Homeric Hymn to Demeter Field Trip

Our final journey into the realm of myth started at 9 am as we boarded a bus for modern day Elefsina, aka ancient Eleusis. After a short trip to west Attica we arrived on site and prepared to get lost in the ruins. It was immediately evident that the site has been well preserved. Plenty of walls and stairs are intact, and at the very least there were piles of fallen buildings that still had plenty of exquisite detail. It was relatively hot out but there were isolated pockets of shade as we wandered from point to point. We walked through and on the ruins and paid attention to the plethora of informative signs.

Eventually I got a little off the beaten path and nearly fell to my death (not really). If anybody got too adventurous the guards were very vigilant and armed with whistles.

Unfortunately the beaten path was impossible to elude. I just ended up taking a longer route to the museum. It was small but neat. The statues were mostly intact considering their age. Interesting little building.

Outside there were good views of the industrial parts of the town, the modern town, and the ancient site. The result of mixing all those into one space provided an interesting assortment of stimuli.

Elefsina was easily my favorite of the three field trips. Experiencing where the supposed abduction of Persephone took place and where Demeter almost ended mankind was thrilling. But also experiencing how the space is now was unique. The mix of urban, industrial, and ancient all in the same space was both subtle and blatantly obvious. And while Elefsina is incredibly polluted, it was also very naturally beautiful. Maybe it was just my romantic perspective, seeing the beauty in the crumbling ruins. Or maybe it was the magic that this place has been home to for countless centuries...