THE SARONIC GULF AND VISIT TO MYCENAE

11 September 2010

(You can click on the photo to enlarge the picture)


THE SARONIC GULF AND METHANON PENSULA

ARRIVAL IN METHANA

As Cathy has described, after the terrible night on the quay at Palaia Epidavros we sailed on to the town of Methana on the Methanon peninsula.



The town of Methana takes its name from the fact that it sits just below the site of an extinct volcano. Aside from the smell of sulphur in the air - A unique feature of the harbour is its milky-yellow water, coloured by the hydrogen sulphide gas that bubbles to surface.



There is a health spa just beyond the harbour gates. The sulphur rich water is supposed to be good for a variety of ailments – and somewhere nearby is a pool of radioactive water! Needless to say we have been swimming in the sea outside the harbour and hope the hydrogen sulphide is keeping the barnacles at bay on the bottom of the boat. Judging by the absence of jellyfish here, they don’t like sulphur either.


NAFPLIO AND MYCENAE - TWO DAYS ASHORE!

Since the boat is in a safe billet we decide to give ourselves two days of shore leave and set out to visit the ancient site of Mycenae. Checking the local bus schedules we quickly learn that it might be easier getting to the moon – but undaunted, we head off to Galatas (completely in the opposite direction of where we are trying to go) to connect with the cross country bus to Nafplio, where we will spend the night on land!



The attractive town of Nafplio which lies at the head of the Argolic gulf was originally intended to be the capital of Greece. The Greek Parliament was held in the mosque in the picture above.



The town has several fine parks and is dominated by a Venetian fortress-castle overlooking the town. We stayed in a comfortable hotel near the park and had a view of the castle from our balcony. This is the first time we have slept in a non-moving, land-based bed since February in Venice!


NAFPLIO ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM



The recently renovated archeological museum contains items excavated at Mycenae and from the surrounding area. Beautifully laid out, we thought it was one of the best museums we have visited anywhere.



There was even a display of a complete set of Mycenaean armour. The helmet is reinforced with wild boars’ tusks.



The Mycenaean civilization which dates back to the 13th century BC was an amazingly advanced society. One of the items that caught our eye was a three thousand year old fishhook. [Photo taken for Mike Skidmore!] It was identical to a modern fishhook – complete with barb. (Also note the tongs and spoon.)



The small coloured glass jug below is described as “Phoenician” and dates from around 475 – 425 BC. This particular example was found in a grave at Epidavrus. It is unusual as virtually all the glass manufactured during this period was “clear”.

This is the fourth (almost identical) example of this jug we have seen in museums as far north as Syracuse in Sicily, indicating there must have been active trade links right across the Mediterranean during this period.




THE FOLKLORE MUSEUM

We also visited Nafplio’s small Folklore Museum.



When it opened in 1981, this museum was voted the “Best Museum in Europe”. It houses a delightful collection of costumes, toys and household implements and is an insight into Greece’s recent past.




AN EVENING ON THE TOWN

We topped off the evening with dinner in a Greek alleyway restaurant; a stroll around the sea front and the back streets of the old town. An ice cream from “Antica Gelateria di Roma” – described as having the “Best ice cream in Greece”- completed the evening.




THE ANCIENT SITE OF MYCENAE

Early the following morning we took a bus from Nafplio, 12 km north up into the hills past Argos and Mykines to the site of Mycenae, the seat of Agamemnon who according to Homer led the Greek army to beseige Troy.

Situated on the top of a hill between two larger summits the site looks insignificant when seen from below. Pictures cannot do justice to the scale and beauty of this place.



When viewed from the top - from the ruins of Agamemnon’s palace – you immediately understand why they built here. The site commands a view of all the valleys below - 15 km in all directions. The views are breathtaking!




The sea is clearly visible some 12km away and according to Homer, Agamemnon would have launched his fleet against Troy from here.





THE LION GATE

All my life I have read about and seen pictures of the “Lion Gate” at Mycenae. It is wonderful to see it in its setting in the palace wall. Again photography can not capture this amazing site - you have to be here.



The tombs uncovered at the site attributed to Agamemnon and Clytemnestra are massive in scale and built to a unique design with a long shaft approach, a tall entrance leading to a beehive shaped chamber inside.



Agamemnon’s Tomb. A key feature to identify Mycenaean architecture is the “relieving triangle” above the doorway, which took weight away from the lintel.



Cathy in the doorway of Clytemnestra’s Tomb. The lintel stone over the doorway of Agamemnon’s tomb is estimated to weigh some twenty times the weight of the stones used to construct the pyramids.



