If you want to put your life into perspective, travel to Greece.
Set against the dramatic backdrop of craggy coastline, towering temples, crowning achievements of culture, philosophy, cuisine, and politics... The troubles of this life are but a drop of water in the Aegean Sea.
All Expenses Paid
In March of 2016 I traveled to Athens with my youngest daughter. Part of an all expenses paid trip for two to anywhere in Europe. Rather improbably, she won the Grand Prize in a major online sweepstakes. Ironically, she was living in France when she learned of her award! Seizing the opportunity to show me her new homeland of France, she decided to take me, of all people, on her sojourn.
I had never been to Europe before, and I hadn't seen my daughter in six months. After much discussion, we chose to visit Athens as our prize. I flew into Paris, spent a day there with her and her husband and embarked on a whirlwind tour of the French capital. The next morning, we boarded Air France, and jetted off to the Mediterranean.
Based out of Athens, lodged at the sumptuous King George Hotel, our prize included a side trip to one of many choices of destinations nearby. We chose to venture out of the bustling city to Cape Sounion, on the tip of the Attica peninsula, to touch the Aegean Sea. A 75 kilometer journey to the Temple of Poseidon, this side trip became one of the more enduring memories of our time together.
Cape Sounion
Hopping into an eight seat van, driven by a delightfully personable local tour guide, we made our way through the thick Athens traffic. As the narrow streets of the city began to shrink into suburbs, the Aegean began to present herself against the deep blue skies in the distance.
Once we reached the coastline, our driver made frequent stops so that we could disembark and photograph the seascape. We took the opportunity to collect small souvenirs from the rocky beach and to stretch our legs. "We are going there," the driver stated. A finger pointing out across the bay to a headland. "You cannot see it yet," he said, with a slight shake of his head. "No, not yet!" Now a finger raised upward, for emphasis. We knew he was referring to the Temple, beyond.
More stops. Often, the places we paused at offered a treacherous climb down to the water. Gnarled and softened by the roiling waves, the rocky outcrops we navigated on were covered in a thin layer of silky seaweed and salty sea spray. The water beckoned to us. The sharp rocks glared with stern warning...
So we scrambled down.
Edging further out onto the peninsula, more and more photo opportunities. The Greek coastline, I have found, can make anyone with a camera a semi-professional.
She Reigns Over All She Sees
Stone pillars soaring over rock and sea, the Temple of Poseidon presides over all she sees. And she sees everything.
One last stop before we reached the temple. I could not resist taking this photo. A weathered memorial, cracked and yet unbroken. Simple. And yet, proud. It whispered everything I have come to know about Greece.
The Temple of Poseidon
Built in 440 BC, sixteen Doric columns remain standing through the centuries. Born during the life of Pericles, and erected upon the site of a previous temple destroyed by the Persians, the Temple of Poseidon shares a similar timeline to the Parthenon.
If I were a braver man, I would have slipped through the wire fencing and scaled the marble steps to stand beneath these seemingly precariously perched columns.
A place of worship to Gods long gone, this temple is worthy of worship, itself. Standing amongst centuries of human existence, it speaks to accomplishments of a people unbowed by time.
Set several hundred feet above sea level, there will be no scramble down to touch the Aegean Sea below...
A Solitary Olive Tree
Time. The force of nature that destroys all in it's path, has yet to fully tame the Temple of Poseidon. Perhaps time extends an olive branch to us, however. As if to say, "I will erase everything of your life, in time. Or, nearly everything..."
καφέ (Coffee)
What monument, museum, or mall would be complete without... a coffee shop...?
Here we sat in the bright sun of Greece. Under the shadow of Poseidon. Over the rocky cliff of the Attica peninsula. Sipping our coffee, breathing our life. Knowing that centuries after we are gone, Poseidon will stand here, still as a sentinel, over the sea.
