Introduction to the Peloponnese

 Today I leave for my tour--4 days seeing the wonders of the Peloponnese area of Greece.  I was so worried about making my connection that I only got a few hours of sleep.  Then a shower (finally!), and ready to do self-checkout (I packed last night).  But even though it was fully charged, the screen on the tablet they use for self check-in and  out wouldn't go to the home page.  So finally I was running late and sent a message that I hadn't been able to do the check-out, but that I was gone.  Because of that, I was 5 minutes late for my tour bus (I had to walk to a nearby hotel).  There were only a few people on the bus, but we went to other stops and finally the bus was mostly filled (I heard we have 35).  I grabbed the front seat since I'm by myself.  It had a little bit more room and you can see out the front window which is kind of cool.  Our tour guide says everything first in English, then in French.  She speaks to the driver in Greek.  I wish I was fluent in three languages!  We are seeing a lot each day, so most of my posts for Greece will continue to be heavy on the photos and lighter on the content than on previous trips.

It took us forever to get out of Athens--traffic was so heavy!  Our driver is very good at maneuvering our bus, though he does drive a bit fast.  Our first stop was the Corinth Canal.   Wikipedia gives this synopsis:  "The Corinth Canal is a canal in Greece that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. Completed in 1893, it cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and "separates" the Peloponnese peninsula from the rest of the Greek mainland."   It is about 4 miles long.  We stopped on one side, then could walk from one side to the other and back.  Also there were bathrooms and a snack shop.  I did order a slice of a swiss-roll type of breakfast cake because I hadn't had anything to eat yet.  

Then we went to the Theater or Epidaurus.  The theater is connected to a sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of medicine.  The theater is considered to be the most perfect Greek theater in regard to acoustics and aesthetics.  It was constructed in the late 4th century BCE.  

On the grounds

The theater

The entrance gates

Big area in front where dancers performed

From the top, looking down

Seats for 15,000 spectators 

The stage, scenery, etc. space

In the center of the circle was a column and a statue of Zeus.

Artifacts from the site in the museum

At that time, a sanctuary was also a place of healing.  And there was also the belief that the observation of dramatic shows had positive effects on mental and physical health, so the two seemed to go well together.  Greek plays first just started out as dancers telling the story through dance, then they added a person who interacted with the dancers through dialogue.  Then they added more actors and the dancers seemed to take on the role of the chorus.  Women  could play women characters out in front, but if they were up on stage with costumes and everything, then had to be played by boys.  

Next we stopped near Nafplion (which is supposed to be a super cute little seaside town), and were able to take pictures of a castle just off the coast in the Agean Sea.   We were supposed to have some time in the town, but because it took us so long to get everyone and get out of the city, we were behind schedule.  The castle is and island and is called the fortress of Bourtzi.  It was built in 1473 by the Venetians to protect against raiders.  They even installed flamethrowers in the towers.  It continued to be further fortified by subsequent groups that took control of Greece.  It is not currently in use and visitors can go out and look around and inside the castle.  

Next was near Mycenae, the Tomb of Agamemnon (also called the Treasury of Atrius).  [I keep wishing that my daughter was here, she knows a lot about Greek and Roman mythology; I have forgotten most of what I learned about it in school.].  This tomb is a beehive-shaped tomb.  The dead was laid out in the main room, then the entrance was filled with dirt.  They later dug it back out and moved the remains to a smaller room off the beehive.  They only buried people in this manner and one at a time.  So if many people died at the same time, it took a long time to get through them all.   Many of the lintels above the entrances to Greek structures are huge , so to take some weight off from them, they devised a triangle above the lintel to help support the weight of the roof.  

Entrance to the Tomb

Inside

Looking up--evidently the black marks were because much later on, shepherds would go 
in these for shelter with their sheep and build fires to keep warm.  The black is the soot.

