Tag: ancient greece
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Here is Where You Heard
After saying, “Arrivederci!” to our wonderful guests from the last week, I drove to Siracusa to meet my cousin and business partner Evelina and her close friends. This evening, we attended “Le Rane,” or “The Frogs,” a comedy by Aristophanes, written in 405 BCE. The ancient theater was full. Joyful theater goers, seemingly all Italian,…
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Demeter’s Joy: Summer
Happy Summer! I present to you the magnificent Goddess of Morgantina, in celebration of the solstice. Scholars don’t know if she represents Aphrodite, Demeter, Persephone, or Hera. But her size (2.20-2.25 meters high), indicates that it was certainly a mystery cult statue of great importance. Personally, I believe that she is Persephone because her right…
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The Phoenician Women in Siracusa
This weekend Experience Sicily’s Evelina Buttitta has made her annual pilgrimage to Siracusa to see classic theater in the Teatro Antico of the city’s archaeological park. Evelina took this photo featuring the production of Euripides’ “The Phoenician Women.” For just a few short weeks annually in May and June, you can experience ancient Greek theater…
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Taormina’s Ancient Amphitheater and the G7
Taormina’s Ancient Theater, or Teatro Antico, is the inspiration for the logo of the 2017 meeting of the G7, happening now in Sicily. To give you some background, and put things into perspective (We are here for so little time.), the theater was built in phases, starting in the 3rd century BC by the Greek…
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Sing Out at Segesta’s Theater
The amphitheater at Segesta sits on top of Monte Bàrbaro at an elevation of 400 meters above sea level, facing North and therefore, the sea. It dates to the middle of the 3rd century B.C. Excavations of the area are taking place sporadically. Some have revealed the existence of structures dating back to the 9th…
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The First Time Ever I Saw Your Vase
The detail of the face painted on this terracotta jar that is associated with weddings (called lebes gamikos) is extraordinary, considering it is from the 3rd century B.C. It is from the ancient town of Centuripe in Enna province, which was, at one time, one of Sicily’s biggest producers of ceramic objects. This vase illustrates…
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Splurge in Agrigento
This is the view from our hotel room tonight. On your trip, this is where you splurge on a 5-star hotel … in Agrigento! Here’s what you are looking at: The Temple of Concordia is named for a Latin inscription that was found on a dedication marker unearthed in the vicinity of the archaeological site–i.e.,…
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A Bride and A Drum
When I learn how old an object like this vase from Sicily is, it puts things into perspective. I was thrilled to see this in person at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York a couple of weeks ago. Dated to have been made between 300 and 200 B.C.E., this polychrome terracotta jar associated…
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I’m a Magnet
Yesterday my friend Renee and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Last week, I thought, “I love museums, and I always go when I travel: Why not in my own town?” It had been a while since I’d been to The Met, so I proposed it. Of course, I…