Samothrace Treasure at the Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis Museum is set on the foothills of the Acropolis, where the Parthenon is situated. It's an impressive building that offers, through glass floors, views of the ruins of the city of Athens below that were discovered during excavations for its construction. Its large windows frame the Acropolis hill with full views of the Parthenon.

I have visited the Museum a few times since its opening but this year we had a special treat. The exhibit of the Treasure of Samothrace had just opened.

The Samothrace Temple Complex, known as the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, (Greek Ιερό των Μεγάλων Θεών Ieró ton Megalón Theón) is one of the principal Pan-Hellenic religious sanctuaries, located on the island of Samothrace within the larger Thrace in Greece. Built immediately to the west of the ramparts of the city of Samothrace, it was nonetheless independent, as attested to by the dispatch of city ambassadors during festivals.

It was celebrated throughout Ancient Greece for its Mystery religion, a Chthonic religious practice as renowned as the Eleusinian Mysteries. Numerous famous people were initiates, including the historian Herodotus – one of very few authors to have left behind a few clues to the nature of the mysteries, the Spartan leader Lysander, and numerous Athenians. The temple complex is mentioned by Plato and Aristophanes.

During the Hellenistic period, after the investiture of Phillip II, it formed a Macedonian national sanctuary where the successors to Alexander the Great vied to outdo each other's munificence. It remained an important religious site throughout the Roman period. Hadrian visited, and Varro described the mysteries – before fading from history towards the end of Late Antiquity.

One of the best known sculptures of Samothrace is the Winged Victory or Pteroti Niki of Samothraki displayed at the Louvre in Paris.

The exhibited items at the Acropolis Museum are very impressive and, along with an informative video, give an understanding of the Sanctuary and its importance in the Ancient World.

Fragments of plaques with writing.

One of the pros of this museum is that it is well curated. I find that as a visitor I am not overwhelmed with the quantity and placement of the exhibits.  The items are well selected and displayed in a way that makes walking through pleasurable and educational.

I am aways in awe when visiting the Acropolis of Athens and its Museum. This time I expanded my knowledge about our ancestors as well as enjoyed the lasting beauty of ancient art.

If you ever are in Athens, the Acropolis Museum is a must destination.

Beer Crust Pizza!

Well, by now you must have guessed that I'm working down the list of favorites(and there are so many!) that I missed while away. And pizza is definitely on the top of that list!

I was a t a party last year where they were making pizzas for the guests. One of them, was a beer crusted pizza. I took one bite and was hooked. That yeasty, chewy taste took the pizza to another level.

So, I googled it and came up with a recipe I was happy with. It has now become my go-to pizza crust recipe whenever I have a yen for pizza.

 So, this week I took out my pizza stone.

 Made my dough and set it to rise, spread around the toppings...

 and voila! Here's my pizza before baking.

 and here it is after 10 minutes in the oven! Yum, perfection.

It's an easy, simple dinner that you can adapt in many ways depending on your toppings. Here's the recipe:

Beer crusted Pizza(makes two)

Ingredients
Crust
3.5 cups of all purpose flour( I include a 1/4 cup whole wheat)
1/4 cup warm water
8oz beer
2.25 tsp yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tbspn olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
Topping
1 cup marinara sauce
1/2 lb sliced mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup sliced red pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbspn grated parmesan  cheese

Heat oven to 170 and turn off.

combine warm water, yeast and sugar in a cup. Let it foam for a few minutes.
Add the flour and salt to the bowl of your mixer outfitted with the dough hook.
Pour in the yeast mix and process on medium until mixed. Slowly add the beer and knead for 5-8 minutes. If the dough is sticky, add a tbsp or two of flour.
Turn out the dough on a floured surface and kneed a couple of times.
Divide dough into 2 pieces. If you are making two pizzas place both in separate oiled bowls, cover loosely with a tea towel and place in oven to rise for an hour. Make sure the oven is off!
If only making one pizza, place one half in the oiled bowl to rise as above, and either refrigerate or freeze the other half to use at a later time. Make sure you take out cold dough and let come to room temperate before set to rise.
After an hour your dough should have doubled in size. Punch down and kneed a few times to get the air out.
Place on a pizza pan and using your fingers pull and shape to the size of the pan. I usually put semolina on the bottom of the pan so the pizza doesn't stick.

Place your pizza stone(if you have one, optional) in the oven. Heat oven to 550 degrees fahrenheit.

Top the pizza by spreading the sauce all over the dough. Place pieces of the mozzarella cheese around the pizza and sprinkle the sliced peppers or any other topping over the cheese and sauce. Then, sprinkle the parmesan cheese around the edge, drizzle with olive oil and place in the preheated oven.

I bake mine for 10 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and the cheese and sauce are bubbling.

Enjoy!

Maria