On this week-long Study Tour, we follow the question of the good life from Copenhagen to the mythical landscapes of Greece, expanding our classroom to include the legendary settings of Athens and Delphi. It is from here that Western philosophy originates, born from the ancient Greeks who were deeply concern with the multifaced question of what it means for a human to live a good life.
Our inquiry will draw from our senses as we incorporate the art, architecture, philosophy, myth, and poetry of Greece into our studies. Covering topics from the ancient art of stoic joy to reflections on love, beauty, and the art of dwelling, we will take full advantage of the embodied experience of Greece and its sacred places, temples, and theaters.
We will visit the very sites where Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and the Stoics once lived and taught the Athenian people. In these locations, you fully appreciate how their ideas still inform and inspire our modern minds and our aspirations to live a meaningful life, a life well lived. Our search will culminate in a pilgrimage to the slopes of Mount Parnassus and the legendary oracle in Delphi. Known to the Greeks as the center of the world, the sacred grounds of Delphi will serve as the backdrop for our final reflections on the good life and a concluding symposium as the sun sets over the Corinthian Bay.
Tour Objectives
- Gain an appreciation for the ideas born here in Greece through sensory and full-bodied experiences of the very sites where the search for the good life is coined in the European imagination
- Question why we human beings do what we do and live as we live, and reflect on notions of the good life for a modern individual
- Experience how abstract philosophical concepts come alive through physical sights, sounds, and tastes, as you discover first-hand the embodied experience of the art of dwelling and resonating ideas on the good life
Possible Activities
- Visit the Acropolis, the iconic landmark of Athens, and the Parthenon, the most lavish temple the Greek mainland had ever seen, dating back more than 2400 years
- Immerse yourself in the art of dwelling with a view of the Aegean Sea at The Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, the southernmost point of Attica
- Walk the streets of the Ancient Agora, where thinkers, artists, poets and playwrights once strolled and visit the place where Socrates drew his final breath
- Breathe in the soothing air on the slopes of Mount Parnassus and sip the water from the Castalian spring as you enter the sacred grounds of Delphi, once the center of the ancient Greek world, where kings and sages would journey from afar to consult the oracle of Delphi for guidance and advice