The Fortress of Ramnous...

Today's adventure took us to an area where the temple to goddess of Revenge, Nemesis, lies. Her statue, however, is nowhere to be seen.  She was broken into different pieces because the Greeks have always been terrified of her.  They think she was a bad omen.  Because this site is still an archaeological site, there were many workers standing guard to ensure that no one took anything from it.

                

As we walked further down the site, we came across the walls that were at least 20 feet high.  In their glory days, they would be adorned with statues and columns just to impress people. 

 The dirt path that was riddled in stones of various sizes that used to be beautiful marble streets.

The different buildings held different treasures that you could see and touch. 

It felt like a glimpse back in history.

The students were being regaled by stories told by Dr. Lawson.  We were informed that these ruins were once a military base and the whole purpose of The Fortress of Ramnous was to defend the area.  This area specifically sent out signals to the surrounding islands that the troops were being attacked by incoming ships.  Today's remnants are only walls, skeleton structures of buildings, and shards of marble and clay.

One of the unexpected visitors of the day were these lovely beetles.  I don't have the exact name for them so I will call them Pippin's (Dr Lawson and Dorothy's name for their little traveler). These little friends were all over the place and landed in all places.  They would be in your hair, on your hat (see above referenced picture) on your shirt, really anywhere that you wouldn't notice until you did...and then you had to swipe them away only to be assaulted with another one a few steps later.  They were definitely maintaining their duty to the area by making sure uninvited guests would leave at a reasonable time.

It's crazy that the top of the hill has a temple to a god that the Greeks are afraid of while the bottom of the hill had a fortified military base that signaled the troops to be ready for the incoming battle. In my mind, it means "Be afraid, but fight anyway".  The battles will always come, how are you going to fight them.  Are you going to be ready? Are you going to fight even when you're scared? The Bible is full of a history of men and women who fought battles afraid.  They did it with a God they had a healthy fear of.

"In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge." 

~Proverbs 14:26

Samantha Heflin