Temple Construction and Analyzation by Prof. James Muth

           

Temple Construction

The world of temples is certainly a marble covered one. It has so many layers with detail, precision and years of perfection. Temples are the worshipping areas for the ancient Greek gods, and boy are they a perfect place to do so. They have been preserved, researched and renovated to our liking but did the gods like the basic construction of these temples? We can only guess, but we can decide if we like them or not. One thing is for sure the construction is sure to amaze.

            The basic temple construction is like a rectangle surrounded by columns. The rectangle is divided into three rooms. Above the columns is the epistyle. The epistyle is the rectangle above the columns but below the roof. The epistyle is a “filmstrip” that tells or explains a story. On the Parthenon (temple of Athena) there are four epistyles, one for each side.  One of them has the Panathenaic procession. Each image in the epistyle is a marble block that has been chiseled to perfection. The epistyle looks like a comic strip on an ancient temple. The roof is very simple and just is a small slope that meets in the middle.

            The three rooms in a temple are the Prenaos, the Naos and the Opistodomos. If you were to walk into the “front door” of the temple you would walk into the Prenaos. The Prenaos is the room for preparing yourself for worship or sacrifice. Then if you would walk straight forward you would go into the Naos.  The Naos is the room that usually has the statue in it. That is were the main priest or priestess would worship or sacrifice to the god. The final room is the Opistodomos. It is the “back door” and is “filled with wisdom”.

            Our family of five went to several temples. We were engulfed in things to see and learn. There is still a lot to learn about temples but I hope this post scratched the surface on this marble covered world.                                                                -James

The Theatre of Epidaurus

A Play by Grace Muth

Warning: This blog post is in the form of a script.  Please be aware of that. Thank You.

Scene One

Lights up on a classroom

Teacher: Kalymera, good morning.

Class: Kalymera

Teacher: I Hope you all remember that our field trip is today and we will be leaving for the theatre shortly

Class: Yeah/ Yes/ Yup

Teacher: Good, now when we get there we will meet up with our tour guide.  Her name is Smaro. Oh look the bus is here, Let’s go!

All exit stage right

Blackout

Scene two

Lights up on the theatre of Epidaurus

Teacher: Here we are class, the theatre of Epidaurus. I’m going to turn things over to Smaro so give her your respect

Alice (the girl who never gets off her phone): Lamest field trip ever, like went to the Coliseum or whatever, and it’s not even finished.

Frankie (the kid who loves history): Oh my god Alice, this isn’t the Coliseum, and it's been finished for centuries but its been worn down by time!

Alice: Whatever geek.

Smaro: Okay class, welcome to the theater of Epidaurus.  The theater was created around 1000 B.C. as part of a sanctuary built to honor the gods of healing. It really honors one god in particular; do any of you know who that is?

Frankie: Asklepios?

Smaro: Yes that is correct.  People would come here to be healed by the priests of Asklepios. People would spend the night and they would dream and then tell their dreams to the priests and the priests would come up with a cure.

Alex (the boy who loves science): would the cures actually work?

Frankie: Most of the time yes.

Alex: Cool!

Smaro: Yes it is, the theater is known for its acoustics.  The acoustics are amazing if you stand behind the circular rock, which is an altar for Dionysus, it feels like you are in a recording studio.

Alex: What is the science behind that?

Smaro: Well the stone helps reflect sound, and the depth of the seats not only provides comfort but also contributes to the sound quality.  The best acoustics happen when there is no wind, noise, and a full theatre.  Male voices carry best.

Alex: Doesn’t the shape have something to do with it too?

Smaro: Of course, the oval shape like a stereo speaker gives everyone a more equal earshot and there is one triangular area where the actors produce the best sound. Are there any more questions before we go inside?

Avery (actress): Do people still preform here?

Smaro: Yes, in fact the last performance of the summer was last week. Are there any other questions? No, okay remember don’t go on the altar for Dionysus.

(Students walk into the theatre)

James (Klutz): Hey, listen to this!  Wow, this is so weird! I’m a performer! (Starts dancing) Yot do do! (Trips) Whoa! Uh-oh! (Steadies himself onto the altar of Dionysus) Whew! (James disappears)

Alex: Hey were did James go?

