<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Benjamin Parker]]></title><description><![CDATA[Benjamin Parker]]></description><link>https://benparkerlla.wixsite.com/website-1/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 14:23:54 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://benparkerlla.wixsite.com/website-1/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[The Acropolis - Part Three - The Slopes, The Cave Of Pan and The Acropolis Museum]]></title><description><![CDATA[There is nothing quite as bittersweet as beginning to walk back down the Acropolis, turning your back to the Parthenon. But the sadness is soothed somewhat as you stare out across the city, or study the intricate marble laid out on all sides. Everywhere I looked, there was something that made me pause. But as I traced the metal steps down the North Slope, I soon felt only excitement. That is because there was another site of mythological importance that I had been longing to see.]]></description><link>https://benparkerlla.wixsite.com/website-1/post/the-acropolis-part-three-the-slopes-the-cave-of-pan-and-the-acropolis-museum</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a593306d03244312ce4f9ee</guid><pubDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:39:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/21e95b_63dccbcbdbfd44f7a17ea8df1c4597c0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ben Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Acropolis - Part Two - The Erechtheion And The Missing Sister]]></title><description><![CDATA[Numerous attempts to restore the Pentelic marble back to its native land have been fruitless, and it is a discussion that continues to this day. Yet as I walked across the Acropolis, toward the Erechtheion, this time it wasn't the striking Ionic columns that caught my eye, but six female statuette columns holding up the south porch. These sisters, 'The Caryatids', are as much of a fixture of the Acropolis as the Parthenon itself.]]></description><link>https://benparkerlla.wixsite.com/website-1/post/the-acropolis-part-two-the-erechtheion-and-the-missing-sister</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a57fd34f16fbd619a4b702a</guid><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jul 2026 21:42:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/21e95b_077308ffb0464e859c6f370125c196bc~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ben Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Acropolis - Part One - Reaching The Parthenon ]]></title><description><![CDATA[There are few landscapes as instantly recognisable as the city of Athens. Its iconic structures perch upon ancient rock formations, staring out over the modern day city.]]></description><link>https://benparkerlla.wixsite.com/website-1/post/the-acropolis-part-one-reaching-the-parthenon</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a57fdb64ee79d90036e9645</guid><pubDate>Wed, 15 Jul 2026 21:40:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/21e95b_90bd5be868b542129268f9239b21cbfe~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ben Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Mythic Plain of Marathon]]></title><description><![CDATA[The word "Marathon" is known in perhaps billions of households around the world. Most commonly, it invokes the 26.2-mile journey between an athlete and an Olympic medal. History enthusiasts may also associate it with the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE against the Persian Empire. Yet despite the importance of both events, the region also plays an important role both in Mythology and in wider history.]]></description><link>https://benparkerlla.wixsite.com/website-1/post/the-mythic-plain-of-marathon</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a0f1d9ca2438924d109e8f3</guid><pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 23:19:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/21e95b_f9ededef69364ab8a185e8c0bf910f01~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ben Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Battle of Marathon: Wandering Through History]]></title><description><![CDATA[Of all the sites I would be visiting during my week-long trip to Athens and Marathon, I knew the sites tied to the battle would be the most symbolic. But before I go through my experience visiting the Tumulus of the Athenians and the Plataeans, and the trophy monument in the Marathon Archaeological Museum, I will first provide a brief history of the battle and its historical significance. In 490 BCE, the Persian Empire, the largest in the world at that time, sent between 400 and 600 triremes...]]></description><link>https://benparkerlla.wixsite.com/website-1/post/from-marathon-to-athens-the-tumulus-of-the-athenian-s</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a09a3b2ea733de5ffb8bfbc</guid><pubDate>Tue, 19 May 2026 10:34:55 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/21e95b_3ced8446e6964c06a0535e8adf681946~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ben Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[From Marathon to Athens: The Egyptian Sanctuary in Ancient Greece]]></title><description><![CDATA[My first encounter with Ancient Greece was when I was around five or six years old, staring up at a screen watching Disney’s 'Hercules', a title that these days I wish I could correct to 'Heracles'. Anyway, the scene where the young hero walks into the temple of Zeus, the lanterns flicker, and the statue comes to life was always my favourite, and I never forgot the sense of awe it left me with. Fast forward to age twenty-eight, a whole Greek pottery collection, mythological library, and a...]]></description><link>https://benparkerlla.wixsite.com/website-1/post/from-marathon-to-athens-the-sanctuary-of-the-egyptian-gods</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a071025e17018105ded5eaa</guid><pubDate>Sat, 16 May 2026 13:32:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/21e95b_74d905501b124290b0813f182540157a~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ben Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Poetry Tips: Deciding on a form]]></title><description><![CDATA[Poems come in all shapes and sizes. Some rhyme, some don't, some have highly complex structures and patterns, some are three lines long....]]></description><link>https://benparkerlla.wixsite.com/website-1/post/poetry-tips-deciding-on-a-form</link><guid isPermaLink="false">623fcedbd5a00b41db32684a</guid><pubDate>Sun, 27 Mar 2022 02:48:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/109702687f5c4c38986333623d19b652.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ben Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[My Essential Tools For Writing Poetry]]></title><description><![CDATA[It seems simple, grab a pen and a sheet of paper and get lost in writing a poem. It doesn’t always work that way when writing, but there...]]></description><link>https://benparkerlla.wixsite.com/website-1/post/essential-tools-for-writing-poetry</link><guid isPermaLink="false">623e2116bc0372b5ef059eb2</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Mar 2022 20:09:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_70b5c3a3ae0548409bb58e0f7e194b1b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ben Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[My Poetry Writing Process]]></title><description><![CDATA[With anything done creatively, there is always a fascination with the processes people use to harness that creative flare and turn it...]]></description><link>https://benparkerlla.wixsite.com/website-1/post/my-poetry-writing-process</link><guid isPermaLink="false">623be8acb4ba189a21232aaf</guid><pubDate>Thu, 24 Mar 2022 03:48:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/21e95b_68f874b886874c2ea5430c7ad01c263b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Ben Parker</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>