Friday, November 6, 2009

Thoughts from Athens

Today when I was sitting on a marble bench about 20 feet away from the Parthenon, I started thinking about my life over the last week. And then I was looking at the Parthenon and wondered what about it makes it so famous.

While here I have learned a lot more about the Parthenon than I previously knew; for example, that it was destoryed as a Pagan temple and made into a Christian church. Then made into a Mosque. Then it was bombed some more. A statue of Athena that was well over 50 feet tall disappeared. Thieves stole the artwork.
Oh yeah. That's why it is famous; because even after thousands of years and a lot of demolition, it is still standing to remind the Greek people of the victory they had in some war. There are other temples that are in better shape very close to the Parthenon, but you rarely hear about those. They still stand there in good condition and are even dedicated to 'better' Gods, but who cares about something that has survived with zero opposition?
And then that's when I realized that no matter what happens to me - no matter what people get me down, all that matters is how well I take it. I might be pillaged and bombed, but the fact that I'm still standing is what will matter in the end.
Thank you, Athena. I needed that.

4 comments:

RC said...

STOP WALKING AROUND. (yes, the caps indicate yelling).

Bud & Kim said...

Beautiful post girl, good luck on your run!

Juliann W said...

I liked this post Steph. Good luck with your race. And tell Uzi to move back to SF asap.

heidikins said...

You are absolutely amazing. A.MAY.ZING.

xox