Day 6 - Ancient Agora, Benaki Museum, National Gardens

Hi all! 

This is Addie and Emma! Today was another busy day visiting the Ancient Agora, two museums, and the National Gardens. We started out with another breakfast at the hotel with lots of good choices. Then the group headed down to the patio for our morning reflection where Johnny gave us some insight on what gardens mean to him. He gave us some thought provoking questions to keep in mind while we visited the Botanical Gardens later in the day. It was interesting because everyone seemed to have a different definition of a garden, some including the yard itself and actual vegetables growing. For me (Emma) gardens remind me of my backyard. Specifically, my grandma who is dedicated towards creating a thriving environment for all sorts of herbs, fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Our backyard is an oasis. When I (Addie) hear the word garden, I think of my backyard where we have raised garden beds for all kinds of vegetables. The flowers are a separate part from the vegetables at my house. Ultimately, the reflection time this morning was kept short because we had a long day of walking ahead of us. 

The walk to the Ancient Agora, led us through a part of Plaka from days prior and towards the market district of Monastirakiou. Inside the Agora, we were greeted by beautiful trees, adorable cats, and
remaining ruins of the ancient market. The space was framed by the mountains we climbed yesterday, and we climbed another small one to meet the Temple of Hephaestus. The temple was gorgeous and mostly in-tact, even though it was constructed all the way back in 550 BC. The outside walls depicted the story of the Minotaur and Hercules. We loved that the Agora was a center of travel, trade, and philosophy. I (Addie) thought the fact about Paul coming to the port in Athens, and then him walking down the Panathenaic Way was crazy to think about. Similar to how we sat on the hill yesterday where people heard Paul speak. Walking in the same footsteps as these ancient philosophers and religious leaders really makes us seem so small in the world. This space was the perfect environment the growth of knowledge. There was a great interaction between cultures through extensive trade and the spread of the alphabet. The democratic environment encouraged a space of discussion and debate that thrived on questions. Active participation from all who passed through the market, temple, and school allowed for philosophers (ex. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle) to spread their ideas. 

After walking through the museum, we had a lovely philosophy talk with Professor Marianna Kokkinaki. We sat on the steps of the Agora, similar to the way we sit on the steps of the Furman Library, and just like young philosophers and scholars did when holding dialogues. We learned that Socrates encouraged a major shift in philosophy from a study of the universe to the study of the soul. The spirit is ones inner voice and moral compass that compels you to live your life as well as you could until death. To fully study philosophy, you must also seek to understand death. This self reflection is then applied to the people and community to achieve piece and fulfillment. To do this, ancient philosophy suggests 10 ideas or virtues to pursue. The first is Polis, which translates to the city state and as the extension of our souls. A proper city must have the proper status structure, where the leaders do not accumulate wealth or property. The city must properly educate the public physically, artistically, and in maths and philosophy. A place must also emphasize communal living, participation, and wealth equality. The second is Know Thyself. The purpose of our journey. Essentially, we should always be questioning how to live the good life, a better life. We need to ask ourselves, if we were a temple with our core values exposed, what would they be? The third, is myth; Understanding the world and personal values through storytelling and example. The fourth, is the expansion of the consciousness. This states that madness bestowed by the gods is a good thing. Prophetic, telestic, poetic, and erotic expressions of ecstasy are opportunities to escape your stasis and find a new perspective. The fifth is Art and the balance of chaos through artistic expression. Art shapes civilization. The sixth is Theater, which is public philosophy. It is both "souls trying on masks" and an opportuni

ty to see "heroes rise and powers fall" to achieve catharsis. The seventh is Dionysus who recognizes that once the mind has been expanded, it can never go back. The eighth is religion, which presents an alternative path and opportunity for progress for a soul. The ninth is eros, which compels us to seek the divine, to love, and to meditate. It encourages us to yearn for others, for experiences, and for our authentic selves. The tenth and last is chaos, which sees the universe as perfect and precise. So, there must be an architect and it is a virtue to take care of the space and our world. There was so much to take in, and so much to enjoy and digest. We are looking forward to contemplate all we learned from Professor Marianna in the future on our journey. 

The Benaki Museum was tucked away off of a busy road, but was absolutely beautiful. It used to be a residency but was turned into a museum after they passed. The architecture was super intricate and unique. The thing I (Addie) found most interesting was the icon gallery room. I took a religion and art class last fall at Furman, so it was a full-circle for me to see these icons displayed in person. The iconostasis was also really beautiful, serving as the centerpiece in the room, along with all the gold! Our tour guide, Irene, spoke a lot on the political history of Athens, fashion, and more pottery. There was sooo much information for us to take in. 

Our final destination of the day was visiting the Botanical Garden, which we briefly visited on Saturday when we first arrived. Rather than going to the turtle pond and the goats, we headed through a different area where we walked under this flower archway. We ended up just finding a bunch of benches to sit down and take a break. Johnny gave us time to just sit with each other and reflect on all that we did today. There was also a koi fish pond next to us, reminding us of Furman! Eventually, we all made our way back to the hotel to wrap up the day. Johnny led our discussion on the hotel patio that included sharing a word to describe our day and a word to describe our mood. 

My (Addie) word was "reflective" and my "mood" was worn out! Then we painted little squares next to our words to reflect our choices. I chose yellow for reflective and dark blue for worn-out. I thought today was very insightful, especially visiting the Agora and still being able to see the Parthenon from there. It was a little overwhelming at times because of the amount of information, but it's all important history. 

My (Emma) words for the day were "expanding" and "spent." I felt that there was so much to cover and contemplate today. While it will be hard for me to look at things the same way ever again, I also feel very satiated and full from all that we explored. Overall, my rose of the day was the philosophy talk. It is so important to practice dialogues like we had today and I hope to have more in the future!

Thanks for reading! - Addie and Emma