Epic Summer Part I: The Peloponnese Peninsula

After lunch in Delphi we drove across the Rio-Antirrio Bridge (bummed I didn’t get a pic) into the Peloponnese. We were headed for Olympia. We stayed in this great little place called Pension Bacchus just a few miles from the ancient site. The place had some great views and a fabulous pool for the kids. They were really excited to get some time in the water. Their restaurant was fab too. We highly recommend this place (as long as you have a car).

Pension Bacchus. The kids were in love with the pool!  

I was in love with the weather and view

The next morning we headed to ancient Olympia. We really enjoyed reading and learning about the beginnings of the ancient Olympics (776 BCE). The games began as a way for the Greeks to honor Zeus through athletic competition and grew to include athletes from all over the Greek-speaking world, creating a shared cultural identity within the region. The games lasted for 1169 years, during which the Romans expanded (and perverted) the games, before the Christians finally put an end to them.

When you walk into the site you first come to the Gymnasium (a Greek word), where the athletes trained for field events. Next to this is the Palestra, where training for events such as wrestling and boxing occurred.

Gymnasium 

In the Palestra

Wish I could read this!

The Temple of Zeus was the heart of the site and was massive. The temple fell due to earthquakes in the 6^th century and it is neat to see the pieces lying today how they fell hundreds of years ago. An interesting fact is that the buildings here were made of limestone and then covered with stucco made from marble—an inexpensive way to make a glistening marble city. You can see the fossils in the limestone. The entrance to the temple marks where the winners were crowned with olive branches.

  

Limestone covered in fossils.

I love how everything is where the earthquake
left it. Look at the huge column pedestal.

The Temple of Zeus. The fallen column drums look like dominoes.

S next to one of the winner's statues.

In front of the winners' circle.

One of the friezes from the Temple of Zeus.

The Statue of Nike (goddess of victory). She stood on a pedestal near the winner's circle.

From there we headed to the stadium. The athletes would enter through a tunnel (similar to stadiums today). It was pretty neat to enter through the same tunnel they used all those years ago. I could totally imagine being one of the spectators sitting on the grassy hillside and watching the events—except that no women were allowed to attend. The first Olympics consisted of one race called a stadion. It was one length of the stadium (192 meters) and E ran it in 35 seconds. It was fun to watch men in their 70s jogging the stadium and getting as much joy out of the experience as E did.

The athletes' tunnel into the stadium (called the Krypti).

At the original starting line. The runners used the grooves for their feet--like starting blocks.

*Fun Fact: If you were caught cheating, this included doping, taking bribes, and quitting, they put a statue with your name on it at the entry to the tunnel and people spit on it as they entered.

The other really cool site we saw was the altar of Hera. This is where the Olympic flame is lit for each games today and has been for the last 76 years. Greek women dress up as priestesses and use a mirror to reflect the sun and light a flame. They use the flame to light a torch in the stadium and it travels to the site of the summer or winter games. A neat way to pay homage to this special site’s influence on a tradition that is nearly 2800 years old.

Temple of Hera. The Alter is just to the right of the photo.

The Bronze Helmet of Miltiades, the Athenian general who won the Battle of Marathon against the Persians.

We left Olympia and decided to detour and drive through Sparta on our way to Nafplio that night. The detour ended up taking us on small winding roads through the mountains. Sparta is just a city now. There are no ruins or ancient sites to see. I read a comment in our guidebook that had me thinking. It said that there is little left behind by militaristic societies. Athens, Delphi, and Olympia placed high importance on physical fitness, but also valued the pursuit of knowledge and the arts. Sparta didn’t. Still, it was worth the trip, to us, to visit this once important site.

We passed these beautiful Greek Orthodox Churches all over the countryside.

We arrived in Nafplio that night. We really liked Nafplio. The city was the capital of the united and independent Greece briefly before it was moved to Athens. The city is mid-sized but with a small town feel. The old town pedestrian center is clean, lively, and feels modern, but with a lot of character. We had another gem of a hotel here. Pension Marianna has a great location and rooms and a killer view from the breakfast terrace. Again, if you're in this part of Greece, stay here!

Kids loved having their own room.

Best breakfast view ever! 

Fabulous traditional greek yogurt and honey.

After breakfast we headed out to check out the reportedly best-preserved ancient Greek theater in Epidavros. The theater was built around 300 BCE and seated (after the Roman addition) 15,000. Sitting in the top row I was impressed at what a great view I had of the stage—even in the nosebleed seats. The theater is so well preserved because it was buried in dirt. Today it is a functioning theater. How cool would it be to see a performance here!

The view from the top row.

Next we headed for Mycenae, the center of a culture that was the predecessor to the people we think of as ancient Greeks. We drove up to the site and then decided to turn around and grab some lunch before going in. We should have known better. We see some similarities between the Greek and Italian cultures. One is how they drive. Our book stated that the site was open until 8pm in the summer. We showed up at a quarter to 3 to be told that they were getting ready to close because there were “no people.” It should be noted that there were 3 tour buses in the parking lot and a handful of cars. Aaron promised the lady we’d be quick and we were allowed to pay for tickets if we promised to take no more than 15 minutes to see the site. That gave us just enough time to see the famous “Lion Gate” and footprint of the old palace before walking back down the hill to the whistle blowing of the guards. A popular means of telling people that a site is closing here is for the guards to blow whistles and wave you down toward the exit. It feels an awful lot like being herded. Still, we were able to see what we came for, and I stood in a place I had taught about both in history and in mythology. (The palace is the same one that King Agamemnon supposedly ruled from before he went off to fight the Trojan War.)

The Lion Gate (sans heads).

The view from the Acropolis of Mycenae.

We left Mycenae and made our way back to Athens for the night. The last leg of the trip will be light on history as we head for the Greek islands and some down time in the sea and sun!