During the Easter holidays, GCSE and A level LEH Classicists travelled to Greece to explore important sites in the Ancient Greek world. 

Sunday was our first full day in Greece, and we were up early to see the Acropolis in Athens, and to make the most of the beautiful weather (which made a change from rainy England in March!). Having trekked up to the Acropolis we were all hungry, so we had some amazing Greek food in the Plaka, and then spent an interesting afternoon at the New Acropolis Museum. The next morning, we looked around the fascinating National Archeological Museum, featuring statues, friezes and burial items, then we set off for our new destination- Delphi! We stopped off en-route to have a self-guided tour of a beautiful and historic monastery in the mountains, a perfect photo opportunity due to the stunning views and wildflowers surrounding it, as well as the site itself. The next morning, we were lucky enough to visit the ancient site and ruins of the oracle of Delphi, our amazing tour guide taking us through its fascinating history and unique nature as a pilgrimage site, which included a racetrack and beautifully preserved marble temple.

After Delphi, we set out to Olympia, where the next day we toured the ancient site of the original Olympic Games and were amazed by the huge temple of Zeus in the slightly chillier weather. As it warmed up, everyone participated in a friendly but fast-paced running race in the stadium, and the winner was crowned with a wreath made of laurel. After exploring the fascinating and beautiful sanctuary, we visited the Archaeological Museum and saw many statues like the incredible statue of Hermes and Dionysus, and the spectacular statue of the flying Nike, as well as friezes of the labours of Heracles. Afterwards, we headed to Tolo where, bright and early the next morning, we set out to explore the classical citadels of Tiryns and Mycenae. We saw the amazing scale of ancient defences, and the lovely view of rolling hills, with the coast in the distance. After exploring museums with historic weapons, paintings, jewellery and notably the mask of Agamemnon, we set out for Epidavros. Here, we explored the Sanctuary of Asklepios including another stadium, but also temples and ancient statues, scriptures and medical tools. The most extraordinary thing we saw that day was the massive theatre, where we hiked to the top to hear the astonishing acoustics and gorgeous views.

On our final day, we first visited Corinth where we had free rein to explore this magnificent, ancient city with Corinthian capitals of beautiful carvings of acanthus leaves. The stunning sprawling city had some of the lovely, original marble walkways, ruins of temples, and the remains of shops and houses as it bordered the modern town. Inside the museum were extraordinarily preserved statues, paintings and pottery including the impressive atlantes, which are large columns that are carved to look like men. Next, we visited the site of the Eleusis mysteries, where we learnt the puzzling case of the rituals of Demeter and Persephone, which today we don’t know much about. On the site, there was also the cave-like temple of Hades. A level Latinists were excited to see a building built by Publius Clodius Pulcher, the brother of Lesbia, who features in our Catullus poetry! Our final site was on a cliff, with a breath-taking view of the coastline and sea. The temple of Poseidon stood on the edge, surrounded on one side by the sea, and on the other, lush rolling hills, where we were allowed to explore and take in the stunning sites.

Although we were sad to go, our final destination was Athen’s airport, where we said goodbye to Greece and returned home.

By Eva, Kiara and Lina (L6)