Miranda Wegge - Blog Post #1

We have been in Greece for one week tomorrow, thus far visiting the city of Athens, Corinth, Nafplio, and Olympia. I have gained so much knowledge over this past week and retained a lot of information about both the real history and mythological history of Greece. There is so much to know and Aristotle, our tour guide, has really helped to translate and explain the information and stories to us. I feel that I have been exposed to the culture of Greece through all of the museums, sites, excursions, and meals, but some things have especially stuck out to me.

In the first museum we visited in Athens, The Archeological Museum, I really enjoyed all of the statues and the importance it was to notice the difference in stature over time. As time went on, the statues became more defined in their body details and their stances changed. The stances started reflecting an engaged leg and a free leg. I found this interesting that as time went on, something like statues had changed because I had no idea that this was something that took place before the trip. I think it is very important to have statues to understand how different things were back then and how things have changed over time. The people’s dress, or lack there of, and how they styled their hair changed over time and depended on their class which I found to be interesting as well. We find this theme apparent in the other museums and with the other statues, along with being able to tell the role they played in their society.

The ruins we have been seeing over the past week is amazing to physically have right in front of me. Even though most are destroyed at this point in time, it is so important to appreciate these structures for what they once were and how much work went into creating them. This trip has made me appreciate the early culture of Greece as well as the present culture in a way I never could have imagined.