Frankie: I don’t know, the last time I saw him he was on the circular rock…

(Walks over to the rock)

Alex: James? James!

(Steps on the rock and disappears)

Frankie: Whoa, what just happened?

Alice: Ugh this is the lamest field trip ever. When can we go home?

(Starts walking toward the rock)

Frankie: Alice no!!

Alice: What do you want, nerd?

(Steps on the rock then screams and disappears)

Avery: Did Smaro say to stand on the rock or behind it? I think she said on it.

(Steps on the rock and disappears)

Frankie: Oh dear, I’d better go find out what happened to them

(Runs and jumps on the rock them disappears)

Blackout

Scene Three

Lights up on the ancient theater, James, Alex, Alice, Avery and Frankie stumble in

Avery: Where are we?

Frankie: I think we’re at the theatre.

Alex: Yeah but when are we?

Frankie: 6^th century B.C.

James: Sweet!

Alice: Eww the past?! Like the Amish field trip wasn’t bad enough but the actual past? How will I live?

Alex: Jeez! Calm down.  We just need to figure out how to get back.

James: How did we get here?

Frankie: The rock!

Avery: So all we need to do is stand on the rock and we can go home!

Alice: Um, if you ding-dongs haven’t noticed, there’s a performance going on!

Alex: Oh yeah… we can’t wait until it’s over because then the class will have left.

Frankie: What are we going to do?

James: Hmmm I know we can…

Avery: Act our way back!

Alex: That’s a great idea!

Frankie: Yeah except all of the actors were full grown men not middle schoolers!

Alice: You mean men and women?

Frankie: No, I mean men, males played females.

Alice: There is no way I will play a guy!

Avery: You don’t have to. We can be chorus members!

James: That’s great and all but we don’t exactly blend in.

Alex: You’re right we need costumes. What did people wear in ancient Greece?

Frankie: Tunics, dresses, sometimes nothing.

Alice: WHAT!!!?? There is no way I will be nude!

Frankie: Only the men were nude and since you will be a female chorus member you will wear a dress.

Alice: Who says I’m going to be a girl?

Avery: You, me, everyone else.

Alex: Okay, we to get our costumes.

James: I’ll go

Frankie: Me to

Avery: You’ll need a theatre expert!

Alex: I’ll wait here with Alice

Alice: ugh, walking.

(James, Frankie & Avery exit stage left)

Alice: Why can’t my phone connect? It had service earlier.

Alex: I don’t think the ancient Greeks had cell phone service.

Alice: WHAT!!??!!?? (Screams and Frankie, James and Avery run on)

James: Is everything okay?

Alex: Yeah we just had a reality check

Frankie: Which was?

Alice: No…Cell phone … service!

Frankie: Oh, ha-ha!

Avery: We got the costumes!

Alex: Great, we can take turns changing behind those bushes.

James: We should go in pairs, Alice and Avery go first, and then me and Alex and Frankie you go by your self.

Frankie: Sounds good!

(Alice and Avery change and come back then James and Alex go)

Frankie: Wow Avery you look like a goddess!

Avery: Thanks!

Alice: Ahem, what about me?

Frankie: I thought you didn’t care what I said?

Alice: I guess I do.

James: Your turn Frankie

Frankie: Okay (he changes and comes back)

Alex: Okay Avery, what do we do?

Avery: Follow my lead and try to do well since the audience throws vegetables at you if you do poorly. We should wait until the next scene and practice during that time.

Blackout

Scene Four

Lights up on a performance with the 5 characters huddled on stage right

Avery: Okay let's go.

(Cross in a line towards the stone)

Avery: Follow me. (Starts the chorus moves)

Frankie: James, watch out!

James: What? OOF! (Gets hit by a tomato)

Alex: C’mon guys!

Alice: So I just step on the stone?

Alex: Yes, do that now.

Frankie: One, Two, Three!

Blackout

Scene Five

Lights up on the modern theater of Epidaurus

Avery: We did it!!

James: yes! (High five)

Smaro: Oh there you are!

Teacher: we were worried about you!

Smaro: Why are you dressed like ancient Greek actors?

