Maymester in Sicily

Home » Articles posted by dylan

's blog posts

Phoinissai and Seven Against Thebes

On Wednesday, we went to Siracusa’s ancient theatre and saw a presentation of Phoinissai (“The Phoenician Women”) by Euripides, which follows a similar plot to “Seven Against Thebes” by Aeschylus. Both plays depict the conflict between Polynices and Eteocles for the Theban throne; because the brothers had attempted to hide their father away for his shame in marrying his mother, Oedipus…

Posted by on June 1, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

Education in Sicily: an Interview

Audio link (56:30) For my interview, I spoke with Giulia, a 23 year old philosophy student at Palermo University. We talked about how the Sicilian education system works and how it differs from the American system. Sicilian children start in a sort of daycare-kindergarten similar to American children, and also have a similar elementary school…

Posted by on May 31, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty

Palermo was the first city we visited that actually felt like an urban center. The vast majority of the cities we’ve passed through seem to exist only for their attractions. Even Cefalù feels a little fake and overrun with tourists after a little bit of observation. Admittedly, in most cities we’ve visited, we only really saw…

Posted by on May 24, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

Mount Etna: Humans Playing with Fire

This week, we took a bus to Etna Nord and hiked around the face of the mountain; despite the strong winds and biting precipitation, the climb to the crater was one of my favorite things we’ve done so far this trip. Our guide explained the tectonic history of Etna, telling us the connections from the…

Posted by on May 23, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

Catholicism and Protestantism

On Tuesday, we took a tour of Cefalù on foot. At one point, we entered the cathedral that lies on Piazza Duomo after discussing its history. It’s a Catholic church, typical of Italy. The inside of the building was quite different from a typical American church (or at least the churches I’ve seen, which are all Protestant);…

Posted by on May 17, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

The Pace of Sicilian Life

Looking from my apartment’s balcony over the Via Carlo Ortolani di Bordonaro in the early evening, one can see pedestrians below. It’s not necessarily an hour of peak traffic, but the people on the street reveal some interesting aspects of Sicilian culture. Down below, there’s a mix of individuals, couples, and larger groups of about four…

Posted by on May 15, 2017 in 2017 Blog post

The Temple at Segesta and the Athenian Expedition into Sicily

The temple at Segesta is something of an anomaly among Mediterranean temples, and its history involves one of the most disastrous events in the Peloponnesian War. At first glance, the temple doesn’t seem too different from others. However, taking a closer look, it’s hastily constructed and unfinished; the columns remain unfluted and the outcroppings on…

Posted by on May 13, 2017 in 2017 Blog post