Goodbye to Greece (Part Two)

So here’s what happened in Athens!  I ate some bad food and came down with a fine case of traveler’s revenge.  😒  This turn of events, however, resulted in the added adventure of visiting a Greek hospital ER when we couldn’t get the fever under control.  I share this with you because I found the hospital visit pretty interesting.  Greek medical practices are actually quite modern though they don’t have all of the equipment and staff that we have in the states.  They are short on nurses, so I ended up mostly dealing with the doctor which was a plus in many ways.  When they gave me IV fluids to bring down my fever they hung the bag on a pole without feeding it through that little machine that inevitably ends up beeping every few minutes until the nurse comes to fix it. No beeper box was fine with me. There was a decidedly small amount of paperwork.  I had to ask for a diagnosis sheet so we could apply for reimbursement from our insurance when we get home.  The doctor wrote out the diagnostic procedure and treatment plan by hand.  Mostly, I was blown away by the costs.  We had to pay for services up front and file for reimbursement later.  It cost 58 Euros to see the doctor and 95 Euros for the blood work and IV fluids.  Wow!!! Net result:  They put me on Greek antibiotics to deal with the infection, and I’m much better now.

Unfortunately, this temporary illness meant that we missed most of our Athens plans.  We did get to walk around the city a bit and visit some of the shops.  We made it to the Acropolis Museum where I enjoyed seeing the original Caryatids and we took most of the Peloponnese photo tour for Mike.





I especially enjoyed seeing the Corinthian Canal.

 The canal was begun in the time of Nero (roughly 60 AD) but was never finished.  Construction began again in 1881 and was completed in 1893.  Remember, this would have been accomplished with hand tools.  The canal cuts through a narrow isthmus that separated the Aegean Sea from the Ionian Sea.  The canal is only 4 miles longs but it allowed ships to avoid the potentially dangerous trip around the Peloponnese which could be treacherous with rocks and Islands.  In Paul's day, they used to bring the ships up on land and roll them on logs the four miles rather than risk the trip around the Peloponnese.



Unfortunately, I did not get to see the Acropolis, the Parthenon or Mars Hill, but I sent Mike out on our last day in Athens.  So I’ll let him describe it for you:  

Mike: Similar to the saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."  We can say, "When in Athens, visit the Acropolis."  You can get to the base of it quite easily.  Ascending to its heights is quite another matter.  First you wind your way up through the streets of the Placa - a part of town below the entrance which is filled with shops and restaurants.  On occasion you see a sign - usually hand written and not very official looking which points up the hill or around a corner to go to the Acropolis.  You honestly don't know if you can trust it or not.  I went early in the morning to try and avoid the heat of the day.  It was still plenty warm and there is precious little shade on the top.    The nice young lady behind the ticket counter offered me a Senior admittance ticket for half price which I politely refused.  I must have looked worse than I thought after climbing all those steps.  The hardest part about getting up the hill is the other people;  tons of them.  Particularly obstructive are tours whose leaders don't pull them to the side to speak with them.  Ascending to the main entrance you see the temple to Athena Nike.  This temple was built to honor Athena for giving the Athenians victory in a battle with the Persians that proved decisive.  They also put it up hoping she would help them defeat the Spartans in the Peloponessian war - which they did not.  Did you know the name of your tennis shoes means "victory?"  In an odd twist, the statue of Athena Nike had wings on it.  In an effort to make sure she gave Athens victory and no one else they clipped the wings of the goddess in her temple.  I haven't been able to get my head around that.

The Parthenon is the largest building on top of the Acropolis and they have been working on it for over twenty years.  They are not so much restoring it as trying to stop the deterioration.  You will recognize the picture of the towering white pillars.  Today we know the original builders loved color - brilliant color and decoration were part of the building enhancing its carvings and statues.  All the buildings on the hill were designed by the same architect and tie in well with one another.  Their message was simple.  "We are a powerful people - don't mess with us."  There have been many people over the centuries who have tried to co-opt the symbols of power on that hill over Athens.  Rulers have sought to bask in its grandeur.  Enemies have sought to destroy it.  Walking near its towering height and descending to Mars hill - where Paul proclaimed that God does something new in Jesus - it is no surprise that most Athenians hearing him preferred to imagine that the lives we build and the power we claim are a much better guarantee of life than a prophet who was killed by his enemies.  As if to underscore this point and the scandal of God's ways - Mars hill isn't much today.  It is a slippery and treacherous bit of rock used by most people as a way to get a good view of the city or the Acropolis and its pretensions of power.  This is one of the most enduring historical assertions of human power - a power whose frailty is made plain with the passage of time.

Sally:  Mike and I were very sad to say goodbye to Greece.  We have very much enjoyed the beauty of the natural landscape, the amazing story of its churches, and the hospitality of its people.  We are not so sad to leave the heat behind.  We are on to Britain where it is much, much cooler!  More about merry ole’ England soon!