- HubPages»
- Travel and Places
Ancient Greece Odyssey: A Traveler's Journal
Take a Magical Tour of Ancient Greece...
Myth major seeks armchair travelers, art lovers, and born-again pagans for a ramble through the ruins of ancient Greece.
I visited Greece in spring 2005 for the first time, where I have been going in my imagination for almost 30 years. During that time I had earned a BA and MA in classical studies, but I never quite fit into academia. When I worked on the Perseus Project in 1993, my personal homepage said, "Other scholars beat the ancient world to death, when it's already dead. I want to bring it to life." I still do.
There are red, red poppies growing up through the cracks in the marble monuments of Eleusis, where rites to Demeter and Persephone promised initiates immortality.
In the ruins of Athena's shrine on Mt. Parnassos, where a goddess had a sanctuary guarded by a python long before Apollo slew her serpent and stole her oracle, green snakes still glide in the tall grasses beneath dusky olive trees.
The acoustics at the great theater of Epidauros are still sound enough that if you dare to recite Homer-- "Sing, goddess, of the wrath of Achilles--" your voice will carry clear up the mountainside to the topmost seats.
Listen. Akoue. I'm going to tell you a story.
Students! Are you looking for pictures of Greek gods or answers to common questions about ancient Greece or the Odyssey? Check out my Greece Odyssey FAQ written just for you!
(Photographs, text and artwork on this Greece travel blog © Ellen Brundige.)
The Summons - Introduction to My Greek Odyssey
“So, are you coming to Greece with us?" my friend Lisa asked over lunch in February 2005.
Greece? A few doubletakes later, I found myself sitting crosslegged on the floor of a lecture room at Pacifica, shakily holding a flyer for Greece with Chris Downing. Chris Downing, professor of Greek and Roman myth, author of a more than a dozen books including The Goddess: Mythological Images of the Feminine. Chris Downing, who had taught with Z. Budapest and Carol Christ. A crone with a sparkle in her eye and a passion for literature and the soul, who at 74 thinks nothing of walking thirteen miles a day. The trip's suggested reading list included Mary Renault and Euripides and Aristopanes.
The itinerary was a hit parade of many of the places I've studied or helped catalog for the Perseus library: Athens, Eleusis, Delphi, Mycenae, Epidauros, Delos, Naxos, and... last but not least, Santorini. Thera, its proper name. A speck on the map in the middle of the Aegean Sea. It was that name that made me sit on the floor and shake.
Echoes of Atlantis - My Childhood Dreams of Greece
Thera. How long has that island held me in its spell? I remember stumbling across its legend as a child. Before the Trojan war, before Greece was Greek, a thriving people we call Minoans lived on the big island of Crete. They plied the seas with ships, trading with Egypt and Babylon and the Bronze Age peoples living where Greece would one day arise from marble-bedded hills. Minoan art abounded with flowers, colorfully-dressed courtiers, leaping bulls and dolphins, royal gryphons, and the double-bladed axe that was their chief symbol.
Santorini, ancient Thera, was a smaller island north of Crete where the Minoans had settled, mixed with other seafarers, and built a city that seemed to blend the best of many of the oldest civilizations in the world. Their furniture was ornate, their pottery beautiful, and the rooms of their homes were painted with charming vignettes of fishing and sailing and boys' sports and maidens picking flowers. They were a prosperous and flourishing people.
Then, sometime in the 15th century BCE, the island awoke, like Vesuvius looming over Pompeii. Stairs cracked and walls fell. The people struggled to stay, but their rich fertile soil was a volcano's gift-- or rather, a loan. When the caldera gave way, seawater rushed in, met with molten rock and exloded, blowing out the entire middle of the island and leaving only a ragged circle of land which had formerly been shore. It was much like Krakatoa, that awesome cataclysm that robbed the world of one summer in 1883, save for one thing-- Thera's magma chamber was four times larger. Or at least that was the tale told in Atlantis: the Biography of a Legend, a book on the discovery and excavation of Thera's ruined city.
More recent scientific studies have downgraded the severity of the disaster, but as a child I was gripped by the tale's power. I wrote stories and poems about the lost island that fell into the sea. For surely, garbled as it was, this was the root of the Atlantis legend Plato retold a thousand years later.
When you receive a summons like this, you had better answer. It's like the poet's Muse.
Arrival in Athens: The Journey Begins - Travel Diary, 30th April, Kentral Hotel
Athens.
At the floor-length window of a tiny room, I sit late in the night in the glow of the Acropolis. The fireworks that sprinkled the city are over. Gunfire and the sound of Greek Orthodox hymns have died away. The city is very quiet, although I still hear a few glad voices, the swish of a car below, and the soft squeak of bats.
The Acropolis is golden. The Erechtheion and the Parthenon peek over the top by their head and shoulders. What did they think tonight with the hymns booming out: Christos aneste! "Christ has arisen"? I suppose Athena is glad the fireworks don't come too near; the Parthenon is looking a little worse for wear.
(First picture out hotel window, taken earlier that day)
So how was the journey here? Long and far. It began at 3:45 AM two days ago with an hour-long shuttle ride to Los Angeles, then a six-hour flight to New York, then fourteen hours to Athens.Somehow the night seems darker with deep ocean below rather than solid ground. In the morning, we flew down the coast of Italy. I could clearly make out the long rectangular strips of the iugera, Roman fields kept cultivated to this day. The port of Brundisium settled by ancient Greeks was nestled where it should be upon the heel. There was lingering snow on the the rugged heights of Greece when we crossed over the straits.
In the airport I caught up with some ladies of my tour group. One had booked a ride online with George's Famous Taxi, and he was more prompt than my LA shuttle had been! We decanted at the Central Hotel on Apollonos (Apollo) Street, after a bewildering ride through many narrow alleys. After unwinding in my room, I came down to find Chris Downing welcoming arrivals on a balcony above the lobby. She recommended that I set out and begin my explorations at once.
So, armed with a detailed map, I ambled out into tiny streets, most paved with flagstones and flanked by shops and friendly people. There was an amazing (well, not really) amount of replica Greek art for sale: statues and red-figure vases, even Cycladic figurines, most of which I was more used to seeing from the opposite end of a slide projector.
Google Maps: My Tour of Greece
Odysseus' overseas jaunt took ten years -- twenty if you count his stopover at Troy. Mine was just two weeks, but I had better accommodations.
- Overview of My Greece Trip's Itinerary
Follow me around Greece! I've marked all the sites that we visited and the routes we took on a Google map. Scroll, zoom in and out, or jump to my lenses focusing on different parts of my trip by clicking the colored markers.
My First Day in Athens (Stoa of Attalos)
Travel Diary, 30th April [written the following afternoon]
At length I found my way to the... Stoa of Attalos! Not a name the casual tourist would know, but for me it was strangely surreal, like finding an old school friend having lunch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It was built about 150 BCE by King Attalos II of Pergamon, one of the dynasties founded by the generals of Alexander the Great carving up his empire after his death. By that time, Athens was already considered classic, dwelling on her former glories. Petty tyrants, kings, and emperors would pay homage to her by financing monuments. Hence the stoa, whose long arcade would have housed shops or perhaps an art museum, which is how it functions today. How strange to find it side by side with a modern metro line, the ruined blocks of a Roman forum beside the rails.
The stoa faced onto the Agora, the civic heart of ancient Athens, now a green tumbled wilderness of bushes, flowers, long grass and ruined marble. Alas, this was the day before Orthodox Easter, so I found it closed. I wandered on disappointing various merchants by looking, not buying. I stopped in a random cafe at 3, hungry and tired and confused about time, and had my first Greek salad and lamb, a staple in these parts. Obviously I was an out-of-towner; the rest of the city was fasting for Easter.
I found Raquel, my roommate for this tour, in the room when I returned. At sunset we climbed to the hotel's rooftop for orientation, with the rock of the Acropolis looming up behind us and the Parthenon solid and real on its brow.
Chris began her lectures by speaking of "her" Greece, her lived experience of this place, and how it's new each time. She spoke of hopes and fears of coming to a land steeped in legend, of how we might fear that real Greece might not match the imaginal one. Turning to Greece itself, she spoke of two strata in its culture and history: early Greece, steeped in ritual and cult and reverence for goddesses, and the Greece of classical times, a patriarchal world where mythology and gods were the stuff of literature as much as cult.
First Evening in Athens (Orthodox Easter) - Travel Diary, 30th April [written the following afternoon]
The sunset behind the Acropolis was a stunning backdrop for dinner, although the evening air was biting cold. Some of the group went out into the city to attend late Easter services and drink in the pageantry and the singing. They participated in the local custom of breaking eggs dyed a deep dark red, a tradition to honor rebirth and spring that probably predates the name they call out: Christos aneste! I had wondered why our hotel had left us two eggs in a basket!
