The theatre of Epidaurus was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen or experienced. The fact that you can hear everything on stage when you are on the top row amazed me. The Greeks certainly one-up modern architects with the design of this theater. In today’s world we need huge microphone systems, loud speakers, and etc to be able to hear what is going on in our 500 person churches, while in ancient Greece, they needed none of that for their theaters that held 15,000. I think we have let technology take us to a place were we make things more complicated than they need to be. While this theatre was not a simple design, it was fool proof, it would never not work, while technology can go in and out. I think we can learn from the Greeks that sometimes building things that will last, and are proven to work is a better idea, instead of trying to always improve on the latest technology. We need to remember the Greek’s simple ideas and formulas that work just as well or better than our more advanced technology.
When we visited the island of Rhodes we stopped at the home of one of the islands eight potters. Our tour guide informed us that pottery was a dying art on the island. This made me so sad, especially after seeing the processes. This type of art is not only a beautiful thing, but it also helps preserve the culture of the ancient Greeks. Once the pottery was firer, it was then painted by the potters’ wife. She used ancient symbols and ideas on the plates and bowls, and did it in the old way by free hand. Some symbols were used by early christians to keep their identity hidden from non-christians, but to show other christians that they could be trusted. She also used small geometric designs that were used on many pieces of pottery found in the ruins of ancient Greek cities. Using these designs on the pottery not only preserves the history but also allows many other people to experience this art.
The National Archaeological Museum in Athens is home to many Grecian works of art and even pieces from the Mycenaean era and other prehistoric time periods. All of these pieces work together to help us understand the development of art and culture in the Greek world. In the prehistorical exhibit rooms the statues are stiff, unmoving, and not life like. As visitors move from room to room, these qualities begin to slowly change, and the statues become more fluid, lifelike, and full of emotion. This change through time helps historians understand the change that art went under during these years. In the Mycenaean era, art was used to decorate items of worship and to assist in burial. These could be call the more “practical” uses of art. As time progressed, art became more of a thing of beauty, and decoration. Statues were carved to capture a person’s looks, strength, and might. Art was used more commonly to decorate, for example frescos, instead of assisting in worship. This does not mean that religion was less important in the culture of the Greeks, but instead shows how they were able to bring art into their everyday lives. The culture of this era was a bit more focused on pleasure than simply getting by, and the luxuries they amassed helps prove this.
After reading book two of the Aeneid, I feel like I have a better understanding of what happened in Troy. That may sound weird, since it is full of mythological gods and giant snakes, but that isn’t what I am talking about. Before reading this, Troy was a story. A story where people were tricked, and were overtaken. But, now I understand more what they were thinking and feeling, what they were going through. They were a people tired of fighting, and were willing to believe that the Greeks were as well, if that meant an end to the fighting. They didn’t listen to good advice because they were done with fighting, they wanted it to be over. When they were attacked, they were real people that died, and were destroyed. This story maybe full of some historical falsehoods, but I think it does a great job showing the emotions of the people.
Reading about the martyred Christians made me really appreciate my own southern, bible-belt, culture. As I read about Nero’s treatment of the Christians, I could not believe it. He was able to take all of the blame off of him and put in on the Christians, and not because he hated them, but just because they were an easy target. The main thing that bothered me thought was the Roman mobs attitude towards this. They didn’t care about the cruelty that was taking place; all they cared about was that they were being entertained. They didn’t mind that these people were taken away from their homes and families that they suffered things that no human, or living animal should ever have to suffer. What kind of culture raises people that are ok with these types of inhuman practices? This question brought me to a second, and maybe scarier thought. How far away are we from this? We are willing to watch movies and play video games with insane amounts of violence, how much longer do we have before we are at the same level as these people?
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb
I think this painting has many interesting and cultural elements. One that really stood out to me was how the lamb is standing up on the alter majestically. Most of the time, when you think of Jesus as a lamb, its a helpless lamb being sacrificed, and then as mighty lion after he has been raised from the dead. But, in this painting, it is after his death, but he is still portrayed as a lamb. I don’t really know why this is, but I wonder if it was to help the people of the day understand the story of Jesus better. A lion, is scary and something to be feared. But a lamb, is gentle, loving and forgiving. But, this lamb still looks powerful, as a campion over death. I really like how that was portrayed.
Hello, This is Twingo! She is advertising a lovely French TV show. This really is not that important except for the fact that this advertisement was found in every metro station we entered. The metro is the most exciting/boring/easiest/difficult/smelly thing I have ever experienced. It doesn’t seem to culturally significant when you first look at it, but I really think it is. Without it, people in Paris would never get anywhere, well, at least not quickly. Their roads are not really made for heavy traffic, and if everyone used a car, Paris would be in a traffic jam 24 seven. Besides just making travel easier for the natives, it is a great thing for tourist. Every major tourist site is listed, making it easy to locate. I wish all cities, both great and small, had metros. I would never drive again.
One thing I have noticed in Europe, and especially Paris was the price of cokes. They cost as much as alcohol. I kept thinking how ridiculous this was until I realized something. There are infinitely less obese people in Europe. While this isn’t a direct result of high coke prices, but I believe it does have something to do with it. Their culture does not leave personal health up to just the individual. Instead it seems to be a national effort. There is less junk food in stores and less soda options. And when you can find these things they cost an arm and two legs. So, even if you wanted to be a Dr. Pepper addict, I don’t believe it would be very possible, it would be hard to find, and cost almost all of your pay check. The less cokes you drink, the less weight you will gain. Viola! Not so fat Europeans!
This is a picture from the Air Force museum, at the beaches of Normandy. The picture is of a quote, thanking the American soldiers for their help and promising to always to remember them. I thought this was really awesome. I think many times that we, in America, forget the brave men who fought to free Europe from Germany control. I think we forget because it wasn’t here, and didn’t effect our country in the same way as other wars. But, the French people were very grateful for this help. There were so many French people in the Museum, and they seemed much more interested in it than any of the Americans in there. In America we treat WW2 as a war to save the Jews, but to the French, it was a war to save everyone from German oppression. This slight difference means that all of French people are thankful, not just the Jews. We we think of it in this way, we begin to understand how big of an impact this war made, and why many French people are still thankful for American and British soldiers. We forget this many times, because Parisians are sometimes so rude to Americans. But, the older Frenchmen and women, remember and are still grateful.
Saturday was the first day I got to be a real adult in Europe. I could go wherever I wanted, do whatever I wanted and spend all the money I wanted. So, I did what any normal person would do and headed to a country I knew NOTHING about, Croatia. Once we entered the country we got off the train in a town called Rijeka, one of two cities in bold on our map. We didn’t know what we would find here, but we were all excited for the adventure. In the square of the city we ran into a small festival, compete with dancers. They were all dressed up in clothing from a time long past and were dancing to the old songs. This was their culture. It made me think of my culture; I have been Civil War Reenacting for 12 years and this was right up my alley. These teenagers were working to keep their culture alive, even though they lived in a modern city in a progressing nation. They were able to still value the old ways and traditions, and learn something from them. I think this is so important, and I believe that many Europeans do this better than Americans. Europe has so many old buildings, churches, monuments, and many other great historical artifacts it is hard to forget where they came from. In America, it seems like we try to forget. We just want to be the new thing, the most original thing. And while there is nothing wrong with that, remembering the past is always important. Being able to embrace where you came from helps you understand the future in a way that others cannot. I am glad that these teens were there to help me and the other Croatians learn about their heritage.
