Great Food, Foot Races in Olympia, & Worship among the Idols

September 14, 2010

Best dinner on the trip? Hands down it was last night at the hotel we stayed at in Olympia. Overlooking a beautiful valley, we sat outside under a grape arbor as we laughed, shared the favorite experiences of our journey and ate fabulous Greek food!

Olympia
This morning we traveled to Olympia and toured the place of the ancient Olympic games. On the grounds is a huge temple dedicated the Zeus. The pillars of this temple were made of limestone. Temples for the gods and goddesses faced typically faced east, inside the temple would be a statue of the god or goddess. As the sun rose early in the morning, the god or goddess would be illuminated by the first rays of the sun. In this temple (see picture to the left of the ruins of the temple) dedicated to Zeus in Olympia, the statue was said to be 12 meters in height. Based on writings of the time, the temple was built in the 1st half of the 5th century BCE while the statue of Zeus was completed in the second half of the 5th century. The statue was made of ivory and gold. Zeus was seated on a throne and in his had he held a small replica of Nike the winged god of victory. The picture to the right is a painting of what the statue was said to look like.

We ran (at least the competitive women ran and I've got proof in the picture to the right!) the length of the stadium where the first foot races of the ancient Olympic games were held. The men watched and cheered us on. They said they were the judges!!?!

At the altar of the temple of Hera, the wife of Zeus, we saw where the Olympic flame is lit every four years for our modern Olympic games.

While you may wonder what this has to do with the journeys of Paul, let me remind you that in several of his letters, Paul uses the imagery of athletic competition as he writes to the small house churches encouraging them to stay strong in the faith. In 1st Corinthians 9:25 he reminds them “athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one.” The picture is our group standing in the stadium of the first Olympic games.

Corinth
During the time of Paul, Corinth was an active port city because of the small isthmus. On one side was the Aegean Sea and on the other is the bay of Corinth (part of the Ionic Sea). Ships would do one of two things, they would off load their cargo and it would be carried to the other side to put on ships to head Italy or other places along the Ionic Sea or they would literally put the ship on rollers (like a trailer) and the entire ship would be hauled to the other side. Now there is a canal cut through the isthmus, in the picture on the right, you can see a sail boat making its way through the canal.

It was here that Paul stayed for 18 months, working in the trade of tent making with Prisca and Aquilla. We walked the streets of the ancient city noting where the shops were located, seeing a beautiful area where fountains and gardens (pictured on the left) would have been and the public square where public discourse would have taken place. It is here that Paul was taken before the tribunal for “persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the law.” (Acts 18: 13) We saw the bema (in English this word translates as “podium”) where Paul would have defended himself and testified that Jesus was the Messiah. (me in front of the bema)

Our travels here in Corinth, as in other places along the way, opened our eyes to the many gods and goddesses that were worshiped in Corinth, Athens and the many other places to which Paul traveled. In Corinth, there was a large temple to the goddess Athena (left picture)as well as an active cult dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love (right picture). Read again 1st Corinthians 6:12-20 and as you do think about the pagan worship of the goddess Aphrodite and you will hear Paul’s words in a new light or read 1st Corinthians 10 again concerning the worship of idols. Remember now that the sailors who came through Corinth often brought with them the pagan deities that they worshiped and established in Corinth. Around every corner you would discover shrines to gods and goddesses. Pagan worship was everywhere. It is in the midst of this culture of pagan worship that Paul came proclaiming the good news of Christ.

Thanks be to Paul for his zeal and witness to the Corinthians and to each of us as he faithfully reminded us; we who are many are one in the body of Christ.

Tomorrow: Ephesus and Patmos. Until then, in the words of Paul; “my love be with all of you in Christ Jesus!

Suzy

Greek Isles, Corinth, Mycenae...briefly!

Septbember 13, 2010

We're back on the mainland after cruising for three days in the Greek Isles. While I must admit, our cruising experience was not what we had hoped for, the islands were fabulous and the conversation and companionship has been wonderful.

We had to be up and out of our rooms by 6:30am this morning, at 8am we were on our tour bus and on our way to Cornith, Mycenae and then Olympia. Because of the late hour here, I'm going to post some pictures for you this evening to give you a taste of the Greek Isles and Corinth and then write more in the days to come.

1st Picture is Patmos Island - the Book of Revelation

2nd Picture is of the Knossos Palance on Crete

3rd Picture is a sunset on Santorine

4th Picture is our group on the streets of Ephesus

Temple of Apollo at Corinth (left)

The "Bema" where Paul preached in Corinth (right)

The Lions Gate at Mycenae (above)

The wifi connection keeps going doing down, I'll post a few pictures and then try again tomorrow.

Thanks for being patient and for checking in on us...we're seeing wonderful sights!

inJoy,
Suzy

Day 3 Delphi, the Plaka and an excursus on desserts

This morning we were up bright and early as we made our way to Delphi. We made a brief stop on the way at what might be Greece's rival to Buckys. We enjoyed a midmorning coffee break on the porch of this Greek version of a Texas favorite!

Do you remember the “Oracles of Delphi” from your Greek mythology days? The temple of Apollo was at Delphi. It is said that Apollo resided in Delphi for nine months of the year and then for three months left. During his absence, Dionysus (the god of wine) was said to take up residence! The oracles of Delphi were priestesses who uttered prophesies that were said to inspire Apollo and others. Their prophesies however, were never a straight forward answer to the questions that anyone posed.


