Rituals

The question occurred to me yesterday: when do repeated activities become rituals? Les suggested that the repeated activity be meaningful, and that the meaning be enhanced through repetition of the ritual. At the same time, rituals act as initiations: done in the correct sequence, a ritual introduces the individual who participates into a particular state of mind. On the other hand, unlike religious rituals, which are meant to be repeated exactly the same way each time, the rituals of everyday life also gain meaning through the variations we find in repetion. There are aspects of our summer in Greece that have become rituals.The climb up Mount Hymettos, for example: it is meaningful to the students who undergo it once, because it introduces them to their environment and challenges their abilities (since most of them don't hike up mountains in their lives at home). For us, it is a ritual, because it marks the beginning of our time in Athens and reacquaints us with the beauty of the area.

We have experienced the other key rituals of our summer, although out of the order that we have been used to in previous years. Saturday was Les' birthday, and rather than spend it with family and friends as we have done, we needed to make Saturday the day of one of the trips downtown. We initially planned the agora, but because the weather is unseasonably cool, we changed to the Acropolis, which is an important ritual for introducing the students to ancient Athens and the problems of the incorporation of the city's past into its present. So, following our established ritual, we got off the Metro at Monastiraki, and hiked up through the Plaka on a cool, quiet morning. Our first stop was the Areopagus, where we admired the surroundings, and the students could see the connection between the Acropolis, the ancient Agora, and the modern city.

Admiring the views.

From there we went to the Acropolis. After some difficulty with the tickets (I'll leave that for another post) we went in, and battled the crowds to see the theater of Herodes Atticus, the Propylaia, the Parthenon and the Erechtheum.

Fran at the Erechtheum

Finally, defeated by the heat and the crowds, we descended, to wander the Plaka and find our favorite mezedopoleio, Scholarcheio/to Gerani/Koukla (or the Flaming Weenie Place, to generations of ASCSA students).

Obligatory Ellie Squidmouth picture (thanks E for obliging us!)

Afterwards we released the students for shopping and site visits. We did a little souvenir acquisition, then Les went off to show some students the Protonekrotafio (which she will tell you about at great length). We met up at home after a long day, to give Les her presents, and go out for great pizza at an Italian(ate?) place our neighbors recommended.

But the weekend was only half over. The next morning we assembled at 8--minus Ellie, who got a last-minute invitation to spend the day with her friend Sorelle--and boarded a bus for Delphi, Arachova, and Osios Loukas. We were blessed with a friendly and chatty English-speaking bus driver (he'd spent some time in Miami), who took us to Delphi. We arrived somewhat later than we would have liked, but the weather was gloriously cool, even overcast for part of the day.

The trip involved the established rituals: a stop at the Kastalian spring for ablutions:

Then the procession up the sacred way:

Approaching the Temple Platform

Ospreys at the Oracle

Close-up, with shirts

And a SWOOP ftw.

 We then proceeded up past the theater to the stadium.

Further proof that physical therapy works wonders.

Back down, we toured the museum, then headed down to the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia. We hopped back on the bus, and drove to Arachova, where we dispersed to find lunch and shop. The Kaplans ended up in a nice estiatorio on the main plateia, where we enjoyed fine mezedes and shared a chicken in mustard sauce, and water from the nearby spring. And, mirabile dictu, it rained! I can't remember the last time I saw rain in the summer in Greece. Fortunately we were under shade, and it cooled off everything deliciously.

Then we scooted back to the bus, and made our way to the Monastery of Osios Loukas, an indescribably beautiful spot. I will let the pictures speak:

We toured the church, saw the crypt wherein the Blessed Luke's body is interned, admired the views, and bought the locally made honey. Then it was back on the bus for the trip home.

The day was far from over, for after arriving home we went down to the Plateia at Aghia Paraskevi to join our friends the Manaris' for dinner at Tzieri, the fantastic Politiki place we found last year. We had a sumptuous meal, with eastern specialities (hummus, pastourma, and Iskender kebab), Jeremiah got to kick a soccer ball around with Zois, Ellie played with Betty, and we caught up with Vasilis and Renee. But I kid you not, we were exhausted--Ellie fell asleep in our arms (and on our backs) on the walk home, and we took turns carrying her. But a fine day it was, with our favorite rituals, and a couple of new ones as well.