My Life in Ruins, Part 3: Ancient Olympia

The next morning I headed out on my looooooong drive to Ancient Olympia on the Peloponnese, the big almost-an-island-but-technically-a-peninsula piece of land that makes up most of the southern mainland of Greece.

In order to cross the Gulf of Corinth, I took the Rio-Antirio Bridge. Yes, the towns on opposite sides of the Gulf are called “Rio” and “Antirio”. I suppose that makes a more exciting pair of city names than Minneapolis and St. Paul…but I digress. Opened just in time for the 2004 Olympic torch relay to Athens, it is the world's longest multi-span cable-stayed bridge. I’m not sure what that means but regardless it was a cool bridge.

Unsafe taken-while-driving photos!

After a good night’s sleep I was ready to spend the day exploring Ancient Olympia. This sanctuary was dedicated to Zeus and became one of the most important centers of worship in ancient Greece. Of course it is best known for the Olympic games, which were held here in honor of Zeus every 4 years beginning in 776 BC. The Heraia—women's games in honor of Hera—were also held.

The girth of its toppled columns gives you an idea of how mighty the Temple of Zeus at Olympia must have been—it is considered the ideal example of the Doric order. The temple also contained a 43-foot high, gold-and-ivory statue of a seated Zeus, which was one of the 7 Wonders of the World—but like the temple itself it was destroyed by various Romans, earthquakes, and fires around 500 AD. One column of the temple has been resurrected on the site, and it appears that they maybe be working on more.

Here’s an idea of what it looked like in better times, as well as the statue inside:

Inside the museum at Olympia, the two pediments that once adorned the temple have been impressively reconstructed in a giant hall.

In only slightly better shape—and no less impressive—is the temple dedicated to his wife, Hera.

The altar in front of the Temple of Hera is where the Olympic flame is ignited to this very day.

A bit of background…in ancient times, a flame was kept burning during the Olympic games to honor Zeus. This tradition was re-introduced at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. The idea of the torch relay began with the 1936 Summer Games, when a torch was lit using the sun’s rays at the Temple of Hera in Olympia (by actresses recreating the ancient ceremony) and then relayed by runners all the way from Olympia to the opening ceremony in Berlin. Of course this tradition continues today, on an even bigger scale. In fact, here’s a clip of the lighting ceremony just held on May 10th to light the torch for this summer’s Olympics in London. It’s amazing to me to watch this now, clearly recognizing that I was just right there! (Click to play)

This passageway is called the “Crypt of Olympia”—it is a long and narrow vaulted passage through which the athletes and judges entered the Stadium, signifying the opening of the games:

The long, dirt field of the stadium is surrounded by slopes on which the spectators sat. Now it is where the torch begins its journey in a handoff to an athlete, and for the 2004 Athens Games the shot put competition was held here as well.

Remains of the Palaestra, part of the gymnasium where athletes would have practiced boxing, wrestling, and jumping:

Remains of the Philippeion, an ivory and gold memorial erected by King Philip II in 338 BC and finished by his son, Alexander the Great:

The remains of the Leonidaion, where the athletes lived while participating in the games the first Olympic Village, if you will):

This is the famed “Praxiteles Hermes”, a statue of Hermes and the infant Dionysus found in the ruins of the Temple of Hera. Made by the sculptor Praxiteles, it was remarkably well preserved by the thick, clay-like soil:

Inside the museum was also an extensive collection of ancient Greek helmets…

…and this tiny statue of Zeus that I enjoyed. He’s supposed to be holding a lightning bolt but I think it looks more like a banana:

This was the workshop of the sculptor Phidias, where he created the giant statue of Zeus. It was later converted into a Christian basilica:

And here’s a random lizard!

Next up…more ancient sites in Sparta, Mycenae, and Corinth. BUT BEFORE WE GO…A FEW PARTING SHOTS!

For some reason I enjoyed the idea that you MIGHT “need” to bring animals to “enjoy your visit and relaxation”:

And of course, some classy black-and-white shots.

Next stop, Sparta!

My Life in Ruins, Part 2: Thermopylae and Delphi

After a few lovely days in Athens, I began my road trip of the mainland and Peloponnese. Heading north, through the region of Attica, it was kinda funny to see highway exits for places you only otherwise hear about in mythology, like Marathon and Thebes. I had originally intended to stop in both of those ancient sites, but had to change my plans after getting a late start. This was because I had gone to the National Archaeological Museum the day before only to find that it now closes early due to Greece being dead-ass broke. So I went to the museum on my last morning and had to forgo my stops in Marathon and Thebes.

Instead I took the scenic route along the Aegean coast to Thermopylae, site of one of the most famous battles in Western history in 480 BC. In case you don’t remember the story, King Leonidas led 300 Spartan soldiers into battle against several hundred thousand invading Persian soldiers led by King Xerxes I. Clearly outnumbered and destined to die, the fearless Spartans held their ground and used the narrow passage between mountain and sea at Thermopylae to their advantage. After 3 days they were all dead, but they had succeeded in holding the Persians back long enough to give the city of Athens enough time to prepare for an eventual Greek victory. The story has been retold many times.

