My trip to the Peloponnese was short and sweet - 3 days long. The weather was beautiful for touring - just becoming fall.
In one museum, we saw sculptures of human body parts. Random, right? Well, these were found in the Temple of Aesclepios. Aesclepios was the god of healing, and people who were sick would put a representation of the body part that was diseased in the temple, so that Aesclepios would heal them.
Below is a picture of the actual bema where Paul stood to address the angry crowd in Corinth. (A bema is a platform in the middle of the marketplace.)
Acts 18:12-17 - 'While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law." Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." So he had them ejected from the court. Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever."' The Jews were mad at Paul, but Paul was able to get up on the bema ("court"). Instead of Paul being beat up though, the synagogue ruler was beat up - odd turn of events, but Paul was saved from persecution.
Me in front of the Corinthian bema.
At the very top of this mountain pictured below is the Acrocorinth - "high Corinth" - the place of Corinth's fortress and famous Temple of Aphrodite. Paul in the Bible really got on to the Corinthians because they were so immoral. The Temple of Aphrodite was the place where the Corinthians worshipped the gods by sleeping with the temple prostitutes. They had a messed-up view of love. That's why Paul had to write I Corinthians 13 - "the love chapter" - to them.
Me in front of the Corinthian bema.
At the very top of this mountain pictured below is the Acrocorinth - "high Corinth" - the place of Corinth's fortress and famous Temple of Aphrodite. Paul in the Bible really got on to the Corinthians because they were so immoral. The Temple of Aphrodite was the place where the Corinthians worshipped the gods by sleeping with the temple prostitutes. They had a messed-up view of love. That's why Paul had to write I Corinthians 13 - "the love chapter" - to them.We hiked up to the very top of the Acrocorinth. I was so proud to finally reach the top and view how far I'd come.
The path we hiked up to reach the top of the Acrocorinth.
Tasha Sallee and I sat on the edge of the mountain to view the city of Corinth below.
Girls Charlie's Angels pose - I don't know why... : )
Then we travelled to Epidaurus, the place of the world's best-preserved theater.
The theater of Epidaurus was set in the mountains. I imagined that if the entertainment couldn't keep the people's attention, the surroundings definitely could - breathtaking! We took turns testing out the acoustics of the theater. They were really good. I climbed to the very top seat to see if I could hear the person in the center of the stage below whispering. I could - amazing!
Day 2: Nafplion and Mycenae
The path we hiked up to reach the top of the Acrocorinth. Tasha Sallee and I sat on the edge of the mountain to view the city of Corinth below.
Girls Charlie's Angels pose - I don't know why... : )
Then we travelled to Epidaurus, the place of the world's best-preserved theater.
The theater of Epidaurus was set in the mountains. I imagined that if the entertainment couldn't keep the people's attention, the surroundings definitely could - breathtaking! We took turns testing out the acoustics of the theater. They were really good. I climbed to the very top seat to see if I could hear the person in the center of the stage below whispering. I could - amazing!
Day 2: Nafplion and MycenaeIn the morning, we went to the Fortress of Palamidi in Nafplion, a seaport town. The bus drove us up to the top of the fortress. This picture shows the castle and then the town on the peninsula below. The castle was amazing because it was still so intact. I had a lot of fun running around exploring the fortress.
Here I am exploring inside the fortress. We discovered dungeons, tunnels, and random nooks and crannies - fun, fun!
Stephanie and I found an archway that overlooked the sea below - beautiful!
We didn't have to walk up to the fortress, but we did take the 857 steps down. Our legs were shaking when we reached the bottom! 
Next, we went to Mycenae, one of the most ancient Greek civilizations. Below is the famous Lion Gate entrance to the Mycenae citadel. It's called Lion Gate because there are two headless lions carved above the arch. The Greeks believed that the stones were so huge, only the Cyclops (one-eyed giants) could have built it - so these walls are now called the Cyclopian Walls.
Ancient grave sites. The area surrounding Mycenae had lots of mountains and valleys - it reminded me of Napa Valley, California.
Here's a big group of us. We have a running inside joke about us all being part of a 'family tree.' Some people in our group are the parents, grandparents, and others of us are their kids. 
Stephanie and I stretch across the entrance to the tomb of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. Agamemnon is the king from Homer's books The Illiad and The Odyssey.
After touring, we ate at a nice restaurant in Mycenae for lunch. They served our favorites - bread with olive oil, Greek salad, spaghetti, and vanilla ice cream!
DAY 3: Olympia
Stephanie and I found an archway that overlooked the sea below - beautiful!We didn't have to walk up to the fortress, but we did take the 857 steps down. Our legs were shaking when we reached the bottom! Next, we went to Mycenae, one of the most ancient Greek civilizations. Below is the famous Lion Gate entrance to the Mycenae citadel. It's called Lion Gate because there are two headless lions carved above the arch. The Greeks believed that the stones were so huge, only the Cyclops (one-eyed giants) could have built it - so these walls are now called the Cyclopian Walls.
Ancient grave sites. The area surrounding Mycenae had lots of mountains and valleys - it reminded me of Napa Valley, California.
Here's a big group of us. We have a running inside joke about us all being part of a 'family tree.' Some people in our group are the parents, grandparents, and others of us are their kids. Stephanie and I stretch across the entrance to the tomb of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. Agamemnon is the king from Homer's books The Illiad and The Odyssey.After touring, we ate at a nice restaurant in Mycenae for lunch. They served our favorites - bread with olive oil, Greek salad, spaghetti, and vanilla ice cream!
DAY 3: Olympia
Our last day was very rainy and we afraid we wouldn't get to see much of the archeological site of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games. But thankfully, it dried up some. Below, Jessica, Samantha, and I are sitting in the original Olympic stadium on the stone seats of the judges, pretending to cheer on the competitors.
We girls lined up on the original marble starting line, ready to race. (Well... not really race. The boys raced each other but the girls didn't want to really run. I did jog the 192 meters down and back though - whew-who!)
Jessica and I peaking around a column in Olympia
These were my roommates in the hotels during this trip: Ashley Valamides in the pink and Stephanie Sterry in the white. We had back rub parties every night!
I'm ready to run! On your mark, get set, GO!
In Olympia, next to the stadium is the Temple of Zeus. Here I am standing next to one of its tall pillars.
We walked through the Palaestra, the place where the Olympians used to train for wrestling. Matt and Frank reinacted what took place thousands of years ago.
It was a beautiful, crisp autumn day after the rain cleared off. Kathleen, Brenda, Stephanie, and I walked through the old town of Olympia, linked arm in arm.
We girls lined up on the original marble starting line, ready to race. (Well... not really race. The boys raced each other but the girls didn't want to really run. I did jog the 192 meters down and back though - whew-who!)
Jessica and I peaking around a column in Olympia
These were my roommates in the hotels during this trip: Ashley Valamides in the pink and Stephanie Sterry in the white. We had back rub parties every night!
I'm ready to run! On your mark, get set, GO!
In Olympia, next to the stadium is the Temple of Zeus. Here I am standing next to one of its tall pillars.
We walked through the Palaestra, the place where the Olympians used to train for wrestling. Matt and Frank reinacted what took place thousands of years ago.
It was a beautiful, crisp autumn day after the rain cleared off. Kathleen, Brenda, Stephanie, and I walked through the old town of Olympia, linked arm in arm.
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