Frankie: well you could say we had a hands-on experience.

Alex: Hey Alice Why eh long face? We made it back home.

Alice: I broke my phone.

BLACKOUT

Full theatre

The circular rock is the altar of Dionysus

Look at all those seats!

"This is my life!"

It has taken us a while to get to a place where we have the time, energy, and internet access to allow us to upload some blog posts.  We are finally in that place, so expect a few of them to roll out quickly…

We started our adventure in Athens, Greece.  It is fair to say that our nine year-old, Maggie, has been looking forward to this stop since the day we found out we were coming.  She is a huge Percy Jackson fan, and was thrilled at the idea of seeing so many sites referenced in the books in real life.  On our first day of touring, she turned to me outside the Panathenian Stadium and said, “Mom, this is my dream!”  She snapped pictures of absolutely everything – things I am certain she will not remember nor recognize when she looks at the pictures later (like the random grave marker statues in the Archaeological Museum).  

random grave marker 1

random grave marker 2

not even sure if this is a grave marker...

Later in the day, after walking a couple of miles in the 98 degree weather, she was too hot and tired to enjoy much of anything. 

But the next morning she was refreshed and ready to hit the Acropolis.  We were warned once again that the heat would be overwhelming, that we should wear hats and carry water.  Maggie was prepared; she even had her umbrella along to provide shade when necessary.  She grabbed my hand as we walked through the neighborhood at the base of the Acropolis and could not hide her excitement.  And then the tour guide started talking.  Now let me be clear, this was one of the best tour guides I’ve ever had.  She was incredibly knowledgeable, very passionate, and really good at getting the group of college students to think critically and connect what we’d seen yesterday to today’s sites and information. We even got to wander around the Theater of Dionysus.

The Theater of Dionysus

 But poor Maggie was drooping in the heat, her eyes were glazing over, and after 90 minutes of lecture we still hadn’t entered the actual Acropolis.

Finally, FINALLY, we started the ascent up the winding path to the gates of the Acropolis.  It was extremely crowded, but somehow that felt appropriate since ancient Athenians would have entered the Acropolis in large crowds as part of ceremonial processions.  We were at the base of the main stairs when our fabulous tour guide pulled us aside once again (taking advantage of a small slice of shade) to explain more about what we were going to see once we got to the top.  Maggie looked at me and gave me this knowing little half-smile.  It was as though she was saying, “It’s OK, Mom.  I know we’ll get up there eventually.”

And when we did, it was worth the wait.  Seeing the Parthenon up close is as impressive as you think it will be.  

In front of the Parthenon

Looking at the Erecthion – with the six Cariotids (maidens) – Maggie explained to me that this was where Athena and Poseidon had a challenge to see who would rule over the city of Athens.  The olive tree proclaiming Athena’s victory was right in front.

 

Maggie in front of one of the original Cariotid statues

There was so much information packed into the day, and we spent hours in the near 100 degree heat, that everyone (not just Maggie) was more than a little weary as we trudged through the gorgeous (and air conditioned) Acropolis museum and learned about the treasures that are being preserved there.  But our guide had saved one last surprise for us: a full model of the Acropolis built entirely out of Legos!  As all 22 of us circled the model and pointed out both the historically accurate and the silly modern day references, I couldn’t help but smile at how easily our guide had figured us out.

 

Lego replica of Acropolis

Athena and Poseidon's challenge to rule over Athens.

Maggie came rushing over and said, “Mom! It’s Ancient Greece and Legos combined. THIS IS MY LIFE!!”  I can’t say if Maggie will actually find a way to make Greece and Legos into her life, but if she ever does, we’ll know where the seed was planted.

On location: global preparations

Reflections

So how was Costa Rica? What was your favorite part? We’ve been back in the States for all of 48 hours, and we have already heard those two questions numerous times. The answer to the first one, in a nutshell, is that it was great. If you’ve been following this blog for any time at all, you know that we had many adventures, saw lots of great places, met some incredible people, and learned a lot. What more can you ask from an experience?

