I recently returned from a trip to Italy and Greece and one of the destinations I made a point of visiting while in Athens was the new Acropolis Museum. The museum was opened June 20, 2009 and I was able to visit it on July 2, 2009 – so the paint was still fresh and the gleam was shiny as was the glass in the structure.

Designed by a Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi, the structure of the new Acropolis Museum is very modern with a stunning combination of glass and concrete that seems to serve as the perfect silent background to the star of the show – the classical remains from the Acropolis itself.

The museum has three basic levels for the visiting patrons, featuring sculpture dating from the archaic period around the acropolis to the classical period. The museum is littered with korai and kouroi, on the 2nd floor in particular you can see up close the famous “archaic smile” featured on each piece as well as see the paint still lingering. One of the main characteristics throughout the museum is the combination of simply geometric lines and textures with a legion of repeating dots to break up the lines. In fact, on all the glass there are these tiny dots as well as larger ones in the walls making the interior have a domino kind of presence.

An innovative feature, and destined to be the trademark of what is going to be possibly one of the great museums of the world, is the glass flooring. This is a unique experience as it leaves one feeling as if you are floating on air and beneath your feet are the archaeological remains of the area. In fact, the entire museum seems to be more like a giant UFO, with strong symmetry of course, hovering over the site in order to learn more about the area and the slice of time it is framed within. For archaeologists, this is particulary exciting as they can see for themselves the remains and the random museum goers fluttering about can take stabs with their imagination at what they are looking at.

The relationship between the new museum and its environs seems very well thought out as the glass floor not only lets you view the past of the area, but the glass surrounding the building provides a beautiful vista of the present state of the acropolis and the city. It is a place where all time strands meet and interlock into the simplicity of a modern structure but with the grace of a dancer carefully stepping over the precious remains which abound the area.

A thrill for any afficionado of classical sculpture and Greek culture would be the presence of the caryatides from the porch of the Erectheion on the acropolis. The maidens stand tall and proud, vestiges of the past relieved of the burden of supporting the ancient roof from the busy temple that once housed one of the main cult statues of Athena and her peplos. Noticeable still is the empty space of one of the missing sisters, which was taken by Lord Byron and has yet to make its way back home to Athens. Another point of contention between the Greeks and the English.

If you travel to Athens, you must make the time to visit the new Acropolis Museum. It is extremely affordable, only 1 euro, and can bring you up close to classical Athenian civilization in a way you have not experienced. You can tour the remains which lay under your feet and ponder the mastery of the beauty of the sculpture. Also available to you is the simple splendor of modern architecture, focused on quite elegance and pragmatism, it serves as the perfect stage for classical sculpture.

Archaeologists recently discovered five mummies in some underground burial chambers. If this was in Egypt, it would be news, but expected. Yet, this discovery was made two years ago in Peru. And two of the mummies were found to have skin and hair still intact.

What is even more startling is that the mummies exhibit the physical traits of the so-called Cloud People, a tribe of white skinned, blond haired people living in a remote jungle on a mountain top in Peru.

What kind of changes to our historical records would need to be made here? This is not surprising, however, as anyone who knows the legend of Viracocha could tell you. Not only was Viracocha an important deity for the Incas, but it was believed the god appeared having white skin. In fact, the Aztecs later mistook the Spanish invaders for the return of Viracocha (only to be slaughtered and robbed for their “piety”).

This kind of report usually makes me ask what kind of agenda is being pushed out into the public. Then again, one has to be open-minded as indeed, why couldn’t there have been a mixture of ethnic groups in southern America hundreds, if not thousands of years ago?

Read more.

Something alarming jumps out when you look at the Black Plague period of Europe, also known as the Black Death. No, it isn’t the fact that the population of Europe dwindled about in half during this time span (estimates range between 30% to 60%). Nor is it the fact that the plague is believed to have been originated in Central Asia and India. It is the fact that the first period in Europe killed so many in only 4 years.

Between 1347-1350 about 50% of Europe’s population was wiped out.

That is an alarming rate of death and interestingly, the plauges would return about once a generation, decimating the population, until the 17th century.

Typically, the theory is that the bubonic plague, or Yersinia pestis, is what infected the population – spread by fleas – and due to the culture at the time with a lack of sophisticated hygiene. Yet there is another theory – some suggest that a “men in black” group was behind the plague, spreading the plague in an airborn fashion as it was described to be a mist that would wipe out these major centers of civilization in Europe.

