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Wellesley Education Expedition
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| The
Ancient Lost Cities of Libya and Tunisia |
2006
October 31
- Nov. 10
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Join us for an illuminating
10-day journey aboard the 114-guest private yacht
Corinthian II as we discover the ancient lost
cities of Libya and Tunisia accompanied by Mary
Rosenthal Lefkowitz '57, one of the most respected
and widely published classical scholars. In addition,
we'll be sharing this voyage with other distinquished
institutions and their faculty leaders.
In ancient times, the palm-studded
coast of North Africa was home to some of the
greatest civilizations that flourished in the
Mediterranean. Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines,
and others settled here and built cities that
still convey the power and prosperity they achieved
so long ago. For the first time in a generation,
it is possible to explore this region's spectacular
ancient sites. Our journey begins in Crete with
a visit to the Archaeological Museum in Chania
housed in the Venetian Monastery of San Francesco.
In Libya we will
discover Cyrene, a Greek colony founded in the
7th century B.C. Built on the edge of a plateau,
sprawling Cyrene, with its sanctuaries and other
landmarks, commands a superb position overlooking
the valley below and the sea beyond. We'll continue
to nearby Apollonia, set on
a broad bay, and Apollonia's Museum, which displays
exceptional mosaics from the region's early Byzantine
churches.
A highlight of our visit to Tripolitania
will be our exploration of the city of Leptis
Magna. Founded 3,000 years ago by the
Carthaginians, Leptis Magna flourished under
the Romans and reached a degree of splendor that
rivaled Rome itself in the 3rd century A.D. Under
the Severan emperors, an unprecedented, lavish
building scheme was launched that has survived
almost intact to this day due to its burial under
shifting sands. We begin by visiting the extensive
Roman ruins of Sabratha, whose
remains include temples, public baths, fountains,
and a museum noted for its collection of mosaics.
We'll also explore Carthage,
with its ancient Phoenician monuments; the exotic
cities of Tripoli and El Djem;
and Tunis, home of the world
famous Bardo Museum. We have the option of extending
our journey in Athens or in Palermo.
This expedition offers a rare
opportunity to discover some of the world's most
spectacular and well-preserved ancient sites
and is not to be missed! |
Mary
Lefkowitz '57, one of our country's
most well known classical scholars, is a graduate
of the Brearley School and Wellesley College.
She received her Ph.D. in Classical Philology
at Radcliffe College.
She returned to her alma
mater as an Instructor in Greek in 1959. From
1979 until her retirement in 2005, she was the
Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities.
Her articles and reviews have appeared in such
publications as The Times Literary Supplement
and The New Republic. Her most recent book, Greek
Gods, Human Lives (2003) is "precisely an
attempt to write the gods back into Greek myths," according
to The New York Times Book Review. She is also
known for her work on women in antiquity. Women's
Life in Greece and Rome, which she co-edited
with Maureen B. Fant, is the standard source
book in the field.
She lives in Wellesley with
her husband, Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones, a former Regius
Professor of Greek at Oxford. |
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More Information
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Trip Details
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| For reservation
and/or a detailed itinerary of this tour, please
contact:
Jayne Lew, Assistant
Director of Travel
Phone: 781-283-2389
Email: travelprograms@alum.wellesley.edu
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Duration: 10
days
Activity Level: Moderate
Cost: Past
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