On our final official field trip, our professors took us on a hike that they kept forebodingly referring to as a “death march.” How comforting. The archaeological site we visited was the acropolis of the ancient city of Amathus. And as beautiful as the view was, I have to admit I was a bit winded once we got to the top. It took awhile to get there and the incline was steep. It didn’t help that I had sprinted to get to the trailhead and was out of breath before we even started, but that’s beside the point. On the way up, I realized that our usually chatty group was a little quieter than usual. Maybe they were doing what I was doing- watching where I was placing my feet. The terrain was rocky and some of the earth was loose. Rocks were slipping underfoot and the edges of the trail were lined with scrubby, sometimes pokey, little shrubs. 

Maybe my group was being, as I was being, a little more mindful with their breathing. It was a hot day. It was a steep trail.

On the way down, the feeling was much the same, and it got me wondering about the journey that worshippers would have taken to get to this sacred place. This acropolis was used for worship for thousands of years, by different peoples, with different practices. The thing they had in common was going to this place. They would have walked basically this same terrain, this same incline, in this same hot weather. I wonder if they felt the heat like this too, if they were out of breath. Did they walk slowly and measure their paces? What were they thinking about in the quiet? The journey from bottom to top would be a journey of anticipation. Maybe it would be one of meditation. It’s easy to imagine they would be thinking of what they were here for in the first place- worship. 

I wonder if that’s part of the reason this site was used as a sacred place for as long as it was. It would naturally be treated as special because of how arduous it is to get to compared to other places nearby. Most people feel good after a nice hike. Maybe at the top, the temple had fresh water and snacks. I can only imagine how much the people would have cherished that relief after the journey. Mind, body, and soul. Of course they worshipped here.

-Rachel