Athens and Attica Week 12: Roman Athens 2, Aigina

Our last week of the winter term! I gave my final presentation in Joe's epigram seminar on Monday. I looked at literary epigrams featuring courtesans and how they compared to the traditional inscribed epigrams.

We met at the Olympeion on Tuesday morning where Andrew gave his report on the temple which took 800 years to complete.

Check out the fallen column!

Compare the "acanthus" column capitals to the real acanthus plant growing nearby.

 By the time Andrew was half-way through his report, the sun had come out making for some beautiful views!

The Acropolis and Parthenon in the distance

On our walk over to Hadrian's Gate, we stopped to have a look at some temple remains.

At Hadrian's Gate, Kyle gave his report over the noise of the passing traffic.

We next stopped at a small sanctuary of Pan just beside the roadway. The story goes that famous Athenian archaeologist John Travlos begged the city to curve the road to avoid covering up this sacred place. The relief sculpture of Pan is all but impossible to see today  because of the weathering of the rock.

Sarah gave the final report of the day at the Panthenaic Stadium.

Through the tunnel of the stadium, there is a museum area with posters and torches from all the modern Olympics.

That afternoon, the Wiener Lab hosted the last lab seminar of the year, this time on "stones" or more accurately on rocks. Geologist/Archaeologist Scott Pike showed us a variety of rocks used for building in ancient times. We learned how to discern different building materials and what makes one marble different from another. He also gave a presentation on his latest research which hopes to pinpoint where certain marbles used on the Acropolis in the Parthenon came from. 

Our last Wednesday day trip of the term was to the island of Aigina. We visited the Aigina Museum in Kolonna.

Pottery kiln

Then we went out to the site of the sanctuary of Apollo for Simon's report on all things Aeginetan. 

Our next stop was the temple of Aphaia where we were allowed special access to go inside the temple.

We also had a look inside the site's apotheke where bits of architecture are stored.

Our last stop of the day was at the sanctuary of Zeus Hellanios where a small Christian church now stands.

Nikos gave his report on the sanctuary and then led us in a recitation of Pindar's Nemean 5, a fitting end for our last regular member trip!