Kelly Meets Delphi

If there is one thing we can all remember about elementary school, it was that field trips were the best days of the year. You got goof around with your friends on the bus, mom gave you some money so you could buy a ridiculously overpriced, subpar cafe lunch, and you took tons of crazy, irrelevant pictures of random objects to show your family. As it turns out, all of this is true of college study abroad field trips as well, with all the fun and more.

Friday morning our group of Bennies and Johnnies departed for an overnight trip to an area of Greece about two and a half hours northwest of Athens which holds many sites rich in Greek history. Our first stop was Osios Loukas, an Orthodox monastery embedded deep in the mountains, truly in the middle of nowhere. The monastery was built around 1000 A.D. and is of particular significance due to the fact it is one of few monasteries built in the Middle Byzantine period. It's architecture really cannot be found outside of monasteries found in Istanbul, Turkey. The grounds and church were absolutely beautiful. Learning about the buildings, their architecture and history was a great way to spend the morning/early afternoon.

The Monastery at Osios Loukas

Next on our agenda was Delphi, an archeological site once home to the Temple of Apollo and the Temple of Athena. By the time we arrived in Delphi, it was late in the day, so we only explored the lower site at Delphi where the Temple of Athena is located and saved a majority of the site for the following morning. While most of the site now consists only of the foundations of the buildings where the temple sat, it was interesting to learn about the rituals of the Pagans in ancient Greece. The Temple of Athena is much smaller than the Temple of Apollo, so it was a nice introduction to what we would be seeing the following day.

By late afternoon Friday we were off to our hotel in the small village of Delphi just down the road from the archeological site of Delphi. On our drive we enjoyed some wonderful views, but none of them came close to preparing us for the views awaiting us at our hotel. I knew Delphi was in the mountains, but I had no idea what to expect or how beautiful it would be. Panoramic views of the sea and mountains surrounded us, and I can truly say it was one of the most breathtaking places I've ever been. After settling into the hotel, we spent the rest of the evening exploring shops, eating gelato and simply enjoying the beauty that surrounded us.

The sunset from my hotel room balcony.

Saturday was spent at the larger archeological site at Delphi. This time, we would be exploring the upper site, home to the Temple of Apollo, which at one time was one of the most important worshiping space for Pagans. There were oracles at the Temple of Apollo, so not only to Pagans come to sacrifice and give gifts to the gods, but Pagans from around the world would come to the site to ask for advice and communicate with the gods through the oracles. At Delphi, there is also a theater and stadium, which held sport, music and theater competitions. Unlike most Pagan Temples of the time, Delphi was not a temple reserved exclusively for the local community; any Pagan was allowed to come and worship at the Temple of Apollo. Because of this rarity, Delphi became a place for all Pagans of all city states to compete, worship and communicate.

The remains of the Temple of Apollo.

The remains of the Amphitheater at Delphi.

Reflecting on the lifestyle of the ancient Greeks, most of their practices and rituals seem so silly that it's hard to believe it ever even happened, however the events that took place at Delphi were such a large aspect of their lives and it's so important to understand their history. The buildings they constructed took an incredible amount of strenuous labor, money and resources that must be admired. Despite being mostly reconstructed ruins now, the site at Delphi is still impressive and it was fun to imagine how it must have looked when it was in its prime. I just felt cool to be stepping on grounds where so many important aspects of Greek culture occurred! Yet again I will mention the breathtaking views that Delphi had to offer. I still cannot get over how stunning of an area it was.

Now it's Sunday and time to prepare for another week of school. My days here are so different compared to my school days in St. Joseph, but they are both wonderful in their own ways and I'm getting adjusted to this new lifestyle. I look forward to sharing more aspects of my daily life with my friends and family soon!

Kelly