I am behind in my blog mostly due to illness. (More on that later.) On the way to Athens we made two important stops. The first was to the cliffs of Meteora and the “Hanging Monasteries.” Greece has a strong monastic tradition that I believe
stems from the influence of the great number of Christian martyrs from
the Greek speaking world in the early days of the church. This
tradition of suffering for one’s faith led many to seek out an austere
life of prayer, reading of scripture and the church fathers and little
else. This monastic life
began in earnest on Mt. Athos in the 7th
century after the Arabs conquered Egypt, Syria and Palestine which were
centers of monastic life. By the 9th century some of the monks of Mt.
Athos moved to the Meteora region and began living in these single cell
dwellings cut into the cliffs. Wanting to be isolated they were
accessible only by rope ladders.
Later a couple of Monks decided the
cliff hermits might do better living in community and the first Great
Meteora Monastery was built in the mid 14th century atop of one of the
rock formations shooting into the sky. It sits 615 meters above sea
level. Again, anyone wishing to visit this or any of the similarly
constructed monasteries was either invited up a rope ladder or could
choose to sit in a rope basket and be hauled up by a couple of monks.
Today
the monasteries are accessed by steps that have been cut into the
cliffs - lots of steps! We visited two monasteries and it took us about
half an hour to reach each one by these steps. You have to first climb
down many steps into the valley beneath the monastery before you begin the ascent up. Both monasteries we visited had over 300 steps
each. Three things impressed me about these monasteries. First of all,
the remote beauty is extraordinary. You cannot help being
overwhelmed by the majesty of the Creator in such a place. Secondly, I
was stunned by the artwork in the sanctuaries. The walls are covered in
ancient frescoes, which graphically depicted the death of the martyrs. Monasticism
seems to draw energy from the faithfulness of the men and women of old, but I would find it challenging to worship with any joy in such a setting. Lastly, I was surprised by the low numbers of monks left in Meteora.
There are only 14 monks left among the five monasteries remaining. Our
guide said they have fled the visitors who flock to the area to see
their beautiful monasteries and have returned to Mt. Athos. In
contrast, the two nunneries are thriving with almost 50 nuns between
them. They do not have the option of fleeing to Mt. Athos as women are
not allowed on that holy mountain.
The second stop on
our journey to Athens was to Delphi. Delphi is a religious site of the
ancient Greeks that was established probably as early as 1400 BC during
the time of the Mycenaeans. The
ancients believed Delphi was the center
of the world determined by Zeus himself. Over time the god Apollo was
worshiped there and a prophetess known as the Oracle of Delphi was said
to speak for him. People of all statures came to seek out advice from
the Oracle who was said to deliver her words in a trance like state.
Alexander the Great sought her advice as did many of the Roman Emperors
including Constantine. The Christians finally shut it down in 394.
What
remains in Delphi is one of the most magnificent examples of Ancient
Greek ruins. The temple grounds are impressive just on their own. What
surprised me was the amphitheater which was part of
the complex that
provided poetry, theater and especially music to the community. Further up the mountain into which this impressive ruins is built (with many
many steps) is a stadium for competitive games similar to the Olympic Games
in Olympus! I was surprised to find such vibrant religious
expression. I remember learning about the Greek gods years ago back in
school. The religion was presented in such a way as to suggest that no
one really believed these myths or worshiped these Gods. Clearly, that
was either a mistaken impression on my part or a misunderstanding of the
religion on my teacher’s part. The ancient Greeks took their Gods
seriously and when Paul addressed them on Mars Hill in Athens with a new
teaching about a single God who had chosen to reveal himself in Jesus of Nazareth... well, Paul had his work cut out for him!
