Day 3 was A LOT. First stop was the monument to one of Greece’s most important historical battles, yet still grieved, the Battle of Thermopyles in the year 480 B.C. Remember Esther from the Hebrew Scriptures? Well, the notorious Xerxes who was going to kill Esther’s people landed on the coast of Greece. The historian Herodotus claims that the Persians had 1,700,000 troops and took 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians, under the leadership of Leonides, the King of the Spartans. Xerxes commanded the Spartans to give up their weapons. Leonides replied with the now famous phrase COME AND GET THEM. Unfortunately, a misadopted phrase used in the U.S.
At the site commemorating the battle is the epitaph: “You, stranger, go to Lakedaimonians and let them know that we lie here, faithful to their laws.”
We had lunch in the beautiful mountain town of Delphi.
We continued on from there, winding through the mountains in our bus, from Delphi to the Temples of Athena and Apollo. The very gods that Paul took on, convincing some, that there was a greater God who was not an idol, for everyone to worship. One can get the sense of what a brave (and potentially life threatening) message this was when one visits a site like this. You quickly realize that Paul not only took on one the the most important Greek gods, but took on a multi-national commerce and trade enterprise, the disruption of which would have angered those that were financially benefiting from the Temple taxes. It’s all about the money no matter what century you’re in.
Nonetheless, Greece today the Eastern Orthodox Church now thrives in Greece as a state religion, and Apollo’s temple lies in ruins. Yet even in ruins, one is quite taken by the grandiose architecture and artistry of the once sacred place, made doubly impressive with its placement on a mountain.
Archeological Museum of Apollos and Athen Temples
We end our day in Athens with a late seafood dinner, topped off with a Mastica—Greek’s magical natural ingredient.
Magdalena's Musings 