On Wednesday morning at 7:30 am, my archaeology class boarded a charter bus and left for Olympia from the CYA academic center. The drive took most of the day; however, we did stop at a number of places along the way. After taking a short 20-minute break at the Isthmus of Corinth, we headed for Isthmia...an ancient sports complex that hosted the ancient Isthmian games. To be honest, this site was kind of lame...the main site was closed and from what I could see, not much was left in terms of archaeological remains. For some reason, my archaeology class was paired up with the Ancient Greek Athletics class for this trip...translation: our field trip became a "let's stop at every ancient Greek athletic site in the Peloponnese, even when the site looks like an unkempt field of brown grass and rocks" tour. That being said...each site we visited became progressively cooler as the trip went along.
After leaving Isthmia, we drove to Nemea - the site of the ancient Nemean games. This site is located in a beautiful mountainous valley. Something I was unaware of before - ancient sporting events were not just sporting events. The sites, in addition to including a series of tracks, wrestling rooms, and bathing complexes, also included temples, sanctuaries, and homes for priests and priestesses. Sporting events were intimately connected to religious festivities and services. Many also served as cultural centers...poetry and music competitions were frequently held alongside athletic events. We spent about 2 hours wandering around Nemea, ate a picnic lunch, and then boarded the bus to continue our journey to Olympia. On the way to the ancient site we made one last stop at a a gorgeous cliff-side village known as Langardia. It was quaint, quiet, and charming. The air was misty and the mountainous surroundings gave the town an illusive, mysterious feel. After grabbing some tea and snacks, we drove for another 2 hours until we reached the ancient town of Olympia. We checked into our hotel - Hotel Ilis - around 4 pm and had the rest of the evening free. After hanging out in our room and catching up on world news via CNN and the BBC, we headed out to find a taverna for dinner. The town of Olympia basically consists of one street. In other words...there is nothing there - just a string of touristy shops and overpriced restaurants. Nonetheless, after wandering a few blocks we grabbed dinner at a nice taverna and ate a ton of spaghetti. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.
On Thursday morning, we all got up early, ate a carbo-licious breakfast, and spent the rest of the day wandering around the ancient site of Olympia. Olympia was great. The site is huge - it consists of the famous tunnel/race track/stadium, the massive Temple of Zeus, treasuries, a monument built by Philip II of Macedonia as a dedication to himself, a wrestling room, a craft workshop, priest/priestess residences, bath complexes, and a number of other structures. Our archaeology professor walked us through the site - which was extremely helpful - and we concluded the morning by racing in the ancient Olympic stadium. After breaking for lunch, we headed to the archaeological museum; the museum was awesome...really cool artifacts. After wandering around the museum, I headed back to the archaeological site. The day was beautiful - the sun was shining and colorful flowers blanketed the ground throughout the site. I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the site, sitting on the grass, and daydreaming...trying to picture what it would have been like to be there in the past. That night we grabbed dinner at another overpriced taverna and then headed back to the hotel for the night.
Friday morning we loaded our luggage onto the bus and stopped at the museum of the Modern Olympics. After spending way too much time at this no-so-impressive exhibit, we boarded the bus for a 6-hour ride to the sanctuary at Delphi. The drive was beautiful. We drove through the town of Patras, crossed a bridge connecting Sterea Ellada with the Peloponnese, and then stopped for lunch in the town of Napfaktos. After eating, we drove for another 2 hours and finally arrived in gorgeous Delphi. That afternoon we toured the lower archaeological site and then had the rest of the evening free. Our hotel - Hotel Akropole - was AMAZING. Our balconies looked out over the mountainous valley and Sacred Grove.
Saturday morning we got up early and toured the upper archaeological site of Delphi. There were a number of monuments and buildings - the most prominent being the famous Temple of Apollo. This temple housed the seat of the Delphic Oracle. Apparently - I was unaware of this - the oracles were all young girls. They - the oracle at that time - would site in a cauldron tripod above a vent that released vaporous, intoxicating fumes. So...basically...all of the prophecies given were made while the oracle was in a semi-drunk state.
After visiting the site, we stopped at the museum for an hour and then boarded the bus to head home. On the way back to Athens, we stopped in the ski-village of Arahova and at a 11th century Byzantine monastery. We arrived back in Athens around 5:45 pm that evening. Overall - great trip.
Tomorrow is my last day of class for the week. Wednesday is Greek Independence Day and Thursday I leave for Northern Greece with my Ancient Macedon class.
That's all for now.
Jen
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