Stopfordian 2010–2011 - Stockport Grammar School

The Stopfordian 2010–2011
goddess of love, she was also known as a war goddess and the
bringer of victory for Argos. After this we headed back to
Nafplio where we went to the Nafplion Museum, and saw the
history of the small town. We decided to climb up to the
Venetian fortress of Palamidi, and at night we could see the
fortified islet, Bourtzi, floating in the middle of the bay.
The next day, we took a bus to the ruins of Mycenae. This
centre of ancient Greek civilisation used to be a military
stronghold so powerful a period of history is named after it,
but now the city has been reduced to rubble. As we entered
the city, we saw the majestic Lion Gate, the earliest
monument found in Europe. After this, we visited a number
of large tombs in Mycenae which were incredibly well
preserved. The underground cistern was open to the public,
and we were able to go down and see how they collected
water from a spring outside of the city; unfortunately Suzy
went a bit too far and accidentally jumped in the mud at the
bottom! The city was surrounded by Cyclopian walls; named
after the legendary Cyclops which apparently constructed the
walls protecting the city. We came back to Napflio for the
night, and in our spare time at night we climbed to an old
clock tower to find a geocache.
We travelled back to Athens but when we arrived we realised
there was once again a transport strike. The Metro and the
buses were out of service, so we had to walk through Athens
instead of taking public transport. When we finally reached
the 3D Hellenic Museum, it was closing early because of the
strike. However, we still managed to see the exhibit on the
history of Greek Mathematics, where we saw a number of
proofs for assumptions we take for granted. There were also
examples of how the Greeks applied Mathematics to music
and engineering, showing how that even without the same
mathematical theories we have, the Greeks were still able to
build structures we hold in such high regard today.
We have both learnt a lot from this trip to Greece. Not only
have we gained invaluable practical knowledge of what is
needed when travelling abroad, but our knowledge about the
history of Mathematics and philosophy has been greatly
widened. The Albert Johnston Award is so valuable because
it gives people a chance to experience sights and countries
that would be otherwise unreachable at our age, and we are
incredibly grateful that Stockport Grammar gave us such an
amazing opportunity.
Suzanna Eames and Tristan Kemp
44 Activities and Awards