In the early hours of the morning on the last day of term, students from Years 9 to Upper Sixth departed for a Classics and RPE trip to Greece. We landed in Athens and, with a quick pitstop at Epidavros, we headed to the first of four hotels that we would be staying at throughout the week. Located by the sea, we were treated to a stunning view, particularly for sunrise the following morning – the perfect photo opportunity to kickstart our trip.
Next up was the archaeological site and museum of Mycenae where we had a peaceful and scenic walk around the ruins of the site followed by lunch overlooking the hillsides and with the company of the local cats. The afternoon consisted of exploring the beautiful town of Archea Olympia – ice cream, souvenirs and a local interactive museum were naturally among the top interests of the group. The following morning we made our way to the site and museum of Olympia. Here, we found out about Plato’s Olympic success and the various traditions of the games; we even crowned our own running race winner with an olive crown as per tradition.
After soaking up the history of sport in Greece, we made our way up the mountains to Delphi where we had dinner in a local restaurant and spent the night overlooking the valley. In the morning, we walked around the site of Delphi and, despite the heat, made it to the top of the rather steep site. A chance to rest and recharge, we got on the coach back to Athens for the final hotel of our trip where, after dinner, we competed in a quiz about all things Greek.
Our penultimate day was packed full of sites to visit, starting with the Acropolis Museum and then a hike up to the Acropolis itself, the most visited site in Greece. This was followed by my personal highlight of the trip, the Plato Museum. Here, we learnt about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and his Theory of Forms as well as all about his Academy. The Agora was our next destination, this was the prison that Socrates was sent to after he was accused of corrupting the youth and impiety.
On our final day, we visited the Lyceum of Aristotle before heading to the airport both exhausted and content after a long but incredible six days. The trip to Greece was both a fun and educational trip for all the year groups that came and for both Classics and RPE students. A big thank you to all the staff that made it possible!