I was cold and tired and wary of walking city streets at night, but there on the rooftop we had a view of the whole city laid out before us. Athens is no more level than Rome, so up and down the hills we could see many people processing or holding candles. The soaring choruses of hundreds of voices singing from cathedral and church and square made the city resonate. Chilled and wondering, we stood entranced.
Around midnight, bright fireworks and gunshots went up all over the city, and the many layers of bells ringing and interweaving from all directions brought tears to our eyes. The sound echoed off the cliffs of the Acropolis. There alone, an island of silence in a sea of music and thunder, the shrines and monuments of a different world stood stoically abandoned, their marble columns bathed in golden light from many spotlights that illumined them all night long.
My rambles around Athens: Maps and Info
- MAP: Athenian Landmarks I Visited
Here is a Google satellite and street map of Athens. I've marked our route and all the monuments mentioned on this page to show you where we went! - Dr. J's Illustrated Acropolis
Photo gallery and lecture notes on several monuments by a professor of classics. - Hellenic Ministry of Culture: Acropolis Guide
Official guide to Acropolis, including pages on individual monuments and visitors' information.
Second Day in Athens (Agora, Propylaia) -1st May, Kentral Hotel
On Sunday we explored on our own. Squares were filled with people breaking their Easter fast on roast lamb spitted over open coals just as Homer described. There was music and dancing everywhere. At length we came to the Stoa of Attalos, by now an old friend, but the gates to the Agora were again closed. So we ambled beside its ruins sunk below street level, great open expanses of blocks and marble overgrown by tall grass and flowers and bushes, submerged islands of the past lying tantalizingly on the far side of fences and locked gates. Over the Agora in the distance the Acropolis loomed. When we came far enough around to look up at its western face, I had a surprise-- empty scaffolding enclosing the spot where the pretty little Temple of Athena Nike usually stands, perched on a high bastion on the righthand side of the great entrance to the Acropolis, the Propylaia.
Well, I knew what should be there, so only a little disappointed we kept edging around the Agora until we'd climbed the long Pnyx hill, past the wonderfully-preserved Temple of Hephaistos, past the grotto where Pan, they say, used to pipe to the nymphs, past the Kallirhoe spring and up to the olive-clad foot of the Acropolis, the Propylaia just above us.
Propylaia, the gateway to the Acropolis
Turning back to face the city and the Agora, we climbed out onto a knee of the Acropolis that has its own famous name, the Areopagus (Mars Hill). There, long before democracy, the Athenian elders met to discuss city affairs. Centuries later, Paul preached his sermons there to dubious merchants from the Agora below. I shed my shoes and we climbed up onto Athenian limestone polished by thousands of years of passage. Below the city spread out before us. Dancing swallows rode the blustery fresh wind, and we drank in the pure Greek sun and sky. Chris was up there too with her granddaughter. We shared the view and some talk, but I was off in my own world watching swooping swallows and thinking of Thera's flaking plaster walls.
Poll: Have You Visited Greece? - For Other Travelers
Have you ever been to Greece?
Second Day in Athens (Agora, Taos Indians) - Travel Diary, 1st May, Kentral Hotel
Panorama of Agora and Athens from Areopagus Hill
Temple of Hephaistos, left; Stoa of Attalos, Right
Distant left: Marble Quarry for Parthenon, still in use
Descending the heights, we cut through the edge of the Agora, where a few ruins were still open to visitors, including the foundations of a temple to Hekate. There I got my first taste of what was to become a familiar sight of which I never tired: red, red poppies overrunning the old stones, wild barley grasses rustling in the wind. Just past the temple was an orange grove fragrant with hanging jasmine, a feast for the nose.
Agora / Temple of Hecate foundations
Past that came an unlikely feast for the ears. Coming down to the ruins of a Roman forum, we were drawn by the sound of pipes, flutes and drums, which in fact we had been hearing here and there all afternoon. Now we discovered the source. Native American musicians from Taos, not far from Raquel's home, were giving an impromptu outdoor concert before the ancient Roman library of the emperor Hadrian, a grecophile who would probably have appreciated their music! Greeks danced to the unlikely music of a continent away. Old and new, far and near were blended together by Andean pan-pipes.
Native American musicians in front of Library of Hadrian.
For a late lunch we had Greek salad at an outdoor cafe and that ubiquitous iced chocolate drink that became a staple of my daily wanderings.
Finally we returned to the hotel, where I had a chance to bring my diary up-to-date.
In the evening, Chris gave us the second of her many brilliant 2-hour lectures, this one on Greek religion. I'm not going to reprint her words here, but much of what she said is found in her excellent books on Greek goddesses and gods, written not just for scholars but for the thoughtful public.
Sneak peek at Things to Come - Ancient Greece Odyssey: Glimpses
Here's a sneak preview of some places we'll be visiting in future chapters.
The Journey Continues...
And that's just my second full day in Athens! Now it's time to head for the Parthenon in Ancient Greece Odyssey: Acropolis of Athens!
Learn Common Greetings in Modern Greek! - Free Lessons for People Traveling to Greece
- My Greece Timeline
Easy-to-read timeline of ancient Greek history written for Ancient Greece Odyssey. - Theoi Project
Excellent guide to Greek divinities (gods and daimones) including regional variants, cults and translations of ancient sources describing them. - An Overview of Classical Greek History
Free e-text version of classicist Tom Martin's Overview of Classical Greek History, which I helped edit/hyperlink in the early days of the web. - Romanus_Too's Flickr Gallery
Here are some really beautiful photos of Athens by someone who had a better camera and more photographic skill than I!
If I Had to Recommend One Book on Greek Art...
How classical vases and sculpture depict Greek gods, goddesses, and individual myths, and tell us something about the Greeks themselves.
This site is dedicated with love and thanks to my mentor, Dr. Chris Downing, who led me and the rest of our group on this magical journey and spent hours each day sharing her scholar's knowledge.
Leave a friendly note if you enjoyed this page, or pass it on!
P.S. An extra "thank you" to Vivia, who wrote this:"You have a very nice camera! IT WAS A BIGG HELP IN MY SOCIAL STUDIES PROJECT!! Lol, anyway, Im only 6th grade, but I think Im gonna get an a off of this. But don't worry, no palgerism was committed, I gave you some credit for the pics!! Lol, good work, and keep at it."
~ ViviaVivia: I hope you got an A! Two thumbs up for giving credit and not plagiarizing!
© 2007 Ellen Brundige
Guestbook for Fellow Travelers - Do you love ancient Greece?
This is a 5*s lens! A warm welcome to you to my group Nature and Environment! Keep the great lenses coming!If you have time, please vote for my Kutani lens and the George Clooney one. Thank you: Classic
I await the next episode with bated breath!
Squid Angel Star
Blessed by a SquidAngel
You've been blessed by a SquidAngel. Keep up the good work.
I love this lens. It is a perfect example of what a Squidoo lens should be. I featured your lens both on My Squid Angel Lens and myStumble Upon Lens
Your series can be a great addition to our Squidbook group -
This is really a wonderful Lens - 5-stars all the way. Thank you for sharing your journey!
Spent a lot of time here tonight! Good stuff.
This is a great travel lens which has a superb crisp and fresh feel about it.
Very impressive.
EXCEPTIONAL Lens! Would give you 6 stars if I could. Might take me a week to see all this Greek. Welcome to the Kaleidoscope Group!
One word. Wow.
Breathtaking images and excellent writing. I can't wait to come back and read more. Had to laugh at the incongruity of the Native American dancers. Gives me hope, that they would take their music and their magic there. Five stars, and Blessed Be.
Hey there, Greek, a "contact me" button would sure be nice on your bio. I nominated this lens for Squidoo's lens of the day. Others who agree, give Editor in Chief Megan Casey a shout and let her know you support the nomination. Woot!
- Author
Thank you so much everyone! Gabby-- done and done! I'd actually sent this lens to LOTD for a look-see, but you may not have realized it was me since my email isn't under "greek geek" :).
now THIS is a travel lens. wow.
What a fun and interesting lens! I married into a Greek family, so this bit of history is very entertaining.
A very interesting lens. I love the Greek Islands, especially Rhodes. Beautiful. Your pictures reminded me of my holidays there.
Great Job, Totally Awesome!
Hi,
Congratulations for this great 5 stars lens! Nice pictures too.
WEbTv-Station
I look forward to reading more of your indepth coverage.
For a superficial look at the Greek islands
Share our Greek Island Paradise Lens
Or
Vote for Your Favorite Greek Island
I met my wife on holiday in Crete nearly 25 years ago! We were a bit "louder" in those days on an 18-30 holiday. We've spent many holidays since then in the Greeks Islands and this lens brings it all back.
