Almost thirty Lower School pupils buckled up for a thrilling whistle-stop tour of ancient Athens on Tuesday 26th September for a LS Expo event combining Classics, Latin and Geography. In a brilliant demonstration of the educative value of Google Earth when supported by superb subject knowledge, classicist Polly Philp was the interesting and informative ‘tour’ guide.

First stop was the ancient Kerameikos (cemetery), leading to discussion of why cemeteries were placed outside the city walls. Perceptive pupils suggested motives linked to superstition or more scientifically, to do with basic hygiene. Pupils visited the Agora (marketplace and temple to Hephaestus, the so-called blacksmith god), then moving on to the Stoa or colonnade used for the very particular Greek style of learning involving lots of discussion and chatty pupils (school may not have changed much). Next stop was the theatre of Dionysus, one of the oldest theatres in the world and seating six thousand people. Pupils were fascinated to learn about the Theoric Fund, ancient Greek outreach which saw wealthy citizens donate money to enable poorer compatriots to see plays for free. No visit to Athens, modern or ancient, could skip the Acropolis, the summit of the city. Pupils showed impressive knowledge of the large variety of Greek gods to correctly identify at the Acropolis the temple to Athena Nike, Greek goddess of victory and another major temple to Athena, the Parthenon. They learned more about the site’s journey through history, having been a mosque under the Ottoman Empire and suffering a very damaging explosion when used as an arsenal for weapons and gunpowder in the 17th century.

The question of whether the pieces of the Acropolis taken home as holiday souvenirs by Lord Elgin should be returned to modern Greece was left as something pupils could take away to discuss at home.

Dr G Nicheallaigh, SMT Associate & Teacher of MFL