Articles to Read
ASSIGNMENT:
You will find below some short articles about a wide range of interesting topics relevant to our upcoming Greece trip (https://sites.google.com/site/uofarstudyingreece2019/articles-to-read).
One of these, is a one-page article (“Nikos’s Choice” Odyssey March/April 2008, p. 20), in which the British Museum asked Nikos Kazantakis (Greece’s best known writer), “In the case of a great disaster – earthquake, fire, Barbaric invasion – which artifacts would you be moved to save?” Read about what Kazantakis chose (and why), and write about it in your journal before departure. Then, think about the question throughout our 4-week trip in Greece, and at the end of our study tour, you will write in your journal what YOUR choice(s) would be from what you have seen, and your reasons.
Also for your pre-trip journal entries, read at least two of the other articles, and write thoughtful responses in your travel journal before departure. Why did you choose them? What did you learn? How does each one relate to the “perpetual palimpsest” idea, if at all? What more do they make you want to learn? Where in our itinerary (if anywhere), do you think that it might be especially meaningful? These are just a few suggestions; you may write any serious thoughts that you might have.
Below are the titles in alphabetical order, with brief descriptions of the contents of each. Below the contents are highlighted links for each article.
American School of Classical Studies: The premier US research archaeological institution in Greece.
Archaic Period Sculpture: How ancient statues were painted.
Archimedes Palimpsest: How ancient texts were recycled, leaving traces of their original words.
Captive to History: Do modern Greeks obsess too much over their classical roots?
Chania Synagogue: Restoring the only remaining synagogue on Crete, and the man who did it.
Chania: The Venetian architecture of Chania, Crete.
Corinth Museum Theft: Famous Museum Heist and how the thieves were eventually captured... in the US.
Distomo Reparations: Infamous Nazi atrocity and ongoing legal debate for reparations.
Distomo: Brutal Nazi Reprisal on Civilians.
Dogs in Ancient Greece: The title says it all...
Evans and Knossos: 100 years since Arthur Evans excavated and restored the Palace of Minos on Crete
Fulbright in Greece: Fayetteville native J. W. Fulbright's international program in Greece.
Helleno-Romaic Dilemma: British travel writer and war hero Patrick Leigh-Fermor reflects on the Greeks' personality, split between the classical past and the Byzantine inheritance.
Kavafy Article: Greece's best known poet's most famous poem.
Kazantakis Copy: The changing reputation of Greece's best known writer, the author of Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ.
Minoa Reconstruction: The building from scratch (with ancient tools) of a Minoan-era ship in Chania, Crete.
Name Change for Greece: What's in a name? "Hellas" vs. "Greece."
Nikos's Choice: What would YOU save when civilizaiton comes to an end?
Parthenon Marbles: Repatriation of sculptures from the British Museum to the New Acropolis Museum?
Reconstructing the Past (Anastilosis): Should archaeological sites be restored, and if so, how much?
Report to Greco 1 and 2: Details of Nikos Kazantakis' childhood on Crete and Naxos, including an epic graveyard scene, worthy of the Odyssey.
Trireme Article: The Olympias, a modern full-size operational replica of ancient Athenian warship.
War of Independence: American Philhellenes supporting and fighting for the cause of Greece's independence in the early 19th century.