Greece 2023: The Last Column

 

Pella

Friends - Thanks so much for your willingness to accompany me to Greece.  Documenting this journey took a lot longer than I anticipated - 51 posts (plus this one, all now located here) for what was a two week trip.  The fun thing for me has been the ability to revisit all of these places once again.

Bust of King George of Greece, assassinated in Thessaloniki Greece in 1913.  The White Tower is behind - Thessaloniki, Greece

This was an odd trip in that it was not one that I had really known I wanted to do, until the opportunity to do it presented itself.  That said, I can hardly imagine not having made the trip now.  So much history, so much philosophy, so much religion - all of the things I love wrapped up into a two week tour.

The Great Meteora - Meteora, Greece

Long time readers know that usually I have a "Rule of Five" that I like to post after I have taken a trip like this, five things I have learned or five things I have pondered.  In point of fact I do not have anything like that this time.  Chalk it up to the nature of the trip, chalk it up to "I was between jobs (the first time) and just enjoying life", chalk it up lack of imagination - but I do not have anything of the kind this time.  Just an abiding thankfulness that I was able to go and see so much of the history I have read about for so many years.

Roadside Memorial Stand - Similar to our roadside crosses

If I had one comment or piece of advice, it would be to go.  Just go.  Go see where the opening salvos of Western Civilization came forth and were nurtured long enough to set roots down to eventually expand to (in some cases) the entire world. Go see the stones and dirt streets, the valleys and monasteries, the empty temples and fortresses, where our understanding of so much of our world really started.

Just go.

Greece 2023: Mycenae III

Located not far from the ruins of Mycenae is a spectacular tomb.

The tomb itself is known by one of two names, either the Treasury of Atreus (the father of Agamemnon) or the Tomb of Agamemnon. Both of these are unlikely of course; the association with both characters dates from the the 18th Century A.D. and the 2nd Century A.D. traveler Pausanias believed both kings were buried in the ruins of Mycenae itself.

The tomb type is referred to as at tholos, a particular type of tomb consisting of a circular burial chamber and a corbelled dome (a corbel, I just learned, is a type of construction where the piece bears the weight of the pieces above it).  It is the largest dome structure prior to the Roman period of history, and remains the largest example of a corbelled dome in the world.

When was it built?  Likely between 1400 and 1250 B.C., when Mycenae was still at the height of its power.  From the size of the stones and the amount of labor involved, this was as much as exercise in power projection as it was a tomb. 

This door led to a series of side chambers, possibly for burials.

Who was it built for?  We have not a clue.  That secret the tomb holds within its silences and ascending rock faces.

More information is here.  It is a fascinating journey into the specifics of the tomb and what we know - and do not know.

Greece 2023: Mycenae II

The Citadel of Mycenae (1600 B.C. to 1150 B.C.), looking off over the walls:

A smaller entry gate:

Path down to and sample of a cistern.  The palace would have been dependent on such water sources.

Another view from the walls.  This view has been here for at least 3700 years.

Looking down into the excavated tombs:

Like similar sites, Mycenae had a museum of excavation finds.

The famous Mask of Agamemnon.  A death mask (though not of Agamemnon), dating of which runs from 1600 B.C. to even 2500 B.C.

Replica weapons from tombs:

Jewelry:

A very cool Octopus vase:

Other pottery:

A collection of axeheads:

Greece 2023: The Souvenir

 (Editor's note:  While typically Thursday is the day the next installment of The Collapse is posted, due to the nature of the next post, it struck me as somewhat unseemly, given that it is Christmas week.  We will pick up next week.)

One of things that happens as one grows older (especially) is the fact that one has to make a significant effort not to collect "things".  This is true in many ways, but especially in the ways of souvenirs.

It probably does not come as a surprise that Greece was full of them - as a country that thrives on tourism, there was literally every kind of thing available.  For example, I could have made a complete wardrobe out of the "This. Is. Sparta." shirts that were available everywhere (one wonders if the Spartans would be impressed that their civilization has been reduced to a graphic).  And statues of gods, warriors and philosophers were literally everywhere.

I had made the agreement with myself that instead of buying lots of little things at lots of places, I would confine myself to a few things (mostly purchases from the monasteries we visited and the smaller agriculture ventures - they need the support) and an icon - not a knock-off icon, but an actual traditionally made icon.  Although not of the Orthodox faith, I have always admired them as artwork.

Conveniently, we stopped at an icon workshop on our way out of Meteora.

In traditional icon manufacture, the original drawing is created on a canvas by hand.  Natural colors and egg tempura are used to fill in the lines (vinegar is used as well as an anti-fungal).   The painted canvas is then attached to a hand carved wood piece depending on size.  Gold leaf is pressed onto the finished product, which is held in place by a mixture of clay called "mixtion". The back is finished with a darker color.

There are different versions of this of course: one can get one where the painting lines were created by a drawing program or one that does not go through the entire traditional process (with decreasing cost, of course).  But I wanted the real thing.  This was my one present to myself for the trip.

