Classics Trip to Greece

Pupils studying Classical Civilisation and Latin at GCSE or A Level spent a study trip in Greece to see at first hand a large number of Classical sites, many of which are on the exam specifications.

Starting with a visit to the Theatre of Thorikos and then Cape Sounion to see the magnificent Temple of Poseidon on a promontory overlooking the Aegean they then proceeded to Athens to settle into their hotel.

No trip to Athens is complete without a visit to the famous Acropolis, beginning with the Theatre of Dionysus. They climbed up past the Temple of Athena Nike to the Parthenon Temple itself with its magnificent Doric columns they moved to the Acropolis museum to learn more about the statues and friezes found there.

On the third day, the group drove through the mountains to visit Olympia, the original site of the Olympic Games. There the pupils tried running the ‘stade’ (nearly 200m) and the standing long-jump. They were also fortunate to see the lighting of the Olympic torch for the winter games!

Next up was Tiryns, Mycenae and Epidavros, all famous sites. Mycenae was the capital of Agamemnon’s kingdom, and the group explored further back in time, a thousand years before the Classical period. They saw the Cyclopean walls, the famous Lion Gate and the Treasury of Atreus. Epidavros has a very large and well-preserved theatre, where pupils recited poetry to test the excellent acoustics.

On the final day the group visited the ancient city of Corinth and the Isthmus canal before catching the flight back to Heathrow. It was clear that the pupils had enjoyed themselves and learned a lot.