12-Day Journey in the Footsteps of Odysseus and Penelope GREECE 11 NIGHTS MODERATE PRICES FROM $417 PER NIGHT GUIDED TOUR | SPIRITUAL | CITY CENTER | GREAT FOR SOLO TRAVELERS | SIGHTSEEING HIGHLIGHTS Set out on an inspiring, 12-day journey of ancient Greece with author, teacher and filmmaker Phil Cousineau. Take a journey 3,000 years back in time, across Homer’s wine-dark sea. Discover the legends of Heroes and Heroines, Gods and Goddesses and connect with the mythic power of the ancients. From the heart of Athens to Odysseus’ home island of Ithaka, embark on an unforgettable tour with lifelong researcher, seeker and storyteller Phil Cousineau. With teachings from his books, films and tudies s, Phil takes you on a voyage through the history of civilizations that flourished in the distant past. With wisdom and wonder to be discovered at every turn, this 12-day tour with Sacred Earth Journeys is one you’ll remember forever. ITINERARY Arrive Athens Monday, April 18th PAGE 1 You will be met at Athens International Airport and transferred to your hotel in the heart of Athens. Depending on your arrival time, you may have an opportunity to explore this ancient city on your own. Athens, the capital and largest city in Greece, dominates the Attica periphery. One of the world’s oldest cities, it is full of myths, mysteries and legends. Steeped with a rich history that spans around 3,400 years, the city is home to many sacred ancient sites, monuments and landmarks. A fusion of old and new, Athens is also a cosmopolitan metropolis buzzing with lively activity and vibrancy. If you arrive early enough, they recommend a visit to the National Archaeological Museum, founded at the end of the 19th century to house and protect antiquities from all over Greece, thus displaying their historical, cultural and artistic value. The museum features many artifacts associated with the Homeric epics, such as the golden Mask of Agamemnon, the bust of the Minotaur and the Aphrodite of Cnidus. In the evening, you will gather at the hotel for a welcome drink before walking as a group to the Plaka district for the Welcome Dinner. It will be held at the Palia taverna Kritikou with its splendid view of the Acropolis and Lycabettus. You will get to know your tour leader and fellow travelers as you savor traditional Greek cuisine and admire the stunning views of ancient Athens. (Overnight in Athens at the Hotel Hermes or similar.) Athens + Corinth Canal + Mycenae + Sparta Tuesday, April 19th Enjoy a traditional Greek breakfast followed by the first of the Long Conversations: “Epic Storytelling in Classical Athens.” Afterward, the coach will take you to the Peloponnesus, crossing the astonishing architectural marvel of the Corinth Canal, begun by the Roman emperor Nero, who abandoned the project, which was finally er sumed in 1881 and completed in 1893. After a short stop at the canal, you will visit the ancient citadel of Mycenae and its neighboring museum, with its cyclopean walls and history of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Here, you will spend the morning exploring the archaeological site with a very special guest, Agamemnon Dasis, the great-great-grandson of the man who lodged the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann (discoverer of Troy) when he excavated Mycenae in 1876. After your tour of the citadel you will visit the nearby tholos or beehive huts, then lunch at Agamemnon’s restaurant and hotel, La Belle Helene, named after Helen of Troy. Over the years many luminaries have stayed here, including André Malraux, Stephen Spender, Jack Kerouac, Rebecca West, Lawrence Durrell, Henry Miller, Virginia Woolf, Carl Jung, Freya Stark, and J. K. Rowling. Breakfast and lunch are included today. (Overnight in Sparta at the Menelaion Hotel or similar.) Sparta + Menelaion + Gytheion + Kranai Islet Wednesday, April 20th After breakfast at the hotel, you will gather for a morning discussion based on Phil’s book, Who Stole the Arms of the Venus de Milo? The famous statue was inspired by the story of the torrid love affair between Paris, the prince of Troy and Helen of Sparta. It's a tale that has inspired more art than any other one from classical times. The conversation will prepare you for your visit today to the ruins of the palace she shared with King Menelaus. For it was here that the Trojan prince Paris, enchanted by the goddess of love, Aphrodite, came to seek out Helen, regarded as the most beautiful woman in the world, who was likewise under Aphrodite’s love spell. To catch a glimpse of the importance of these mythic figures, you will visit one of the most unusual sites in Greece, the strange pyramid-shaped Sanctuary of Menelaus and Helen, where they were worshipped as gods for centuries, and according to Pausanius, were buried there. You will enjoy a traditional lunch either in Sparta or Gytheion, depending on timing. After your intriguing morning, you will visit