Inside Clytemnestra’s Tomb there are finely finished stones rising in a huge “igloo” shaped vault



This is looking up some 70 feet at the ceiling from where Cathy is standing. It is sobering to think this building was constructed (1500 BC) about the same period the inhabitants of Salisbury Plain were laying out the crude inner “bluestone circle” at Stonehenge.


MASTER MASONS AND ENGINEERS




To really appreciate the Mycenaeans’ engineering abilities you have to take a torch and go underground to visit the palace cistern.

Mycenae’s water supply came from an underground spring. To protect it they extended the eastern palace walls - then dug a 45 degree tunnel shaft down through the rock some 100 feet down to meet the spring underground.



More "Indiana Jones" ? Here Cathy is at the doorway to the entrance to the cistern, wondering, “do I really want to do this?…”. There is no light and it is a long way down the stepped tunnel shaft to reach the bottom!



Here we are deep underground about half way – it is pitch dark, the light is from the camera flash. Cathy looks as if she is really enjoying herself! (By the light of our small wind-up torch and carefully taking one step at a time, we did manage to find our way all the way to the bottom.)


THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM




The museum on site was full of artifacts found during previous excavations. All very well displayed. The site and its environs are still being actively excavated today. This is a replica of the gold death mask of “Agamemnon” found in one of the grave circles at Mycenae [The real one is in Athens and we are looking forward to seeing it in November.]


THE RETURN JOURNEY

Travelling by bus worked out pretty well, except when it came to the last leg from Galatas back to Methana. When we arrived back in Galatas at 4.30pm, the last bus had long gone, so we made the five minute hop by ferry across to Poros, thinking we might catch the Athens ferry back from there as it makes a brief stop at Methana. We found we’d missed that too, so there was nothing for it but to catch the water taxi back to Galatas and take a taxi. We liked the look of Poros and the new north quay, which is why we’ll be going there next – this time in Makarma!

6th September - Corinth Canal & Epidavros

On 3rd September, exactly a year to the day since we arrived in the Ionian at Lakka, we transited the Corinth Canal and crossed over in the Aegean. We are now in the Saronic gulf!

It was awesome to motor through the narrow cutting with the limestone walls towering a hundred metres above us. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Our passage went very smoothly – we had only a 15 minute wait to be allowed in (you can wait up to 3 hours); a freighter and a superyacht went ahead of us and two yachts went behind – one of them Cleophea. The best bit was we could record the moment as we took pictures of each other as we went through. Three miles and 185 euros later, we emerge into the Saronic- and it’s not even lunch-time!

We motor into a light headwind down the coast to berth bows-to at George’s taverna in Korfos, an almost landlocked bay 16 miles to the south of the canal. We celebrate the day’s big milestone over dinner with Mike and Corinne that evening.

Korfos turned out to be very sheltered but we’ve twice regretted our choice of harbour in the last week and have some damage to show for it. If we’re going to be berthed on a quay in future, we’ll be picking the harbour very carefully. The pilot says that Kiato harbour (our last port of call before the Corinth canal) is dangerous in an easterly, and guess what we got? A 15 knot breeze blowing from the east for less than two hours on the evening we were there kicked up a churning maelstrom in the harbour that was truly frightening. Standing beside the boat – it was too uncomfortable to stay onboard - we prayed our fenders would take the strain as Makarma pitched and bucked alongside the concrete quay.

Our next harbour on from Korfos was also open to the east. You’d think we’d have learned from our Kiato experience. But the pilot is reassuring about the good shelter at Palaia Epidavros, and it’s the closest harbour to the ancient Greek theatre at Epidavros which we were keen to see. Guess what? The late afternoon SE sea breeze kicked up a vicious little swell which rolled into the harbour and piled against all of us moored on the quay. Because we go bows-to, we were pitching worse than the other boats. For most of the evening our bow was hurtling up and down by more than two metres – with the concrete quay alarmingly close just in front of us. At 10pm it started to hose with rain. Our Danforth anchor and chum combination held well, but our friends in Cleophea were not so lucky. They abandoned the quay to anchor in the bay - something we now regret not doing ourselves, as sometime during the ghastly episode a section of our teak toe-rail got smashed – we’re not sure how.

It was calm the next morning when we made an early start to catch the bus to Ancient Epidavros. We were the first visitors into the site and for a magical twenty minutes or so we had the magnificent theatre to ourselves.

