Classics Trip to Greece

Over the half term break, 36 girls from Years 10-13 took part in a seven day tour of Greece, covering over 700km and experiencing a variety of different classical sites and activities.

After arriving nice and early at Heathrow on the Thursday morning, we embarked on the 4 hour flight to Athens where we arrived in 26 degree heat with beautiful blue skies. After checking in to the hotel, our first stop was the Athens National Archaeological Museum, Greece’s most impressive museum. The GCSE and A Level students were able to see a great number of their prescribed sources in person, alongside many other wonders of the ancient world, including Egyptian mummies and striking statues of ancient mythical heroes.

The next morning, we began our busy day exploring the famous sites of Athens. We first visited the Acropolis Museum, which gave the girls a chance to get a sense of the size and scale of the artefacts and decorations of the Parthenon. Following this we climbed the Acropolis itself, the religious capital of ancient Athens, and saw the Parthenon, Erechtheion and other ancient
temples in person, as well as breath-taking views of the city from its highest point. After a lunch stop, we wandered the streets of the ancient Agora, the centre of the ancient city.

For our last evening in Athens we were treated to a traditional Athenian dinner and folk-dancing show in the vibrant Pláka district of the city. The girls were quick to get involved in the evening’s festivities, taking to the stage and showing off their dance moves at every opportunity! The teachers also had their own stint in the limelight. (No pictures,
fortunately!)

On our way to Delphi the next day, we stopped at a Greek Cookery School, at which we had the opportunity to cook an authentic three-course Greek feast. The girls made moussaka and grilled vegetables from scratch, with expert advice and tips provided from the experienced chefs. Still keen to show off their dance moves from the previous night, the picked up a few more dance moves from the chefs while the food was in the oven. After a delicious meal we were all presented with a certificate for our cooking skills. Hopefully the girls will show off their cooking skills at home too!

On the Sunday, during Greece’s National Holiday, we visited the hillside site of Delphi. Any classicist’s dream, Delphi was the ancient home of the Oracle, who was inspired by the god Apollo to provide prophecies for visitors from all over the Ancient World. The site includes the Athenian Treasury, Temple of Apollo, a large theatre and 188m stadium. The A Level students particularly enjoyed exploring the site and getting a sense of the size and scale of one of their key topic areas. The museum on the site housed over 1000 years’ worth of artefacts from the site of Delphi, from the ancient Greeks all the way through to the early stages of Christianity, allowing us to see the site’s influence on shaping our modern world.

After Delphi, we embarked on the 4 hour coach journey to Olympia. On the way we stopped for a demonstration on olive oil production and learnt how the Ancient Greeks stored and used the oil.
Our day in Olympia included several races in the original ancient Olympic Stadium. The 192m sprint had a great uptake from our girls and competition was fierce, including amongst the staff! The Temple of Zeus proved particularly exciting for the Year 10 students who had been studying its significance in class only the previous week. The museum also gave our girls a chance to experience the impressive size and detail of the statues and friezes which adorned the temples at the site. Our day concluded with another 4 hour coach journey to Tolon, followed by a pleasant evening walk along the beach before another busy day of ancient sites.

Our 6th day began with a visit to ancient Mycenae, a major part of the GCSE Classical Civilisation curriculum. Our Year 11s enjoyed walking through the famous Lion Gate, discovered by the maverick archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1876. We visited the ancient grave circles and walked through the ruins of the ancient palace, at the same time taking in the beautiful views of the modern Greek countryside. The torches were out when we descended a pitch-dark tunnel to the ancient cistern, an underground water tank used by the Mycenaeans in the event of an invasion blocking their access to water. Before leaving we made sure to visit the ancient tombs of famous names from the Trojan War, notably Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, king and queen of Mycenae.

We then visited Tiryns, thought to be the birthplace of Heracles and then stopped for a gigantic lunch in the holiday town of Nafplion. Our final ancient site for the trip was then Epidaurus, the healing capital of the Ancient World and home of modern medicine. We explored the ruins of city, most notably the aweinspiring theatre, rebuilt to retain its original acoustic grandeur.
For our final day we were blessed by the Olympian gods with beautiful weather for our boat trip to Daskalio island. The calm and pleasant ride gave a final opportunity for the girls to relax and take in the beautiful views of Greece before our return home. On the island, we climbed up to a secluded sanctuary to take some photos of the stunning views. After some time to paddle in the sea and relax on the beach, we were cooked a mouth-watering barbecue of delicious meat and vegetable kebabs alongside fresh Greek salad and tzatziki. Before our departure, Eleni
treated us to a beautiful song from Les Misérables. Once we sailed back to the hotel we said our final goodbyes to the beautiful Greek views and weather and headed back to Athens for our flight home to Heathrow.

I would like to thank Ms Hardy, Ms Lorente and Mr Bennett for taking the time to accompany the trip and help make the week such a wonderful experience for us all. I would also like to thank all the girls for their cheerful, excited and all-round positive and mature behaviour throughout the trip, as well as all the parents for the prompt picking up/dropping off from the airports.

I look forward to our next Classics trip!

Mr J Ahsan