Concordia CMLL Study Tour

By Tianna Madigan

We began our day packing up and jumping onto the bus. We arrived at Aptera, where we were able to enter a Roman cistern, check out some baths, and an elegant Roman villa and theatre. We then made our way to the Archaeological Museum of Chania, where we saw artifacts ranging from the Minoan periods all the way to Greco-Roman times. We then attempted to see a reconstructed Minoan ship, which was unfortunately closed. We ate a quick lunch (gummy bears) and listened to a lecture by Jennifer Moody concerning Minoans and a site she personally excavated while studying for her doctorate.

Now, I personally, really like the Romans, so I really enjoyed checking out the Roman sites and buildings at Aptera. I think one of the best parts of ancient sites is how strategically they are located. People always seem to assume the worst for ancient peoples, superiority differences, intelligence differences, that aliens built monumental architecture… we don’t always realize that ancient people do things with purpose. Their construction of two ports on either side of the bay to close it off from others is an amazing example, is evidentially a very strategic military post as two modern naval bases use a similar strategy.

I also think the location of the Roman villa at Aptera was really interesting. The separation between the villa and the rest of the settlement reminded me heavily of gated areas in modern towns that seclude the rich and the common people. As you might tell, I really enjoy comparing ancient sites to modern society, I like to see the way in which we are similar to ancient humans, and how over the span of thousands of years, we haven’t really changed that much as a society.

The artifacts at the museum were all very fascinating, but I was greatly affected by two artifacts, a child’s toy and a protective figure to help a child down to Hades. We don’t see a lot of children’s toys, so to see one right next to such a melancholic figure just sort of hurts. That or I’m just sensitive, who knows. You think of all the mothers and fathers who have had to bury their own child throughout all of history. Continuing with my never-ending comparison to modern society, children really seem to like toys that can roll, which I personally find very endearing.