As for the second question, it depends on whom you ask. And what day it is. And what time of day, frankly – because we all have multiple opinions that just keep changing. A smattering of answers from the past couple of days…

Gracie: I loved going to the Caribbean beach when Amma and Poppa came to visit. We walked on this jungle path, and then the jungle cleared away and we were on a deserted beach with sticks and logs. It was the best beach day ever.

Maggie: I liked when I learned how to speak Spanish.

James: I liked getting to see all the wildlife – like the toucans that lived across the street, and the scarlet macaws.

Grace: And I liked all the monkeys – both the Capuchin and the Howlers.

Greg: Don’t forget about the volcano. It was…

All: RIGHT THERE!!

Processing through the whole adventure is a monumental task; helping our children to do that and then be able to articulate it to others is more difficult than we could ever have imagined. But our hope is that we will continue to reflect on the experiences we had, the things we saw and the people we met for a very long time. Earlier in the year we were able to see a photographer’s show at the Art Festival called 180 degrees. In this show, her work was all reflections – images captured on the surface of water. We have included our own photographic reflections here – inspired both by her show but also by this process we are now in, where the reflecting is as meaningful as the original experience.

Could you help us? Would you please take two minutes to share a comment with us telling us about your favorite story from this blog? We have over 6000 visits to this blog, and we’d love to know who all is following us, what you’ve gotten out of it, and why you were interested in our adventures. It might help us through our own processing.

Thank you for your love and support these past six months. We couldn’t have done it without you!!

Respectfully submitted,

The Muths

We're packed!

We are packed and waiting for the CATIE folks to check us out of our house. A quick lunch of gallo pinto then a trek around the ancient ruins of Guyabo National Monument. We then drive to Heradia so the kids can say they were in all seven provinces of Costa Rica. Return the rental car, a night in a hotel near the airport then a flight to Fort Lauderdale. Another flight to Tampa, get the rental car and a drive to Grandma's house.

Then we rest for a couple of days.

More soon.

From Coast to Coast and Border to Border

This past week, our family took one last vacation here in Costa Rica... a trip to the Pacific Coast. The trip was planned to help us see yet another province (we've all been studying the seven provinces in 3rd grade Social Studies) and also to visit Carara National Park (the subject of Gracie's first trabajo extra-clase - also for Social Studies). What we didn't realize until we were on our way back to Turrialba was that the trip also helped us complete a full tour of the country - having gone from the Panama border in the south all the way to the Nicaragua border in the north, and from the Caribbean coast on the east to the Pacific coast in the west.

When I've planned vacations before, there has always been a certain amount of anticipation and excitement. There is the waiting - wanting the time of adventure, or rest and relaxation, to arrive as quickly as possible. And there was definitely excitement and waiting involved with this vacation. But perhaps more impressive than the waiting, was the wading. Webster defines wading as moving or proceeding with difficulty or labor - and I would say that we had to wade through each and every leg of our journey - and we have the pictures to prove it!

We started out on Sunday morning driving (in our wonderful rental car - no buses this time!) through fog as thick as pea soup, up and over the highest mountain range in the country. We tried not to cringe as we passed the Cerro de la Muerte (Death Peak) - and even got out of the car for a family picture at the top.

Freezing at the top of Cerro de la Muerte

The temperature difference from the top of the pass to the bottom was a whopping 20 degrees Celsius! We reached the coast, then turned south and headed down to the area near Parque Nacional Marino Ballena. Our hope had been to see whales during their annual migration, but we were off by about 2 months. There was still plenty to see and do though, so we made our way to the beach at the National Park. We may not have seen real whales, but there is an amazing spit of land shaped like a whale tale sticking out into the ocean that we were able to reach by slogging our way through the competing currents. And frankly, playing on the beach in the late afternoon is still one of the best activities ever.

Wading out to the Whale Tale 

The next day we spent the early morning wandering through the trails of the private forest on the hotel grounds. Then we headed about 5k up the road to a fabulous waterfall. We trekked across the river on slippery rocks to reach the crystal clear pools where we spent several hours playing and relaxing. A delicious lunch and delightful conversation with the owners of the little restaurant at the top of the falls was a great way to end the adventure.

