From my first visit to the Acropolis, I realised the impact of
encountering archaeological sites in person, rather than in a textbook.
Entering the Acropolis through the Propylaea, the sheer scale of
monumental architecture is immediately overwhelming. As someone who has
only studied Classics for a year and a half, the time I spent as an
intern at the CIG was an intensive introduction to the field beyond
undergraduate classrooms.
The exposure to Classics outside a university setting has opened my mind
even more to the breadth of this field. Attending lectures and events
at the many archaeological institutes in Athens not only gave me a
window into a wide variety of research methods and topics but was an
opportunity to meet and converse with scholars from all over the world.
Working in the CIG library was always a learning experience. As I was
primarily updating our cataloguing to align with the American School of
Classical Studies at Athens, I gained an appreciation for the
importance of investment in collaboration for research. I also gained
familiarity with the Library of Congress system which we use along with
other practices which were new to me.
Living in Athens for a more extended period of time was also an
opportunity to explore more fully a place and culture so different from
what is familiar to me. With archaeological sites everywhere in Athens
from metro stations to department store basements, every walk after work
to explore the city was also a chance to visit an archaeological site
or museum. In some parts of the Athens, it feels like every other
building is another beautiful museum. While I enjoyed and revisited all
of them, the National Archaeological Museum, the Byzantine and Christian
Museum, the Cycladic Museum and so on, the beautiful curation of the
Acropolis Museum stands out.
On a weekend visit to Crete, along with Phaistos, the reconstruction of
Knossos in particular stood out to me as a site which demonstrates the
importance of contemporary scholarship in our understanding of ancient
civilisations. Spending Clean Monday on Crete, we also experienced more
modern Greek culture, even getting a rare chance to sample lagana bread
baked only on that day and watching the traditional kite-flying on the
shores of the Aegean. The days we spent at Delphi drove home for me
importance of the link between an archaeological site and its physical
setting. At the partially preserved site situated on the side of Mount
Parnassus overlooking the Corinthian Gulf, the breath-taking setting
seemed to convey most clearly the awe experienced by ancient visitors to
the oracle.
While my time at the CIG was cut short, I am sure the opportunity to
encounter in real life so many artefacts and sites I have studied will
transform my studies from now on.
Mae Fernandes
University of Waterloo intern, winter 2020
