When I was sixth grade, my history teacher introduced us about ancient civilizations. We learned about the rich ancient history in Africa, India, China, Aztec society, Incan society, and then we came to the Romans and the Greeks. I’ve always been fascinated by mythology, and Greek mythology is without a doubt my favorite. It was also around the same time that Rick Riordan released the first of his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which I still love to this day. I could open up one of those books now and feel the same amount of joy reading it as I did the first time I found them. Sixth grade was also the year that I traveled to Greece.
With the same program that I joined to go to London and Paris, I signed up for a trip to Italy and Greece. We began in Rome, went down to Naples, then to Sicily, before we boarded a ferry destined for Athens, the city at the center of every ancient story I adored. I had these grandiose ideas of what Athens would be like, and honestly, the city lived up to every expectation. It was a blend of old and new, complete with the picturesque antique cafes, and modern architecture sprinkled throughout the metropolis. My only wish was that we had more time to explore before we journeyed to my favorite part of the trip: Crete.
I’m sure you have heard the story of Midas, and how his golden touch ruined him and his kingdom. But have you heard of Minos? Once the king of Crete and the son of Zeus? His palace still stands today, along with the labyrinth for which he is famous for. Legend has it that he requested King Aegeus pick seven boys and seven girls to send through the labyrinth every nine years, where a Minotaur lived and fed upon those innocent lives. It’s this maze that Theseus traversed through to kill the Minotaur, with the help of Minos’ daughter, Ariadne.
We weren’t allowed to traverse through the maze, due to the age and weaknesses in the structure, but standing at the base of the palace and gazing out to the maze was out of this world. Whether or not the story is actually true or if the Minotaur even (by some miracle) existed, the scene still wowed me. Although I am pretty sure I’ve said this before, I’ll just reiterate it: history is so much cooler when you put yourself smack dab in the middle of it instead of spending your days reading books about it. So if you’re looking for an excuse to travel, here it is: traveling teaches you more than your expensive textbooks. And it can even be cheaper than buying or renting one!
Second to seeing the famous Minotaur maze on my list of favorites from that trip was visiting the rumored birth place of Zeus. As king of the gods and goddesses and pretty much the father to just about almost every deity in Greek mythology, his birth place is actually far from majestic. It is tucked away in a cave and the only way we could see down there was with help from lights drilled into the rock walls on either side. There’s a staircase that descends down into the darkest depths of the cave, to where Zeus apparently emerged from. It wasn’t nearly as awe-inspiring as Minos and his palace of mysteries, but my little nerdy twelve-year-old self was jumping for joy even as the cave became darker and smellier.
Aside from all the historical and mythical places that we visited in Greece, there were other highlights too. If you’re looking for a tropical getaway complete with something educational, Crete is the place to go. Our hotel was named in honor of Aphrodite, who is the goddess of beauty, so that explains what the views were like. Behind our hotel rooms, there was a massive salt water pool with steps that led down to the beach, where the waves crashed against the concrete walls and drowned out the sounds of tourism on the streets near the hotel. In fact, everything about Crete was beautiful. Even the ancient structures whose colors had been stripped away by the sun and other storms over the centuries.
When it came time to go to the airport in Athens, I was pretty bummed. I knew when I went to London and Paris that the travel bug hit me pretty hard. After seeing the ruins of Pompeii and wandering around majestic islands like Crete, it was clear to me that my little travel bug turned into something much larger than I anticipated. It became full on wanderlust, and would lead me to destinations beyond my wildest dreams.
