Last night we had an excursion to Arachova Village, a picturesque town on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. Before dinner, we had a few minutes to explore the town, and we made a beeline for a Byzantine church dedicated to the Virgin Mary where a service was in progress.
This certainly was not the first Orthodox Church we had entered, but it was the first where we saw worshippers rather than tourists entering. I was very curious about the people kissing the icons, then crossing themselves very fast three times, then bowing. We had seen people doing the same when they came to venerate the relic in Saint Dimitrius in Thessaloniki.
For one thing (since I’m a germophobe) I was wondering whether their lips touched the glass, but I didn’t get close enough to check it out.
I found this video on the sign of the cross, icons, and traditions in the Greek Orthodox Church:
There were two priests chanting in alternation and another swinging a thurible and ringing bells in rhythm as he walked completely around the church, spreading incense throughout. Bill Potter commented that the people at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu shouldn’t complain about the quantity of incense! However, I think we saw more incense in the Barcelona Cathedral.
Our Tour Director, Christina, told us that 95% of people in Greece identify themselves as Orthodox.
After eating dinner in Arachova Village, we headed back to the bus where by this time of night, the wind was kicking up and I was shivering, because it was so cold: 46° F, and all I had were two T-shirts and my fleece jacket. Not warm enough! I should have brought a sweater to add an extra layer!
In the morning, it wasn’t any warmer, but at least the wind had died down. We spent the morning at the Archaeological Museum of Delphi, where ruins were found underneath a residential neighborhood. Now a UNESCO world Heritage site, Delphi was believed by ancient Greeks to be the Navel of the Earth and a spiritual focal point for all Greeks. Our local guide, Penny, was very entertaining and was extremely knowledgeable about lifestyles of the early Greeks. She showed us the Temple of Apollo where, according to legend, the god Apollo once spoke in prophecy to mortals through the voice of the oracle and high priestess Pythia.
Our local guide, Penny, told us that the Greeks developed a system of musical notation, and showed us this sample:
Apparently I was the only one in the group who could read and sing music without needing a pitch, so I volunteered to sing the first 20 bars even though the range was high. A number of people in our group were amazed I could do this! (Aw shucks, it’s nothing!) Later the guide played a recording of the music, and it was sung down an octave.
It was another three hour bus ride to Nafplio, a seaside town where we will spend the next two nights.