Greece: The Grand Tour
Study-Travel on Mainland Greece
01 – 28 june 2015*
Monuments to inspire you – Landscapes to challenge you
Introduction
This course offers students the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of centuries of travellers from Pausanias (2nd century AD) to Edward Lear (1840s-1860s) and uncover, just as they did, the glories of Greece past and present.
The course covers the archaeology, history, ethnography, religion and management of Greece’s cultural heritage, spanning the periods from the Neolithic to the present. This programme will provide you with a broad appreciation of the diversity of Greek culture and addresses some of the challenges faced by modern Greece in preserving its rich heritage.
On this course you will visit many different regions of Greece and gain a firm understanding of the landscape and how it affected, and still affects, the choices made by those who live in it. The sites you will visit include many of the ‘unmissable’ world heritage sites, such as the Parthenon, Mycenae and Meteora, but you will also be taken off the beaten track to visit some of the lesser known or more recent discoveries, such as the cities of Methone and Messene or the sanctuary at Thermon.
Museum visits complement those to archaeological sites, but will also enhance your appreciation of more recent history and the role Greece played, for example, in the changing political landscape of the early 19th Century and the dissolution of the Ottoman empire. Textual evidence will complement material culture to provide a holistic approach to understanding the history and culture of Greece, ancient and modern.
The Grand Tour Itinerary*
Athens – Attica
Day 1 • Arrival • Orientation • Lecture • night in Athens
Day 2 • Eleusis site • Chronology lecture • Session on study assignments; individual meetings with instructor • night in Athens
The Peloponnese
Day 3 • Depart for Peloponnese • Corinth Canal • Ancient Corinth • Acrocorinth (picnic lunch) • night in Nafplio
Day 4 • Nafplio walking tour • Palamidi • Ethnographic museum • night in Nafplio
Day 5 • Mycenae • Tiryns • Epidaurus • night in Nafplio
Day 6 • Nafplio Archaeological Museum • Nemea • depart for Sparta • night in Sparta
Day 7 • Mystra • Olive Oil museum • Spartan Archaeological Museum • Ancient Sparta • night in Sparta
Day 8 • Messene • Sphacteria • night in Pylos
Day 9 • Pylos • Methone • Palace of Nestor • swim • night in Pylos
Day 10 • Bassai • Dimitsana waterworks museum • night in ancient Olympia
Day 11 • Olympia site and museum • depart for Athens • night in Athens
Athens – Pireaus – Saronic Gulf island
Day 12 free day / reading / library day
Day 13 free day / reading / library day
Day 14 On-site guest lecture in Athens
Day 15 • Aegina island • Piraeus • academic meetings • night in Athens
Day 16 • Akropolis site & museum • Pnyx • Benaki museum in evening • night in Athens
Day 17 • Ancient Athenian Agora • Kerameikos • National Archaeological Museum • night in Athens
Day 18 • Sounio • swim • night in Athens
Mainland Greece
Day 19 • Delphi site & museum • night in Delphi
Day 20 • Thermon • lunch in Nafpaktos • night in Thermon
Day 21 • Thermon site & museum • night in Kalambaka
Day 22 • Meteora Orthodox Monasteries • night in Metsovo
Day 23 • Metsovo Cheese Factory • Ethnographic museum • depart for Thessaloniki • night in Thessaloniki
Northern Greece – Ancient Macedon – Thessaloniki
Day 24 • Archaeological museum of Thessaloniki • Walking tour of Thessaloniki • night in Thessaloniki
Day 25 • Vergina museum • Pella• night in Thessaloniki
Day 26 • Olynthos • swim day Halkidiki • night in Thessaloniki
Day 27 • Pylion • depart for Athens • Thermopylae • night in Athens
Athens – Finale
Day 28 • Final lecture • academic meetings • end of course
*this itinerary is thorough, but subject to modification
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course.
The language of instruction is English.
Course Requirements
This course is open to students, professionals, or any people with an academic interest in the related topics covered (e.g. archaeology; ancient and modern Greek history; heritage management; etc.) Attendance at all site visits is compulsory as lectures will take place on site. Students should be aware that this is an academic study-travel summer programme and work will be done mostly outdoors; weather conditions, therefore, will have an impact and students should come prepared for any weather conditions, especially hot, dry, and sunny.
Students will be required to complete the following assessments: On completion of the course the student will submit a portfolio of short case studies covering different aspects of sites visited – a complete list will be supplied at orientation. Submission of an extended essay on a topic arising from the course, with a focus on a single pathway (e.g. archaeology), to be submitted electronically at the programme’s end. The title and a proposed outline to be finalised with the course tutor during initial meetings at the outset of the programme.
Program Fees & Course Credit
The participation fee for this program is 4500 Euros. This fee covers all course costs including: registration; tuition; program materials; shared accommodation; one meal per day (excluding free days). Airfare and optional trips on free days are not included in the program fee.
There are a number of scholarships available for this field school– scholarships are awarded after acceptance into the program, so please apply early for elligibility. Please contact us for more information
If you would like to take this course for credit, the suggested credit amount for this program is equivalent to one semester / term course, based on contact hours, field work, and course content. We prefer to allow students’ home institutions to calculate credit hours and award credit accordingly. We will support your request for credit by supplying any relevant documentation and or supporting materials.
Accommodation
Students will share double or triple rooms in hotels as we travel throughout Greece. Because this is an intensive study-travel field school, students are advised to pack essentials and pack light– we will be moving around and exploring quite a bit!
Course Director
• Dr. Nicola Wardle, Greek Archaeologist and University Lecturer
Further information
*This summer field school is closed for 2015
Please apply for 2016 and visit again for updates!
You may fill out an application form here!
For further information please feel free to write us at [email protected]