Our day began with a hike to the Acropolis. Eleni, our amazing guide, set the stage with a brief history lesson. The students were blown away. As one of them said, “That was like a semester’s worth of learning in ten minutes. This time I won’t forget it.” We then sat in the Theater of Dionysius. This is where theater was born and was done in “view of God.”
Following this moving stop we marched to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the Temple of Nike, the Parthenon, and the Erechtheion. Everything is so stunning and the skill and devotion it took to build these amazing buildings is humbling and awe inspiring.
We then journeyed to the top of what is called the Areopagus, or Mars Hill, where Paul delivered his famous speech to the men of Athens. This speech can be found in Acts 17. In a beautiful olive grove on the Pnyx, the hill where ancient Athenians voted, Rev. Josh Stanley led us in a discussion of Paul’s journey to Athens and his speech to those gathered.
Our final stop before lunch was the agora which is highlighted by stoa, parliament, the senate, general headquarters, the streets where Socrates and Pericles walked, monuments, altars, and temples. It boggles the mind to be in a place where so much history took place so long ago.
After an unforgettable lunch, we toured the Acropolis Museum. This masterpiece of architecture houses many treasures discovered atop the Acropolis including the beautiful Caryatids, the statues that once held up the porch of the Erechtheion.
We closed our day with shopping and small group dinners in the Plaka. We are overjoyed and road weary. For today, we marched on Athens.
Thank you for your prayers. We are looking forward to the ways in which God might surprise us tomorrow.
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