Μυκήνες και την Επίδαυρο (Mycenae and Epidaurus)

Yesterday was a very, very long day. 

We had to be in Athens by 8:30 AM in order to get on the bus for our 10 – hour tour of two Greek archaeological sites: The ancient city of Mycenae and the amphitheatre at Epidaurus.  In order to do this we had to wake up a little after 5 AM, walk 10 minutes to the bus stop, and wait 30 minutes for the bus to the Pallini metro station.  At 7:15 or so we had finally made it to the metro station where we oriented ourselves (with a little help from a friendly Greek citizen) and hopped on the metro to Athens.  Luckily, the metro signs and announcements are all in Greek and English, which make them very user-friendly.  We have to travel about 10 stops and the closer we got to Syntagma Square (our stop) the more crowded the metro got.  I guess we got to experience the joy of rush hour on the subway first hand!  However the trip went quickly and we finally made it to our pick up station at Hotel Amalia (!!! It’s pronounced very similarly to my name.  Apparently Amalia was a queen in Greece in the 19^th century.  Sounds about right to me!) a little after 8 AM – that’s almost two hours of travel just to get to Athens! 

We grabbed some coffee and breakfast at a street-side café next to the hotel and waited for our bus to leave.  By 9 AM we were on our way!  We had a very nice, very informative guide named Stephanie and a driver named Mr. George.  The first portion of the drive took us by some prominent Athenian sites such as the Parliament Building, the National Library, the Arch of Hadrian, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.  After an hour or so we stopped at the Korinth Canal that separates the main part of Greece to the Peloponesian Peninsula in the southeast.   The canal was very deep, but its narrowness prevents it from being used very often for commercial purposes due to the size of ships today.  Nearby was the archaeological site of the ancient city of Korinth.  This was the location of the Cult of Aphrodite (there were some suggestive souvenirs in the gift shops!) as well as one of the places where the apostle Paul preached Christianity.  Many of his correspondences with the people of Korinth (Corinthians) are found in the Bible. 

We got back on the bus and rode for another hour to reach Mycenae.  We reached the city at about noon and I was so excited to get out to see the ruins that I forgot to put on sunscreen!  This was a major mistake because it was very, very hot and there was very little shade.  I managed to hop between shady areas and see the site at the same time, so I didn’t get too sunburnt.  Don’t worry - I put sunscreen on as soon as we got back to the bus!  The city of Mycenae is interesting because it is one of the places featured in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad.  In the story Agamemnon is the king of the Mycenaeans and is one of the most powerful kings in Greece.  When his brother’s wife, Helen, ran away with the Prince of Troy, Agamemnon assisted his brother in waging war on the neighboring civilization.  Unfortunately, this is all still considered a myth.  However, sites such as Mycenae help to prove that Homer’s stories are based in fact.  Also, the city holds the earliest example of monumental carvings above the entrance to the city.  This entrance is called “The Lion’s Gate” and you can see the influence of the Egyptians on the Mycenaeans in the way the lions are facing each other.

Then we went to see the inside of a beehive style tomb that was located only five minutes away.  This is known as the Tomb of Atreus – named so after the mythological King of Mycenae and father of Agamemnon.  The tomb was made entirely of huge blocks of marble and was almost 15 meters (50 feet) tall.  Unfortunately, due most likely to the ostentatious nature of the construction, there were very few treasures found inside this tomb.  However, many treasures were found in the tombs of Mycenae and are now housed in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

After the tomb we had a quick lunch break at a different Hotel Amalia (apparently it is a chain in Greece).  The hotel was very glamourous and the food was delicious!  When we were all stuffed, we got back on the bus to head to the seaside town of Nafplion.  There were some stunning views and we were able to see some old fortresses from a distance.  Last, but certainly not least, we visited the ancient site of Epidaurus.  This area is thought to be the birthpace of Apollo’s son Asclepius who was a renowned healer.  As such, Epidaurus was a very important center of healing in Ancient Greece.  The Greeks had a holistic view of health, and believed in treating both the mind and the body.  Due to this, an amphitheatre was constructed for both patients and visitors to enjoy.  The amphitheatre at Epidaurus is mostly intact and has some of the most impressive acoustics in the world. In fact, the theatre is still in use today and they have no need for microphones!

Finally, it was time to head back to Athens.  It took two hours to reach Hotel Amalia and
another hour to reach the Pallini metro station.  Then we ended up waiting for over an hour for the bus to take us back to the Golden Coast Hotel – but it never came!  Finally, we gave up and grabbed a taxi.  We finally made it back to our room at about 9:30 to get dinner.  Talk about a long day!  Today we have another tour, but it is only a half day in the afternoon.  I don’t have time to post this today, so I will probably put two posts up on Saturday.

Amelia