extremest. The attacks were a tragedy but I have never had the sense that something like that would happen again. We, as a country, would not let that happen again. I’ve never actually met someone (especially then when we were over 9 years past the attack) who was so afraid and was thus giving up so much because of that fear.

Mr. Kangaroo says, Visit Australia because you can (Photo: Wikipedia)

As I drove home after that conversation, I started doing some math. Let’s pretend that there is only one flight a day from the US to Sydney. It is either a Airbus A380 or a Boeing 747 so that is approximately 450 passengers per day. In on year, that’s 164,250 people who flew to Australia. Last November when this conversation took place, it was 9 years since Sept 11, 2011, which is 1.47 million passengers who have visited Australia. Sure, this number may be high because some of those people are repeats from year to year (like families), but there are also several daily flights from the US to Australia so maybe the number is actually too low.

My point is this: travel. So much can be gained by traveling, if you have any desire to see the Taj Mahal, sip Chanti in Italy or even visit your son in Australia, you should go.

Sep 1

Libya’s Threatened Archaeological Sites

Sabratha (Photo: Wikipedia)

I have been following the upheaval in Libya and came across a press release from UNESCO pleading for the protections of Libya’s archaeological sites. As the statement reads: “Experience shows that there is a serious danger of destruction during times of social upheaval. It has taught us to look out for looting by unscrupulous individuals, that often damages the integrity of artifacts and of archaeological sites. Careless dealers who buy these objects and fragments are in fact inciting more looting. It is therefore crucial that the international antiquities market be particularly wary of objects from Libya in the present circumstances,” Irina Bokova [Director-General of UNESCO] cautioned.

Leptis Magna (Photo: wanderingchiara)

I am reminded of the looting in Iraq following the 2003 US intervention but also of citizens protecting the Egyptian Museum in Cairo last February amid the riots. Libya has 5 designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites spanning Prehistoric, Phoenician, Greek and Roman periods. I have even seen tours advertised (well, not anymore) to Libya to view these magnificent works of art. My thoughts are certainly with the Libyan people who I hope have peace and stability soon, but it would be a tragedy if violence and lawlessness destroys their cultural heritage.

Aug 28

Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries Exhibit – National Gallery

If you are near London, you have 2 weeks left to see the exhibit Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes & Discoveries at the National Gallery. If you are like me and can not make it, they thankfully have a very cool set of case studies on-line to compliment the exhibit.

Conservation Science is the application of chemical and biological techniques to the study of paintings and art objects. Analysis and identification of an artist’s materials is beneficial for conservators who must select the best processes for cleaning a work. However, a lot of other information can be gained which helps art historian understand the “life” of the work such as where and when it was executed, how the artist completed the piece and if later additions were made. For example, x-ray analysis can show places in which a part of a painting, like a hand or face, was reworked. Sometimes this is done by the artist, or as the National Gallery shows in some examples, by later owners to suit the period’s tastes or possible make the painting more desirable to buyers. Four Figures at a Table by The Le Nain Brothers (below) is a really striking example of how much more we can learn about a painting through scientific analysis.

What could be underneath the pleasant country scene in the Four Figures at a Table by The Le Nain Brothers? (Photo: The National Gallery, London)

We take it for granted now that an artist would sign his or her work but this was not always the case. Carefully connoisseurship of an artist’s style can help attribute paintings but sometimes it is scientific analysis that can either rule out a great master or identify a painting’s creator. The fakes section of the National Gallery’s on-line exhibit is great too! In the end, scientific evidence will always trump exquisite craftsmanship.

It looks right, but how would you know if Botticelli painted Madonna of the Veil? (Photo: The National Gallery, London)