Hi Everyone!

This leg of my adventure was perhaps the most action packed and was certainly included stops at some of the most historic and impactful locations in all of Greece and perhaps within human civilization and advancement.

First stop was the ruined city of Delphi. Home of the Oracle of Delphi and once the religious, political, and diplomatic capital of Greece, Delphi even to this day holds a place of great mystery and spiritual significance to the Greek people. All the major cities of Greece (Athens, Sparta, Argos, Thebes, etc.) used to pay tribute to the Oracle of Delphi and set up Treasury buildings to show off all their wealth and power - gold, statues, and weapons were once on display for all others to envy and fear. Wars could not be fought without essentially the blessing of the Oracle and that is where the politics in diplomacy came into power eventually. To me, Delphi is located in about the exact middle of nowhere in Greece and our guide explained that, to this very day, no one is certain why or how it was selected as a site for a city - deep in the mountains and was a very challenging place to get to. Legend says that Zeus once wanted to know where the center of the world was, so he sent two birds, one east and one west and they flew all around the world (they knew the earth was round) and met each other in Delphi - it was then known as the navel or center of the world. Spectacular place to visit and I would highly recommend everyone to visit at least once in their life if able.

Our second stop was at the large cave about 600 meters above and 2 kilometers behind Delphi called Coryican Cave. Archeologists have dated Oracle like religious and spiritual practices having occurred in this cave at least as early as 4000 BC (long before anything formally resembling Greek people/religion). The cave, to the Greeks, is thought to be the dwelling of Pan - the half man half goat creature of myth. Ancient Greeks used this cave for many religious activities and ceremonies, and it was always held as a place of utmost spiritual importance.

The last stop on the day trip was to the battlegrounds at Thermopylae - the place of legend wherein King Leonidas and the mighty 300 Spartans held the narrow "Hot Gates" for several days against the onslaught of King Xerxes and the Persian Empire. Herodotus, in ancient times, was hired to write the story of brave King Leonidas and it was meant to be a somewhat embellished story - in it he said there were approximately 1.7 million Persians against just 300 Spartans. Archeological evidence points towards more like 250,000 Persians against about 4000 Spartans - yes at least some of that was initially just Leonidas and his 300 close soldiers. Our tour guide really did a great job of laying out the significance of this great battle. Not only was it epic in scale - even 250,000 vs. 4000 is terrible odds, but it was a very critical for a few other reasons.

First Reason: Xerxes, like in the movie, wanted to remove Athens from the very earth and to wipe them out completely. Sparta and Athens were, at the time, fierce enemies. It took forethought and considerable bravery, going against even his own people, for King Leonidas to commit to sacrificing himself and his own men to save his enemies. But he saw that if Xerxes was able to destroy the Athenians, Sparta would likely be next.

Second Reason: The Persians were on the war path and this tactical and critical slow down allowed all of Greece the time it needed to retreat, evacuate, and regroup... and eventually, win the war. Had Leonidas not made this choice, we likely would have had a Persian Empire take over the Mediterranean instead of a Roman Empire that followed.

Third (and easily most important) Reason: At the time of this battle, democracy was only about 37 years old and existed only as essentially an experiment in Greece alone. The Spartan's sacrifice, not only bought Athens the time it needed to evacuate and save the lives of all its citizen's (they escaped to a few of the islands and were able to escape Xerxes' wrath), but it also saved the concept of democracy itself. It is unknowable how much of an impact Spartan inaction would have had on the rest of the entire world and for the rest of time.

I know I've gone on at length here, but I was very emotional and moved when I found myself standing there in the very spot that these brave warriors fought, for not just the freedom of their people, but full knowing that this battle was more important than themselves or other petty differences.

The freedom I have in my life is, at least in part, owed to their great sacrifice.

Today was a day of real men, real myths, and real legends.

Hope you all enjoy the video!

Eric