Day at Ramnous

 

June 6th 2024

Today we had the opportunity to reflect at and explore the historical landmark that is Ramnous. I was personally very excited to see the temple of Nemesis. I am a major fan of Greek mythology and have looked forward to seeing all the pieces from their rich, religious history. What stood out to me was the terror the civilians seemed to have for the goddess. Even the god Ares who was the god of violence and slaughter is notoriously known for being disliked by his divine siblings and others due to the fact he represented the worst parts of war. Yet his temple remains arguably more intact and not destroyed by the Christians.

I also found it relevant to mention that we as a group were visiting Ramnous not as planned due to some last minute changes two days prior. That day instead we had a spontaneous free day! To which many of us enjoyed considering we visited the town of Monastiraki to do a bit of shopping. We rode the metro, the public bus, I had my first official Greek “gyro” (which was delicious) and bought many souvenirs for my loved ones back home!

Lastly, I felt today’s reflection at Ramnous to be impactful. Together as a class we had time to reflect and we discussed the internal struggle of seeing God as the loving father he is, or if we sometimes see him with characteristics of Nemesis and are fearful of him. Even though I believe that the God we serve is the perfect definition of love and a literal embodiment of love, there are times where I find myself struggling to believe this wholeheartedly. I think this comes hand in hand with the concept of not having as much control as I would want at times. Furthermore, learning to work more towards still having that sense of safety and freedom despite lack of control is the reflection I ended with today.

-Rebecca











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