A side room, where to remains were moved to

a nearby view

Many olive groves everywhere

Nearby the Tomb is the Acropolis of Mycenae.  The site is surrounded by walls built by the Cyclops.  The cyclops were not one-eyed monsters, they were very tall men that were a combination of engineers and stonemasons.  They cut the stones into large 5 meter thick blocks and dry-stacked them where they have stayed since they were built around 1350 BCE.  Mycenae was a huge city that people lived in.  It was the center of the Mycenaean civilization for hundreds of years.

The entrance

The Lions Gate

The Cylopean Walls

A little space inside the gate as a place to hide if they are being attacked and as a tribute
to the god/goddess who is protecting them

A large burial area

Part of the palace

Part of palace

The Lions Gate.  They think that the two lions might
represent Rome and Greece working together.

We had lunch after this, then drove 2 1/2 hours to Olympia where we spent the night at the Hotel Amalia.  Just have to say that my hotel bathroom was bigger than my room and bathroom of the Sleepbox apartment in Athens put together!  We had a buffet dinner in the hotel restaurant (surrounded by other tour groups).  At lunch today I was asked to join another table by a retired couple from Tennessee and a first grade teacher from Maui (her name I remember, it's MJ)--she is much younger, but really nice.  At dinner, our group was joined by another couple from Texas--a bit on the odd side, but nice.  Our guide keeps telling us the Greek basis of many words and what they mean--it just  reminds me of the My Fat Greek Wedding movie and I have to stop myself from laughing each time--I just smile and look the other way.  

So what's acropolis about that?

 March 30, 2025

Sunday

Day 2

Amid the marble rubble in front of the Parthenon

I got up this morning and made my way downstairs to my bathroom, only to not be able to get hot water in the shower!!  So I used a washcloth and sponged off, then messaged the owners as I went to the Acropolis.  We messaged a few times, turns out I probably turned the water thing the wrong way-dumb move! (hope that is all it was, because I am gonna need a hot shower tomorrow!  I haven't showered since Friday morning!).

Some of the random marble pieces laying around

The Theater of Dionysos on the South Slope

This is the Choragic Monument of Thrasyllos up above the theater

More of the theater

So anyways, I walked to the Acropolis.  The entrance is the opposite side of where I am staying.  Google Maps attempted to send me through the Agora complex--but their guards were not in on that deal.  I ended up having to walk all the way around to the other side with only my wits to guide me.  Long walk--about 45 minutes.  I was able to skip the line because I already had a ticket!  Took some work to get the audio guide loaded and working, but it was okay.  I think if I was to do it over, I would opt for a real person guide.  But I slowly made my way up what they call the slopes, stopping to hear about various sites along the way.  Got to the top and wow!!  PIllars and trmples everywhere!  

More marble

It's everywhere!

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

This seats up to 6,000 spectators, still used for summer theater festivals in Athens

the Asklepieion of Athens--these temples often served as rudimentary hospitals

Scaffolding covered one end of the Parthenon, but they are in a constant phase of recovering, renewing, etc and to expect scaffolding.  You could see some places that they have patched with marble, others that they have rebuilt (and moved the remains to the museum), and other things that simply aren't there as they attempt to figure out how it looked.  Then, of course, mention was made that some of them are at the British Museum--things that were removed by Lord Elgin in 1801.  He insists that he had permission of the Ottoman Empire (who controlled Athens at the time), but they can't find the paperwork and the wording is disputed.  The Greeks want them back, the British Museum (who acquired them from Elgin in 1816 for £35,000--over £3 million now) says that they were legally acquired and their policy is to not return antiquities unless legally required to do so because they feel that they can be better cared for and accessible to more people if they are in London.  Greece says that they are part of their cultural heritage.  And it turns out that the British Museum damanged some of them while attempting to clean them.  So, it's a whole thing now.  But the Acropolis definitely lives up to the hype and is way cool to see.  Frist, some history:   The acropolis is where the city of Athens was first set up by the Mycenaens around 800 BCE,  It was well protected because it was on the top of a tall hill with 100 ft. drops.  But in 480 BCE the Persians invaded again.  the Athenians evacuated the city and the Persian army burned the entire thing to the ground.  When they came back, they still had a lot of money, so their leader with a visionary architect/sculptor planned to transform the Acropolis into a complex of super-sized ornate temples to honor their city's protector, the goddess Athena.  Now as a feminist, I love that this huge thing was for a goddess.  Never mind the weirdness that she was born out of her father's head.  And that she remained celibate her whole life.  

