College Year in Athens: Fall 1988-Spring 1989

Congrats to Brendan!

American School Welcomes Brendan Burke as New Mellon Professor | American School of Classical Studies at Athens Return to News American School Welcomes Brendan Burke as New Mellon Professor July 9, 2021 The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is pleased to welcome Brendan Burke as he begins a three-year appointment as the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Classical Studies. Burke will lead the School's...

Serendipity is both a great word and a great thing. While I was visiting Chicago to see my family and to watch a Cubs game (sadly, they lost), out of the blue, Barbara Ristow Hennessy sent me a text lamenting the fact that she wouldn't be in Greece this summer. We ended up getting together for some great wine and even better conversation. We don't need a grand occasion to get together. We already had our grand occasion together in Greece, and any chance to see one another is an opportunity both to remember such a transformative year for us, but also to continue to share all that we've done since with each other. Thank you, Barbara for reaching out, and thank you for a wonderful night of catching up. I look forward to doing that again soon (or going to The Purple Pig).

So I went to the Agora, the Library of Hadrian, and the Roman Agora today—there was a great exhibit on the Hadrianic building program in Athens in the Tefikye Mosque in the Roman Agora, by the way. Well worth the visit. έκανε πολλή ζέστη σήμερα, so I stopped in for a refreshing Nescafé frappe (1.20€—you can’t beat the price), and on my way back to the hotel, I saw this man playing the laterna. Back when we were here, it was a much older man who used to sing poorly, caterwaul really as he played. I always gave him money as well. I haven’t seen the old man since I’ve been back, but I’ve seen this younger man for about a decade, so he has street cred with me. I gave him a couple euros today (although he didn’t sing).

I talked with Mimika about the laterna and the old man, and she thought that one of the last people who could repair the laterna (who was associated with the museum of musical instruments) passed away recently, so we may not see this man and the laterna much longer.

As soon as I get back to the States, I’m going to contact the Alumni Coordinator for the North American Office, so I can get the most updated contact list for everyone. I’ll be sending out personal emails to everyone on the list. If I have and bad email addresses, I may be asking for your help to reach out to them, so we can have as many people from our year there. P.S. I pitched the remote Greek idea to Mimika via her daughter, Marina. Keep your fingers crossed.

Apart from the alumni reunion trip, I dreamt this idea up: what if, perhaps in anticipation of our return to Greece, we had a refresher modern Greek class with Mimika (for those of us who had her) or Marienetta (for those who had her). By the way, neither of them know of this idea or have agreed to it, so all it is is me dreaming out loud right now. I’m imagining something once a week, obviously done remotely through Skype, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts. Given the time difference, I’d imagine something in the evening for them, so the afternoon for us, so also one a weekend, say Sunday afternoon. I don’t know about Marienetta, but Mimika is not big on technology, but perhaps we could get her daughter, Marina to help set things up. Let me know if you’d be interested in this idea.

Ok, people. Magic is starting to happen. In talking with everyone at CYA, it look like the best time for them to host us would be the third week of July to the end of the month. Alexis would like to put everyone up for free in the CYA apartments in Pangrati and have an opening an closing reception. As for activities, we talked about having a menu of guided day trips to choose from to places such as Delphi, Epidauros, Mycenae, Sounion, and Thebes. There would also be guided trips available in Athens such as to the Acropolis, National Museum, the Agora. Each of the trips would need a minimum number of people to cover the cost of transportation and the guide, and we would pay for each of them on an individual basis, so you could do as many or as few trips as you’d like.

So, does that general time frame still work for you? Are there any trips you’d like to see on the list I didn’t mention? Let me know how you feel. Also reach out to any classmates who aren’t following this page, because I don’t have access to our class email list right now, and I’d hate for anyone to slip through the cracks and miss out on this opportunity.

If we can get about 20 or so people, plus some spouses and possibly children, we can start the ball rolling.

Let’s do this.

Here is the rebetika place in Exarchia that we used to go visit to listen to music and dance. The place was upstairs, and it served wine and light food (I remember apple slices with cinnamon). If you wanted any food, you had to go to the place next door downstairs. Lots of good memories there. Any places with good memories for you?

OK, everybody. I will be talking to people at CYA tomorrow, so let me know one a scale from 1-10 (1 being “meh”, 10 being I’ll buy my ticket tomorrow) of how interested you are, and let me know when the best time for you would be. I’ll convey that information to them, and get back to you soon.

Climbing Mt. Lykavitos on a full moon is one of my favorite things to do. The sunsets are gorgeous, and the moonrise is also spectacular. I was a day early on the full moon, but the next night there was a lunar eclipse, and Athens was in full totality. I happened to be having cocktails with some people on the rooftop bar of my hotel watching it all happen.

What we’re some of your favorite spots to hang out in Athens. I have a little more time here. If possible, I can see if they are still around and get some photos.

Our first trip together for most of us at CYA was the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina, led by Alexis Phylactopoulos’ father.

If we were to have a reunion in Athens, what things would you like to see and do? What people (fellow students or faculty members, staff members ) would you like to see?

So I got to see Mimika the other day, which is something I always do when I visit Athens. After each meeting, I always feel refreshed. She sends along her best to everyone.

My question to everyone out there is partially related:
What would it take to get you to come back to Athens next summer?

First off, Mimika sends her love to all of you. Second, she likes the idea of an alumni trip, and would be willing to teach a couple of classes on modern Greek to reorient us on the language and culture. Third, I can't tell you what a pleasure it was to see her and talk with her. I wish this feeling and this experience upon all of you. Finally, I passed along your love and regards to her.

I went to the Benaki Museum today, and I had forgotten what a great collection it has, not just of ancient objects, but for its Byzantine and modern Greek holding. While walking through it, I was reminded of my Modern Greek History class with Panayiotis Zaronis. I know several others among you also took the class. I'm grateful for all that has stuck with me all these years from that class.