I have always been into theatre, from my high school drama days through to now. It almost didn’t matter the genre. Broadway blockbuster musicals, Shakespeare, contemporary comedy a la Tom Stoppard, or even Chekhov and the shockingly depressing Russian dramatists… I was always game to see, read, or perform. It was during this time that…
From the dawn of the Greek world under the Bronze Age civilizations of the Minoans and Mycenaeans, the wisdom of the gods was sought. Would we be successful in war? Would the harvest be a plentiful one? Would one grow up to kill one’s father and marry one’s mother? All these burning questions, and more,…
In the year 86 BCE, the Roman general Sulla laid siege to Athens as Roman conquest made its way across the eastern Mediterranean. He conquered the city-state, destroying most of it in the process, although leaving many of the monumental building projects from the classical period intact. (Click here to read about classical Athens, and…
Editor’s note: today is November 7, 2024. The U.S. presidential election was two days ago, and I am still both sad and angry. And both of those emotions make articles like this one about a Greek island, written back in August, seem meaningless and out of place in the context of my current existence. But…
There is no doubt about it. The Acropolis is Athens’ top sight. But it is not the only way to experience ancient Athens, and seeing only the Acropolis and expecting to emerge with an understanding of Athens at its height is doing a disservice to just how incredible this city was. The Acropolis is amazing,…
Few places on the planet are more iconic. Even at 9am, an August day in Athens is hot, and especially so here, on top of the Acropolis, the platform-topped rocky crag that has been the centerpiece of this city for three millennia or more. There is little shade, and though a breeze helps, the sun…
And just like that, my time in Scotland is coming to a close and the next and final segment of my 2024 Europe trip is about to begin. When I asked A what she would want this year’s “other” focus area to be (after Scotland), she immediately said Greece. She has never been, and my…
I was last in Greece more than a decade ago, in fall of 2009, on a Mediterranean cruise with my family. We stopped in Athens for a day, saw the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum, decided Athens wasn't all that nice of a city, and moved on. So it was time to revisit one of…