Delphi
Bus trip to Delphi
National Archiological Museum
Board the Harmony V


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Next morning was a bus trip to Delphi.


We saw some beautiful Greek countryside on the way

Delphi was considered by the ancient Greeks to be the centre of the world. According to ancient myth, Zeus released two eagles, one from the east, the other from the west, and caused them to fly toward the centre.

They met at the future site of Delphi, and the spot was marked by a stone called the omphalos(navel), which was later housed in the Temple of Apollo.

 

 

The Temple of Apollo is one of the important features of the site.

According to legend, the oracle at Delphi originally belonged to Gaea, the Earth goddess, and was guarded by her child python, the serpent. Apollo is said to have slain Python and founded his own oracle there.

 

The stone work at these ancient sites is always amazing.

 

At the top of the hill is the stadium. 

 

Delphi also has a well preserved theater. 

It was built in the 4th century BC and could seat 5,000 people.

 

We visited the museum which had this representation of what the site would have looked like.

 

Room 3 is dominated by the Parian marble statues known as Cleobis and Biton, which were produced at Argos between 610 and 580 BC.

 

 

Some bronze helmets just like you see actors wearing in the movies.

 

After we returned to Athens, Bob went to see th Olympic Stadium and take a turn at standing on the podium.

 

The next morning we visited the National Archeological Museum in Athens..

 

 

 

Some of the bronze statues in the museum are amazing..

The Artemision Bronze (often called the God from the Sea) is an ancient Greek sculpture that was recovered from the sea off Cape Artemision, in northern Euboea.

It represents either Zeus or Poseidon, is slightly over lifesize at 209 cm, and would have held either a thunderbolt, if Zeus, or a trident if Poseidon.

The statue is from 470 to 440 BC.

 

 

The Jockey of Artemision is a large Hellenistic bronze statue of a young boy riding a horse, dated to around 150-146 BC.

It is a rare surviving original bronze statue from Ancient Greece and a rare example in Greek sculpture of a racehorse.

Most ancient bronzes were melted down for their raw materials some time after creation, but this one was saved from destruction when it was lost in a shipwreck in antiquity, before being discovered in the twentieth century.

Gold, lots and lots of gold pieces.

 

 

One of the more amazing pieces is the Antikythera Mechanism.

The antikythera mechanism is thought to be one of the most complicated antiques in existence.

It is believed that this instrument was a kind of mechanical analog computer used to calculate the movements of stars and planets in astronomy.

It has been estimated that the antikythera mechanism was built around 87 B.C and was lost in 76 B.C.

You can view a You Tube video about the mechanism here.

 

When I see these frescos it always makes me realize that people in ancients times were just like us.  They just didn't have electricity. 

 

After lunch we drove to the port and got our first look at the Harmony V.

 

Commander Mike is boarding the ship. I didn't see anyone saluting.

 

Charlene helps scale the size of the cabins..

 

The bathroom was small but servicable. You just had to step in the shower to open the door.

 

We all had a good time at the mandatory safety drill.

After the safety drill we retreated to the sun deck to view the scenery as we left port.

Dinner was mostly in the indoor dining area but some dinners were served on the sun deck.

 
We cruised to the port of Poros where we docked for the evening.

 

 

 

Bob walked to the top of the hill and got a nice picture of the Harmony glowing in the dark.

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