"Face the wind and stand at attention. Stand your ground; hold fast." A man I looked up to while in Army said this to me when I was younger. This uncompromising spirit was the main idea to ponder as we set out for new adventures today. We began by reading a passage in class of a Jewish man who was placed in a compromising position (II Macabees 6:18-31). He was given the choice to either eat pork, or die. He refused for sake of principle and held fast to the tradition he valued. As we perused through Athens and the archaeological museum today, the same uncompromising spirit can be seen in its people as well as its art. The many vacancies in the museum remain unfilled because Greeks refuse to compromise until they have all the valued pieces returned to them from the British museum. My fellow "Ramses" pals can attest to the same problem we recognized in Cairo. As Dr. Donald P. Ryan pointed out, "Who truly has ownership of these artifacts...who is going to give in?" What's ironic is that the Egyptian pieces are also housed in the British Museum. This spirit can also be found in the art that surrounds us in the form of architecture. History and nature has tested these marble structures and the mathematics and physics that is its' glue. Many remain as a visual testimony to Greeks mastery of the subjects and their vision to build structures that would stand the test of time.
After our day of wandering the museum, myself and eight of the girls stopped at a restaurant just below the lit terraced steps we ate at the day before. We had refused other restaurants and stumbled upon this one by chance. The dining area was large and vacant surrounded by artwork that covered the sandy colored walls with warm tones of mocha, amber, red, and sage. The tables were long and draped with white table clothes all neatly aligned with its silverware and glassware in place like a dining table set at Thanksgiving dinner. We were well taken care of. After persistently refusing four bottles of house wine offered to us by the owner, we compromised by sharing two amongst the group. As you can see the same uncompromising spirit is alive in us as well. Two male guitarists and a lovely lady sung and played acoustic Greek music while we enjoyed our meal. The worn in hardwood dance floor was all that seperated us from the performers. Dinner was filled with music, laughter, and wonderful converation much like many of our nights thus far; but company tonight was very charming, and it remained so afterward. We found a long strip of cafes outside the Acropolis and ended our night there sharing espresso and chocolate until the outside heater turned off.
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