Back in 1981 I spent a week in the Macedonia area just north of Greece. I first visited the palace of King Philip of ancient Macedonia. King Philip was the father of Alexander the Great. He rivaled the City of Athens for power in the days of the great philosophers of Greece around 400-300 BCE. In Thessalonica I visited Philip’s palace and the museum containing relics of his kingdom. There were indications of Alexander himself everywhere to be seen and admired.
Alexander was, in my estimation, one of the “Great Wonders of the Ancient World.” Not only was he tutored by Aristotle, but there is little evidence that he learned much from the great thinker. Later he virtually conquered the known world south and east of Greece. The stories of his courage and wise leadership are legion. Moreover, he made many efforts to indwell the various cultures and peoples he had conquered. Amazingly, he accomplished all this while he was yet a young man and died in his 30s.
Then I found my way to the top of near bye Mount Olympus. After that I set out for the top of the famous Greek mountain. The surrounding fog lifted just about the time I arrived at the summit. The view was beyond belief. The entire country of Greece seemed to lay before me. I called out for Zeus, bur he never answered. I found out later that in Greek his name is pronounced “Zeves”, so next time I’ll get it right.
I ran most of the way down back to town, which took most of the day, and explored the city shops during the evening. The next morning I went and signed up for a four day visit to famous Mount Athos. It’s a peninsula on which there are many ancient yet active monasteries, no towns, and no women. Unlike most tourists I decided to spend all four days at one monastery so as to be able to indwell its life more fully. Most of these monasteries were founded in the late middle ages.
The monks, only one of whom spoke English, seemed delighted that I wanted to work rather than just be a “tourist”. So the first day after our silent meal I washed dishes and pots all day. The next day I watered the gardens with a long hose stuck into the nearby stream. The third and fourth days I worked with a the only English-speaking Monk making large vats of soap from animal fat.
I very much enjoyed talking with him about their life on this mountain. I asked him if they study and he said: “There is no need to study – just work and pray.” We arose every night at 12 for an hour of prayer and liturgy – the rest of the time silence ruled. I did find some time to read the book I had brought: The Orthodox Church by Timothy Ware. I must say I ate and slept very well those 4 quiet days and nights.
Kazantzakis writes, in his autobiography Report to Greco, of his several week trip through Mt. Athos. He has some hilarious stories to tell about the strange monks for whom he seems to have had little respect. All in all my journey was a very pleasant and inspiring one. From Mt. Athos I returned to Athens and began my own book titled Kazantzakis’ Philosophical and Theological Thought

Josephus (37-100 CE) was an aristocratic Jew who served both as a priest in Jerusalem and as a commander of Jewish forces in Galilee during the Jewish revolt against Rome in 66 CE. Having been captured by the Romans he spent the rest of his life under the patronage of the Roman Emperors while writing his history of the Jewish people, Jewish Antiquities, and The Jewish War an account of the Jewish revolt against the Romans which led to the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in 70 CE.
Josephus’ works are of special interest to Christians because they contain the only semi-lengthy references to Jesus outside of the New Testament. Here is what he said:
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him: for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.” (Book 18, Chapter 3, paragraph 3).
This is surely a rather surprising account of the person and life of Jesus outside of the Christian scriptures. It would appear that Josephus thought very highly of Jesus and his followers, even acknowledging the resurrection claim and the spread of the Christian faith. In addition, Josephus’ account of the war with the Romans details quite a number of Palestinian cities and towns, such as Sepphoris the Roman town only four miles from Nazareth, Jesus’ original home. This city has been excavated extensively in recent years and appears to have become a lively Roman city, complete with a Roman amphitheater. Josephus claims that he burnt this city when running from the Roman army.
It truly is a wonderment how Josephus went from being a devout Jewish religious leader to becoming a Jewish warrior against the Romans, and then somehow managed when captured to be removed to Rome and eventually allowed to pursue the life a scholarly historian. Not only must he have had a great deal of fortitude, but he must also have had a lot of “people savvy” with which to wangle his way amongst the Roman cultural hierarchy into having the opportunity to spend his final years writing important history books about the Jewish nation. It is a wonderful thing that we can still read his accounts.