2008 Woodie Awards
Tragos Quest: A Greek experience
Michael St. Croix
Issue date: 9/8/08 Section: Features
June 20 through the 29 were the most exciting days of my life. I spent those ten days on the Tragos Quest to Greece, the capstone of Sigma Phi Epsilon's Leadership Continuum. Each year, 16 undergraduates are chosen from the 14,000 SigEps nationwide to participate in the Quest through a rigorous application process. I felt truly honored when my name was announced as a recipient of a scholarship for the Quest in February.
The Quest certainly was more than a vacation to Europe; it was an educational journey to ancient Greece. It was a study on why fraternities and sororities call themselves Greek. It allowed us to delve deeper into the meaning and purpose of our organization and it enabled us to learn new things about ourselves.
We discussed Socratic philosophy, analyzed ancient plays, learned about the mysteries of Eleusis, and ran a race at the Ancient Olympic Stadium. In addition, it became apparent that there are parallels to the present and especially to the fraternity experience of today. By studying Aeschylus's "The Agamemnon," we could debate how Agamemnon's leadership style would work today. After hearing about the Eleusinian mysteries, we could compare it to the teachings of our own fraternity ritual.
Accompanying us on the Quest were four alumni mentors and two faculty mentors. Our faculty consisted of a professor of classics at Rollins University, Mike Lippman, and his wife, Laura, an ancient theater expert. Their ability to lead pointed discussions and their incredible knowledge on our subject matter led to deep thought and awesome learning opportunities.
Much of the Quest was centered on discussion, somewhat similar to ancient symposiums. We held two discussions each day. One would be based on what we saw that day at archaeological sites and also on literature assigned to us before the trip. The other centered on fraternity issues. In particular, the discussions from earlier were turned in the direction of Sigma Phi Epsilon's cardinal principles: Virtue, Diligence and Brotherly Love.
The Quest certainly was more than a vacation to Europe; it was an educational journey to ancient Greece. It was a study on why fraternities and sororities call themselves Greek. It allowed us to delve deeper into the meaning and purpose of our organization and it enabled us to learn new things about ourselves.
We discussed Socratic philosophy, analyzed ancient plays, learned about the mysteries of Eleusis, and ran a race at the Ancient Olympic Stadium. In addition, it became apparent that there are parallels to the present and especially to the fraternity experience of today. By studying Aeschylus's "The Agamemnon," we could debate how Agamemnon's leadership style would work today. After hearing about the Eleusinian mysteries, we could compare it to the teachings of our own fraternity ritual.
Accompanying us on the Quest were four alumni mentors and two faculty mentors. Our faculty consisted of a professor of classics at Rollins University, Mike Lippman, and his wife, Laura, an ancient theater expert. Their ability to lead pointed discussions and their incredible knowledge on our subject matter led to deep thought and awesome learning opportunities.
Much of the Quest was centered on discussion, somewhat similar to ancient symposiums. We held two discussions each day. One would be based on what we saw that day at archaeological sites and also on literature assigned to us before the trip. The other centered on fraternity issues. In particular, the discussions from earlier were turned in the direction of Sigma Phi Epsilon's cardinal principles: Virtue, Diligence and Brotherly Love.
Be the first to comment on this story