Hunt Reynolds - Blog #1

     This May Term trip to Greece is the first time I have been out of the United States.  Our first stop in the city of Athens was a really interesting city to visit. Though I had googled Athens before the trip and viewed the street views on Google Maps, seeing Athens first hand was as if I was entering a new world.  It was very beautiful in some areas yet very rundown in others; the city seemed to be stuck in a state of limbo between antiquity and modernity. 
     One of my favorite sites we visited was the Athenian Acropolis and the Parthenon that sat on top.  The views from the Parthenon were stunning but even more incredible was the ancient architecture of the Parthenon.  It is amazing the ancient Greeks constructed such a magnificent structure full of heavy material.  In today’s world, architects and laborers are strict of ensuring straight lines in  building plans but there are zero straight lines in the Parthenon.  I find it very ironic that today’s society prides itself in being advanced in technology but have been slow to preserve and resurrect the Parthenon with success for many decades. The ancient Greeks clearly knew what they were doing in the eras gone by. 
     Perhaps the government of Greece, and the city of Athens itself, should reflect back on founding principles and structures of days gone by.  Greece is a beautiful place but has fallen on hard times; reading the history of the past should not be ignored but should be used to study what happens when corrupt politics and policies take control.  A return to a healthy, prosperous society will allow the Greeks to produce even more gifts to the world.  Like the Parthenon, the history and philosophy of the ancient Greeks have withstood the test of time and can help lead Greece to prosperity in a better tomorrow.    

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