Ancient Explorations
We began the week by attending the children's parade, which is part of Patras Carnival. Our youngest two were excited because they wore the masks we bought to join the festivities. We heard they might throw out candy as well. We decided to view it at St. George I square since it would circle three around sides. This was closer to the parade's end, so we saw it only about 20 minutes after it started. Music played loudly in the square, and kids were dancing all around and having a great time. The parade was designed more for younger children than ours, but being part of the experience was still great. There were different themed groups of parents walking with, carrying or pushing their children in strollers. The groups were dressed the same in accordance with their theme. Every so often, a float pulled by a tractor came rolling along. The loud music played the entire time and reverberated throughout the square. After an hour, our ears were done. I found out later that the parade lasts for three hours! We never would have made it long. We walked back to our place and had a Sunday service and lesson. Later in the evening, our middle child made gyros for dinner and did a great job. Afterward, we played a game together before going to bed. What will the coming week bring?
We stayed around on Monday, taking care of schoolwork and other things. Despite the forecasted rain, we plan on renting a car and driving to the ancient sites of Delphi and Olympia this week. Having a car for one big grocery trip will also be good. Since it was recommended that we not drink tap water, we plan on buying six packs of 1L water bottles. We go through one bottle, maybe two, a day. This way, I can get several packs I don't have to carry back. We still needed to run to the grocery store, though. The closest large grocery store is AB, but we walked a little further and went to another store called Lidl. This one is similar to Aldi in the US. Staying here for a month allows us to compare prices between stores, which is what we did. We passed the AB grocery store on the way back, so Tanya went in for some things while I walked back with a couple of kids with what we bought at Lidl.
I started working on some things after we returned and put groceries away. After a while, I got the impression that Tanya needed help. It wasn't anything dire, but it was definitely needed. Not knowing what this meant, I told the kids I would meet up with her at the store and that we would be back soon. I roamed the store quickly but didn't see her when I arrived. I didn't see her on the walk there, so I knew she hadn't left. I made another round to no avail and saw her as I was exiting the store. A couple of chairs were by the exit, and she was sitting in one. She said she started having vertigo randomly, and carrying the bag of groceries seemed to make it worse. Before she checked out, she bought a drink and a snack, hoping that would help. It was a good thing I acted on the prompting I felt earlier. Tanya was worried about the walk back if carrying the heavy bag contributed to her vertigo. I was more than glad to carry the bag. Thank goodness for the influence of the Holy Spirit in people's lives. I know this was a simple prompting from the Lord to help out my better half. It was an excellent way to end the day.
Today, we picked up the rental car for the next three days. It seemed like a driving madhouse watching how people drove out here. Yes, there are driving laws, but the populace treats them like loose suggestions. People pass over double middle lines, speed limits are entirely disregarded, double parking is all over the place, what looks like a lane is mainly blocked by parked cars, and anyone on a motorcycle or scooter can do anything they want. You can lane split out here, but they were going on sidewalks, in the wrong direction on one-way streets, parking on the sidewalk right next to the store you wanted to enter, and driving anywhere you could walk in some places. Tanya and I studied traffic signs and talked to some people at the ex-pat meeting about how to drive. We also looked up a "tutorial" online on what to expect. The main thing I was told was don't get angry. What we would consider aggressive and reckless driving in the US is the norm here. When driving, Greeks tailgate, squeeze by you instead of waiting, pass very close to any car or person when they do, honk frequently, and lane split in their vehicle if there is the slightest bit of room. However, you must be comfortable driving close to other vehicles and people. There are a lot of one-way streets, and people park on both sides of them. Yes, you can fit down the middle, but a scooter couldn't fit between you and the cars on either side.
Despite the driving situation sounding like a nightmare, I took to it relatively quickly. The positive side of people driving all over the place meant it was a forgiving atmosphere for someone learning how to drive there. I made it a point to know the dimensions of my personal vehicles, which are way bigger than this little car we rented. It was a Peugeot 208, which is about the size of a Ford Fiesta. It was a hatchback that could fit all five of us with a little storage room in the back. The main thing I liked was that it was a manual. I love driving stick-shift. I had to be zippy in this place, and driving crazy is generally accepted. So, doing this with a manual made it even more fun for me. One interesting thing I observed when driving on an open road outside the city is that people who know they are driving slower will either hug the right side or drive halfway on the right shoulder. This was to make passing them easier. Again, whether it was a double line or oncoming traffic didn't matter. If you fit, you went. This is all part of living like a local.
We got up early Wednesday morning to drive to Delphi. It was just under two hours to get there. We hugged the coastline most of the way and stopped a few times to get pictures. Delphi is situated in the mountains, and you immediately start driving up once you reach the base. It seemed like they built as little of the road as possible to get you up and over. After a rather steep incline, we switched back several times and did one 270-degree turn. Upon reaching the top, we drove through the town of Delphi. It was a beautiful place, and like any other quaint town, you squeezed your way up the street. I would love to return and spend a few days there.