Brilliantly done - congratulations on one of the best lenses I've seen. Mark CostaEsuri
Wonderful! I want to go. 5 stars
A very insightful lens--the pictures are great. Nice job!
What a fascinating lens! And your pictures are lovely too. There's a lot to be said for armchair travelling!
Just got back from a bareboat excursion of the Greek Islands -- fell in love with Greece, and love your lens. My favorite island was Delos -- so much history.
Great Lens! Love the pictures!
Beautiful, I wan to go to Greece now!!!
Beautiful pictures of Greece! Well done!
DeWayne(FilmFreak)
- MovieDownloadMatrix.com -
Horror Movie Critic with Fangs!
This made me so nostalgic...I lived in Athens from 1967-1972, best times of my life...
Congratulations on lens of the day. I'm Greek-American and really appreciate your thorough coverage. I was lens of the day yesterday for my tofu lens, so I know how proud you must be today. Nice accomplishment. Yasou!
My bags are packed! Again, a truly phenomenal lens. Congratulations from your fellow Group Members at the Kaleidoscope Group! We're dancing and smashing our plates over here in your honor. Opa!
Absolutely fantastic lens. 5* doesn't do it justice!
Superb!
I love the pictures!
A Day of Hope
Wow. Beautiful lens. I love the picture in the Echos in Atlantis section. Wish I was on that balcony right now enjoying that spectacular view.
The Solution
Congratulations on your Lens of the Day win, Greek. Exciting news!
I loved all the pix. One of my favorite types of movies are from the Greek period. Thanks for such a great lens.
Another unoriginal blog and stereotypical photos from a newbie in Greece...ho hum
Beautiful. It set me to dreaming. Someday!
Sylvia
Great lens, there is heaps of good information... I am looking forward to my tour around greece.... mmm the food... ohh the food will be amazing...
Brilliant lens! Congratulations on being awarded lens of the day!
:)
very fantastic lens i really loved all the pix keep writing
Pretty good one.
Beautiful lens, love the photos. Congrats on lens of the day.
Beautiful and relaxing escape lens for me. Congrats on Lens of the Day!
I keep on coming back and reading more, what a fascinating lens! Definitely 5*s
What an unexpected jewel; glad it made lens of the day so I could find it.
Greekgeek, I majored in Ancient Civ in college. You brought back a lot of memories with this fine lens. Thank you!
California
Real Estate For Salecentral
coast california real estate
Congratulations on your LOTD honor--richly deserved! I didn't know Athena was credited with giving the olive tree to humankind. That explains much about why the olive branch figures so prominently in religions that followed. This is a fun lens and I'll return to learn more soon. Five stars!
Great Lens! Very Nice. Check out my Satellite
TV lens.
Awesome lens. Veryb informative!
totally awesome lens! a guy i work with just went to greece and said it is the most beautiful inspiring place he has ever been. I am thinking it is going to be worth the journey if i go!
www.myyeastinfectioncure.com
Very well put together. Have you noticed how both greek mythology and a story in the Indian "Vedas" both have a birth occurring out of the side of a man? Anyway, if you get a chance check out my dating tips for men lens. This lens gets a 5. :-)
This is a lovely lens with so much really good and valuable information. I'll be coming back here regularly and I have put you on my lens roll because this is an example of living myth. As you say, other scholars do Ancient Greece to death but you want to bring it alive. I think you are succeeding.
Informative and interesting! Great job. Keet it up. Cheers. :D
wow i love your features, congrats
I'm lensrolling it to the Michelangelo's David lens!
From one Greek nut to another, congratulations on a gorgeous and interesting page!
Excellent work. Thank you.
I love the imagery that I get...it's almost like I am traveling there already!
Lensrolled to Name the Squid! Don't forget to do the same for a permanent link!
LOVE this fabulous lens!
Great stuff! I used to live in Cyprus and Libya, so I'm well aware of the beautiful historical stuff in that part of the world.
Congratulations on interesting and wonderful lens. Five stars indeed!
Visit sometime at How to Choose Travel Rewards Credit Card
Thanks. Cheers!
Thanks for joining the Tru-Travel Group,
and congrats again for sustaining such a great lens.
Great Lens. It goes on my list of favorites. Can't wait
to see the others completed. Your lens has inspired me
to do more. Please visit my lenses on gardening.
A very inspiring lens
I have been to Greece 25 years ago and still want to go back, thanks for the brief web visit!
cool, wonderful place! I wish I can go there. :) Hope to see you again on my lens and tell me what d'yo think?
very good! cool places... Keep up!
I love ancient Greece. especially the philosophy. 5/5
Congratulation, you've done a great job here, excellent resources about ancient Greece. Worth 5 stars! Check out my lens at Top 10 Vacation Spots.
Great lens. I have a friend with yearnings to visit Greece, sending it right on to her.
This was most informative and I learned a lot !
Best wishes,
Karen at Karens
Kinkade Art Store
What a fantastic lens. I actually backpacked through Europe in 1978 for two months. Didn't get to Greece - darn. The photos are great. Thanks for commenting on my lens in the forum. Barb,
Thanks for some great information--I can't wait to go to Greece myself!
This lens is OUTSTANDING.
Wonderful lens! I love Greece, the people are so friendly. Next time you go, please bring me back some oozo :)
- Author
lens4Him -- Better you than me... sad to say, I don't drink! (I did try some "Mythos" beer, but I hated it.
Thank you so much for your comments, everyone!
A beautiful lens, deserving of 5 stars. Please visit me soon.
All the Best, Karen at Karen's Kinkade Art Store
Very well created lens, your graphics pop out wonderfully!
Hi I have featured you and your lens on the HP of my group Antique Art. Please visit my new lenses if you have time. Have a great Sunday!
Very Nice Lens. A 5 star-er. Reminds me of one of the most beautiful places in the world, the Peloponnese peninsula. Emerging Market: ETFs and Stocks.
I just entered this site and am totally excited. I started learning modern Greek language about two years ago, and have made little headway. Now I will be getting back into it, and Greek culture in general, with your site as a guide.
Thanks so much!
I love the lens! Keep it up! Join A Day of Hope
Excellently done. Pretty geeky. Congratulations.
Alban
magical lens! I wish I could visit this historical place someday. :) 5 stars from me!
Superior to so many published travel articles. Really, really enjoyed this lens.
Tikal Xunantunich
WOW, beautiful site! I would love to visit Greece one day. %Stars!!
~Melissa~
Great Lens! I used to study Ancient Greek culture. Fascinating stuff. In case any Americans are thinking about visiting Europe - Here is a Guide to Travel Insurance Around Europe.
Very classy lens!Your passion for Greece shines through.
Absolutely gorgeous lens with great write-up and pics of Greece. Makes me want to book a trip! Thanks for all the fantastic information. Fran (FESA)
Great lens. I too had a dream trip, but mine was to Egypt. Friend and I combined our dreams and visited both. Quite a while gone now, but I still remember the aura of mystery and awe as we stood high in the mountains looking at the Temple at Delphi.
Thanks for the grand preview. I'm headed to Greece and Italy next winter. Photos are great, and myths and travel stories A . Your lens design is excellent. No 20 books on one Amazon site! I hate those 20-in-a-rows. Give me 1 or 2 and I'll pay attention. And thanks for taking a peek at my lens. Bo
This lens is really tremendous. I love the design and will research how you are doing all of this. The information and photos are awesome! Definite 5*
Meat and Three Restaurants
Phil (mn3guy)
Well Done! I as well will want to know how you filled out the page this way. Where can we find the info on this.
- Author
m3guy, Gweedy: it's mostly text modules combining my photos and diary entries, with a few graphics I did in Photoshop. Check my Squid Tips lens for ideas!
Amazing....I've always wanted to spend a lot of time in Greece....this is SO helpful....
Come and visit Persephane!
Cheers,
Lady Ellen
Spent nearly 20 minutes reading through your lens and barely touched the surface. What a journey! I just had to add your lens to the My Favorites list.
Oops, I almost forgot to rate your lens the 5 stars it deserves.
What a beautiful lens. Looks like you had a fabulous time! 5*
Awesome site.
Simply Superb lens
My first entry got cut off. Love your lens, gave it 5 stars. Great work!
very informative lense! 5*
This is an amazing lens. Love it!
I just saw your blog about CafePress and found a link to this lens on your APsense profile. This is an incredible lens. Now I'm off to visit your CafePress shop.
Act on your dream!