Epidavros was a centre for healing, a religious sanctuary and it hosted athletic and musical/theatrical festivals. The classical theatre is the best preserved building on the site. Indeed it’s one of the best preserved Classical buildings in Greece, and is still in use today for performances of plays and concerts. Its almost perfect acoustics allow all 14,000 spectators to hear the slightest whisper from the stage.

The sanctuary temples, the stadium and the sanatorium have not fared so well over the years.

There’s little to see apart from ruins, although extensive restoration work is going on. It is hard to imagine now that the site was the Lourdes of its day with people coming from miles around to be cured of their ailments.

Anxious to avoid a repetition of the previous evening, the minute we got back to the harbour, we left to follow Mike and Corinne to Methana. The wind was kind and gave us a fast passage for the 20 miles to get there. Methana harbour is in a completely enclosed basin that is sheltered from all directions. The only drawback gets up your nose the moment you negotiate your way through the narrow entrance. Methana sits on an extinct volcano. Sulphur springs still bubble to the surface here, turning the water a milky green colour and giving off an all-pervasive smell of rotten eggs.

We don’t mind the smell or the water colour - it’s just a great relief to feel completely secure. Beside the harbour is a spa where elderly arthritic Greek ladies take the waters for relief from their aches and pains. Corinne and Cathy join them to bob up and down in the smelly water.

DELPHI 4 September 2010

One of the highlights of our journey so far was our visit to Delphi.

We left Makarma moored in Galaxidi harbour and in company with our new Swiss friends, Mike and Corrine Bruhwiler, we took an early morning bus from Galaxidi to the coastal town of Itea. From here we took another bus up into the mountains to Delphi.





The KTEL bus terminal in Itea boasted a very fine clock and welcome sign – and it would be very helpful for people to catch their bus on time - if it only worked!



The Greek buses tend to run on time, are air conditioned and on the whole very pleasant. The driver seems to line up on the dotted line down the middle of the road and puts his foot down. Blind hairpin bends going up the mountain are dealt with by simply blowing the horn!



The scenery ascending the road to Delphi is spectacular. Delphi is clings to the side of Mount Parnassus, which is 2457m high. The ‘green’ in the photo above is the “plain of olives” and is the largest concentration of olive trees in Greece.




It must be said that the site and views at Delphi are spectacular! It is easy to understand why Delphi was considered so special by the ancient Greeks and many other civilizations that followed.



This model in the Delphi Archaeological Museum shows just the site of the Sanctuary of Apollo.

It was inside the Temple of Apollo (the large building surrounded by columns) where the Delphic Oracle foretold the future.

There are many famous inscriptions on the stones around the site of the Oracle such as, “know thy self”.



According to some of the surviving text that tells us what went on at Delphi – the ancients believed that the god Apollo spoke through a “Pythia” - This was the priestess who sat inside the temple on her tripod, chewed laurel leaves, went into hallucinogenic trances and incoherent frenzies – [some believe inhaled methane and ethylene vapours escaping from a seismic fissure under the temple] - she then deliver a garbled, incoherent message to the temple priests – who then passed on the message to the paying client. - A bit like the “phone-a-psychic” service works today.





This is what the Temple of Apollo looks like today. The black stones in the middle conceal the cellar where the Pythia would have sat. According to ancient texts the Pythia, or priestess, was usually a local woman, often a middle-aged matron, who would have worn the robes of an unmarried virgin to emphasize her chastity. When the Oracle was at its most popular there may have been as many as three priestesses, working in shifts.



Just below the Temple of Apollo and the Oracle I noticed there was a hole in the wall that was not on the tourist map. I spotted this fellow having a look inside. After he backed out I thought I would also have a look inside.




The passage looked like it might go in under the Temple, so I decided to do the “Indiana Jones” bit to see where it went. It was a very narrow shaft with several right angle bends! After the first corner there was complete darkness - but I could make progress by feeling along the wall and occasionally lighting the passage with the flash from my mobile phone’s camera. After some distance I managed to reach a point under the Temple where the tunnel had been blocked.




As the tunnel led directly under the Temple of Apollo, it was exciting to think the Oracle’s priestesses may have used this same tunnel when they changed shifts! I am sure if I could have gone further I might have been able to whiff the vapours from the seismic fissure.

Aside from being in inky darkness, the other problem was that there was no room to turn around ! – not wishing to become part of the Temple complex - I had to retrace my steps backwards!


DELPHI’S THEATRE



The Delphi site has a beautifully preserved theatre with amazing views down the valley. It was built in the 4th century BC. The seats were made of white marble from Mount Parnassus. In AD 67, the Emperor Nero stood in the center of this stage and addressed an audience of several thousand people.