Geographically the site looks quite different today. The coastline has moved several miles out to sea so that the passage between mountain and water is far wider than it was at the time, making it difficult to appreciate the strategic nature of this strip of land. But there are still hot sulfur springs spewing their malodorous smoke across the landscape. It is because of these hot springs that Thermopylae—meaning “Hot Gates”—got its name; the ancient Greeks thought this was the entrance to Hades!

There is now a relatively modern and impressive monument on the site that was donated by the Greek-American community in the 1950s.

At the center is King Leonidas, with the simple inscription “ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ” (Molon lave). Before the battle at Thermopylae, Xerxes sent a messenger to the Spartans giving them the chance to surrender without a fight. When this messenger told Leonidas that Xerxes said to lay down their weapons, Leonidas’ response was “Tell him to come and get them”—“Μολον λαβε” in Greek.

And of course, there was a stray dog hanging about.

But I digress. Across the way from this modern memorial is the ancient burial mound where the remains of the 300 Spartans lie buried.

The stone atop the burial mound features the famous epitaph written by the ancient Simonides: “Stranger passing by, go tell the Spartans that here we lie, obedient to their laws.” The top of the burial mound offers impressive views both up to the mountains and down to the monument (which is near where the seashore would have been at the time).

I continued my drive up the twisting slopes of Mount Parnassus to Delphi where I spent the night. The Greeks considered Delphi to be the center of the world, and it became one of the most important centers of worship as a sacred site of Apollo starting around the 9th Century BC.

Although now in ruins, this place was once as spectacular as the setting. There was a huge temple to Apollo, inside of which burned an eternal flame and where the famed Oracle sat in a trance, predicting the future. All over the mountainside were small treasuries built by every outpost of the Greek empire. In order to secure the good fortune of Apollo, these municipalities would send magnificent riches to be stored as offerings in their treasuries. The site also featured everything needed for games and festivals, including a massive theater, gymnasium, stadium, hippodrome, and baths.

These are the remains of the once-mighty temple of Apollo. The Oracle was a priestess who sat in the center of the temple (to the right of the photo) over a spring where vapors escaped the earth. Entranced, she would rave—and her ravings were translated into elegant prose by the temple priests. She answered everything from important matters of public policy to personal affairs. It is now believed that the vapors might have been hallucinogenic, thus leading to her behavior.

A view of the full footprint of the Temple from higher up the hillside…

Outlines and random stones are all that remain of most treasuries—much of the site was destroyed by earthquakes and invaders in the first few centuries AD.

The Treasury of the city of Athens—built to commemorate their victory at the Battle of Marathon—has been put back together:

The stunning theater was built in the 4th Century BC and can seat 5000 spectators. It was placed high on the mountain to afford a view not only of the plays but also of the entire sanctuary and the valley below—on a clear day all the way to the Gulf of Corinth (which separates the mainland from the Peloponnese).

Now heading down the hill, there is a smaller sanctuary dedicated to Athena, with a partially reconstructed tholos (circular temple).

There are plenty of beautiful olive trees in the area.

There is something very cool when you see ancient Greek writing (which I can read but not understand)—just the thought that someone wrote this 2,500 years ago and I can still read it today.

Every major ancient Greek site also has an impressive museum where locally-found artifacts are stored. The most famous item in the museum at Delphi is a bronze statue called the “Charioteer of Delphi”, erected here in 474 BC to commemorate the victory of a chariot team in the Pythian Games, which were held at Delphi every four years. Although his left arm and the rest of the statue (which included 4 or 6 horses) are lost, what remains is impressive in its artisanship and detail, including copper details like the eyelashes and lips and the inlaid glass eyes that continue to stare hauntingly after 2,500 years.

Some of the offerings found in the treasuries:

This massive sphinx, an offering from the people of the island of Naxos, once stood high atop a column:

Some detail from a treasury:

So needless to say Thermopylae and Delphi were both rather thrilling ancient sites to visit, with a real sense of wonder and amazement to think of what once happened right where you are standing today. To finish this portion of the trip, I visited a slightly different site: the monastery of Osias Loukas, a Greek Orthodox church considered one of the finest examples of Middle Byzantine architecture, built about 1,000 years ago.

The entrance:

The courtyard:

Interior detail:

Now this is the thing with some Christian establishments. You’re walking around, minding your own business, enjoying the beauty and serenity, when—BAM!—they spring a dead guy on you!

In this case, the dead guy with the claw-like shriveled hand is Osias Loukas (Holy St. Luke) himself, a hermit who lived on this site prior to the building of the church in his honor. Before they decided to put him on display he was buried in the crypt below the sanctuary—you can still visit his original (but now empty) tomb:

So three very different sites in 2 days—not bad, but just the beginning.

Next up…Ancient Olympia. BUT BEFORE WE GO…A FEW PARTING SHOTS!

The public phone in Delphi. Communications here have fallen a looooooong way since the days of the Oracle.

I enjoyed the glassware at breakfast in my Delphi hotel.

And of course, some classy black-and-white shots.

Next stop, Olympia!