At any rate, some are pointing to frescos painted by Luca Signorelli found at the cathedral in Orvieto, Italy – a place I have visited many times. It is a beautiful cathedral, but I must confess I never really had time to take in the Signorelli paintings in great detail so needless to say, the fact that this theory is out there is one thing but the fact that Signorelli somehow depicted these men in black is extraordinary. This will require more investigating. In the meantime, here is the source that I found for this concept.

This is something of great interest to us all, and yet it is something most familiar.

We can talk about our search for energy alternatives, but we don’t start talking about the fact that all matter is nothing more than the alternative of energy. We know that in order to get energy we must split matter, and that matter and energy’s relationship can be summed up in e=mc².

There seems to be little to deny this fact. Yet, why does the concept of chi, chi gong, hado or even the chakra energy system seem strange to us? There are many who have studied and perfected these concepts. We need to awaken to these possibilities and in understanding the true nature of reality, we can use these concepts as didactic tools to help us comprehend.

Here is an interesting little short film that states the basics.

Here is a demontstration of someone gathering their chi and the chi of others to demonstrate that the force is real:

I will be looking at these concepts more in future articles such as the idea that the ancient Greeks may have called this force menos, the Romans may have used the terms anima and animus were often interchanged. Yet there is a distinction that must be made, anima is simply the life force of living things, that which animates, while animus seems to imply consciousness and relates to intelligence and reason. The dynamics of these forces belong to the dynamic of breathing or respiration. The Romans used the words spiro or conspiro to demonstrate the generation or validation for the existence of animus/anima. In fact, this is where the word inspired comes from because you are literally “breathing in” something and adding it to your animus. (Also, let’s not overlook the word spirit and its significance in religious/spiritual thought) The Greeks used the word pneuma and also associated this life force with breath.

In ancient Sanskrit, it was known as prana and it, too, was associated with breathing. In fact, yogic principles discuss breath and the science of breathing used to accumulate one’s prana – just as the cultures of the East in Asia generate chi through one’s breathing techniques.

Also see my other post The Human Energy Field.

I think it is important to examine the origins of Halloween. After all, it is a holiday for a reason – and it isn’t just to sell candy or make people buy costumes. Or give them an excuse for their behavior. It was more somber than that and once it was tied to the cycles of nature – when Man was connected to Nature. Here are some videos that detail the origins of Halloween. Keep in mind how the holiday started and what it has been turned into today – by the majority of people in our society.

This is probably the highlight of my first year teaching – last year. Not only were we able to start our very own archaeology club, which was hugely successful in its first ever campaign, but we were also able to get to Italy and see the real thing for ourselves.

These are two of my students, Isaac Mendieta and Julien Jacquelin. I adore both of them. Isaac was practically on fire with curiosity, every turn and every nook of every place we went in Italy offered something he hadn’t seen before. It was hard to keep up with him as he was always in front of everyone, trying to take in as much as he could. And Julien was, well, Julien. His mohawk made him quite the celebrity and ambassador to the Italians. He was an easy going, laid back traveling companion always interested in making new friends and learning more about what he was seeing and experiencing. He understood the value of what he was seeing and greatly respected the history surrounding him.

It was truly inspiring and fun to watch these two come to life in another country. I will never forget it, and I was glad we kept such a small group as it allowed us to kind of stew together in all the history and richness that was our trip.

Just reading a book right now that is explaining why a classical education is crucial and why the classical tradition is still relevant. It inspired me to come up with this quote (take that for what you will!):

Those who seek to liberate you will have you study the past; those who seek to control you will remove it.

I can’t help but think of when the Nazis were burning books. The bonfire of the vanities, if you will. Look at the action, and look at the intention. The Inquisition. Any time in history that we have seen massive social change followed by a period of darkness, it has begun, ironically, with a burning up of the past. To remove the past from our grasp is to give us no guide for the future but also no foundation for it as well.

And if we agree upon such a concept, then what would the removal of those past languages be akin to? It seems to be a more subtle way of burning books because to burn up the languages, we burn up the connections to those thoughts that are so influential yet so universal. How can we truly understand what is meant by Homer in his great works if we cannot read them? How can we understand Marcus Aurelius’ meditations if indeed we don’t know the words he is speaking? Virgil? Euripides? Plato? Aristotle? Ovid?

The past becomes mute. Just like during those dark epochs of history I mentioned earlier. The climate of those times usually is great arrogance – after all, what more than hubris could give birth to an idea that we no longer need the past? We do indeed live in arrogant times. Cavere, mi amice.