Id heard the name before, but I didnt really know what the Acropolis was until reading Sophies World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy; a phenomenal introduction to the subject and one of my favorite books this year. If you are interested in Philosophy, then definitely pick up a copy.
Acropolis means citadel or city on the hill. People have lived in the Acropolis in Athens since the Stone Age. Thats 9000 years of history on one hill!
In the late fifth century BC, Socrates and Plato hung out there talking to people about their philosophies. Among other things, Socrates spread his wild idea that the ability to distinguish right and wrong lies in peoples reason, not in society and Plato introduced the notion that man is a dual creature having a mortal body and an immortal soul.
A few years after Jesus made the big sacrifice, his buddy Paul was on tour around the Greco-Roman empire spreading the good word about his friends stunt on Easter. When he showed up in Athens, he walked straight into the center and chatted with the local philosophers, marking the start of a collision between Greek philosophy and the doctrine of Christian redemption. However, they seemed to like this Jew with the story about a guy dying on the cross and coming back to life, so they let him make a big speech on the hill of the Acropolis to the masses of Athenians. Some thought he was nuts, some said they wanted to hear more and the rest signed up for the club. The Christian snowball then rolled down that hill and across the entire Greco-Roman empire.
‘Words such as politics and democracy, economy and history, biology and physics, mathematics and logic, theology and philosophy, ethics and psychology, theory and method, idea and system all came from the Acropolis in Athens.’ – from Sophie’s World
November 21st, 2006 at 7:43 am
Your description of the Big Guy reminds me of this song I have on a three-CD Beat Generation comp. It’s John Barrymore talking in a piece called “Christopher Columbus Digs the Jive” and is the story of Columbus told through, well, jive. It includes such memorable lines as – “So Chrissy moseyed on over to Spain to see Queen Isabella – who was a SWINGER!” Anyway …. xo L
November 21st, 2006 at 8:09 am
Stunning pictures. Nice synopsis of the beginning of Christianity. Are today’s Greeks still a people open to expression or are they now more reserved?
November 21st, 2006 at 10:00 am
We received your Acropolis post card yesterday. “Cool! it moves!”
We will miss you Thanksgiving, but thrilled to see you Christmas.
Love and Gobble-Gobble,
Aunt Zeth
November 23rd, 2006 at 10:33 am
I determined that if a turkey says ‘gobble’
that a tofurkey must ‘wiggle.’
That’s all I got.
(smile)
Thinking of you. Happy T-Day.
xo
L
November 29th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
Sounds like the Acropolis was the place to be back in the day. Great analogy by the way: ‘The Christian snowball then rolled down that hill and across the entire Greco-Roman empire.’
November 29th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
Sounds like the Acropolis was the place to be back in the day. Great analogy by the way: ‘The Christian snowball then rolled down that hill and across the entire Greco-Roman empire.’
December 1st, 2006 at 9:29 pm
You take such beautiful pictures John, You should be a National Geographic photographer and writer!