THE ACROPOLIS: The gods envy us.

Climbing out of a rocky bed and reaching up into the sky, the Acropolis has held cities, citadels and temples. The rock itself has been worn smooth over nearly two and a half millennia as millions have trod across its back through countless years and circumstances. But, the "high mound" stands as unmovable, defiant and proud as she did so many years ago calling to mind this passage from Homer, The Iliad:

"The gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal,

because any moment may be our last.

Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed.

You will never be lovlier than you are now. We will never be here again."

There was a distinct connection between mortals and gods in ancient Greece, and a power that seemed imbued within the ancient Greek to live a full and happy life. In so many places, such as the Acropolis, life seems to have occupied a distinct physical space that existed directly between the heavens and the earth. It seems that life may have improved in these special places. Even standing there today, the enchantment envelopes you and you sense that it is not quite of this world.