THE PYTHIAN GAMES




Delphi is most commonly associated as the site of the Oracle but further up the mountain from the Temple of Apollo is Delphi’s Stadium complex. In 586 BC, the Pythian Games were founded here and were second only to the games at Olympia in importance.



Like Olympia, the games were in honour of the gods and athletes came from all parts of the known world to compete. This amazing mountain-side arena could easily accommodate thousands of spectators.


THE CLOSURE OF DELPHI

Aside from being sacked and restored several times in numerous “Sacred Wars” - Delphi was officially closed down in AD 385 by Theodosius (during the Roman Christian Era) as it was a “pagan shrine” and only Christianity was allowed as the official state religion. [Olympia suffered the same fate.]



Delphi is in a seismically active area and it was gradually reduced to ruins by numerous earthquakes and landslides from Mount Parnassus above. Ironically these landslides covered the site and protected it from further looting. It was only recently in the 1850’s that Delphi was “rediscovered” and excavations were begun by the French School of Archaeology beginning in 1892. Much of the site is still unexcavated and what lies beneath is unknown.



The construction of the buildings at Dephi is remarkable. The stones are finely dressed and many still have sharp edges today. Considering the location of the site – on the side of a mountain(!) – the effort would have defeated modern engineers and earth moving equipment. Truly amazing.



The construction techniques are also of interest. You can see the links carved into the blocks in the photo above. The stones were held together by iron “butterfly” straps and then lead was poured into seal the join.



This is one of the links with a bit of lead still lodged in its securing hole. Most of the lead was looted so this is a rare find.


THE DELPHI ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

There were a number of Sacred Wars and much of Delphi was sacked by various hoards at many times in past history.

During Delphi’s Roman period - Nero seized over 500 bronze statues in a fit of rage after the Oracle condemned him for killing his mother. Constantine packed off many of Delphi’s treasures to his new capital at Constantinople.

Despite the looting and destruction many spectacular items were unearthed and are now housed in the Archeological museum on the site.



These are just some of the things that have been excavated from under the landslides. According to the inscriptions on the stones, the “Winged Sphinx” above was originally sent to Delphi as a tribute to Apollo and came from the Island of Naxos in 400 BC!

This feat starts to take on a different significance when you consider that the Island of Naxos is almost 100 miles from Delphi and at the time, the Corinth Canal did not exist.

The Sphinx would have been transported from Naxos by sea, then overland where the Corinth Canal is today, then back into a ship, across the Gulf of Corinth, back on to land – then hauled some 20 miles inland and up a mountain! Clearly, Delphi was a very important site! Tributes like this came from all over the ancient known world.



There were once many finely detailed carving decorating the temples and all over the site.



Cathy is standing in front of the fragments of a statue of a life-size bull that was covered in gold and silver sheets!



These are some of the many examples of gold jewelry found on the Delphi site.



Perhaps this is the sort of jewelry that would have been worn by the priestess when they were talking to the gods?




This was a beautiful plate recovered virtually intact. Note the harp and sandals – keep in mind you are looking at the craft and skills that were practiced in the 4th century BC.



Visitors to Delphi brought many gold, silver and bronze votive offerings to have the Oracle tell their future. It is astonishing the detail and craftsmanship that has gone into these works.



Many of the statues were painted in bright colours – here are fragments that have survived showing what one looked like over two thousand years ago.



There were amazing marble statues carved in superb human form and beautifully carved drapes – again in context, this was almost two thousand years before the style we associate with Michelangelo and others.




The bronze of the “Charioteer” is considered the finest piece in the museum. In the background you can see the complete reconstruction of the original bronze – complete with bronze chariot and horses!

During excavation only the charioteer and a few remains of the horses were ever found. It has been suggested that the famous horses on the roof balcony of Saint Marks cathedral in Venice may belong to the charioteer of Delphi.




And finally, for the children – The Delphi museum houses what is no doubt the great ancient ancestor of “Gonzo” – this is surely conclusive proof that the “Muppets” were just as popular with Greek kids back in the 4th century BC as they are today!



Legend has it that Zeus released two eagles to circle the globe in opposite directions. They met at Delphi. In antiquity Delphi was regarded as the centre of the world.

So here we are - we have reached the “the centre of the world” and one of our journey’s goals. Cathy and I are truly sharing the adventure of a lifetime. It is great that we can share it with you.

Needless to say there will be more to come. We have travelled to Olympia and Delphi, we next plan to visit the third most important site in Greece – the great theatre at Epidavros.