JD
Beautiful lens! This is my dream trip, that I have been planning since I was eight. Hope to get to it in the next couple of years.
fantastic lens, congrats for making it to the top. I would like to visit Greece someday. ;)
Oh, wow! Your site is BEAUTIFUL! I'm gonna have to spend some serious time here. And thanks for visiting my lens and leaving the comment. Hopefully someday, mine will be as beautiful as yours. ^_^
I thought to reciprocate to your kind comment on my lens by visiting yours... and I'm humbled! Very nice lens! Very beautiful pictures! (And I've only looked at the first page...)
Hi
I spend a lot of time in Greece my favorit is Creta.
Nice Lens!!
Thank you for this wonderful lens and please create more episodes of this odyssey!
What a beautiful lens! ....and a great odyssey you've taken us all on. I love to bring myth and society together in today's world. I've love for you to stop by and say hello at my lens.
viva greece!
a definite must see. how many islands does greece have?
from fellow lens: www.squidoo.com/bigsaveontravel
Nice pictures!
Great lens, thanks.
Great lens! Lots of great information for all of us. Keep up the hard work. Come over to A DAY OF HOPE
I love your lens.Lived there as a child and unfortunately all I got was a school outing to Meteora (which I barely remember) and a weekend to Athens. Thank you for bringing Greece a little closer to my heart with your exceptional writing and photos than we did in three years and over 25 years ago.
Hi! I appreciate your lens and all the great info. Please visit my new lens Lisa Martin and get to know me better! Thanks! your friend, ~LISA~
Absolutely gorgeous lens! Thanks for the sharing, and way to set the bar! :D
Nice lens.
Great lens!
Have you heard how you can Learn To Talk Spanish?
This is a great lens. I appreciate all the useful info.Build Niche eBay Affiliate Stores That Make You Money
very informative lens. keep up the great work.
thanks!
Perfect Wealth Formula
very informative. i appreciate the time you spent on this lens. Nike SB Dunks, Bapes, Jordans, AF1's kicks
Greece is awesome I go a few times a year, winter/fall/spring etc Athens is great around that time of the year when everyone is there. But for Summers i'm always in Ikaria.
Awesome Photographs...
I really love your lens..I encourage everyone to read this. It makes us to refresh our knowledge about History..
Keep it up!!!
Everything on this lens is fantastic! One small design detail which I like the best is the use of graphics in the modules (e.g. the "table of contents", "end of day two" and "lecture notes" graphics.) The rest of the design flows so well!
Oh hello, I like the page, very good, very popular. I'm working on getting my pages longer like this one. Here is my most recent page, It is about Cara Zavaleta, the MTV/Playmate at spring break.I've got spring break on the mind because i'm planning mine now. http://www.squidoo.com/carazaleta/
Thoroughly enjoyed your lens! What a great lens on Greece. Keep up the good work! :o)
Hello! Wish this lens existed when we were in Athens, Santorini and Naxos in 2004. Beautiful lens. You know, we've got our own Athena in Nashville, Tennessee. (My lens is on Nashville.)...Anyway, love your work.
Absolutely fantastic.
Very interesting. I have been sailing a lot among the Greek islands and I really found a lot of good info. Thanks!
Excellent lens! Someday maybe I'll see Greece....Sigh.
Fantastic Lens! Fascinating information and images. I will be back to explore more.
Hi GreekGeek, Amazing Ancient Greece lens. I love the photos and I admire the amount of work you put into the text. That had to be a wonderful place to visit and I'm glad you got to go, finally :) ~Music Resource~
You always give your readers the best. I can only add, *****
Very nice lens indeed. Not the usual stuff gleaned from a reference book, but a whole lot of really interesting and varied content. Have to give you *****
love the white houses in greece the history and the mythology! be sure to check out the philippines thru catchquest... ;)
Cool lens. Interesting info.
Fantastic lens! I need to come back and study it so that I can quote it on my Greek island lens.
Cheers,
You have so much here to keep readers interested and coming back. 5 stars. Sigh, I'd love to visit Greece...someday.
Awsone Greek Len's 5 Stars!
Wow, you've really gone out with this lens, great stuff!!!
I have a lens on cruise ship holidays which you and your readers may be interested in.
You've gone all out with this lens, good work!!!
Beautiful Lens. I will be visiting Greece soon and I will definitely come back to your lens before I make my trek.
very beautiful greece. very rich in both culture and history. nice lens.
I love to learn about ancient Greece - nice lens!
Thank you for your advice on my new lens. I am still working on it bit by bit. I am so impressed with your lens here. I want to go to Italy and Greece one of these days, so I look forward to reading more of it.
This is nice, I envy you. Greece is on my short-list of places that I want to visit. My short-list is so short that there are only 3 places in the world that are on it.
www.squidoo.com/cruiseguy
Amazing Lens! I have lensrolled this to my debate: Did Atlantis Really Exist? (I also angel blessed you.)
Great lens, great country!
linhuck
super affiliate guru
Great lens. Love it.
Ahh,Greece! We spent months there this summer (plus Troy,Ephesus,Pompei,Knossis,Mycenae,Aphrodisias,Pergamum,Pammukale etc) with my little one who loves Homer, archeology and Greek Myths and had a spectacular time.
I just stumbled upon you...thanks for bringing back happy memories. Love this topic! Can't wait to show her. ;)
Makes me want to take a Greek Odyssey! Blessed by a Squid Angel today! :o)
wow! what a great lens... and huge! there is so much info here!
Wow lots of info here and good stuff. Thanks for taking the time to put this up.
Free Tips On How To Make Money Online
Your lens give me some ideas to make my own lens.Thanx.for sure I give you 5* for the great lens.Come to see my lens
one of the historical and lovely place I would love to visit someday.
Excellent post keep the good work .
This is a great lens and I enjoy staying. BOOKMARKED!
Yes a very well done and attractive lense. bravo
So much of our history is based in Greece. I want to visit! Thanks for creating this lens.
I'm featuring this fabulous page on Wanderer's Group page. At minimum, everyone should read this. Hopefully you'll inspire people to GO!
Absolutely awesome! Thank you. Hope to visit someday myself!
Carrie
Cool lens! I'm fascinated by Greek and Roman history -- we visited Athens and Rome a few years back. With your interests, you might enjoy the book "Route 66 A.D" which covers tourism under the Pax Romana.
Please visit my Marklin Trains lens.
Wonderful lens, very informative
Learn about Travel Insurance
I'm all into those Magical times in our history. 5-Stars for your super lens! Please feel free to stop by my Handmade Beaded Jewelry Lens.
Thanks,
Donia
Handmade Beaded Jewelry Gallery
What a great lens and lots of good info! Please visit my lens on Cheap Key West Vacations and tell me what you think.
Wow, so much great information. I traveled to Greece a few years ago and loved it!
I just finished a lens on What to Pack for your European Vacation.
Great lens, this is definitely a place I would like to visit someday. Giving you 5 stars for sure. Please take a look at my lens about Manitoulin Island, not quite as exotic but still a nice place to visit.
Fantastic lens, I really enjoyed it!
This is the second time I have been at your lens in two days and I find something new each time, GREAT LENS! I have a lens for Traveling Deals, what do you think? http://www.squidoo.com/cheaptraveling
Keep up the great work
Rob
Great Lens!
My two sisters are going to Greece this summer.. I will forward your lens to them... they will find this interesting... Great job!!!
A simply awe-inspiring lens :-) Bravo!
I love all of your personal pix of Greece and your little notations for further reading.
I love Greece myself and aim to visit someday. I will print out this lens and keep it in my travel journal ;-)
Greece is beautiful what a great lens
I loved your lens! I lived in Europe for some years and I never been in Greece. Can you believe that?Next time I sure will visit all these beautiful places.Great job! Thanks for share with us!
Cindy
Ok, I am back again, make that three times I have been here in a week great site! http://www.squidoo.com/cheaptraveling
A superlative lens by you, as always, on a subject very close to my heart -- Greece.
Beautiful Lens & I especially liked it as I have recently started collecting ancient Greek & Roman coins & have been buying books about my hobby & Ancient Greek & Roman cultures & mythology! Very neat UTube video too! Keep up the good work! Hopefully I will get to Greece & Italy one day too! Cheers! Swims
This is a fantastic lens, I wish I would have come up with something just as good.
Would also love to visit Greece when I get the time.
I was there with you all the way to the end. Strange religion for me, but fascinating lens. I admire how you developed your topic. The pictures were great too. You must love taking photos.(You are very good at it.) 5 stars, favorite, fan and lenrolled to my Staycation lens where I promote from all over the world - great, well-known artists, photographers and designers.
Truly remarkable work. Excellent taste and style. Thanks.
Atlantis is Alexandria, ie Canopus. Canopus was the home of IO and Danaus. Also the home of Solon for 10 years.
Wonderful lens, very inspiring.
