There is so much to be said about our two week adventure through Greece and Italy. My original intention was to write about it everyday - but we found ourselves completely exhausted after each day's expeditions. I also needed time to process it all - it was one thing to take in all the sights and sounds of the country, it is another to sit down, ponder and reflect on what we had been fortunate to see and experience.
My first impression of Athens, was boy, was it hot! Even with two fans at full blast with every possible window open, our Airbnb apartment was a sauna at every hour of the day. We joined a free walking tour on the second day - our guide was a comedic young woman, whose name she shares with one of the Greek goddesses. She taught us about Plato and Socrates, how ancient temples were slowly transformed into churches, and how some Greek myths were actually rooted in reality. For instance, she mentioned that Hercules was an actual man! Who knew?
We visited many places during our short stay in Athens, but one that impacted me most was when we stepped foot into Acropolis. What once used to be a thriving city filled with temples for Athena and marketplaces and places of law and theatre, is now reduced to rubble. Shells of buildings they once were. Acropolis is sat perched on top of a hill top. With a majestic front entrance made almost exclusively of marble, we actually had to watch our steps carefully in fear of slipping off.
We walked closer to the Parthenon and I thought, "How could they have built this?" It stood tall, elegant and strong. "And how could they have destroyed it?" They didn't have machines back then, how did the Persian army manage to destroy such a majestic structure? In my ignorance, I thought maybe elephants? But we soon found out that they used bombs back then too.
It was strange to witness the skeletons of what once was many people's homes. I wondered whether if my town in Malaysia was destroyed, would I have wanted people to visit it in the future. I felt uneasy thinking that some tourists may be posing for pictures next to the rubbles of my house - somehow seeking fame or joy from my loss.
With that in mind, we explored the site with humility and respect. These walls have seen things that our small imagination can't fathom. They have seen life and death in many cycles throughout the years as it has gone through many transformations and rebirths. I felt the weakness of my being - the fragility of my physical self and the palpability of my mortality. However mighty or powerful a community or township is, there is always the chance that it could be completely wiped out in a mere second. Subhanallah. Truly, how small we are in the grand scheme of things.
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