Sorry I wrote alot, but I found today really interesting! BUT PLEASE READ it! :)

I've only been in Athens for 4 days now, and I think I've seen about 4 weeks of art history class. My day consists of waking up around 6:15 to run, and we meet for class at 8:00 am. We go to sites and have lecture till around noon, break for lunch, and then we have at least another 3-4 hours of class. On days like today, I was at class from 8:00-7:30 pm with only a lunch break.

I am generally exhausted when I return from all the running and walking, so I come back to the hotel and work on the final journal (or this blog). I know it seems weird that I am so tired, but I cannot even describe how much the walking and heat wears you out. This trip is an unbelievable amount of work, and covers so much information, but is well worth it.

Today was particularly interesting though since we got to go behind the scenes at the Acropolis. Our professor knows the architect in charge of the restoration, so we got to see what happens behind the scenes. (This almost never happens... once in a lifetime deal).

For the last 30+ years, they have been in the process of restoring pieces of the Pathenon and Propylaea. The process they go through to restore it is unbelievable. To replicate just one square foot piece of the acropolis, they match 3,500 dots/points from the actual piece to the replica. (Look at picture above). The even crazier thing is that they have troubles matching the precision that the ancient greeks achieved. They had made countless pieces that had to be scrapped. They have so much trouble matching the accuracy of the greeks. It just amazes me that the Athenians were able to construct buildings how they did, without the technology we have today, yet we cannot replicate their work. Even as we use synthetic diamond to cut the new marble, they still outdid us and they only had iron. The architect of the restoration claims that we cannot match it since we could never have the heart and soul they did while making it. But seeing the restoration process just makes you appreciate the amount of work that went into this structure. It makes me realize what makes this building so significant.

When I first approached the Parthenon, I knew what it was, but I did not understand why my professor said it could be classified as the most impressive structure ever built. As I learned more about it, I learned how the greeks really were truly full of brilliant design. The parthenon itself has the columns slightly bent in at the top, the outermost columns are slightly wider, and the horizontal is slightly concave down. In simple terms, they understood optical illusions, so they altered the horizontals and verticals of the building to match the human eye. The accuracy and precision they had, as I said above, is unreal. Also, the actual construction; how they built this structure and lifted these pieces without real machinery, is miraculous. Not even just that, but the detail of the metopes (sculptures on the building that depict things such as mythical scenes), the akroterions, columns, etc. is amazing. Lastly, the floor plan and use of the building was genius. It not only served to worship Athena, but it really was a political enterprise as well.

This entire week has been information overload. Everyone has heard of the Parthenon, and at least has heard the term "acropolis," but they don't realize how much their actually is to the city of Athens. I am finally starting to see the ancient greeks as a society rather than just a few neat buildings. By seeing the Agora, library, stadion (olympic stadium), cemetery, gates of entry and exit, and how all these sites inter-relate, I am starting to grasp their life as a whole. It's neat to see how the buildings and sites relate to one another and how they are positioned through this modern city.

Sorry this was so long, I just had an epiphany about Ancient Greek life. (And I probably ended this by using that word completely incorrectly.... so don't criticize).