Harvard Spring Break in Greece for Students and Alumni back after 2 years

April 4, 2022
A group of twenty people seated between ancient monuments on a top of a hill and listening to one man standing in the middle.

A group of twenty people seated between ancient monuments on a top of a hill and listening to one man standing in the middle.

CHS Greece welcomed an intergenerational group of Harvard students, alumni, and fellow companions from March 12 to March 19, 2022, in the context of the “Spring Break in Greece for Students and Alumni” travel study program. This trip marked the first CHS Greece Harvard-oriented in-person activity since the outbreak of the pandemic and thus was met with emotion and excitement by travelers and our team.

A black-haired woman takes a photo of a bronze statue of a charioteer inside a museum hall, with other visitors visible in the background.The academic leader of the Spring Break program was once again Harvard professor Greg Nagy. In his company participants retraced the steps of ancient traveler Pausanias, who lived in the 2nd century CE, using the translation of his texts as a guide for their visits to archaeological sites and museums in the Argolis, Ancient Olympia, Delphi, and Athens.

In addition to their exploration of Ancient Greece, the travelers were also joined by the Michael Marks Awards for Poetry 2021 winner, Gboyega Odubanjo, for the duration of the trip, which included a poetry reading evening. Another extra-curricular supplement to the itinerary was the group’s opportunity to meet and discuss with the current U.S. Ambassador to the Hellenic Republic, Geoffrey R. Pyatt.

The travel-study program was implemented by CHS Greece in collaboration with Harvard Alumni Association Travels; the two offices worked closely to ensure both the successful and safest possible iteration for this favorite pre-pandemically annual journey.

A group of twenty people facing the camera and holding a Harvard banner in front of the Parthenon of Athens.