Below is the itinerary for
2018. Other aspects of the trip and course will be similar to that of 2017,
which can be found at the full site of the Greece Study Tour at http://www.smcm.edu/philrelig/greece-study-tour/about/
Itinerary for 2018 Greece Study Tour: May 30-June 24
(revised 01 April 2017)
Wed May
30: departure from USA
We meet
by departing airline’s ticket counter at a D.C.-area airport 3-4 hours prior to
scheduled departure. (D)
Thurs May 31: ATHENS – ANCIENT CORINTH
After arriving in Athens, transfer by pre-arranged private
coach to our hotel in Ancient Corinth (1½ hrs.). After checking in and getting settled,
we take a short orientation walk about the town, and dine together. Overnight in Ancient Corinth at Rooms Marinos. (B/L/D)
Fri June 1: ANCIENT CORINTH
After breakfast, a quick orientation meeting, before walking for a 3-hour tour of the
archaeological site and museum. Afternoon free. Meet in the hotel
courtyard at 6:15 for the 6:30-8:30 evening seminar 1 on excerpts about Diogenes of Sinope, (B/D)
Sat June
2: CORINTH
After
breakfast, morning seminar 2: Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (and
excerpts from Acts and Romans). Then by the 9:30 public bus to the Laïki,
the weekly outdoor market. Afternoon free in Corinth
(shopping, beaches, tavernas, movie theater), with
return to Ancient Corinth in small groups. (B)
Sun June 3:
ANCIENT CORINTH
After
optional church service (Church of St. Paul, of course), we return to the hotel
to change into outdoor clothing, for a 2-hour visit to the Asklepieion (healing
site) and the Fountain of Lerna complex. Free afternoon in Ancient Corinth or by public bus or taxi to
Corinth. Evening seminar 3: Aeschylus' Agamemnon. (B/D)
Mon June
4: ACROCORINTH
After
breakfast, 90-minute-long walk up to fortress on Akrokorinth,
used by classical Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, Venetians, and during
Greece’s war for independence (1820's). Spend late morning and early
afternoon (closes at 3:00) exploring the extensive remains there in small
groups; bring flashlight or headlamp. Bring coins for toilet use at small cafe
up there, and money for any snacks, sandwiches, water, ice cream, etc. Return in groups as you wish. Evening seminar
4: remainder of Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy: The Libation Bearers and The Furies. (B/D)
Tues June 5: ISTHMIA
Morning
departure to Isthmia (20 mins.), to visit the archaeological site and the
museum; if his schedule allows, we may meet up with Dr. Timothy Gregory of The
Ohio State University or Dr. Jon Frey of Michigan State University. Free afternoon. Evening seminar 5: Euripides’ Medea.
(B/D)
Wed June
6: ANCIENT CORINTH
Free day. (B/D)
Thurs June 7: CORINTHIA REGION
Chartered
bus (5 mins. travel time) to remains of Lechaion
Basilica (in its day, the largest Christian church in the world), the diolkos (remains of the road across the isthmus for moving
cargo from one ship to another--15 mins.), monastery of St. Patápios (45
mins.—bring a coin for the church there), Sanctuary of Hera Akraia (40 mins.)
in Perachora (where Medea is said to have buried her children), and ending at
Lake Vouliagmeni (5 mins.), for lunch and afternoon swimming. On the way home,
we stop at the Corinth Canal for photos from above. Evening seminar 6: Sophocles’ Antigone. (B/D)
Fri June
8: ANCIENT CORINTH – NEMEA – TIRYNS – NAUPLIO
Depart at
7:45 a.m. with chartered bus for Nemea (20 mins. away), the ancient site of the
Nemean games. Then we visit a winery in the Nemean region to learn about wine-making in the
Peloponnese. On the way to Nauplio, a 30-minute stop
at the Mycenaean fortress of Tiryns, about 10 minutes from our Nauplio hotel. After checking in and resting at the Nauplio hotel, we meet at the hotel at 5:00 to take the bus
to the top of the hill overlooking the town center, to explore the Palamidi fortress, coming down either with the bus or via
the famed “999 steps.” At 7:30 we head to the pier by Captain Michael’s
boat, which we take (included) to the island fortress, the Bourtzi,
in the Nauplio harbor. Overnight in
Nauplio at Pension Marianna or similar. (B)
Sat June
9: NAUPLIO –– EPIDAURUS
Morning
departure for Epidaurus (two-hour visit, about 30 mins. away) home of the most
famous theater in the Greek world, as well as its neighboring medical site
sacred to the healing god Asklepios (Latinized as Asclepius). Then back
to Nauplio, for those wanting to spend the afternoon
there (can visit the small archaeological museum, the Folklore Museum, or walk
to the town beach), or by bus to a nearby beach with tavernas
at Karathona or Toló. Overnight in Nauplio. (B)
Sun June
10: NAUPLIO
Free day
can be spent in town, at the archaeological museum, the Folklore Museum, the
beach in town, or, via short bus ride, at the beaches at Karathona
or Toló (whichever people didn’t go to the previous
day). Evening seminar 7: Tony Perrottet’s The Naked Olympics: The True Story of the Ancient Games, and quiz. Overnight in Nauplio. (B)
Mon June
11: NAUPLIO - MYCENAE - OLYMPIA
We leave
early for the mountaintop citadel of (three-hour visit, about 30 mins. away; bring
flashlight or headlamp), which houses the palace of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra,
and the dramatic "beehive" tombs nearby. From Mycenae, we depart for
Olympia, 3 hours away, plus stopping for lunch somewhere. After a group
dinner, folk dancing lessons and demonstration (both included) at the hotel in
Olympia, Hotel Europa or similar. (B/D)
Tues June
12: OLYMPIA – CORFU (KERKYRA)
Morning
visit to the Olympia archaeological site and archaeological museum (3 hrs.),
followed by a short visit (30 mins.) on the walk back to the village to the
Museum of the History of the Olympic Games in Antiquity, and the one-room
Museum of Archimedes. Then we walk to the village for lunch and some shopping.
