As I climbed the ruins, I looked up at the lofty crags thinking how that view hadn't changed for centuries. The rocks that had been carved were impressive, but the rocky cliffs all around were simply majestic.
Somehow, in my head, I expected a cave of some sort to mark the omphalos-aspect of it, but other than that Delphi delivered. It was charged with power (like Stonehenge, like Tirupati)... In fact I noticed at least one other person saying a prayer at the Temple of Apollo.
At the museum I wandered off by myself because my head was too full. I thought Kleobis and Biton, the Argos twins, looked like they were wearing dreads/locs. I kept coming back to the room with the charioteer--that beautiful figure--and marveling that the only reason we have him at all is because he disappeared in a fourth century earthquake before he could be looted or razed and magically remerged almost completely intact in 1896. Life/history is so strange.
And then I read Helen Monroe's poem and cried. "Higher up in the mountain, in the stadium/ Coursed the Charioteer. /Of all the thousand statues only his alone/ Has won the long race with Time/ Here at the goal he stands, lifting the reins,/ Young, beautiful, alive;/ Gazing at our incomprehensible world/ Through enameled eyes.
Pic: We're bathed in light at the Temple of Apollo. (And we have matching scarves today!) Also: we found a simple necklace featuring a pair of silver peafowl--that I liked and made my sister happy--at the Museum shop.
7 comments:
I love all the matching aspects of your outfits! And that you found matching necklaces. That poem is so beautiful! Enjoy this time away. It is bitterly cold in MN (sub-zero windchill) so I imagine it’s probably unpleasant in MI so soak up the balmy air while you can!
Here's to you and your sister's love winning the long race with Time.
YES TO THE NECKLACES!!!
Oh, this is beautiful, thanks so much for sharing your trip, Maya. I am now mentally figuring out when we can go to Greece too!
Winter weather advisory in MI (I had to tell my teen to wear a coat to school!). Yes, that poem is amazing--I'm so glad you liked it :)!
I love this beautiful wish; thank you, Nance!
I love your travel, Nicole. It's so immersive. (That reminds me that I wanted to hear about your backpack suitcases. MY backpack tote was a dud!)
I think things like that centuries-old view that make us think about the long run can be comforting in times like these.
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