What a terrific lens! Although I have lived back and forth between Athens and Chicago for many years, your lens has given me a truly new perspective on the history around me. My own lens is about pragmatic tips for Athens and Greece, and yours will be the link for deeper knowledge. Thank you!
Great lens! I love reading greek mythology and visiting Greece one day... What an awesome trip that would be.
5*
Lizzy
Wonderful lens. I haven't been to Greece in 30 years. You've brought back some wonderful memories. Thank you.
I'm fascinated with Greece and Greek mythology. How I would love to go to Greece in the future! Hope you could be there with us! Thanks for your awesome lens!
-Mark " Jack Russell Terrier checks " Serra
Excellent and inspiring!
This takes me back to my trip to Greece, what a great place.
Your picture of Athen's Acropolis reminds me of a tip I stumbled onto. We got into Athens about 10 am and being very excited went there at high noon, when all Greeks, and people with brains were staying out of the sun!
Boy was it hot! But I did get a picture of myself standing in front of it, alone, no one else.
The sunstroke went away, but I still have the picture!
Great work!
Margo Arrowsmith
Very elegant lens, congratulations for your efforts which have produced such a wonderful lens. Hope one day I can visit too. Thanks for sharing all of the well organized information about Greece with great resources. I would like to share with you an interesting and informative site about online studies, including accounting course online, electrical engineering online, online computer classes and many other courses.
With over 150 people giving a 5 star this lens is one of the best I have seen in the Squidoo. So much details supported by nice photographs, it has taken some efforts to build such a nice lens
Travel Guide
Thank you and thank you again for your beautiful lens.
I have had great joy following the map. You make me feel as if I were there with you
P.S. I loved the pic of Native Americans outside of Hadrian's library although I'm unsure how Adrian would feel about this. (Maybe Antinous would appreciate the music more)
You have a very nice camera! IT WAS A BIGG HELP IN MY SOCIAL STUDIES PROJECT!! Lol, anyway, Im only 6th grade, but I think Im gonna get an a off of this. But don't worry, no palgerism was committed, I gave you some credit for the pics!! Lol, good work, and keep at it.
Vivia
Beautiful pictures and great information! I would love to get to Greece some day. I have been to Italy though... I know some day I will get there!
Excellent, informative and a pleasure to read. I've lensrolled you (to add more class to myself)and I will be back to read again. A well written article deserves to be read again and again. 5* for top quality
Brought back some nice memories.
I love the way you put this together interweaving the trip with other things.
I remember the first time I saw the Acropolis! We had just gotten off the plane and were driving to the hotel. I think I hadn't really expected it to be real. We went asap which was the hottest time of the day, so I have a picture of me and it, with no other humans!
My Greek Odyssey
Never been but now dying to go! I've lensrolled you. I'm a Newbie, but catching on fast. Wonderful job on this lens.
this is a beautiful site. so I've faved it, stumbled it, top ranked it, and lensrolled it! In other words, I think it's fantastic. something to strive for my own travel lens.
Wow, I really love this lens. I teach a world mythology class to elementary age homeschoolers, I am going to put this on their handouts for extension resources for when we cover Greek mythology. My daughter is a huge Greek myth fan too so I'm going to send it to her. What a great job! 5 stars!
What a truly fantastic lens.
Congratulations on your 2008 Giant Squid Awards nomination and good luck! - Kathy aka "Pretty Bullet"
Ellen, This is definitely a magical tour. It deserves the nomination for the 2008 Giant Squid Awards. I gave it 5 stars already but it deserves more! Good luck in the contest. Bear hugs, Frankster
Congratulations on the Giant Squid Awards nomination, yet another honor for this wonderful lens!
Gorgeous and what an adventure! Congrats on your 2008 Giant Squid nomination...woot! (http://www.squidoo.com/2008-giant-squid-awards)
It's always a treat to visit this lens... Congratulations on your Giant Squid Awards nomination!
wow what a great lense love it
and love Greece
A place that has such an outstanding mythology can only be a great place to visit. It's spawned so many shows and movies. It's definitely near my top of places to visit for my future bucket list.
Congratulations for winning the 2008 Best Travel Lens award!
Congratulations on your Giant Squid 2008 Award! Very well done!
ThomasC
Congratulations on winning the Best Travel Lens in the 2008 Giant Squid Awards. Well deserved. I hope to one day make it to Greece! Best to you in the new year.
Congratulations on your Giant Squid Travel award for this lens!
Congrats on your win! :)
Wonderful Lens. The travel diary took us through each place with personal thoughts and historic information. 5*
Extremely interesting and beautiful lens. Wish there was more than 5 stars.
What an excellent journey. I have traveled extensively in the US, but have yet to visit some of the places in other countries I'd love to explore.
Kudos!
Karen
The recommendations for further studies are very helpful. A very good representation on Athens.
Transglobetravelers Best Hotels & Best Travel Destinations blog
I did a Rick Steves tour that visited several countries in Europe, but we didn't get down to Greece, so I guess I better go back. :)
Congrats! 5's! Since you are a GreekGeek would you check out my lens? Thanks, Evharisto!
This looks like an incredible trip. I'd love to see it someday. I found this through the LOTD blog from way back. I'm compiling them all into a single lens -- I still have about a year to fill in. Since I wasn't a lensmaster this far back, congratulations on your 2007 LOTD!
Ευχαριστώ πολύ!..Thank you so much! Greekgeek (or better Greekg-oddess-eek), if you lived in ancient Greece-Hellas (Hel=sun, las=stone, Hellas= Sunstone) you would probably be Άρτεμις, ( Artemes, travel and hunting goddess). As a Greekman I was touched by your knowledge and love for Hellas.Thank's again and congratulations for this great lens!!!
Prosperity via Healthy Mind, Healthy Body!
Amazing lens. Would love someday to hit some of the ancient Greek sites I studied in college (and my 6th grader is learning about now!). This is a wonderful model for travel lenses.
Great lens! Your lens has been featured on A Short Introduction to Biblical Archaeology. ~ Whit
Awesome lens, one of the best travel lenses on Squidoo! Squid Angel blessed!
I was in Tunisia last Autumn and it was great expirience defenetly worth visiting. Greece is my next holiday target 5
Simply magical! I always wanted to visit the islands of Greece.
Cool lens.
Well Done. 5* from me.
Keep it up :)
Hi,
Phenomenal lens. Thanks for sharing :)
Ryan
Cool lens, amazing pictures. Just got back from Athens myself. Drop by at my lens, http://www.squidoo.com/fly-coach-in-comfort
I would love to visit Greece one day, fantastic Lens!. Blessed by a Squid Angel :)
Thank you GreekGeek, really good lens hope mine gets halfway as good. Mind if I favourite it? When I find out how to do it! Ha Ha!!
Minky
Quite a good job, my "5" is added to all the others!
This is an amazing lens!
I actually went to Greece 2 years ago when I was in Grade 12 and I LOVED it! I paid for the entire trip myself and it was a two week trip (one week in Italy and the other in Greece) and when I heard Greece was one of the countries I absolutely had to go.
When I was, we went on an overnight ferry ride from Italy to Greece. When we arrived we went to Delphi, then Athens then during the end of the week we went on a cruise through the Greek Islands stopping on... I believe Poros, Hydra (my favorite =]) and Aegina (spelling may be off I think =P).
Egypt will be my next adventure hopefully in the near future.
Haha, this is getting to be a pretty long comment so I think I'll just end it by saying great lens and I am so amazed by the variety and how interesting your lenses are!
Cheers! =]
Wow, nice article!! I like Greece a lot. It is a history of the whole world!!! I liked Acropolis of Athens http://www.worldwalk.info/en/catalog/1238/ It is really something!!
Nice lens! I'll love to visit Greece someday! I love anything that has to do with Ancient Greece! 5*
Lovely lens. Reminds me of my trip to Greece in 1988. The Acropolis is so majestic.
Thank you for sharing Greekgeek I enjoyed reading about your travels especially the Parthenon and the Acropolis as they reminded me of last time I was in Athens.
I think I'll have to sort out a holiday there again soon.
Paul
I remember stumbling upon this set of lenses early in my Squidoo days and having to come back time and again to look at the pictures and read the journals. I remember telling myself that if I ever became a Squid Angel I would definitely bless this lens!
I'm back again ~ Blessed By a Squid Angel ~
Ellen.....another masterpiece. I was drawn to your Greek Odyssey by a tweet from 24websurf.
Excellent!
blessed!
- Author
Wow, you sweethearts!
Drifter and 24websurf -- I wondered what had bounced this lens back up to its old glory days in the top 1000! Thank you both for a lot of extra angel dust. This lens is a little creaky -- it was my very first -- and I keep thinking I need to trim out bits to make it more readable for the general public. Apparently many still find it worth digging through all my geekery to find the magic, though!
