With ancient Mount Parnassus, behind, snow-capped!
“If you look to the valley below us,” our guide, Mara, instructed our busload of teachers touring Greece, “you will see the crossroads where Oedipus killed his father.”
“WHAT?!” I gasped, nearly inhaling the sesame-seed-encrusted almond in my mouth.
For three different years of my eight-year teaching career, I’ve taught kids the scandalous play, Oedipus Rex… and now we were driving by the actual scene of the crime?!
If you’re not familiar with the infamous legend of Oedipus, first performed in 429 BCE, you may not believe we’re allowed to read this in schools.
The story goes, when Oedipus was a baby, the Oracle of Delphi told Oedipus’s parents that their son would grow up to kill his dad and marry his mother. “Yipes!” said his parents.
To avoid this creep-tastic fate, Oedipus’s parents sent wee Oedipus away to be killed. Unfortunately or fortunately, however, the baby was saved and adopted by a family that took pity on him, and the boy grew to adulthood, never knowing he was a foster kid.
Great teacher friends on the endless stairs of Arachova, Greece.
One fateful day, fiery teen Oedipus ran into his dad on the road between Delphi and Thebes. Neither man knew he was related to the other, but they both had hot-as-heck tempers. The two got into such a big fight that Oedipus slew the older man. Prophecy Part One, fulfilled. D’oh!
Oedipus then went to the dead man’s house and married his wife, Queen Jocasta of Thebes. Yes, that’s right: Oedipus married his mother and didn’t realize it. And thus the prophecy came fully true in a “NOOO!!”-style, forehead-smacking fashion, and then everyone got killed or committed suicide.
And our tour bus was chugging along above that site?! Amazing!
“Now,” continued Mara, “we do not know if the legend of Oedipus actually happened, but the road they were talking about between Delphi and Thebes, it is most certainly this one. It has been the main path through these mountains for thousands and thousands of years.”
One of the charming narrow streets of Arachova.
A chill ran down my spine. So many of us in this world have experienced years of magical joy studying ancient Greek names, places, and stories in school, and now to encounter them in person… WOW.
“And here,” declared Mara as a stunning snow-capped mountain slid into view, “we pass by Mount Parnassus: the home of Muses.” Ahhh!
I worried, before coming here, that to see these ancient sites in 2012 would somehow cheapen or ruin them, but quite the opposite has been true. Though I haven’t yet had a thunderbolt-throwing competition with Zeus (still holding out hope), there actually is a magical sparkle in the air in Greece.
I think this is due to how respectfully and thoroughly Greeks seem to preserve, honor, and refer to their fantastic history. They weave it in with the modern.
The glossy Acropolis subway station in Athens melds ancient and modern.
Just look at this photo to the right of the Acropolis subway station in Athens. Its upper section boasts glass cases of ancient artifacts like vases, toys, and looms, and its lower walls ripple with replicas of the friezes from the Acropolis!
“When you have a civilization this old,” laughed Mara, you dig anywhere– like to create a subway system– and you’re bound to hit an ancient settlement full of artifacts.”
In Boston, the only thing I’ve found from digging was an old Coke bottle!
I wish our subway systems had all of those cool designs on the walls. Theirs is all fancyh while ours is all dirty.
How long did it take to built that beautiful train station?
I’m not sure! Google it
The train station is amazing! Everything in Greece is so fancy.
Wow, Greece is a beautiful place. Is all of Greece this nice like the mountains and the train station?
Though Greece was more beautiful than I even imagined, like any country, Greece has parts that aren’t so nice. You may have seen in the news that Greece is facing economic hardships recently, and there are areas and times with riots, anger, and poverty. That said, our tour experience was peaceful, beautiful, and nature-filled!
That subway should be our subway! They look so clean and our subways are mostly vandalized.
Their subway is so fancy! I wish Boston’s subway could be like that.
Why can’t the subways in Boston look like the European countries’ subways? I wish our subway system wasn’t this old, maybe they should add some replicas of artifacts from the Museum of Fine Arts to the walls.
That is so interesting how the guy married his mom. This situation happens now, too!
The subway or train station that they have in Greece is so pretty! Especially with the carvings on the wall. I wish we had those on our Boston subways. I bet they would attract a lot more people.
The streets that you showed in the pictures too, are really pretty. Ancient Greece still has that touch in Modern Greece today.
Also Greece itself has a very different culture than Boston. Greece looks a lot more serene. Boston has more feeling of the city!
My sister told me that there was a myth that a man married his mother without knowing and when he realized it, he gouged his eyes out. Is this what happend to Oedipus?
Yes, that’s it exactly!
How totally fun. I truly hope to take a trip to Greece sometime in my life (ah, it’s sad how often life gets in the way of life). It’s been a long time since I studied Greek myth and history in depth, but once upon a time it was a big passion for me.
Unrelated to the history and excitement…what was the general “vibe” there given their economic and political turmoil? I know my wife has been growing concerned that things are unraveling in Europe and surrounding areas such that even once we can afford the trip, it may not be either safe or appealing.
It sounds and looks like you had a ton of fun and that things are as serene and wonderful as would be expected. So hopefully the perspective from the news sources isn’t affecting the overall tone of such a trip.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, and great question! We have seen NO signs of unrest. Everything in the 6 cities we’ve been in so far has been calm, friendly, and totally safe. When locals and our guide chat with us about the economy, there’s frustration, but from a tourist’s point of view, I see no reason not to come!
Glad to hear it. We’ll continue saving and planning. Our kids are still young and there are plenty of places inside the US that we still want to have them see (NYC, Washington DC, national parks, etc), but we’ve got our long term plan to do a big European tour in the distant (but not TOO distant) future.
Thanks for letting us live vicariously through your travels until then.
Glad I can help in any way! Remember, you may need to save less money than you think: http://www.aroundtheworldl.com/2010/04/05/why-rtw-travel-doesnt-need-to-be-a-rich-white-thing/ . Also, consider creative ways to make money. Know a bunch of people recently who made a ton off loot off renting rooms or their whole apartment through services like AirBnB.com for just a few days.
Oh, I love those carvings in the train station ! <3
That’s so cool. I remember the story of Oedipus. I find it kind of funny, how he married his mother because wouldn’t his mother be old? I hope you have fun and don’t forget to tell us all about your trip in class!
It looks so serene and peaceful in Greece! I like how even in this modern time, people still know these ancient stories. I bet it is exciting yet scary that you might be walking along the same path as the ones in Greek myths. I like how you added humorous parts in your article. Hope you have a fun and nice trip!
Thanks so much, Elaine!