After 24 hours of travel, bus rides that seem to last forever and a total of just 5 days in Greece, the first feeling of homesickness has begun to sink in. This morning I woke up bright and early; I decided to take a short walk to appreciate the beautiful landscapes of the countryside in Olympia. After reflecting on what I have already seen and done I remembered why I am here and how I will remember it forever. The first stop of the day began in the archeological site of Olympia. At the temple of Zeus, we learned a lot about the origins of Greek mythology and how it has impacted worldly culture significantly to this day.
For instance, the Olympic flame that starts the ceremony of every Olympic Games originated from the traditions of ancient greeks. It is said that this flame was a representation of the fire Prometheus stole from the Greek god Zeus. We then arrived at the spot where the first Greek olympians would train for sports such as gymnastics, running, wrestling, jumping and even a game where they would battle to the death. The games were very popular in all cities of Greece and even other parts of Europe. Although only Greek men could participate, if one was taught their native language then they too would be considered eligible to play. The winner of each event was considered to be an honorable hero in their country and would forever hold high status and reputation.
As we continued walking, we stumbled across the place where the first olympic runners would race. Of course, me and my friends had decided to compete in a 200 meter race. I came in 2nd however, according to the ancient Greeks only the first place runner would be praised so my friend Brian had received the symbolic reef which was placed on top of his head.
The next stop of the day was the Ancient Greek museum. I have to say, as a fan of Percy Jackson it was very interesting to view all of the ancient statues and get a close look at the historic relics. My favorite two were the statue of Nike’ - the god of victory and the long structure of the battle of the main gods.
The last stop of the day was the Ktima Merkouri olive farm. It was here where I realized that most of the businesses we have visited are family owned and have been here since the 19th century. We toured the area of the complex, spoke about the history behind the business and the progression of the machines that they use. Right away my marketing brain was racing and I had to ask the question about how they planned to get their products' names out there and how they differ from their competitors. For the most part it seemed that they did not have a marketing strategy in place besides from the distributors that advertise on their behalf. Later when I was having a conversation about marketing with our tour guide, she told me that most of the marketing for small business in Greece is through word of mouth and good reputation. This is why it is so important to present themselves as authentic by running their business family owned.
After this day I was exhausted! I decided to catch up on some sleep and prepare for our next city visit Delphi!
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