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.