Greece is Great!
Jan Migenda
— 0 Personen folgen dem Autor
In 2016, I did a guided tour through Greece with a group of Irish students! From Athens to Sparta and more ... enjoy lots of history!
-
![Griechenland]()
Eleusis
Eleusis (today Elefsina, close to Athens) was an important cultic place as the secret rites of the fertility goddess Demeter took place here. The ruins of the temple are still impressive ... surely they were great! This relief on a sarcophagus depicts a wild hunt in...
-
![Korinth]()
Corinth Museum
Corinth has a very long and rich history ... its remains are to be found in a museum. Clay figures of goddesses show the precise working of the mantles: You can see the layers very well! Some more figurines bones used as dice and flutes complement the scenery. This...
-
![Korinth]()
Corinth
Corinth was a flourishing cosmopolitan city; a former ally of Sparta, it became a Roman colony and survived the turbulent medieval and early modern times. Famous people associated with the city are Periander (a sage), Diogenes (a cynic philosopher) and St Paul (see...
-
![Mykonos]()
Mycenae Museum
Mycenae Museum The museum of Mycene contained lots of gold, as it was a centre of power and wealth: Swords, cups, jewelry and the famous mask of Agamemnon (a replica? ). Interesting to see clay figurines with movable joints, like modern theatre puppets! These women...
-
![Mykonos]()
Mycenae - Home of Agamemnon and Nestor from Homer's "Iliad"
Mycene was an archaic centre of power and wealth flourishing from 1600 to 1100 BC. It was allegedly founded by the hero and demigod Perseus who killed the Medusa, and Agamemnon who waged war against Troy (see Homer's "Iliad") was king here. The thick walls and small...
-
![Griechenland]()
Tiryns
Still on the Peloponnes, we found a forgotten centre of Mycenean culture: Tiryns! A ring fortress on a hill, the thick walls show the former importance of the place: It was larger than the Acropolis of Athens! At the very top lies a sacred place with a small path...
-
![Navplion]()
Nafplio
Continuing our trip through the Peloponnes, we also saw Nafplio (Navplion), a small town which was more important only in Byzantine times and in 1825 when the first Greek Parlament convened there. Near the coast, I could take one of my best photos ever from the entire...
-
![Griechenland]()
Epidauros Museum
The museum in Epidauros gave us some more insight into how the ancient priests/doctors worked and what they used to treat the patients. This relief shows the treatment of a wounded arm and a patient laying down while a snake (a symbol of the god) snuggles up to him...
-
![Griechenland]()
Epidauros
Epidauros is a UNESCO world heritage site on the Peloponnes. It is famous as a sanctuary to Asklepios, the god of healing. The archeological site shows the following buildings: The gymnasion (sports complex) was used for therapeutical purposes. In its centre stands a...
-
![Griechenland]()
Nemea Museum
Nemea not only had the temple and stadium from my last post, but also a small museum honouring the games. This awesome speech/quote was to be found near the entrance, clearly visible for every visitor. These archaic figurines in clay represent women, one of them with...
-
![Griechenland]()
Lerna + Nemea
As you might already know, Greece is full of ancient legends. Sometimes they explain great events of history ... ana example can be found here: Lerna is a place where a palace from the Early Helladic Period, the so-called "House of Tiles", stands. Also, there have been...
-
![Sparta]()
Sparta
Finally ... THIS. IS. SPARTAAAA! Yes, we arrived in this former military centre of Greece which played an extremely important role during the Persian invasions. Lykourgos counts as a famous commander, and also the rigorous physical education is still famous, as many...
-
![Griechenland]()
Mystras 2
In many churches of Mystras, there were Byzantine frescoes with stories of saints depicted in vivid colours, unfortunately a bit bleached over time, but hey, who are we to complain about such works of art? The churches had a clearly Orthodox style with round arches;...
-
![Griechenland]()
Mystras
So we were on our way to Sparta when we passed a ruined city with the remains of a great castle on a hilltop: Mystras. Climbing the hill was a bit of work, but the view over the landscape was rewarding, as you can see! The story of the castle begins in the early 13th...
-
![Griechenland]()
Messene Museum
Just as if we had not already seen enough musea, we also had to enter the Archeological Museum of Messene. Actually, every museum shows something new, so no time is wasted on repeating stuff! First, there were some elaborate flint arrowheads on display ... we may label...
-
![Griechenland]()
Bassae and Messene
After seeing so many artifacts, marble inscriptions and statues of Zeus, Venus and Augustus et cetera it was time to go outside again: We saw the Temple of Apollon in Bassae, UNESCO world heritage site, and arrived in Messene. The thick city walls defended the city in...
-
![Olimpia]()
Olympia Museum 2: Highlights
This is the second part of the Archeological Museum of Olympia! A rare find enriches the collection: The helmet of Miltiades! (It is signed hence we know it is this one.) Miltiades was a famous well-educated general who played a crucial role in beating the Persians at...
-
![Olimpia]()
Olympia Museum
Besides the temples and the famous stadium, Olympia also has a museum which we saw (of course). These small horse figures made from clay, bronze or iron were votive gifts to make the preferred party win. Over all the years, many of them were accumulated. Here, another...
-
![Olimpia]()
Olympia 2
The areal of Olympia is actually quite big: The gymnasion, palestra and many temples cover much space. You see the remains of the columns ... what's missing is also the roof and the paint. The most famous temple in Olympia, the Temple of Zeus, hosted a statue of Zeus...
-
![Olimpia]()
Olympia
We left the sacred site of Delphi for Olympia, not without seeing something less sacred in town: These condoms with 3D imprints of original ancient erotic scenes found on ceramics. A great souvenir ... with something similar, I won the "best/worst souvenir contest" our...
