Spring at Sage: Greece

Depart Los Angeles for Greece.

Arrive in Athens and settle in before heading out for a walk through its historic center. Look closely at the streets and public spaces around you: where do you see traces of different periods in the city’s history? Gather for a welcome dinner and a look at the week ahead.

Walk through the Acropolis and Ancient Agora, considering how their buildings and open spaces shaped life in ancient Athens. At the Hellenic Parliament Foundation, take part in a democracy workshop where you’ll debate ideas and make decisions together. Then trade discussion for movement in a Greek dance workshop. What can a city’s gathering places, traditions, and institutions tell you about who gets to participate?

Take a ferry to Aegina and explore the island’s town, the Temple of Aphaia, and St. Nektarios Monastery. Notice how daily life changes when the sea connects a community to everything around it. After an ice cream stop, get out on the water for a guided kayak trip, with a chance to snorkel if conditions allow.

Put on your investigator’s hat in an archaeology workshop: handle and document objects, map evidence, and consider what a discovery can reveal about the past. Continue to Nemea to explore the Sanctuary of Zeus and learn how archaeologists study a site over time. Then travel to Nafplio for a stroll through its old streets and a gelato stop.

Walk through the Lion Gate at ancient Mycenae and explore its massive walls, tombs, and palace remains. At ancient Corinth, follow streets once connected to trade and daily life. After time at Arvanitia Beach, head into the kitchen to prepare Greek dishes together. What can a fortress, a marketplace, and a meal each tell you about the people who made them?

Return toward Athens and dive into a water polo lesson at Vouliagmeni Nautical Club. Then visit the National Archaeological Museum, using close observation and sketching to find stories in the objects on display. In a sculpture workshop, create your own figure inspired by Greek mythology. Which details will help someone else understand the character you’ve chosen?

At the Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology, experiment with inventions that use air and water to surprising effect. Then visit the Theatre of Dionysus and imagine what it was like to watch a performance there. Try voice, movement, and chorus work in a Greek tragedy workshop before attending an evening performance. You’ve spent the week interpreting the past; today, you get to perform a story yourself.

Fly from Athens to Los Angeles. You’ll return with a new appreciation for how many questions a place, an object, or a story can raise.