Athens day 2

Today we explored the city of Athens. First we went on the bus to pas by some famous sites. We saw the Olympic stadium where the special Olympics will be held in a few days. We also passed by the temple of Zeus.

After the tour we went to the acropolis. This is my second time to visit the acropolis, and I can't believe how much reconstruction work has been done in less than two years. The temple of Athena Nike was reconstructed, and the Temple of Athena had more pillars erected. The temple of Athena is named the Parthenon because it comes from the greek meaning virgin. Later when the Parthenon became a Christian church it was dedicated to the virgin Mary.

I find it really interesting that many of the worship sites we've visited have been used to worship different gods at different times. The Parthenon was used to worship Athena, Jesus, and Allah. It's interesting that once a place is a site of worship it tends to remain a site of worship.

Next we headed over to the Acropolis Museum. I was really looking forward to this part of the trip because I didn't get to visit the last time I was in Athens. I was not disappointed. This was perhaps the most amazing museum I've ever seen because it's a museum and an archeology site. The walkway to the entrance of the museum is made of glass, and underneath the glass an excavation is going on. Underneath us we saw an archeologist working on a mosaic floor. I thought it was a little bit sad that this beautiful museum is not in possession of all the Parthenon reliefs. A good portion of them are still housed in the British Museum.

The issue with the Parthenon reliefs is an interesting question of ownership. Technically, Lord Elgin did receive permission to take these relics. Does any one man or government have the right to sell away objects of their nations history? Do these objects belong to "the people"? Should such objets be returned to the country of their origin? Right now the Grecian government is fighting to have relics from the Parthenon returned, and it's hard not to have some sympathy for their cause. It seems natural to want pieces of your nation's history to be in your nation.

For dinner tonight we got to see a show. They sang some traditional songs and did some traditional dances. At one point this involved pulling audience members up on stage. I thought this was mortifying, but in hindsight it was kinda funny.