Wonderful to be able to return to your superb lens and, this time, leave "my big fat greek blessing" :) Blessed!
excellent article , Greece is so full of history
Would love to visit Europe, and Greece is high on that list!
Great history lesson. I would love to travel there.
Very nicely done in the sidebar Greek geek.
Incredible work. I just stopped by to see your "homemade" discovery tool that you made underneath your bio. Great idea, I need to shut it off on my top lenses. Squid Angel blessed once again.
Beautiful lens & history lesson,5*!
What a great travel lens. Yes, I too love Greece and have been lucky enough to visit Athens. But the places I really love are the islands - we have holidayed in Crete, Rhodes and Kefalonia.
SquidAngel blessings for you.
- Author
@anonymous: Wow. You angels have been loaning me a ton of wings lately-- this old lens is almost back to the stratosphere with your efforts. Thank you so much.
Hello - I have created a backlink to your lens by featuring it on my travel lensography. Great job, very interesting. Five stars and an Angel Blessing!
Absolutelt delightful... I felt like I was there with you!
I can't believe I've never been to this lens before... it's fabulous!... & Blessed!
Awesome lens. I'm looking forward to going to Greece.
What an absolutely wonderful lens. I really enjoyed reading this and learning so much. Blessed by a Squid Angel :-)
Beautiful lens & history
What a great lens- you really whet my appetite for a trip there!
I love your lens! It's informative and beautiful! you're very lucky to travel as you do! I am a huge fan of traveling so i will be visiting often. thank-you for sharing! www.squidoo.com/Jexy-me
Wonderful Odyssey - stories and photos to entice the willing - that would be me. 5*/fav/roll to my lens relating to ancient Greece..thanks!
Indeed a fantastic journey in Ancient Greece and its curiosities, arts and splendors. I like the idea of crafing all lenses in chapters. It's really creative!
SquidAngels blessings to the Greekgeek you are!
This had to be the trip of a lifetime! Thank you for sharing it with those of us who are stuck at home right now.
Nice.
This is a wonderful lens! I am slightly prejudiced since I am an ancient history freak. Hope to one day visit Greece . This lens has certainly inspired me to do so.
Im jealouse. I wanna do a marathon in the ruins! I just came across this site. I love it. Im bookmarking it. -Lucia (blogger for digital camera review)
Amazing lens! 5 stars!
I LOVE your lense and I MUST come back :) ! I love Greece myself having taken a few little ship cruises around the Greek islands. Because the ships were so small (40 guests max) we were able to sail into some fabulous tiny coves and Santorini is one of my favourite places having witnessed the marriage of our friends there! Thanks for reminding me :)
Ah, we are in for a treat! Hubby has planned our next vacation ... it is in November and we are heading to Greece!
- Author
@julieannbrady: Oh, Julie, that's great! I hope my ramblings help give you an appetizer. I found that some of the places I enjoyed visiting most are ones I'd heard much about.
I really need to finish --- I created lenses on most of my stops on this trip, but I've never done the last few days of it.
This is wonderful - you have such a lovely way of writing which immediately engages the attention. I am going to work my way through the rest of your odyssey.
What a shame Greece has been having such awful times lately, we were horrified to see all the protests and violence in Athens a couple of weeks ago. Poor Greece is suffering through this financial debacle.
Blessed by a longing-to-travel Squid angel :-)
Congrats on your purple star! It's been featured In my Purple Star Series.
This lens is very inviting. I am now more convince to plan a trip to Greece with my family. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Beautiful lens! Thank you for writing about your strong interest in Greece.
Great Reading! I was in Greece with secondary school, it was a very pleasant journey, visiting all these monuments, countryside, Athens, ...
Did you go to Santorini? I'm due for a trip there! One can't visit Ancient Greece places without it cuz of the Atlantis rumor. ;-)
- Author
@kohuether lm: Oh, yes! That was why i had to go on this trip! The last two days were in Santorini. Unfortunately we spent a couple days at places more popular for modern tourism in the middle of the trip, and I got bogged down on the lenses about those places (Nauplion, Mykonos). I should just skip them and get back to the ancient sites that interest me more.
I loved Santorini soooo much. I'd dreamed of going there all my life, and it was as magical as I always expected it would be. I have to go back, though, because no one wanted to come out to walk on the new volcano with me.. :D
I am back again to let you know that I featured it on Homeschooling History Can Be Fun (and Free!)
- Author
@RhondaAlbom: Oh, Pukeko, thank you so much!
By the way, my Mom has a lot of free educational materials (mostly talking e-books, but with writing activities) for K-12 on her website. It's mostly for kids just learning to read and/or kids with special needs, but you might find something useful there!
I definitely need to plan another trip to Greece as I've only seen the resort side of the country (apart from visiting Meteora monastery) Athens is the first place of interest for me..
- Author
@topbeaches: Meteora looks amazing! I need to go back and explore more. 2 weeks is not enough!
Great lens!!If you are interested in Greek hisroty check out my lens about the Temple of Olympian Zeus.Keep up the good work!
Wonderful lens. Blessed by a SquidAngel :)
Fantastic lens. The link lists alone are invaluable.
Beautiful photos. This would be a great trip to make. I can see why you got so many awards for this lens.
What a great lens. Great photos, comprehensive information and good, interesting writing. Thank you for sharing & making me want to travel overseas as soon as possible.
Greece truly have great ancient architecture!
Nice photos of Athens,.. I like it. http://www.squidoo.com/world-of-famous-travelling
Greece - one of my favourite countries in the world! Friendly + great food!
Greece looks nice. I hope to visit some day.
I've never visited Greece, but it's on my bucket list!
beautiful lens, you can really see what makes Greece special through it. haha a lil' word play...
We did a classical tour years back and still think about it now. What a beautiful place with its islands and of course, its history.
I've never been to Greece but your description has me very interested now.
Can't wait to visit Greece after reading your lens. Thank you!
I like this, gave it a thumbs up because your lens has some GOOD content and lots of it. Also, nice pictures and interactivity.
To Visit Rome and Greece are Near the top of my Places to Visit List!! Besides that, History has always been one of my Favorite Subjects so I truly enjoyed this Squidoo Lens!!
i can't wait to go to greece to see this things
Great lens. I love Greece.
Loved the Acropolis and parthenon! Three of us gals thought it was not too far to walk up to the top and we were dead wrong. It took us almost half an afternnoon to reach the parthenon.
The trek was worth it because we stopped along the way to take photos and saw how the locals lived.
I've been to Athens but it was a business trip and I didn't get to explore much. You've made me want to go back.
I love the layout and appearance of your lens, it's the best one I've seen. The photos are great. I noticed the shadows behind the photos, which looks so professional. I tried to amend my HTML on my lens to get this effect, but failed. Could you let me know how you did this please?
Great lens, really informative, thanks.
Fabulous lens. I'm studying ancient history as an undergrad and can't wait to volunteer on my first dig.
greek right here! great stuff it truly is a fantastic country!
I've always thought this lens deserved a blessing. Thank you for sharing your amazing odyssey with us. ~Blessed~
I was one poll away from voting in 300 polls, so I specifically went to one of your lenses and looked for a poll I had not already voted in (took a while) and cast my 300th vote. And, I got 50 points!
This is an awesome lens, full of great detail. So far it seems you enjoyed this trip. Great lens, definitely worth reading!
This is my dream to visit Greece one day!
Such a fun lens to visit! Reminds me of our honeymoon to Greece.
i went to Athens last year, and loved it to bits :)
i MUST go
makes wonderful reading, friends have recommended a holiday there but I have not made it yet
I hope someday I can be there
I would like to visit Greece one day. It's a beautiful place.
I've been a huge fan of Greek Mythology since 6th grade. To be honest, I found that the all white building in Crete's Island is very exotic and unique. :)
PS: Also, a credit for the learning Common Greeks in Modern Life.
Another lens (set of lenses I guess) that I'm going to introduce to my kids. We are studying Minoan and Mycenaean civilization for three weeks with Classical Greece coming up later this year.
So now that we actually visited Athens and Crete, Greece ... I can answer YES to your poll question! I uploaded nearly 800 Greece pictures to my flickr album when I got back -- have you seen them? I know you will recognize a bunch of the sights that we saw. I didn't really capture any night shots of the Acropolis ... it surely was a beautiful sight to behold.
Awesome lens! Thank you for sharing it! I've added my angel blessings :)
Such a gorgeous lens and beautiful images. Can't get enough!
great lens - looks good and beautifully written!
This is an awesome lens! I gave it a much deserved Angel blessing, and as time allows I will be continuing on your Greece journey! :)
I loved Greece. When I went we did an odyssey also, but backwards. We started in Athens went up north and around Delphi ect. and ended up on Crete where Zeus was born.
