This journal is intended to document my travels and experiences during a year living in Greece. I have been to Greece three times already, but this will surely be my longest stay in the land of the Hellenes.

I will be spending an academic year at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA) as a member of the Regular Program (such an inspiring name). I will be one of thirteen other Regular Members traveling throughout Greece in order to examine, survey, and explore the monuments, sites, and topography of ancient Greece. Here is what I’ll be doing: taking several extended trips this fall to western and northern Greece, the Peloponnese, central Greece, and Crete; focusing on the topography and monuments of Attica and Athens from November to March; and participating in the ASCSA’s archaeological excavation in Corinth in April–I’ll be getting my hands dirty all along the way.

This year will be a “run through time” in many ways. Looking at the past and interpreting it is my job. I’m most comfortable in ancient Greece, but this program will allow me to open up into the period of Roman occupation and Late Antiquity. One of my first major entrées into the ancient Greek world was through studying ancient Greek long-distance runners. As a long-distance runner since high school, the topic was a natural one. While I have put that project on the back-burner, my love for running has recently come alive once again. I hope to do as much running in Greece when I am there as possible. I will document my running adventures as well.

This sojourn through Greece will give me a year’s respite from my Ph.D. program in History at the University of California, Riverside. I’ll have the chance to do some preliminary research for my dissertation (more on that to come). I won’t bore you with the nitty-gritty (I hope). I want this journal to be a source of inspiration for the reader to learn more about ancient and modern Greece. I’ll include pictures along the way to reveal some of the beauty and magnificence of ancient ruins and modern life in Greece.

I’ll be away from my family for some time, so this journal will also provide some catharsis for my potential homesickness. I’ll miss a year of my children’s’ lives, but it will not be in vain–it will enrich their lives to hear about my journey, whether through the songs of bards or the lens of my camera. Like Odysseus, I will get my nostos (return home) across the wine-dark seas, but not until I have many adventures with new friends and colleagues (and hopefully without any of his sufferings!). Follow along with me as I document my travels on this site. I hope to make a new post at least twice a month.

As with many things, I dedicate this journal to my wife, Katie, for being the ultimate partner, unequaled by any mortal or god.