On top of the ruins of Mycenae
Author: Joshua Jacobs | Major: Classical Studies
This summer, I had the opportunity to spend three weeks traveling around Greece under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA), studying funerary customs throughout the various stages of civilization in the country (e.g., ancient Greek city-states, Byzantine Christianity, Turkish occupation, etc.). I learned of this program through the University of Arkansas’ own Dr. Daniel Levine, who was asked by the ASCSA to direct this program. Given that my undergraduate thesis explores death and the afterlife in the world of ancient Israel, he suggested that this trip would provide excellent comparative material. Returning home, I am equipped with numerous pages of bibliography and a firm grasp on various funerary and mortuary customs practiced throughout Greek history, as well as face-to-face interaction with related monuments and archaeological sites. In fact, over the course of eighteen days, our group visited thirty-three archaeological sites, some of which are not yet published, and nineteen museums. Moreover, our excursions were not limited to one location: we had the opportunity to explore Athens, Boeotia, Euboea, the Argolid, Attica, and Crete. For many of our site visits, we were led by exceptional scholars. For others, it was the responsibility of one of the students in our group to conduct a site report, instructing the others about the history and significance of sites like the Minoan chamber tombs in Armenoi, the Soros tomb of the Athenian dead from Marathon, and the so-called “Treasury of Atreus” a monumental Mycenaean tholos tomb. This trip was one of tangible learning; it was not uncommon for the group to sit among the rubble of some ancient place in the late afternoon as we listened to lectures on the past glory of that same location. It is difficult to describe exactly how this trip expanded the horizons of my studies in Greece. Suffice it to say, reading ancient texts in an air-conditioned classroom in the United States can only provide part of the real image that made up the world of ancient Greece. The focus of the trip being death, we began our studies with a reading of William Cullen Bryant’s 1821 poem, “Thanatopsis.” In fact, it was Bryant himself who coined this term. In this work, the author writes, “All that tread / The globe are but a handful to the tribes / That slumber in its bosom.” This striking statement echoed numerous times through my head as we looked upon the skeletons of people who would have divided themselves in life, but who now look all too similar. Whether from the Bronze Age or the 20th century CE, whether Byzantine or Ottoman, it is not uncommon that such differences do not present themselves in death.
Despite the goal of our study, our group was incredibly vivacious, and we had many an opportunity to interact with Greece as it is in the modern world. One particular experience, near the beginning of our travels outside of Athens, has cemented itself warmly in my memory of the trip. While riding on the bus, driven by a middle-aged Greek man named Christos, Dr. Levine began to teach us a song called “Otan Tha Pao…,” in English, “When I go…” The song is similar in essence to the American song, “Old MacDonald.” Children all over Greece are taught this song at a young age, and it is known by almost everyone. After Dr. Levine had given us a tutorial on how to sing this Greek children’s song, our beloved Christos asks for the microphone, and we are serenaded by the voice of a man, essentially a stranger, who grew up with this very song. This cemented a lovely relationship with the man who hauled us around Greece for nine days. This song stuck with me, and it helped me to strike up conversations with taxi drivers and strangers washing their hands in the bathroom. Of course, the culture of Greece is much more complex than a children’s song, but this song served often enough as a gateway for myself and others to interact with Greeks in various capacities.
Although there are not many students of the Classics at the University of Arkansas, I would highly recommend this program and others like it to any student whose research or interests leads them naturally to spend hours delving deeply into texts. I consider myself a philologist in training, but there is nothing better to round out one’s knowledge of a particular region or time period like going to visit that same place. It will only make you more knowledgeable and more engaged with the material you normally interact with, whatever that material may be. Interestingly enough, this trip forced me to become aware of the geography of Greece. Of course, maps are ubiquitous, and I do wish I had taken more time before the trip to map out exactly where we would be going, if only to orient myself in space more easily. Something else I learned while on this trip is that it is all too easy while conducting research to focus on one particular, and ever smaller, area of study. While abroad, I decided that when I got home, I would spend time just reading entire works, in English, to gain breadth of knowledge. Authors like Herodotus, Thucydides, and texts like the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enuma Elish, all will contribute greatly to my general knowledge of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. Translations are often a helpful resource, even as I train to be able to translate texts myself. Truthfully, I never considered study abroad before this trip as a viable option. On the other side, I cannot detail just how integral seeing the world can be to a young student.