Gytheion, the ancient seaport for the war-hardened Spartans—a beautifully preserved town—then, you'll visit the Kranai islet. According to legend, this was the port from which Helen and Paris sailed for Troy, their tryst igniting the most famous war in history. Breakfast and lunch are included today. (Overnight in Sparta at the Menelaion Hotel or similar.) PAGE 2 Sparta + Olympia Thursday, April 21st After breakfast at the hotel, the group will gather for a morning discussion about the curious relationship in the ancient world between athletics and warfare, as embodied at Ancient Olympia. Considered a national shrine for the ancient Greeks, the site housed many treasures and works of art ranging from temples, monuments, sacred altars, theatres and statues. Recent findings have pushed the origins of the competitions there from the traditional 776 B.C.E. to around 1250 B.C.E. Your visit will enrich your understanding of the role of athletics in Homer, who is often regarded as the first sportswriter in the world because of his intricate description of the so-called Funeral Games for the fallen hero Patroclus. Together, you will make your way to the ancient gymnasium and the palaestra (wrestling forum), the Temple of Zeus, one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, the Temple of Hera, where the Olympic Torch is ignited for every modern Olympics, and the wondrous Archaeological Museum, which features the astounding statue of Hermes by Praxiteles. You will then walk through an old olive grove for a visit to the Olympics Museum, which features a collection of Olympic torches, medals and memorabilia of the Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the visionary who revived the Modern Olympic Games in the belief it would revive the spirit of the well-lived life. This evening, Phil will lead a late evening discussion based on his book, The Olympic Odyssey, followed by a visit to a local taverna for some traditional music (at own expense). Breakfast and lunch are included today. (Overnight in Olympia at the Hotel Antonios or similar.) Olympia + Ithaka Friday, April 22nd Following your hotel breakfast, there will be a discussion about the symbolic power of Ithaka in mythology, psychology, poetry and the arts. After the talk, you will take the coach to the port of Patras, where you will catch a four-hour ferry to Pisaetos Harbor, Ithaka, then on to the nearby beautiful harbor town of Vathi. Tonight you will enjoy a fabulous meal and traditional Greek music together. Breakfast and dinner are included today. (Overnight in Ithaka at the Mentor Hotel or similar.) Ithaka + Stavros Saturday, April 23rd After breakfast, there will be a group reading of passages from the Odyssey that are set in Ithaka. You'll discuss the way the translations have shape-shifted over the centuries. You will also explore the centuries-long debate, which dates back to the 3rd century BCE, about the specific location of Homer’s Ithaka. After lunch, you will be guided by Spyros Couvaras, a member of the Odyssean Studies Center to the town square of the beautiful village of Stavros to see a scale model of ancient Ithaka, and the small but important Archaeological Museum of Stavros, where you will see fragments of twelve bronze ceremonial tripods in honor of Odysseus found in the nearby Polis caves. One is famously inscribed: EYXHN ODYCCEI, a reference to the gift of Alcinoos, King of Phaecia, to Odysseus. Then you will take a short drive by coach to the reputed ruins of Odysseus and Penelope’s palace that is referred to locally as Homer’s School. Archaeologists date it back to the 8th century. The most recent excavations, culminating in 2010, have fueled the controversy about the existence of a real Odysseus, reminiscent of Heinrich Schliemann’s digs at Troy, in Turkey, which many believe provides a historical basis for the Trojan War. After your visit to these haunting ruins, you will visit the actual Polis Cave, where the “Odysseus cult” was ritually celebrated for eight centuries. Time permitting, you will end your visits with a drive to the peak of Pilata Hill, which overlooks the Three Seas that Homer describes are visible from Odysseus’ Ithaka, and finally ot the Homeric “Melanydros Fountain.” Breakfast and lunch are included. (Overnight in Ithaka at the Mentor Hotel or similar.) PAGE 3 Ithaka on Easter Sunday Sunday, April 24th Today, you'll enjoy a morning of storytelling and discussion about the Iliad and the Odyssey, including recent mythopoetic renderings of Homer’s myths, including Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, and Madeline Miller’s Circe, and today’s theme of “Ithaka After Odysseus.” After the “Long Conversation”, there will be an attempt to visit the Archaeological Museum of Vathi to see its beautiful collection of rare vases from the so-called “Dark Ages,” as well as vases from the Geometric Period and striking Ithacan bronze coins from Classical times.