We departed from Nafplion for a day of adventures. We started in Tiryns, which is a Mycenaean citadel that Homer called "well-walled." There are massive walls (our guide told that the Greeks thought only giants known at Cyclops could have placed these huge walls) and lots of climbing to get to the top to see storage galleries and chambers. What had the attention of some is that just as we arrived she told us it was the time of year when the "snakes awaken" so "please do not move any rocks." Yikes!
After our visit to Tiryns, w,e moved to to Mycenae. According to Homer, King Agamemnon of Mycenae was the most powerful Greek leader at the time of the time of the Trojan War. According to Homer, it was King Agamemnon who led the Greeks from Mycenae (which he called "rich in gold") to Troy around 1250 B.C. There the Greeks fought for 10 years to reclaim Helen, the wife of Agamemnon's brother Menalaus, from her seducer, the Trojan prince Paris. While we generally refer to Hele
n at Helen of Troy, in Greece, they refer to her as "Helen the Beautiful." [At this point in the day, BOTH of camera batteries lost power, so I don't have many pictures from today. sad face]
n at Helen of Troy, in Greece, they refer to her as "Helen the Beautiful." [At this point in the day, BOTH of camera batteries lost power, so I don't have many pictures from today. sad face]After another good climb up and down at Mycenae, we stopped on the way at the Beehive Tomb. It was it says, a tomb that looks like a giant beehive. It is really impressive.
From there we moved on to lunch. The food here is fantastic. Many of us at our table had lamb that was roasted on a spit. It literally fell off the bone. I wish we could find lamb like this in the States, but . . . . One fun part of lunch occurred when the alums with whom I was sitting began asking about some of the current students on the trip. Now, I should mention that these alums are from the FIRST class of honors students who graduated in 1981. Ther were dumbstruck to learn that one of the students on the trip is the offspring of one of the students who was in the Honors Program during their era!
Once lunch was over, we moved on for another adventure and visited the amphitheatre at Epidaurus. Epidaurus claims to have the best accoutiscs in the entire world. Many tourists attempted to test it by getting up and singing and performing all sorts of things. Candidly, some were better than others. UHON's own John Moser, however, was one of the best when he got up and performed one of the first poetry readings he ever did. We all loved it! The theatre was built in the 4th century and seats about 14,000 people. Tony and I climbed to the top and took in a breathtaking view.
After all the climbing, we arrived back at the hotel and I fell asleep. Tony took a run, and many went out for dinner, but I just fell asleep. I am now up before everyone this morning blogging before breakfast. It is about 5:30 am here, and we have another big day ahead of us. We have loved hearing from everyone. All the students and staff are well. The weather was actually chilly yesterday, and we are expectiong a bit of rain today, but nothing bad.
On a personal note, Mark, I am glad your mother's procedure went well.
Joanie
How do the ruins in Greece compare with Turkey?
ReplyDeleteMark, the ruins in Greece are very similar to the ruins in Turkey. In fact, in many instances, the Turks have in some way contributed to the ancient structures here in Greece. As you may be aware, the Greeks and the Turks have a long and interesting history of love and war.
ReplyDelete