As you can imagine, there was a great variety to choose from.  I ended up choosing an icon of Christ:

"Ah", said the ever-present sales-person, "Do you know the nature of this icon?" After I confessed my lack of knowledge, she said "It represents the two natures of Christ.  On the right hand side of His face is His divine nature - "

"And on the left side is His humanity".

On the whole, this represented more than I have ever spent on a souvenir in my life.  But I am really pleased with it.  It is hanging above my desk, a reminder of both Greece and Christ in my daily life.

Greece 2023: Mycenae I

"And upon his (Agamemnon's) head he set his helmet with two horns and with bosses four, with horsehair crest, and terribly did the plume not from above.  And he took two mighty spears, tipped with bronze; keen they were, and far from him into heaven shone the bronze, and thereat Athene and Hera thundered, doing honour to the king of Mycenae, rich in gold." - The Iliad 

The city of Mycenae dates from the 2nd Millennium B.C., but the site itself (19 kilometers/12 miles inland from the Saronic Gulf, on a hill) has been inhabited since 5000 B.C.  Its overall timeline dates from 1600 B.C. to approximately 1200 B.C. and from 1550 B.C. to 1200 B.C. Mycenae was the dominant civilization throughout the Aegean, having overtaken the Minoan civilization of Crete around 1400 B.C. , and records of its existence are found in Egyptian records circa 1400 B.C.  Its success has given its name to this period, the Mycenean Age. 

The city perished in the great Bronze Age collapse of 1200 B.C. to 1150 B.C.  The city never recovered its former glory, passing into relative obscurity in the Classical Age, briefly reviving in the Hellenistic Age, and then slowly dwindling in the Roman Era.

Its most "famous" inhabitant was the king Agamemnon, the Commander in Chief of the Greeks in the Trojan War.  The time of the Mycenean Age is the setting for Homer's Iliad, although the poem itself was written at least 400 years later.

Approaching the main entrance of The Lion's Gate:

This type of architecture - large blocks fit together closely - is typical of the Mycenean Age.  It is called cyclopean, as later observers thought only the mythical Cyclops could have moved such stones.

The Lion's Gate.  This structure - two lionesses as heraldry - is the largest existing sculpture of the Mycenean Age, dating to 1250 B.C.  The lintel at the top of the door is estimated at 20 tons.  This structure was famous even throughout the ancient world.

Overlooking the tombs.  Royalty and nobility were buried within the city walls.  In the background, one can see the Saronic Gulf.

The remains of the palace of Mycenae (next three pictures).  

Two views from the top:

Greece 2023: Nafplio II

The Bourtzi was originally built in 1471 by the Venetian engineer Brancaleone to protect and control the harbor of Nafplio. It was improved after the Ottoman Turk attack in 1473 and equipped with cannons.  It sits in the middle of the harbor of Nafplio; at one time a chain and boulders linked it with the side of the harbor nearest to the picture.

We got to take a water tour around the castle.

Cruise ship docked.  The structure in the lower left is our hotel:

Sadly it was early and the castle is being renovated, but it now serves as a museum:

Working around the headland of Nafplio.  This is looking towards the Argolic gulf.

The next two pictures show some of the difficulties of modern Greece.

Beyond the headland (and to the east of our hotel) lies another hotel and beach.  The hotel itself stands, essentially a rotting corpse.  Why?  It was built during the days of the Greek Junta (1967-1974) in which sweetheart deals were given to favorites of the junta.  With the sweeping away of the government and the fact that in large part (as our guide told us) the archaeologists run much of Greece, the building is now trapped in a state of limbo.  It is actually cheaper and easier to let is slowly decay than revive it as a tourist stop.

Headed back to Nafplio:

Greece 2023: Nafplio I

 Continuing on into the Peloponnese, we arrived at the city of Nafplio (Ναύπλιο). The shot below is taken from a rest stop as we crossed the Peloponnese.

The port itself is ancient; a possible inscription has been traced to an Egyptian funerary inscription in the 14th B.C. - quite possible, as it was the port of Argos, one of the great ancient cities of Mycenean Greece.  The city eventually conquered by Argos and dwindled in importance.

What became important (in the pictures below and above) was the Acronauplia, the fortress which stands above the town.  Originating in pre-classical times, the fortress was expanded upon by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Frankish Crusaders, Venetians and Ottoman Turks (known as Palamidi Castle).  Like other cities we have seen, it was held by the Venetians through the 14th to 16th Century, fell to the Ottoman Turks in the 16th Century, returned briefly to Venetian rule in the 17th Century, and was then reconquered by the Turks until its incorporation into the Kingdom of Greece in 1822.  It also served as the capital of Greece from 1828-1834.

Like Corfu City and Preveza, the city retains much of its time under Venetian rule.

The Church of St. George.  It was under construction inside, but we could take pictures:

Seeing these sorts of streets makes me want to visit Venice:

A view from our hotel room of the castle of Bourtzi (which we will see tomorrow):

Dinner for the night.  Maybe from the bay?