Crossing the river to get to the waterfall

Day three we checked out of hotel number one and drove up the coast to hotel number two - near Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio. In all honesty, Greg and I were dreading this part of the trip. We had heard some really unfortunate things about the park and the area - lots of crime, lots of tourists, high prices, no animals, and out of control development of a naturally beautiful paradise. What we discovered was far less horrible than we had anticipated. In fact, we found most of it charming. The park itself, for example, is still undeveloped - so undeveloped that the entrance is unmarked and hidden down an alleyway (unless, of course, you choose to enter the back way by wading through the estuary - which we did on exiting). Undeveloped does not mean uncrowded, though, and we did have to share the beach with many other tourists - but people seemed so happy to be enjoying the waves and the monkeys stealing crackers from towels on the beach that we could hardly complain. We even managed to see an Aracari (a small relative of the toucan), a mother monkey carrying a baby that couldn't have been more than a few days old, and a three-toed sloth.

The beach at Manuel Antonio

Crossing the estuary to exit Manuel Antonio

The other thing we found was that the service we received was fantastic. Our hotel (Mono Azul - the Blue Monkey) is a typical little hotel with pools, a restaurant, and a reception desk. But it also hosts the Kids Saving the Rainforest gift shop - and consequently many youth groups who come on service trips. The teens added a really fun energy to the place, and the staff were obviously enjoying their work. One staff member set up a tour for us to go see Carara National Park with a local guide on day four. We drove an hour and a half to the park entrance, then stopped to change into knee high rubber boots because the park rangers said things were a bit wet.

It is nearly impossible to describe this experience without it sounding like a scene from a movie or novel. But really - it was a genuine jungle trek (oh yeah, with three small kids). The trail was muddy from the first step, and partway through we were literally wading in water up to the edge of our boots (trying not to gag on the smell of rotting dates). Within 100 yards of the entrance we were unable to stand still without being mobbed by mosquitoes, yet we had to stand still time and again to stop and see the amazing wildlife. At one point we watched a capuchin monkey (one of a large troop in the treetops) throwing dates down at the head of a coati who was calmly eating the seeds on the ground.

Wading through the muck at Carara National Park

The mischievous monkey throwing dates

The coati on the ground - mischievous monkey's target

Later on we had to stop James from accidentally stepping on one of the many black iguanas littering the trail. We heard the ugly cry and then witnessed the soaring majesty of the scarlet macaws - and then heard the beautiful song of the plain little gray-collared robin. We saw a blob of tree frog eggs hanging off the tip of a leaf over a puddle filled with tadpoles and delicious bugs. And we saw a crocodile hanging out in a lagoon that only two weeks ago was just some grassy land. We also saw poison caterpillars and the incredibly elusive orange-collared manakin (that even made the guide giddy!). When we got back to the car we were filthy, bug-bitten, blistered, hot and exhausted... but extremely happy. All Social Studies projects should come with such a cool field-work component!

The iguana James almost stepped on

The magnificent scarlet macaw

Glass Frog eggs

As if all that weren't enough - we then drove down the highway about 2 kilometers to the infamous Crocodile Bridge and watched about twelve 15-20 foot long crocodiles swimming around in the Tarcoles River. The combination of high speed traffic zipping by, being on a tall bridge, and looking over to see giant man-eating reptiles was more than we could take for very long - and we happily climbed back in the car for the 90 minute drive back to the hotel.

A crocodile on the bank of the Rio Tarcoles

Day five was supposed to be an uneventful drive back down the coast and over the mountain pass. Naturally, car-sickness overpowered the dramamine and required a stop on the side of the road - at which point we accidentally slammed Maggie's fingers in the car door. Luckily, we were stopped right in front of a house - and the lovely family provided us with a plastic bag, a bowl of ice, and plenty of smiles and good wishes as we wearily got back into the car to continue the drive. It took far longer than we'd hoped, and made us all more queasy than we'd hoped, but thankfully there was no lasting damage (even to Maggie's fingers!) and we made it back to Turrialba safe and sound.

We didn't realize as we were planning this vacation that it would be quite so exhausting and complicated - or rewarding. We were waiting for some regular old rest and relaxation. But the effort of wading through each leg of the journey produced yet another chapter in our border to border and coast to coast adventure.