Olympia: The Marathon

Posted May 3, 2015 by twj
Greece

Olympia
Peloponnese
Greece
May 1, 2015

My Fellow Athletes,

Can we agree on one thing?  Frank Shorter started it all.

In 1972 at the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, Frank Shorter became the first American man to win the Gold Medal in the Olympic Marathon.  (The Marathon by definition is 40.2 kilometers or 26.2 miles.)

In 1984, Joan Benoit added her name to Olympic Legend when she became the first American woman to win the Gold Medal in the Olympic Marathon.  Actually she was the first woman ever to win Gold since the female Marathon event was first added to the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles that very year.  (Joan had already won the Boston Marathon in both 1979 and 1983.)

After Frank’s championship and surely after Joan’s extraordinary Olympic accomplishment, we Americans decided to emulate our two new heroes.  We donned our sweat suits and our Nike Waffle Trainers and Adidas County Striders, dutifully performed our stretching exercises, and headed out the door for our training run. 

Kythira Island

Posted May 2, 2015 by twj
Greece

Kythira

Κύθηρα

Greece

May 2, 2015

Here’s a brief discussion:

“You have a strategic decision to make,” observed my New York friend David L. when I told him of my upcoming journey to Athens and The Balkans.

“I have already made that decision,” I responded.  “As an alternative to sailing east from Athens to visit the ever popular Greek Islands, I am driving west to the Peloponnese peninsula.  I anticipate a destination of rich diversity and ample rewards.”

But, once on the Peloponnese, I cannot resist at least one island.  The Ionian island of Kythira is my choice.  (I had never heard of it.   Have you?)

Monemvasia and the Sea

Posted April 29, 2015 by twj
Greece

Monemvasia

Laconia

Mani Peninsula

Peloponnese

Greece

April 29, 2015

 

So, here I am, halfway up “The Rock,” looking out over the Gulf of Epidaurus.  The alternate nickname for this fast fortress is “The Gibraltar of Greece.”

Founded in 583 CE and derived from two Greek words meaning “one entrance,” Monemvasia has been settled, besieged, conquered and re-conquered over the ages by every Mediterranean power.  Now, after we drive across the narrow causeway, the island town is mostly besieged by tourists.

 I climb up through the narrow streets past the souvenir shops, coffee shops and restaurants to find the actual town – homes, churches, flowers, cats … and a sparkling view across the blue blue sea.

Epidaurus: Did Sophocles Have the Jitters?

Posted April 28, 2015 by twj
Greece

Epidaurus

Peloponnese

Greece

April 28, 2015

 

Did Sophocles Have the Jitters?

 

Here’s the scene:

 It’s Opening Night. 

Your latest drama is about to be performed for the first time. 

Local dignitaries and your loyal fans anxiously await and anticipate the opening lines of the first act. 

Critics, too!

Out-of-town travelers have scooped up all the remaining last minute discount tickets.

14,000 are seated on the hard, limestone tiers in the outdoor theater. 

The House is packed.  Restless.  Murmuring.

SRO.

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