The Greek Classroom

           
Greek classroom, the XX century. Photo by Olympos, Karpathos

Education is the best provision for old age.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek writer, philosopher
quoted in Diogenes Laertius, 'Lives of Eminent Philosophers'

   Classical architecture, which flourished in Athens during the 5th century B.C., is depicted in the Greek Classroom. The gleaming white marble of the Ionic columns, the pilasters, and doorway was quarried from Mount Pentele, the same mountain that yielded the marble used to build the Parthenon.

   Details from the Acropolis' Propylaea and Erectheum appear in a blaze of color on white marble. Gray Kokinara marble is used for the dado. The room's columns and pilasters, as well as the coffered ceiling, bear painted decorations identical to those used on ancient Greek structures. Here Athenian artist Demetrios Kokotsis used the traditional encaustic or wax painting method, employing earth colors and beeswax applied freehand, then overlaid with 24-carat gold leaf rubbed on by polishing bones. It required two men more than seven months to complete this work.

   White oak furniture, patterned after designs on Greek vases, is decorated with gold-leaf carvings and sunburst inlays of ebony. Student chair backs carry the names of Greek islands and towns. The professor's and guests' chairs bear the names of Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates. A line from Homer's Iliad exhorts us to strive for nobility and excellence.

   The deep red wall color is repeated in the drapery valance with its Greek key design. Archives in the alcove cabinet record visits by the Queen of Greece, and by ecclesiastic and diplomatic officials.