the Acropolis entrance gates

The first temple for Athena Niki, Nike, Victory--seen from the entrance gates

entering

the gates

You can see the first temple for Athena from inside the gates 

The Parthenon

more marble laying around

West End

South side

East End

This used to have a frieze about the conception and birth of Athena

Another temple in front of the Parthenon

This tower was a gift from Athens' first queen.  Later, at the end of World
War II, some Athenians went up there and replaced the Nazi flag with the Greek flag.

More Parthenon, 'cause it's just there!

The Erechtheion with the Southern Porch of the Caryatids, built to memorialize
the Tomb of Cecrops, a mythological half-serpent king of Attica

This was a 13 meter high statue of Athena that was once in the Acropolis.  It was made of ivory and gold and was taken to Constantinople.  They have no idea what happened to it next.

 

This is the front porch of the temple of Erechtheion

An olive tree that was supposedly planted by the goddess Athena.  Olive trees
represent peace.  This was surrounded by a sanctuary.

The  temple of Erechtheion

From the entrance on the way out

Next I walked to the Acropolis Museum.  In here are some things that have been removed from the Acropolis because they are very fragile and others were found in excavations.  Lots to see.  My audio guide didn't work very well because I had trouble sometimes finding the objects that they were talking about.  Using the museum's audio guide probably would have been better.  I didn't really take any pictures because everything was cool and some were very large, and then some things you weren't supposed to take pictures of, so . . .  I had read good things about the cafe at the museum--good prices and good food with a good view, so I took advantage of that for a late lunch.  I had a:  Lettuce salad with grilled chicken, Cretan apaki smoked ham, graviera cheese, green olives, herb sauce and carob bread croutons (that's from the menu).  Very yummy and filling!  €14 which is how much most meals in Athens are.  Not sure what the dressing was, but is was creamy, pale yellow, and very good.

Included in my museum ticket is an excavation of an area that was found directly below the museum and which I think is ongoing.  There are homes that were built on top of previous homes.  And they had items and shards found in labeled cases as well as the foundations of the homes.  So that was cool.  At one point, I had a question about the letters that they found stamped on loom weights.  I asked someone that I thought was a docent--turns out that he's only a guard and had no idea.  Ooops!  I just laughed and said it was fine.  At that time (around 400 CE), women's lives were to get married young, have many children, and to weave.  That was it.  So there were many sets of loom weights.  I'm guessing that it may have been their (or their husband's) name or some way to identify whose they were.  I had just barely gotten in at the last entrance, so I only had half an hour and then they were kicking everyone out.   

These are all excavated from under the museum

Well, it was now after 5:00 with a whole host of places to eat to choose from, but I was still full from my lunch three hours earlier and it was getting quite chilly, so I opted to go back to my room and decide what to do from there.  Well, I stopped at a cute little park for awhile and checked email, etc and met a cute cat that came over to sit right against me.  Well, I didn't want to be rude, so I pettted her and checked out things on my phone--even did a DuoLingo lesson because I don't want to lose my streak.  It was getting chillier as the sun slipped lower in the sky so I headed back.  When I got to my room I rested a bit--not sleeping, but sitting back resting my tired body.  Going up all those steps to the Acropolis and walking to get there and back was  a lot for this old body!  Then I reviewed my plans for the next few days (tour) and where I have to meet the tour.  As well as where my other accommodations are and figure out how I'm going to get to my last one and get from there to the airport (it's near the airport, but not near enough nor near the subway line so it looks like I might have to take a bus and walk to the metro line.  Hmmmm.  

My kitty friend at the park

Walking back

The statue is in the balcony

And now I'm writing this as I charge my phone and my power bank.  Had a little chex mix as a dinner/ snack, so I'm good for the night!  I'll load the photos and put this online tomorrow.  Hopefully the hotel will have good wifi!