The Public Peloponnese

As I departed for the Peloponnese last Tuesday I toted along an article on the rise of the individual in ancient Greece. The article references the achievements of ancient thinkers, scientists, and artists and their impact on the development of democracy in Greece. As we inched closer to our first stop, Delphi, I put away to the article and listened as Professor Nigel Kennell gave us an introduction to the trip. He told us that the trip would be geared to those in his ancient Greek athletics class, but that he would not exclude those of us not in the class. From his speech I began to imagine that our trip would have a focus similar to that of my article, that we would learn about the remarkable feats of athletes whose names had made it into the history books. It immediately became clear to me, however, that this trip would not teach us about people's achievements in the ancient world, but about the individual's integration into the community.

Professor Kennell recreated public life in the Peloponnese right away, leaping out of the bus and hiking to the top of the site at Delphi. We slowly made our way down, beginning with the stadium. Many people associate Delphi with the Oracle, but the site was so much more. Professor Kennell really emphasized that it was a Pan Hellenic site shared by the Greek city states. It was a place where individuals could come together to watch events in the stadium, consult the oracle on their community's fate, and set up monuments celebrating the success of their city state. I was surprised to discover Delphi's function as a place where ancient Greeks coalesced.

Our group made the same discovery at the site of the Nemean Games. We were the first visitors to the site that morning so we were able to hold a miniature version of the games. We held foot races in the stadium and pretended to crown the winners with wild celery wreaths. Professor Kennell pointed out that individual glory in athletic competition was important, particularly since the hoplite revolution had put an end to receiving personal acclaim in war. Yet we were able to see for ourselves that celebrating the winner was not the main focus of the day; we enjoyed the fact that cheering for athletes in our little races had brought us closer together.

Epidaurus, one of our last stops, also brought individuals together, but in a slightly different manner. The site was home to the sanctuary of Asclepius, the healing God. The ill would sleep and live at the site until the God appeared to them in a dream, healing their malady. There are records of Asclepius' success; one inscription, for example, refers to a woman, pregnant for fifteen years, who slept in the temple and gave birth to a son who was able to walk right away. Some of these records are obviously a little exaggerated and Professor Kennel pointed out that many of them indicate that people were given anesthesia during surgery; the dreams of the God that they remembered were probably due to their semi-conscious state. One's reason for coming to the sanctuary was personal, but the ill would interact with each other quite a bit while waiting to be cured. The recovery area, for example, was an open place with benches, not isolated beds as in modern hospitals.

We crossed the Corinth Canal and returned to athens with a better understanding of the individual's role as part of the whole in the city-state. Now, I'm curious, of course, about the ramifications on democracy. Luckily, Professor Kennell promised we would discuss that after fall break ends. For now, though, it was quite the enjoyable experience to return to Athens with my bus mates as a bonded city-state. Learning about coming together in the ancient world seemed to bring us together too.