After passing through the town, we arrived at the ancient site of Delphi. There is a museum next to the archaeological site of the Temple of Apollo, and a little further down the road is another site where the Sanctuary to Athena was found. It was an amazing experience to walk among ruins centuries older than Christ's birth. This place was ancient even to the Romans. There is a main walkway to stay on and a rope that you didn't cross in various areas. At the start of the tour, there was only one sign stating not to touch anything. Despite these things, we walked within arm's reach and closer to this ancient stonework. You could leave the main path and walk among ruins in several spots. Walking up to the Temple of Apollo, you pass several treasuries dedicated to different cities. In these treasuries, the king would put expensive items for payment and tribute to the oracle at Delphi. Once a month, the oracle would see people to answer their questions. If your tribute was more significant than others, it put you further up the line. Along with the Temple of Apollo and treasuries, there is also a theatre, a long stadium, a Roman agora or open market, and various sanctuaries for other gods. The Pythian Games were held here every four years at the stadium. A couple of tour bus groups were there, and we got some other snippets of history from the guide as they talked to their group. Not only are we taking in all this history first-hand, but we are on a mountainside with an incredible view. The sun was shining, and being higher in elevation kept the temperature slightly cooler, so the air felt wonderful.
When we were done exploring this site, we walked to the other one. At this site is the Athena temple complex. It consisted of the Temple of Athena, the tholos, which is a circular building named the sanctuary to Athena, three other smaller temples, treasuries, the gymnasium, and various other structures. The gymnasium had two and consisted of changing rooms, baths, a pool, a long stretch for running, a fighting room, and a platform. Once again, we could walk among ancient rubble and see inscriptions still visible in the stone. Standing at one end of this complex, you could see the other ancient site further up the mountainside. It wasn't as big, but we were still in awe, appreciating where we were; at least Tanya and I felt this way. By this time, the kids are asking about food, so that's the only thing occupying their minds.
We passed a natural spring as we walked up the road toward our car to get our lunch. A water fountain was built so water from the spring was constantly flowing from a spout. Of course, we had to drink from this spring, which had been there longer than the ruins. It was delicious. The entrance to the main archaeological site covered a large area and was well-shaded. We decided to sit here and have lunch. Several stray cats were around, and four encircled us when we took out our food. The crinkling of bags brought them running and meowing. However, these didn't look like strays. They had healthy, soft coats of fur, and none were skinny or had any indication of mange or other diseases. We were sure they would only get louder and perhaps aggressive if we did feed them, so we didn't. The cats were getting attention from many other kids passing by. It looked like a high school field trip had arrived, and they wanted to feed them. Problem solved.
After lunch, we walked over to the museum. It was filled with statues, sculptures, and other items recovered from nearby ancient sites. There were more than just ancient Greek artifacts since these sites had two other temples built before the Greeks as early as the 7th century BC. My favorite was the bronze items since they were the most well-preserved. These items included small figurines of animals and people, shield coverings and braces, knives, hilts, helmets, cauldrons with various adornments, and the occasional statue. It was also neat to see how the two main facades of the temples were recreated from the remaining pieces of statues or sculptures. Since all large Greek temples were rectangular there were statues over the two shorter ends. These would depict certain gods and major events specific to the area or Greek history. The temples had an A-frame roof going the length of the structure. Part of the architectural design was to create a triangle and the shorter ends of the temple by having the roof end at the top of the columns. The prominent statue in the middle was the god to whom the temple was dedicated, with the rest on either side getting shorter or smaller to fit in the triangle. We saw this same design in Athens at the Acropolis Museum for the Parthenon. I think the most noteworthy thing at the museum was the world's oldest form of written music. It was etched into marble, and enough pieces were recovered to play the song. They're called the Delphic hymns to Apollo. Delphi was another incredible place to visit.
The next day, we left early to drive to Olympia. We drove through the mountains and the scenery was gorgeous. The Olympic Games originated at the town of Olympia. The archaeological site includes the stadium where competitions were first held. Other structures at this site include the Temple of Zeus, Temple of Hera, Temple of Rhea, a gymnasium, wrestling grounds, hotels, the workshop of Phidias where the great statue of Zeus was constructed, baths, treasuries, a grand fountain, and more. We can go through the complex with ancient history at our fingertips, just as we did at Delphi. As we enter, we see the gymnasium on our right and the House of Magistrates on our left. Past this house is the Temple of Hera. Initially, it was a temple for both Hera and Zeus. It is the oldest structure at the site. It was first made of shell-lime (stone or concrete) and baked brick with wood columns. As they rotted, these columns were replaced with stone, but the process took several centuries. Consequently, every column is slightly different as the Doric style progressed over time. Near the east entrance is the stone altar to Hera. Here, the Olympic torch is lit each time for the Olympic Games. Next to this is the Fountain of Herodes Atticus. It was a semi-circular water basin with water pouring in and was surrounded by statues of the Herodes family on two levels. The water fell from the basin into a long basin from several spouts along its length. Quite impressive.
