This nine-day architectural journey through Greece will trace the span of four millennia through the buildings and ideas that embody the life of the soul.
Your journey will begin in Crete, one and a half millennia before the birth of Christ where you'll observe the intersection of nature and human civilization in the frescoes, bull-jumping bronzes, massive bronze pots used for feasts, and the palace of Knossos equipped with running water and the words for understanding the world, words that are the bedrock of our own vocabulary today.
As your journey progresses, you'll traverse the rise and fall of the age of heroes, of Classical Greece, the birth of philosophy, and the reordering of human purpose to things Divine through the preaching of St. Paul and the Christian inheritance of the arts through the liturgy of human history and civilization. Architecture will not simply echo in the foundations of the sites you visit, it will introduce the framework of human purpose through the life of the soul.
Arrive in Heraklion and transfer to our hotel. After time to settle in, we’ll gather for an introduction to the journey ahead and a welcome dinner with our local guide.
Consider reading Homer's Iliad before arrival. Your journey will begin with the Homeric notion of the heroic, the home, the hearth, and the search for glory in the face of oblivion.
Transportation: Taxi to hotel (independent arrangements)
Walking: 3 miles
Meals included: Dinner
We’ll begin at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum where we’ll encounter the frescoes, pottery, and other objects that bring this ancient world into focus. Here you'll observe the foundations of architecture not simply in buildings, but in the human desire to dwell together and to establish communities built around cycles of memory, festivals, and beauty.
In the later morning, we'll visit the Palace of Knossos, exploring the mysterious remains of Minoan civilization and the stories of Minos, Theseus, and the labyrinth. Often portrayed as a peaceful society, the Minoan world still poses unanswered questions, including what ultimately led to its decline and collapse.
In the afternoon consider exploring Saint Mark’s, Loggia, the shipyards, and Rocca a Mare (Koules Fortress).
Transportation: 45 mins
Walking: 6 miles
After breakfast, we’ll travel west to Chania. A walk through its old town and Venetian harbour will introduce us to another chapter of Crete’s history, with time for lunch and exploration before continuing to the port of Souda. In the evening, we’ll board our overnight ferry to Piraeus and settle into sleeping cabins.
Transportation: Bus, 2.5 hours; Ferry 9.5 hours
Walking: 8 miles
Upon arrival in Piraeus, we’ll meet our bus and travel to Hosios Loukas Monastery before continuing to Delphi.
According to legend, Delphi was marked by the stone Zeus cast down from the heavens, the same stone that was used to trick the monstrous titans, a metaphor for human cleverness and the intelligence of the gods. This pilgrimage site has been famous for its purifying waters and the prophetic power of the oracle for more than three thousand years.
Nestled below Mount Parnassus, the birthplace of the muses, the view of the surrounding mountains is truly glorious.Here, we’ll explore the sanctuary of Apollo and its archaeological museum, considering the oracle’s place in Greek religious and political life. In the late afternoon, we’ll continue to Nafpaktos for the evening.
Transportation: 4.5 hours
Walking: 2 miles
We’ll depart early this morning for Ancient Olympia, visiting one of the great wonders of the ancient world, the Temple to Olympian Zeus, a great symbol of Pan-Hellenic unity and cultural identity in an era of fragmented city states.
Here you'll observe a cycle of participation where individual merit and excellence gave rise to conceptions of fairness and democracy, and where people put aside their differences to compete, not in battle, but in displays of arete: virtue and prowess.
We’ll marvel at the magnificent Doric columns of the sanctuary before continuing to the stadium, starting line, and natural embankments that played a crucial role in religious festivals and civic participation.
Those who wish to run on the track where victors raced for laurels and honor (rather than medals of gold and silver) may run on the stadium together in the spirit of the games. At the museum, we’ll populate our imaginations by examining sculptures such as Nike of Paionios and the world’s richest bronze collection. Afterward, we’ll continue across the Peloponnese to settle into our hotel in Nafplio, the first capital of the modern Greek state.
Transportation: 5 hours
Walking: 3 miles
Today we’ll visit Epidaurus, home to the best-preserved ancient theatre in all of Greece. Renowned for its scale, symmetry, and astounding acoustics, this limestone auditorium was built at the same time Aristotle was writing Poetics, containing the first use of the word “catharsis,” or purification.
Just steps away, the sanctuary of Asclepius stands as a traversable relic of this idea in practice: people journeyed from across the Greek world to the Aesclepion seeking healing through cleansing of the mind, body, and spirit by means of physical exercise, innovative medicine, dramatic performances, and encounters with the divine in dreams.
We’ll be able to walk the same path as these pilgrims and read their stories of healing, while also stopping at the only Greek temple with a fully-realized, three-part subterranean labyrinth integrated directly into its foundation, complete with a unique dual-order colonnade and massive stone entrance ramp. After exploring the sacred sites and museum of Epidaurus, we’ll return together to Nafplio for an afternoon exploring the Venetian old town and Palamidi fortress, or enjoying free time to discover the city on your own.
Transportation: 2.5 hours
Walking: 2 miles
After checking out of our hotel we’ll journey to the legendary Bronze Age city of Mycenae, entering through the imposing Lion Gate, crowned by a triangular relieving space containing the oldest surviving monumental sculpture in Europe. Inside the massive cyclopean walls, built with technology later forgotten, we will explore the masonry of the citadel, the axial layout of the megaron, the throne room, and the mysterious remains of the royal palace.
We’ll also visit the monumental beehive tomb, the tholos, known as the Treasury of Atreus or the tomb of Agamemnon. Here we’ll consider the collapse of the Mycenaean palace world and how, centuries later, Homer’s epics reimagined its heroic past and the lives of its powerful kings—helping to shape a shared Greek identity within the emerging world that would eventually give rise to classical Greece.
From here we’ll continue on to Athens where we’ll check into our hotel and be free for the rest of the evening.
Transportation: 2.5 hours
Walking: 2 miles
In the morning, we’ll visit the Acropolis Museum to examine the sanctuary’s sculpture and architectural details, while considering contemporary debates over the ownership and return of ancient artifacts. After free time to explore Plaka, we’ll reconvene to ascend the Acropolis and consider Pericles’ ambitious building program in the decades following the Persian sack of Athens—a vision that expressed the city’s power, civic identity, and devotion to Athena.
As the light fades we’ll end the afternoon on the Areopagus, also known as Mars Hill, reflecting on Paul’s address to the Athenians.
Walking: 6 miles
Our final full day begins in the Ancient Agora, the setting for commerce, civic life, and philosophical debate. Here we’ll admire the beautifully preserved Temple to Hephaestus as well as the bold American reconstruction of the Stoa.
After free time for lunch we’ll continue to the National Archaeological Museum to draw together the civilizations and artistic traditions encountered throughout our journey. Visits to the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology will be arranged around opening hours.
In the evening, we’ll gather for a farewell dinner.
Walking: 8 miles
After breakfast, transfer to Athens International Airport for your flight home.
For further questions don't hesitate to reach out to us directly.
