I learn that there is nothing new under the sun...

25.06.2015

Yesterday was Friday and I went to a couple of places. The first was the Library of Hadrian, which is a ruin and not really anything to write home about. The next place I visited was the rebuilt Stoa of Attalos which is a very long and columned , two story porticoed building in the ancient Agora ( the old forum and marketplace of Athens). It holds a museum with a good number of statues and treasures found on the site dated from 600BC onwards. I had a bit of a shock while looking around the museum when I saw a 2500 year old pottery item that was used to potty train young children ( there was even a photo/drawing of a child sitting on the potty). Further into the museum I saw casserole dishes on braziers and cooking implements like a barbecue and a pizza oven. This amazed me and began a train of thought that has continued until today Saturday when I visited the very large National Archaeological Museum and found other items from 1000s of years ago that were so like modern goods. To finish my day on the Agora I walked up a slight hill to the Temple of Hephaestus and on my way back down struggling with aching legs and a bit of heatstroke I sat under a tree for a few minutes and took stock of where I was and what was laid out infront of me. I had to remind myself that I was in Athens Greece and was sitting in the shade on a beautiful summers day with a view that included the Acropolis and the Parthenon in the distance. I was in a place that many only dream of, and a few aches and pains and a thirst that could be dealt with were a small price to pay for being in such a privileged position. That was just what I needed to hear to make me open my eyes again and appreciate what was going on around me. I will remember those thoughts if I find myself wallowing again. Back to the amazing Archaeological Museum, and today. It didn't take me long to start seeing things in the display cabinets that could be in anyone's homes in the present. There were things like colanders, safety pins, frying pans, and coffee cups that were being made 5000 years ago in the bronze and iron age civilisations. This whole idea was really difficult to get my head around. The shapes and forms that people found pleasing 5000 years ago in many cases, have stood the test of time and are still aesthetically pleasing and useful today. I remember John Lennon saying that there is nothing you can do that hasn't been already done, and today has just confirmed those words for me. 5000 years may seem a very long time, but in the affairs of the human spirit it is but a heartbeat ago...

Reproduced Stoa of Attalos (covered walkway)