9/22/19

Another lovely trip funded by my school was today, to one of the Saronic islands of Greece, the Island of Aegina.

We got to swim in the Mediterranean in ultra clear waters, tried grape leaves, cheese pies (which we have now grown to love) visited the Temple of Aphaia, and explored the coastline where many fruit stands by local merchants stood near the harbor.

The Temple of Aphaia was once thought to have been dedicated to Athena however archaeology excavations thought otherwise in 1901 because they found inscriptions on the temple. This temple was built in 500 B.C. on the island of Aegina (island of light). “Britomartis” was Zeus & Karme’s daughter and ended up fleeing to an island because she was hiding from King Minos of Crete because he was in love with her. While escaping she cast herself into nets cast for fish and her story was tragic. She was a hunter and Artemis (goddess of wilderness) made her the goddess in Aegina. She had to hide herself in order to be free. For a while she was invisible but then became visible to more deserving people and was worshipped forever among the Greeks.