It's the holiday season, and that means vacationing! For those who are visiting Greece this year--or who are planning to visit it in the future--I would like to give you my top fifteen of sites to visit, things to do, and thing to see as a Hellenist visiting this beautiful country. Let's start the countdown and happy holidays!
15. Klaros
This was an ancient Hellenic sanctuary on the coast of Ionia, an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey. It contained a temple and oracle of Apollon, honoured here as Apollo Klarios, and was considered a very important centre of prophecy as in Delphi and Didyma. It may have dated back to the sixth or seventh century BC, and is perhaps even older. It was also the site of ancient games, held every five years.
Aristotle is one of the most famous Greek philosophers and scientists. He was born in Northern Greece in a town called Stagira, in 384 BC. He founded the Peripatetic School (Wandering School), an informal institution where members tried to answer difficult scientific and mostly philosophical questions. After Aristotle’s death, a legend travelled around Greece that he used to walk while teaching, mainly around Stagira. There are various paths for visitors to choose from, depending on difficulty and length, and there are paths for mountain biking also. In addition to the trail, the local community recently opened an Aristotle theme park.
The Athens Festival
institution, in collaboration with the Diazoma
association, have taken the initiative of opening 25 ancient Greek theatres
and archaeological sites to the public in order to promote the country’s
cultural heritage. Most are ancient Hellenic theatres will host various theatrical productions
during the summer. For an overview of the sites, go here.
12. Samothrake
Samothrake is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It was the home of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, site of important Hellenic and pre-Hellenic religious ceremonies. In ancient times, the site served as a worship area to Axieros, a deity related to Cybele and Demeter, Kadmilos, an ithyfallic deity identified with Hermes, and the Cabeiri, ithyfallic demons identified with the Dioskouroi. It was also the site of a Mystery Cult. Currently, the site houses some fo the treasures found at the site, in both a storehouses and a museum.
11. Naxos
Naxos is a Greek island, the largest island in the Cyclades island group in the Aegean. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. According to Hellenic mythology, young Zeus was raised in a cave on Mount Zas ('Zas' meaning 'Zeus'). It boasts ruins of a temple of Apollon, as well as one of Demeter, and it also has many beaches that draw heaps of tourists.
Built c. 330 BC over the remains of an earlier temple, the Temple of Zeus lies in the centre of the Sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea. The 9,240 square foot Temple played a significant role in the Nemea Games, one of the original Pan-Hellenic Games of Ancient Greece. It was before this Temple that, prior to the Nemea Games, the athletes would pay homage to the father of their gods, Zeus. The Temple’s construction included three Greek architectural forms, the Doric, the Corinthian, and the Ionic. 32 limestone columns each standing 42 feet tall, and composed of 13 cylindrical stones, called “drums”, each weighing approximately, 2.5 tons, surrounded the Temple of Zeus.
This is a local community within the regional unit of Messenia, and is located in the far south of modern Greece. Most of the area of Ancient Messene contains the ruins of the large classical city-state of Messene refounded by Epaminondas in 369 BC, after the battle of Leuctra and the first Theban invasion of the Peloponnese. The ancient city can be visited and is a major tourist attraction. In ancient times, it was founded by helots (Spartan slaves) running from Sparta. The defensive wall they built around the city to keep them out still exists in some places. The most important monuments of the archaeological site are the Asklepieion (see 7), the Temple of Poseidon, the Sanctuary of Demeter and the Dioskouroi, the stadium and gymnasium of Heroon where sons of noble families were trained, as well as the Theatre of Messeni, which has recently been cleared for a make-over.
8. The palace of Knossos
The palace of king Minos at Knossos is legendary because it was home to the minotaur who roamed the maze beneath it. In the myth, Theseus--a young, brave, hero--lets himself be amongst those who will be sacrificed to it, and with the help of Ariadne's string, is able to kill the minotaur and leave the maze again, unharmed. It's one of the myths that everyone knows. The palace in which the myth takes place, however, is less well known but equally impressive. It is an architectural marvel, which was incredibly ahead of its time. Even the ruins are impressive. Knossos was undeniably the capital of Minoan Crete. The ruins of the palace are located about twenty minutes south of the modern port town of Iraklio.
7. Epidaurus
Worship places of Asklēpiós were called 'asklepieia'. An
asklepieion served as a temple, a hospital, and as a
training-institute of the healing arts. The most famous of all the asklepieia
was located at Epidaurus, and large parts of it are preserved. The site is open
to visitors. In ancient Hellas, the sick would come to an asklepieion and offer
a sacrifice to Asklēpiós--amongst the recorded sacrifices are black goats or
sheep, gold, silver, or marble sculptures of the body part that required
healing, and coins--in hopes of healing. They would then settle into the abaton
or enkoimeterion, a restricted sleeping hall, which was
occupied by the sick alone, or sometimes by a group of them, as well as a good
few snakes.
Epidaurus also boasts a famous theatre. It's was--and is--a huge theatre, seating 15.000 people. The theatre was designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC. In the time of the Hellens, the theatre had thirty-four rows. Another twenty-two were added in the time of the Romans. While there were many theatres in ancient Hellas, the theatre of Epidaurus is famous for its perfect acoustics. Even today, you can hear a match being struck on the stage from any point in the theatre. For a limestone construction that's 2400 years old, that's pretty impressive.
