Page 49 - The Gonzaga Record 1994
P. 49
early 70’s, Mr Murphy. The chorus future years that he continues to find time
rehearsals were in the morning, the and energy to make the opera a very
principals in the evening and while we all memorable experience for them too.
attended one or the other, Mr Murphy had
to go to both. I just hope for the sake of Stephen Fennelly (Senior 5A)
T H E G R E E K TRIP
Towards the end of last year, Mr particularly struck by some pillars and
O’Sullivan decided to organise a trip to statues which had been removed from the
Greece. All students of Greek and temple of Diana at Ephesus and the Tomb
Classical Studies had the opportunity of of Mausolus at Halicarnassus. It was my
going and twenty five availed of it. We first taste of the sheer scale and grandeur
spent some time in Septem ber and of the Greek monuments.
October preparing for the trip by studying We returned to Heathrow and boarded
the sites we would be visiting and Mr our flight for Greece. After a brief stop at
O’Sullivan spent a lot of his time solving Thessalonika, we landed at Athens and
the numerous problems which surfaced. were brought by our luxury coach to the
Then on Thursday 21 October, we pride of the City of Theseus, the Hotel
gathered in Dublin airport to depart for Stanley.
the birthplace of Western civilization. After breakfast on Friday, we visited our
We had to change flights at Heathrow so first our first destination - the Acropolis.
we took the opportunity to visit the This was the citadel of Athens; its walls
British Archaeological Museum. The contained the various temples and the
museum is famous, or rather infamous, Athenian treasury. First we visited the
because it contains the controversial Elgin buildings which lie at the foot of the hill -
Marbles, removed from the frieze of the the Theatre of Dionysus, the Stoa of
Parthenon by Lord Elgin, the British Eumenes and the restored Odeion of
ambassador to Turkey in the 19th century Herodes Atticus. We then climbed up to
to protect them from damage. The the Acropolis itself, passing under the
marbles were very impressive but 1 was imposing Propylaea, or gateway. There
are three tem ples rem aining on the
Acropolis - the “tiny” Temple of Athena
Nike (the Parthenon dwarfs everything),
the Erechtheum and the Parthenon itself.
Commissioned by Pericles in 447 BC. the
Parthenon was built by the architects
Ictinus and C allicrates, the master
sculptor Pheidias and a multitude of
technicians. Despite its enormous size it
possesses an unforgettable, subtle
elegance which is a tribute to the skill of
its Athenian architects.
Saturday began with a most uncivilized
start - a wake-up call from our dear Mr
O’Sullivan at 7 am. A quick breakfast and
onto our luxury coach for Delphi,
_____________________________ 3 __________ sanctuary of Apollo, centre of the Greek
In the theatre at Delphi world and the most sacred site in Hellas. It
41
rehearsals were in the morning, the and energy to make the opera a very
principals in the evening and while we all memorable experience for them too.
attended one or the other, Mr Murphy had
to go to both. I just hope for the sake of Stephen Fennelly (Senior 5A)
T H E G R E E K TRIP
Towards the end of last year, Mr particularly struck by some pillars and
O’Sullivan decided to organise a trip to statues which had been removed from the
Greece. All students of Greek and temple of Diana at Ephesus and the Tomb
Classical Studies had the opportunity of of Mausolus at Halicarnassus. It was my
going and twenty five availed of it. We first taste of the sheer scale and grandeur
spent some time in Septem ber and of the Greek monuments.
October preparing for the trip by studying We returned to Heathrow and boarded
the sites we would be visiting and Mr our flight for Greece. After a brief stop at
O’Sullivan spent a lot of his time solving Thessalonika, we landed at Athens and
the numerous problems which surfaced. were brought by our luxury coach to the
Then on Thursday 21 October, we pride of the City of Theseus, the Hotel
gathered in Dublin airport to depart for Stanley.
the birthplace of Western civilization. After breakfast on Friday, we visited our
We had to change flights at Heathrow so first our first destination - the Acropolis.
we took the opportunity to visit the This was the citadel of Athens; its walls
British Archaeological Museum. The contained the various temples and the
museum is famous, or rather infamous, Athenian treasury. First we visited the
because it contains the controversial Elgin buildings which lie at the foot of the hill -
Marbles, removed from the frieze of the the Theatre of Dionysus, the Stoa of
Parthenon by Lord Elgin, the British Eumenes and the restored Odeion of
ambassador to Turkey in the 19th century Herodes Atticus. We then climbed up to
to protect them from damage. The the Acropolis itself, passing under the
marbles were very impressive but 1 was imposing Propylaea, or gateway. There
are three tem ples rem aining on the
Acropolis - the “tiny” Temple of Athena
Nike (the Parthenon dwarfs everything),
the Erechtheum and the Parthenon itself.
Commissioned by Pericles in 447 BC. the
Parthenon was built by the architects
Ictinus and C allicrates, the master
sculptor Pheidias and a multitude of
technicians. Despite its enormous size it
possesses an unforgettable, subtle
elegance which is a tribute to the skill of
its Athenian architects.
Saturday began with a most uncivilized
start - a wake-up call from our dear Mr
O’Sullivan at 7 am. A quick breakfast and
onto our luxury coach for Delphi,
_____________________________ 3 __________ sanctuary of Apollo, centre of the Greek
In the theatre at Delphi world and the most sacred site in Hellas. It
41
