This is coming a few days late so we’ll see how well my memory does. In preparation for Saturday’s travels, we read Aeschylus’s The Persians, as well as the introduction and first part of John Hale’s Lords of the Sea. These readings offered us context, highlighting the importance of the port and island that witnessed the defense of Greece, and arguably much of western civilization as we know it. It was in the waters surrounding Salamis and Pireaus that the Athenian navy stopped the Persian fleet. Both Aeschylus and Hale provided us with vivid details to bring us back through the millenia to when it all happened. Sofia, our guide, then pointed things out and filled in the gaps of the accounts to lift the story of the battle from the text. On this tour we also got to see ruins of yet another sacred site, this one honoring Demeter. To be honest, a lot of the ruins that we see are starting to blend together. This one was interesting, however, because we learned that when Christianity came through Greece, churches were built at the same sites as the pagan temples. Over the course of the day, we also got to have a brief dip in a quiet little area of the coast of Salamis. The water was beautiful! When night came, our attempts to find a nightclub in Athens were unsuccessful. After trying every wrong direction, we finally came to the understanding that the place we were looking for had changed its name AND was not open for the summer. Ok. We made our way back near our hotel after a run-in with ticket-checkers–a close call. From there, we had more interesting encounters and ultimately ended the night defeated, yet with the hope for better luck in the future.

Until next time,

Kanoa