6. Olympia
A sanctuary located in Elis, known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times. The sanctuary consists of an unordered arrangement of various buildings including the Temple of Hera, the Temple of Zeus, the Pelopion (the alleged tomb of Pelops) and the area of the altar where the sacrifices were made. The hippodrome (a stadium for horse racing and chariot racing) and later stadium were also nearby. The Prytaneion (the building where the officials and winners of the Olympic games mets) and the Philippeion (an Ionic circular memorial) are located to the north of the sanctuary, as well as the array of treasuries representing the various city states. In Ancient Hellas, Olympia was sacred ground to the Greeks.
5. Kórinthos
Kórinthos, or Corinth, is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about 78 kilometres (48 miles) southwest of Athens. Ancient Kórinthos was a city-state (polis) on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece, roughly halfway between Athens and Sparta. The modern town of Corinth is located approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) northeast of the ancient ruins. Ancient Corinth was one of the largest and most important cities of Greece, with a population of 90,000 in 400 BC. After the Romans built a new city in its place and made it the provincial capital of Greece in 44 BC, the city population was between 100,000 to 700,000 according to different sources. It boasts many museums filled to the brim with findings from various ancient sites, and boasts the 'Acrocorinthis', the acropolis of ancient Corinth, two ports, a converted a temple to Aphrodite, a temple of Apollon, and many, many, other site to visit.
4. Delos
The island of Delos near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. Investigation of ancient stone huts found on the island indicate that it has been inhabited since the 3rd century BC. By the time of the Odyssey the island was already famous as the birthplace of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis. Between 900 BC and AD 100, sacred Delos was a major cult centre where Dionysus is also in evidence as well as the Titaness Leto, mother of the divine twins. Eventually acquiring Panhellenic religious significance, Delos was initially a religious pilgrimage for the Ionians. The island houses the Temple of the Delians (Apollon and Artemis), the famous Terrace of the Lions, several market squares, the Temple of Hera, the House of Dionysus', and much, much, more.
3. Eleusis
The temple complex at Eleusis was one of the most elaborate and widely used
sanctuaries around in ancient Hellas. It was the home of the Eleusinian Mysteries, and thus served as the cult's sanctuary. The Mysteries had festivals throughout the year,
which were tied to agriculture through Demeter'srefusal
to perform her duties as an agricultural Theia while her daughter Persephone
is with Hades, and to the afterlife and Underworld through Persephone's return
to the surface of the earth after Her mandatory stay with Hades has
ended. Initiation ceremonies were held every year at Eleusis. Of all the
mysteries celebrated in ancient times, the mysteries at Eleusis are assumed to
be of great importance to a large portion of the ancient Hellens. The cult
itself likely has origins dating back to the Mycenean period of around 1600 to
1100 BC, and it is believed that the cult of Demeter Herself was established in
1500 BC.
2. Athens
Athens is a sprawling city established among seven historic hills and surrounded by remarkable mountains. Inhabited for more than 3,000 years, Athens is widely known as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy. As the largest and capital city of Greece, Athens is also the political, commercial, financial and cultural centre of Greece. It boasts a great variety of sites for the Hellenistic tourist to visit, from the Acropolis, to the New Acropolis Museum, to the National Archaeological Museum, to the temple of Olympian Zeus, to Aristotle’s lyceum,and much, much, more. The Acropolis boasts the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike, and the The 'Lyceum' was a gymnasium and before that a public meeting place in a grove
of trees in Classical Athens. It was named in honour of Apollo Lyceus. Though
best known for its connection with Aristotle, the Lyceum was in existence long
before his founding the school there in 334 / 335 BCE, providing a teaching
ground for long list of philosophers and sophists, including Prodicus of Ceos,
Protagoras, Isocrates, Plato, and Socrates.
1. Delphi
The number one always had to be Delphi. The Delphi complex held the temple of Apollon, the Amphictyonic Council (a
council of representatives from six Greek tribes that controlled Delphi and also
the sports events), various treasuries where the votive offerings to Apollon
and/or the oracle were stored, the altar of the Chians (the main altar, located
in front of the temple of Apollon, funded by the people of Chios, the stoa of
the Athenians (A series of seven futed columns, used to house Athenian war
trophies and collect the stories of freed slaves), Sibyl rock (the rock where
the prophet Sibyl sat to deliver her prophecies), a theatre, the Tholos (the
sanctuary of Athena Pronaia), a gymnasium, a stadium, the Hippodrome (where the
running events took place), the Polygonal wall, the Castalian spring, and a
large variety of athletic statues. The complex was also the site of one of the Panhellenic
Games.
The site was at the epicenter of important travel routes; the road leading from
northeastern and eastern Hellas to the plain of Amfissa--where it met the road
joining northern Hellas with Naupactus--passed through Delphi. From the beach of
Itea, it was easy to pass to nearby Peloponnesus. This not only made Delphi an
important religious site, but a commercial one, and it was one of the major keys
to its success.
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