Afternoon departure to nearby port of Killini for the ferry ride to the island of Corfu. Overnight on Corfu. (B)
Wed June
13: CORFU
Half-day walking tour of town of Corfu, including Old Town, the
Old Fortress, Mon Repos villa, and others. Afternoon free for staying in town or local beaches. (B)
Thurs
June 14: CORFU
Guided
bus tour of the island to get us oriented to the island. Overnight
on Corfu. (B)
Fri June
15: CORFU
Free day. Overnight on Corfu. Evening
seminar 8: Plato's Apology (skip Euthyphro and Crito) and death scene in the Phaedo. (B)
Sat June
16: CORFU – PAXOS
We take a
one-hour ferry ride to the nearby island of Paxos,
with small towns populated with tavernas and popular
beaches. Overnight on Paxos. (B)
Sun June
17: PAXOS
Free day on Paxos,
with optional day-trip by boat to island of Antipaxos. Overnight on Paxos. Evening seminar 9: Marcus Aurelius’Meditations. Overnight
in Ioannina. (B)
Mon June 18:
PAXOS – DODONI – IOANNINA
Morning
departure for two-hour ferry ride to the mainland port of Igoumenitsa and
then a two-hour bus ride to the archaeological site of Dodoni.
After short visit, we continue 30 minutes on the bus to the small city of
Ioannina, located on a lake. After check-in, we explore the town. Overnight in Ioannina. (B)
Tues June
19: IOANNINA
Seeing the town, including some of following: the old castle
(built in 528!), the silversmithing museum, the
ethnographic museum, the old mosque of Ali Pasha, the Byzantine museum, nearby Perama cave, and the Vrellis wax
museum. At some point in the day, we
take a boat to the island in the lake, to visit the house of Ali Pasha, where
he lived and was killed. (B)
Wed June
20: IOANNINA – METÉORA – THERMOPYLAE – DELPHI
Morning
drive 1.5 hours to Metéora for a several-hour visit
to a couple of its dramatically situated monasteries, followed by lunch and a
four-hour bus ride to Delphi, punctuated three hours in by a stop at
Thermopylae, site of the 300 Spartans (and some others) holding off the Persian
army in 480 BCE. Evening seminar 10:
material from binder about Classical Athenian democracy. Overnight
in Delphi, Hotel Leto or similar. (B)
Thurs June
21: DELPHI – DISTOMO – OSIOS LOUKAS
– ATHENS
Morning
visit (3-4 hrs.) to the archaeological museum and site: the treasuries, the
temple of Apollo, the theater and the stadium of the upper site, and (time
permitting) the Athena temple and the tholos temple at the lower site, washing
our hair at the Castilian spring. When finished, we lunch (in Delphi, in
the nearby village of Aráchova, or just outside Aráchova), before departing for a stop in the village of
Distomo at the museum and then the monument to a June 1944 massacre committed
by the Nazis, and then on for an hour-long visit of the Monastery of Osios Loukas. Then on to Athens
(total bus time today since leaving Delphi: about 3 hrs.). After checking into
our hotel and settling in, we meet for an orientation walk to the Plaka district of Athens. Overnight in
Athens, Hotel Philippos. (B)
Fri June
22: ATHENS
(Bring
map of area—like the one provided—for walking back in groups.) After breakfast,
we leave the hotel at 7:45 to walk to the Acropolis (a 15 min. walk; a 2-hour
visit) and then downhill to the Agora and its museum (2 hrs.;
no backpacks). Afternoon free. We meet at 5:00 p.m. in
the hotel lobby for a walk to the Akropolis Museum
(2-hr. visit—no backpacks). Overnight in Athens. (B)
Sat June
23: ATHENS
(Bring
map again.) After breakfast, we leave the hotel at 7:55 for a 2.5-hour
walk-and-stop at: (a) the Theater of Dionysus, (b) the Arch of Hadrian, (c) the
Columns/Temple of Olympian Zeus, (d) photo op at the Panathenaikon
Stadium, (e) past the president’s house and the Evzonoi
honor guards, and (f) the outdoor site of Aristotle’s school, the Lyceum.
Then we
take the subway to the National Archaeological Museum for a two-hour visit (no
backpacks). Free for lunch and afternoon. Group farewell dinner (included). Overnight in Athens. (B/D)
Sun June
24: ATHENS – USA
After
breakfast, morning transfer by chartered bus from hotel to Athens airport for
scheduled departure to the U.S., with scheduled arrival the evening of the same
day. (B/L/D)