I read Zorba the Greek while sitting at the peer where the main character landed.
What an interesting lens. Your beautiful photos took me back to Greece. I visited most plced you described except Epidaurus, because the day or rather week we were there the museum staff was on strike and did not open the gates.
Great page. This was pointed out to me by a friend. I am interested in Ancient Coins, so I found this very interesting! Thank you for all your hard work!
-Art Haule
You had me captivated and my attention fully with the Greek Odyssey. Its history is as enchanting and ancient as human civilization.
Great place to visit but like many of the Greeks themselves I wouldn't want to live there. It's a bit of a culture shock, especially the tiny, tiny streets and hills. But this is a wonderful lens and it is now featured on Quiz: Australia from its beginning. By the way there are more in Melbourns, Australia, than in Greece according to statistics..
wow beautiful pics this is a place i would love to visit for the history
What a great idea for a trip! Thank you for creating such a lovely lens :)
(JobVirtue.com)
Just magic...I really want to visit now.
Great lens. I've always been interested in touring Greece and the whole area. So far, as close as I've come is watching that Nia Vardalos movie My Life in Ruins.
Very Very interesting lens about Greece almost want to make me want to travel there.
*Blessed* by a squidoo angel;)
Take care!
I don't remember if I've ever commented on your lens. I love Greece! I did the Athens/ Cruise thing on one trip, Santorini on another, and Crete recently. It's my heritage and I really appreciate the care you take into sharing your experiences there.
Angel Blessings to a wonderful lens!!!
Great lens. I had my Odyssey in Greece while I was an architecture student in Paris. I toured the country on a bicycle.
You ARE a story-teller indeed! And very well read too.
I'm in love with Greek Mythology myself.
Greece is a magical place! Loved reading your Lens.
OOOOooooooh! I almost went to Greece last year. SO close.
As long as I'm not dead, there's hope.
The journal of your visit to Greece brings back many memories for me.
I was there in 1973 and visited many of the places you mention.
I also remember sunset at Cape Sounion.
So long ago, it seems a lifetime away.
Truly lovely lens and well worth that Purple Star
Nice update. Didn't go to the islands except Mount Athos to study the architecture of the monasteries. Dreaming of going back... Mykonos, most probably, and the others.
I love traveling! I hope to explore the places at least once in my lifetime!
Hi
Greece is wonderful destination for travel. I just want travel for Greece. Its historical destination of the huge world. I really enjoyed this travel article.
Thanks
Greece looks gorgeous
Very nice lens about this lovely country, I have never been to main land Greece but the Greek Islands are one of my favourite holiday destinations.
Sounds like a fantastic trip. Have never been to Greece, it is a shame really. It sounds like a very attractive and interesting country.
What an Amazing Trip! Hope to one day make to Greece. Stunning pictures.
This lens exceeded my expectation. I can't even compare it with my lens. Two thumbs up for GreekGeek
I enjoyed your beautiful lens. Great job.
Amazing lens! Easy to see why it ranks so high!
I have been dreaming of going to Greece since my childhood. This is a beautiful lens... reminded me of my dream which was forgotten !
Your lens is like a wonderful adventure. I have a Greeek soul and with your lens you took me back there. Congratulations for your awards, so very well deserved :)
Your lens is awesome greekgeek. Greece is a country so rich in history. I am an avid reader and learner of the Greek mathematicians and philosophers. They have given us so much. As Plato said "The fool wanders, a wise man travels." Your travel must have been fantastic.
Although I already visited all your Greek lenses and enjoyed all of them, I need to go to Greece to see all of this wonderful things in reality.
Quite apart from this being a good lens - I'm so impressed with the format you have come up with for how to create a compendium of lenses in a way which looks a lot neater than some of the alternative options. I particularly like your TOC. Do you have a lens which tells me how to do this?
Really, really love this lens! The single most transformative experience of my life occurred in Greece. I was a foreign exchange student to Greece when I was 17. Absolutely changed my life. Living with a Greek family and experiencing things as an "adopted" family member made my time in Greece so unique. I would love to spend some more extended time there. Thanks for a great lens!
Beautiful. Historical. Mesmerising, Wish I can visit Greece someday.
I agree Greece is a wonderful place to visit, I found Santorini fascinating with the volcano island Nea Kameni and the ancient ruins and the sunset across the Caldera water was amazing.
I want to visit this home of civilization and democracy.. any cruise tips and suggestions?
- Author
@bootsguy: As you can see, I didn't do a cruise; I just explored Greece with a school group. So I don't know much about cruises, I'm sorry!
In the 80s I would've recommended checking out Swan Hellenic, which was the dream cruise i fantasized about back then: on-board archaeologists giving lots of information on the sites being visited. But (a) I don't know if Swan Hellenic is that good now and (b) I don't know if that's the kind of cruise most people would want, with an emphasis on the ancient world and not so much on modern amenities (although I'm sure they had those, too).
Looks like you may have made this lens before there were "page breaks." :-P
You were definitely in your element when you were in Greece. :-)
With Love and Gratitude,
Jeremiah
I am Greek, and i am honored that you are so interested in our ancient Greek history. I will create some lenses about it myself-so stay tuned.
I hope you visit Greece again!
Santorini, is my all time favorite Greek island. I will write about it soon.
Nice lens and quite accurate. I have visited Greece several times, and my favorite island is Crete, it's really beautiful.
Love Greece! The greek islands are one of my favorite places I have visited so far. Santorini is awesome. You go there and think well this is okay. Then you see the amazing blue and white painted houses that are located on the islands cliffs. Then when the sun sets and the atmosphere completely changes. It's one of those lifetime experiences you will never forget. Crete is also a great place to visit with some amazing food. The mainland of Greece varies. We drove from Athens to Albania which was very nice. There are so many Mandarine trees and make sure you pick up a 2KG bag from the side road stalls directly from the farmers for only like 50 EUR Cents! Also, the Greek history is amazing. So much to say and this box is not big enough to fill it. All I can say is I love Greece, go there! Thanks for the great article Greekgeek.
This is really great...wish to visit in the future...
beautiful......................
Came back to bless this lens. It is a gem.
Hi...
Useful information about Greece actually we are search most few point about Greece travel destination during net suffering on Google. We have read many travel article of particular travel place but its best for knowledge....
All the best
This is really beautiful...Thanks for sharing
It is a very nice lens for Greece. This country has plenty of worth visiting places. I live in Athens and I enjoy strolling in Plaka and Thisseio or along the coastal avenue, on a sunny day.
P.S.: I am not sure if these people at Monastiraki square are native Indians :)
Nice place. Wish have chance to go.
- Author
@Bella Stella: Thank you! Yes, they really were from Taos, NM: it was a group of Pueblo musicians on a European tour. Obviously, they wear traditional costumes partly as entertainers, but they really were Native Americans. I stopped and talked to them for a bit. They were selling CDs.
People who don't live near reservations sometimes forget that the Indians have moved into the modern age as well. Since they have a rich musical heritage, and their music is very popular in the American southwest, a number of them have found success touring the U.S. with their music. It's just rare to see them overseas. I didn't buy a CD because it was my first day of the trip, but I wish I'd written down their address so I could've ordered one when I got back to the states!
Keep this up I wont have to go! Very nice article, Lots of cool and interesting information! Loved it!
I love history, art, philosophy and anything about Greek. Santorini is one of the places I've been wanting to see and experience. I've also heard Athens is also the place to be.Thanks so much for featuring this beautiful country. Great lens
Very interesting! I plan on visiting Greece within the next couple of years
Really great lens! Hope to visit Greece one day, it sounds like such a great country. thumbs up!
I had a taste of the Mediterranean while traveling through Croatia. After reading your lens about Greece, I'm ready for more!
Excellent Lens. Nice Photos and Very Well Presented.
Brilliant lens.Great presentation
I thoroughly enjoyed traveling with you today - Thanks!
Beautiful atmosphere on this Lens! Wow, what a nice journey! :)
Peace, art and love,
Fabio
I found this lens of great interest and some of the facts and figures are simply amazing. Having just returned from Parga in Greece I find the mixture of old and new Greece quite surreal in some instances. I have created a lens about my Parga experience should you wish to take a look...
Nicole.
Thanks for remembering us what a beautiful country we live in!
I really want to go to Greece. It is on my list. thanks for so much useful information.
Very cool!
Wow! You did a fantastic job with this lens! I just wrote up a piece on 10 Classic Greece destinations, but I wish I had read yours first... it is awesome!
Awesome! This I hope will be my next trip.
Excellent and beautifully written lens. As a Greek and a classicist, I commend you.