We went to the stadium since we could see the extended, sloped seating area and part of the track. The running track was 600 ft long with stone slabs on the ground on either side, marking the beginning and end of the track, which was about 15-20ft less than the total length. Our boys decided to race. I walked less than halfway down the track to take a video, expecting they would only go as far as me. To my surprise, they ran the entire length. Our oldest, a foot taller than his brother, won the race. However, the younger did say he wanted to see how close he would finish next to his brother since he expected to lose. I think they started something because there was another high school field trip there, and those boys were divided into two groups to have a group race. It was fun to watch.
We left the stadium going through more stacked or organized stone fragments of buildings and columns. We walked past the remains of a structure called the colonnade of Echo. It was a long building with one side open and lined with columns. It got its name by having a peculiar acoustic quality. Sounds would echo seven or more times within. Past this were the Roman baths. One of the buildings was still half standing. Only foundational remains of other bath buildings surrounded it and those looked like a bunch of rectangular holes in the ground lined with brick. Continuing, we saw what was left of a council house, another colonnade, and some older bath houses.
We found a bench in a shady spot under a tree and decided to have lunch. The field trip groups left as we ate, and it became quieter. I was glad we had some serenity to take it all in. The peace gave a more relaxed feel to the place. Since we were sitting next to the Temple of Zeus, we studied it next. The temple foundation covered a lot of ground, and the fallen sections of columns were at least six feet across. It was slightly larger than the Parthenon, making it the largest ancient Greek temple. The inside would have been over forty feet high because it housed the great statue of Zeus. At the time, it was considered the seventh wonder of the world. It was a forty-foot-tall stone, ivory, and gold sculpture depicting Zeus sitting on a throne. He held a six-foot-tall statue of Nike in his right hand and a long scepter in his left. Interesting fact, Phidias also designed and built the statue of Athena in the Parthenon.
After this was the Hotel of Leonidas, a large square with an open-air pool in the center. It was easy to see the layout of the rooms as we walked around what would have been the inner hall. Next, we explored the workshop of Phidias. The outer walls were mostly intact, and two main rooms were inside. It's interesting to think all the work that went into creating the statue of Zeus happened here. Leaving here, we walked by smaller hotels and baths. We are approaching an impressive open square surrounded by an outer and inner row of columns. Most of the columns were nearly complete. This was the Palaistra or wrestling grounds. It was beautiful, even without the roof that would have been between the columns. We could walk throughout this area and get some nice pictures. What remained of the gymnasium was next to this but it could have been more interesting since it was only a row of the base of columns.
The Archaeological Museum of Olympia was across the way from the site. Walking up the stone path, we came upon an entrance to a small botanical garden. Tanya absolutely loves these, so she and I went for a walk while the kids waited on some benches. There was rosemary, oregano, and thyme growing; it was a delight to smell the freshness. We now know what the trees for bay leaves and almonds look like. The interior of the garden was covered in wildflowers. They were white, purple, red, and yellow. This added some extra beauty since it was too early for the trees to bloom. A short walk through a garden is always lovely.
We went to the museum to see the collection of artifacts from the site. It may have been used mainly for religious and sports purposes, but several military-related items existed. My favorite was a large display of bronze "Corinthian" helmets that spanned a couple hundred years. There were building facades and adornments from smaller structures and temples, as well as various stone blocks with the best-preserved writings. In a vast room were the statues that would have been atop the east and west entrances of the temple. They were arranged in the same triangular pattern, with Zeus in the middle of one side and Apollo on the other. The larger the temple, the larger the statues. Another display showed molds recovered from Phidias' workshop. These molds were used in building the statue of Zeus and would be used in the gold overlay of his robe. Continuing through, we saw statues and sculptures in varying conditions of preservation. Next was the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games.
We walked back up the path toward the parking lot to visit the next museum. It was fascinating to learn about the history of the Olympic Games chronologically with artifacts from ancient times. There was a bronze sheet with regulations for games inscribed on it, varying types of pottery, and a large floor mosaic with depictions of athletes competing, as well as pictures from the beginning of the modern games. The ancient games were stopped in the 4th century AD but brought back in 1896. The displays showed the evolution of the games up to this point. My favorite display for today's games was how the 2004 shot put event was held at the ancient stadium in Olympia. They didn't allow a bombardment of media or banners of sponsors. Seats were not brought in, and temporary bleachers were not erected. Besides a few TV cameras and the few modern devices needed, the event was held close to the way it was in ancient times, at the very place where it originated. History is much more interesting when you can walk through the pieces and stand where it happened.
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