TASIS England Travel Program
Senior Humanities Trip Classical Greece Sat. 17 – Fri. 23 October 2015
Day 1 Saturday, 17 October Upon arrival in the capital of Greece, Athens, we are met by our tour manager and taken by private coach to our hotel in the laid-back harbor town of Nauplion, once part of the far-flung Venetian empire. We settle in and freshen up before dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight Nauplion.
Day 2 Sunday, 18 October Today we explore the province of Argolis. Our first stop will be at Homer’s city of Mycenae, where King Agamemnon lived and ruled before setting off to fight in the Trojan wars. This is a magnificent site, entered by the famous Lion Gate, and notable for its enormous beehive tombs, said to be those of Agamemnon and his faithless wife, and murderer, Clytemnestra. We then have lunch in Mycenae before we head to our pottery artist, where we get an opportunity to create our own clay masterpiece. Our final visit of the day is the open-air theatre of Epidaurus. Over 2000 years old, with its perfect acoustics and sight lines, still the most magnificent performing space in the world. We then return to our hotel in Nauplion and enjoy the spectacular view before we go for dinner in a local tavern. Tonight we get to enjoy a Greek dancing lesson! Overnight Nauplion.
Day 3 Monday, 19 October This morning we board the coach for Piraeus. Our journey will take us across the Corinth Canal, where we can have a look at the locks of this major engineering marvel. Upon arrival at Piraeus, we will board the ferry and after about one hour of sailing we will arrive in Aegina. As we will discover, Aegina is an island not only beautiful, but with a long history and sites of great archaeological interest. Upon arrival, we will transfer to our hotel. After some time to settle in we have dinner. Overnight Aegina.
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Day 4 Tuesday, 20October Today we have a visit to the Temple of Aphaia. Built in 480 BC when Aegina was at its most powerful, it stands on a pine- covered hill and commands imposing vistas of the Saronic Gulf. After lunch and some downtime at the beach of Agia Marina, we continue on to the Monastery of Agios Nektarios. In the afternoon we return to Aegina town, where we have dinner. Overnight Aegina.
Day 5 Wednesday, 21 October Following breakfast we pack our bags and have some free time in Aegina town before we take the ferry back to Piraeus. We arrive about one hour later and then transfer by private coach to Athens. Upon arrival in the capital we start our exploration right away with a visit to the National Archaeological Museum. Here we see statues and artwork from all periods of ancient Greek civilization, including Schliemann’s sensational finds at Mycenae, of which the most famous, and beautiful, is the popularly- named death mask of Agamemnon. Later this afternoon we check into our centrally located hotel and have time to freshen up. In the evening we have dinner in a taverna in the Plaka, the lively heart of Athens. Overnight Athens.
Day 6 Thursday, 22 October After breakfast, we start with a visit to the Acropolis. No site in Greece is better known than these groups of temples on Athens’s greatest hill, capped by the staggering form of the Parthenon, a nearly-perfect classical structure. We then split the group, and while half of the TASIS students are visiting the Acropolis Museum, the other half of the group partakes in a two-hour mosaic making activity. We will learn the history of mosaic making in Greece before learning, hands on, the traditional technique, which has been employed since the Bronze Age. After a break for a joint lunch we switch the groups. Later this afternoon we may want to visit the Ancient Agora, where Socrates taught his students, in the former marketplace. We then have some free time for visiting one of the current marketplaces of Athens, located a short walk away. In the evening we have dinner in a taverna in the Plaka. Overnight Athens.
Day 7 - Friday, 23 October This morning after we have breakfast and finish our packing, we board the coach for our transfer to the airport. On our way we stop at Likavittus Hill, where we take the funicular to the summit for a wonderful view of the city. Our flight is scheduled to arrive at London Heathrow in the afternoon.