What happened when the Romans came to Greece? As elsewhere they imposed their will, in one way or another. Octavian aka Augustus might appear to have had boyish charm, and been harmless, and he was not much of a fighter, indeed he let others mostly do his fighting during the period when he was battling Brutus and co. including near Philippi, but in fact he was rather ruthless. This statue as well was lost at sea between two of the... Read more

Further to the post on grave stele’s we learn a lot about the values and afterlife thought of a culture by studying how they treat the dead. These ancient honor and shame cultures would often honor those who have gained honor and glory on the battlefield. A good example of this would be the memorial at Amphipolis in Greece which Paul is likely to have seen when he went south from Philippi and Berea. Here is the lion of Amphipolis.... Read more

The civilizations in the inner Cyclades islands, in southern Greece, on Crete, Cyprus, and in Egypt all cross fertilized and traded with one another, which is why one finds syncretistic statues in Greece with the head of a Kore (boy) and the body of an Egyptian sphinx. Here is a helpful map and description of what was going on from at least 1700 B.C. in this region…. As we shall see later in these posts, the Minoan civilization on Crete... Read more

There’s gold in them there tombs! In particular, there was gold in the tholos tombs of the rulers of Mycenae, dating to the 16th century B.C. Here again, as with so much else, the notion that these were just primitive people is proved wrong again and again when one looks at their art, craftsmanship. architecture, and much else. Here are some of the remarkable things found in those tombs in Mycenae, including the famous gold death mask and breast plate... Read more

Whilst exploring Athens, we decided to go visit the fish, meat, nuts, fruit and vegetable markets, which supply food to numerous restaurants and individuals, including—— Even God is setting up franchises in Athens, it appears. And he hires balalika players in his restaurant…. next thing you are going to tell me is that God inspired the NT to bewritten in Greek! The markets are remarkable…… Now that’s something you will not see in the markets in Jerusalem— the divine swine!... Read more

The largest temple in Greece was built in the second century by Hadrian in Athens. Paul did not see this one, which even dwarfs the Parthenon. Set down near the ancient forum, Hadrian’s temple is entered by a ceremonial gate…. (which for some reason enjoys coming up sideways in the Patheos program… but you get the point). To give you a sense of the scale of this temple, consider this picture…. Or this picture…. People look like ants compared to... Read more

Grave Steles tell us a lot about the mourning customs of ancient cultures including Greco-Roman ones that Paul was familiar with. You may remember Paul said that Christians are not to mourn like pagans, like those who have no viable hope. Here are some illustrations of grave steles from the Athens museum. Here a friend is bidding another friend farewell as he enters the afterlife, but notice the child reaching up for his father, not wanting him to go. Sad.... Read more

There are in fact lots of bronze objects recovered from the sea and from archaeological sites all over Greece, many of which are common objects from the home, such as a matron’s mirrors— mirrors were made of highly polished bronze, and Paul refers to this as well— not a perfect surface to see your reflection but it could be quite good….. Handles of various sorts were also made out of bronze….. Also decorative pieces and household deity statues…. And people... Read more

Jackson Browne was one of the first great singer/songwriters of the folk/country rock movement that began in the early 70s with a variety of artists from or living in California. His lyrics were always thoughtful, and his tunes often sad but probing, and he was very influential. He wrote the Eagles first hit, ‘Take It Easy’ and was with them briefly, before going solo. His own first album had a big hit in ‘Doctor my Eyes’ and was produced by... Read more

Over the rest of the summer, I shall be sharing some pictures and posts on a trip Ann and I led to Jordan, Israel, and Greece, certainly one of the best trips ever for us. It was unbelievably hot in Jordan (Petra 114F), and in Israel (Qumran 120F), but pleasant in Greece. We traveled like the Biblical story moving from East to West, looking into the promised land from Mt. Nebo, and then entering across the Jordan, then exploring Jordan,... Read more