I also liked how you included Greek Easter in your article, it really is the most beautiful time of the year down here.
Greece is such a wonderful place! And you did a really nice job on your lens. Thanks for sharing it!
Awesome lens! Thanks for all your hard work!
What a great lens! This has been so much fun-- both reading and looking!
Lovely lens. Wonderful point of view. I could feel your enthusiasm in your words. Thank you for this beautiful lens.
With those photos you bring back so many memories for me. Nice job and thanks.
Great pictures!
I've never been to Greece, but after reading this lens, I feel like I have! Great Pictures.
good pictures and videos !
What a lucky lady to have made this journey :)
fab! I love touring ancient ruins and Greece was amazing... nice Lens;)
What an absolutely fantastic lens. Very inspiring. I have never been to Greece but dream of it, and your lens makes that dream all the more intense!
I've always been fascinated by Greece an' Greek mythology. All lands intrigue me, although I'm very happy to stay where I am, as I've traveled a little too much in my life. Thank you for sharing such an interesting topic.
How are the residents of Greece towards Americans?
- Author
@TIRMassageStone1: Extremely gracious and friendly: which was a relief, because I went there when Bush was president and the Iraq war wasn't exactly popular in Europe. The only trouble I ran into the entire trip was one shopkeeper getting worked up when my friend ordered "Turkish coffee" -- he insisted it was Greek coffee, and Turks had stolen the recipe! :D
Another cafe owner insisted on burning a CD for me of a famous Greek singer so I'd have some Greek music to take home ... I wish I could remember the name of the singer!
So on the whole, extremely hospitable. Mind you, this was 6 years ago before the economy tanked and there were riots in Athens; I doubt they'd aim particular ire towards Americans but I imagine things are a little rocky right now.
Really nice information about Greece..btw how is the cost of living there compared to US or Australia?
Great lens, some really great photos there. The place looks amazing!
Been to Greece, but not in Athens.... I like the Greek atmosphere, and I loved reading your lens!!!
- Author
@SidneyMorgan LM: The cost of living varies so wildly in the U.S. I couldn't compare, I'm afraid. Also, I don't really know about the cost of living in Greece or Australia. I've enjoyed visiting both, but I was on vacation and wasn't really paying close attention to everyday costs during a non-everyday visit. :)
Nice lens! It would be great to see all the architecture I studied in Classics.
i took a few courses in college on Greece this lens is very interesting
Excellent work. The idea of visiting places following the Odyssey story is remarkable. I believe, that I have a new great idea for my vacations. Thank you.
congrats a ton for purple star and lens of the day!!!
I liked the posting and I feel one day even I visit Athens...
I have visited Athens and I have always been in love with Greek Mythology. Growing-up, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey was one of my favorite readings full of creativity and interesting stories. Great content
always wanted to go to Greece
Thanks for promoting Geece! The article is very well-written. We need more people like you :) My country is very picturesque and certainly the best destination for relaxing holiday!
I had to laugh when I read the description 'born again pagans'. LOL Love this lens. I may never get to travel to some of these places, so I really love being able to see them in lenses such as yours. Thank you!
I visited Ephesus in what is now Turkey a few years ago. Walking down through the ruins was a magnificent experience. (Legend state it was founded by the Amazons).
I worry about visiting Greece now with all the financial problems over there.
Before I jumped over to Philosophy i was enrolled in Classics. Now, thanks to your lovely lens I have to blow the dust off my old Greek grammar and start wrestling with the pluperfect. again. A very... ahemm... civilized lens. Hey! Where's Schleimann?
Excellent Lens! Best wishes :)
That's great.Thanks
Superb Lens.Greece has a lot of history
Amazing lens!
Very nice lens! Thank you! I'm a fan of Greece as well and have written some lenses about Halkidiki. Check them out if you want to.
Impressive lens, thumbs up
Great lens! I've been to Greece a few years ago, can't wait to go back.
glad to see another lens put together by you!
Some day I will go, it`s one of many dreams I have. Great lens!
What a great lens!!! What a dream come true. Awesome pictures. Thank you for sharing your experience. One day....One day I will be there.
After reading your lens I feel like visiting Greece. If only the crisis wasn't...or the demos ;-) Else cool lens! Thumb up!
Hope I have chance to visit your ancient country. Cheers!
Inspiring -- you succeeded at bringing this to life, weaving the myths and characters I grew up with and creating vivid images of your travels. Thank you for the detailed and illuminating armchair travel. Sweet photos, too.
-- Trent, aka HikeGuy
very nice lens. there is a lot about greece in the news of late and sadly it is not good.
Greece seems such an idylic place to go for a holiday.
Thanks for a great lens.
Impressive lens! Greece is a beautiful country
Best lens about Greece so far!
Yea very nice! Well-organized lens about Greece. Lot's of pretty pictures :D
Awesome! Super love it. Thanks for sharing. Squid-liked!
Great job and very nice lens!
Very interesting!
I am interested in Greece mainly because of the Bible, but also because my brother-in-law is Greek.
Your trip sounds like a lot of fun. I'm a history buff so being able to see the Acropolis and Agora in pictures (even if it's from someone else!) is exciting. I like how so many of the buildings are white washed, you get a totally different experience from other ancient buildings.
I would love to go. It seems quite rocky and bleak, but every single account I've ever heard from people is that it is beautiful. The history is fascinating - so much to see.
Great lens! We are currently in Sicily for our travel blog and seeing all influence the Greek had here back in the days is just amazing!
Nice lens.
Nice lens ... I am "pinning" it and going to feature it in my lens History Pavilion
Yes! Great lens. Very interesting and well researched. Thanks
This is a very fantastic and excellently written lens.
all your lenses are wonderful, thank you for sharing.
I like your story, it was an entertaining read.
Beautiful lens! Very education and fun! Love it!
thanks for sharing this. i like Mythology
this is really fantastic lens.
very nice lens, well done.
Really great lens! I love Greece, I hope to go there in the future. Definitely near the top of my bucket list.
Fun lens! I'm a history buff, so it's interesting to hear your accounts of the places in Greece you visited such as the Acropolis. Experiencing the Orthodox Easter celebrations sounds like it was quite an interesting event!
cool lens nice layout enjoyed very much thank you
very well put together greek :)
Many of my friends had a great time in Greece, whether they went on an Ancient Greece tour, a monastery tour, or a sun and sea escape. I would love to go there !
I can't wait to visit Greece. Sounds like a lot of fun. I have a lot of respect for the ancient Greeks!
I have been to the island of Crete and i'm interested in your page.
I love ancient history. Greece ranks up there as one of the great civilizations!
Beautiful lens,
My nephew and his new wife went to Greece for their honeymoon. Beautiful photos.
A great site. I've done some classical history and archaeology, and we are planning a retirement trip to Greece. Everywhere you visited is on our shortlist to visit, and in my case, re-visit, so your site is a great way to share with my wife the places I'm enthusing about. Many thanks.
One of the best lens I have ever read. Simply awesome!!
This is a wonderful lens. Maybe some day I'll actually get to go!
Nice lens! I visited Greece about 2 yrs ago & reading this brought back many awesome memories. :-)
Great lends - I have just done one of my first on Greece while sailing :-)
Deep down I really love Greek mythology =]
Lovely lens - enjoyed reading :)
What a dream holiday you had, beautiful and informative lens,
This just makes me want to travel to Greece even more now...
Can't wait to make it to Greece someday soon.
This is just simply amazing ... So much heritage these people have, I sure do wish that one day I will be able to gaze upon all the wonders of the past with my own eyes!
Nice lens. I love everything about Greece.
I love the stories of Santorini and the Minoans.
super destination
nice lens on super cool destination.
Your readers may want to know that between Oct and Jan 6, 2013 you can visit ancient Greece at the Portland, Oregon Art Museum. More info at http://parosparadise.blogspot.ie/2012/10/visit-anc...
Cheers,
I went to Greece many years ago...this lens brought back many glorious memories!
Beautiful lens - this makes me want to visit Greece even more!
Greece is in my blood at the moment having just returned from a glorious week in Kefalonia and Ithaca. It is such a fascinating country in so many ways, and the people are kind. Would love to visit the Acropolis one day - or one night (fantastic photo above).
A really nice lens about one of my favourite countries. You inspire me.
Thank you so much for this-I am a classics grad, and I love Greece! This is a very accesible, very enjoyable tour-I recommend it!
You make greece look like such great fun! Greece is definitely on my list of 'places I intend to go.'
Great job, and thank you!
I had the pleasure of traveling to Greece, cannot believe it is nearly 20 years ago now... your travel journal brings back fond memories. I wish I had made a journal of my own but I had not started creating travel journals yet. I love your lens & your travel journal, Squidtastic! thank you for sharing :)
483