The picture to the left is a model of what the sanctuary, temple and treasure houses of Delphi were said to look like. The picture on the right are the ruins as they look today. Priests and priestesses offered sacrifices to the god Apollo, young men came to this place of the gods and practiced their athletic skills and others came for the plays performed at the theatre. The picture to the left is a bronze statue of a charioteer found in the excavations that have occurred at Delphi. The picture on the right is a close up of the detail of the back of the statues head. Great detail work was done by the artists as their renditions were not for humans but to be pleasing to the gods! In fact, this statue has eyelashes made of bronze, long eyelashes - those lashes made some of us envious, but I'm not naming names!

It seems no matter where Paul may have journeyed in Greece, he encountered cults of numerous gods and goddesses. However, he did not let this deter him in his mission to preach the good news of Christ. He was steadfast in his belief and the faith of Christ who had led him to this place.

Once back in Athens, we had dinner and then headed for “the Plaka” located near the foot of the acropolis. Its narrow cobble stone streets take you back to an earlier time. Shops, restaurants and ruins line the streets. We’ve all bought some fun Greek items and eaten tasty Greek food. Most of the time…

Except perhaps, for the traditional Greek dessert we had last night with dinner. We’re still not sure what it was, but whatever it was we’ve certainly laughed a great deal about it. We thought it was some kind of wonderful chocolate dessert. We readied our spoons and dug in only to discover a gritty, dry concoction that not one of us could swallow! We tried to ask about it and the answer we always got was… “Oh, it is a traditional Greek dessert! Did you like it?” We never could answer because we were laughing so hard. We’ll work on figuring out the name before we come home so you can be sure NOT to try it!

Tomorrow we’re headed for a cruise of the Greek Isles including the island of Patmos and a stop at Ephesus. No wi-fi on the ship so it may be a few days before I’m back blogging, unless I can find an internet café.

Until then, we all send you our greetings. Peace be with you!

Suzy

Day 2: The Acropolis and a brief Greek lesson

Athens, Greece. September 8, 2010

Yani, our guide (in the blue hat) began our day with some notable Greek words and a brief etymology lesson. Kalimera (good morning), Ne (like nay but it means yes!), okhi (no) and Efharistó (thank you). Does thank you look like another word you might be familiar with? Well, maybe not when you see it written with the English letters but if you saw it written with Greek letters it actually begins “eu” like… Eucharist, the great Thanksgiving, the breaking of the bread. Interesting but not surprising. Just think when you use the work Eucharist – you’re speaking Greek and you didn’t even realize it! OK, enough Greek, time to get on the road.

We headed for the Acropolis and the Parthenon this morning. Acropolis means the high city. The Parthenon, located in the Acropolis, is the temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. A statue of Athena, 12 meters high was said to have stood in the Parthenon. Made of gold and ivory, she must have been a sight to behold.

Athens was filled with a plethora of worship to a variety of gods and goddesses during the time of Paul. One scholar noted that there were more deities in Athens than there were men. This is the situation that Paul encounters when he first comes to Athens to preach the good news of Jesus Christ.

Once you’ve walked through the Acropolis and the many museums that house the statues of the gods and goddesses that were worshipped in Athens, you begin to grasp the enormity of the pagan worship happening in this city. Paul was determined to introduce Jesus and the hope of resurrection in this city filled with idols. Acts 17:16 notes that Paul was “deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols.” He argued in the synagogue, debated with Stoic and Epicurean philosophers and preached at the Areopagus (a hill next to the acropolis). We stood in the Areopagus today and read Paul’s words to the Athenians. We gave thanks, like Paul did almost 2,000 years ago, to the God in whom we “live and move and our being.” You can read all of those words for yourself in Acts 17:22-28. The picture above is our group at the Areopagus standing in front of a plaque inscribed with Paul’s words.

As Paul would say…Grace and Peace to you. I bring you greetings from the entire group!
Suzy

the journey begins...day 1

We’ve arrived!

We're, tired from the long plane rides and very little sleep but the tiredness has not damped our spirits.

It’s evening now and I am sitting on the hotel roof top, next to the pool looking out over the lighted Acropolis. The stars are shining, the air is cool and crisp. It is truly an amazing sight and I am thanking God for this place that I am in.

On the flight over I could not help but think what an odd turn of events it is that I should be the one leading a group to walk in the places where Paul walked. Honestly, Paul’s letters are not the place in scripture where my heart and mind connected to God. For me, it is the gospel stories, meeting Jesus as he taught, walked among the people and showed us how to live. But I know that for many, the words of Paul are the place where God touched their hearts and lives. Big names, like Martin Luther as he read Romans and John Wesley whose heart was strangely warmed while he heard Luther’s introduction to Romans being read. One of my professors at seminary also had a life changing experience while reading Paul’s letters. And I ran into a old friend on Sunday who told me Ephesians is her favorite book in the Bible. I am clear that Paul’s letters are the source of not only inspiration but conversion for many.

As I write this, I am reminded that many of the scriptures that I actually know my heart are from the letters to Paul. So I too, am indebted to the man who was so overtaken by his experience of the risen Christ that he could do nothing else but preach to gospel and compel others to become followers of “The Way” not just in Jerusalem and Israel but throughout the world.

I hope you will get a taste of the places Paul walked and preached the good news as you follow us on our journey through Greece.

InJoy...Suzy

Three Days and counting

It's almost time. Bags are out, clothes are being washed, we're headed for Greece! Nineteen are on the journey and it's sure to be an amazing experience. Check in daily and see the sights we're visiting.