July 18 Epidaurus & Mycenae

 

After sliding quietly into Nafplion, we loaded our backpacks and water bottles and spent the next few hours on a Homeric exploration - ancient people and places came alive. First stop the Bronze Age city of Mycenae, the legendary home of Agamemnon - a walled citadel.  The Mycenaean culture dominated the Eastern Mediterranean from C15 to C12 BC. 

The lintel over the Lion Gate entrance weighed 20 tons

Entrance to the Mycaean citadel is through the imposing Lion Gate at the entrance. From there we explored a little of the acropolis including the granary. 

The granary

A little ray of sunshine - a species of cassia

One could have climbed higher in the citadel

A short distance away from the citadel was the remarkable Tholos (beehive-shaped) tomb that is thought to have been Agamemnon's, an identification that later excavations have called into question. It was fascinating nevertheless.

 The entry to the Beehive tomb is 32 m long. The tomb 3500 years old 

Heather and Lindsay for scale

Inside the tomb seemed vast

The pyramid-shaped holes over the doorways were intriguing. 

A smaller tomb off one side of the main chamber

About 40 km east of Nafplion, we visited Epidaurus which is home to the ancient Sanctuary of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. In addition to being a place of worship, the Sanctuary is the earliest known organized sanatorium and is often said to mark the beginning of a movement away from reliance on divine healing toward a science of medicine.  Close by is the C4 BC Theatre which when it was built was used in conjunction with the sanatorium to treat some ailments. The Theater seats 12,000 and is renowned for its architectural beauty and perfect acoustics. While we were there they were setting up for a performance - Classical Greek tragedies and comedies are hosted there each weekend during summer.  

Sanctuary of Asclepius

The Theatre - with production props

The amphitheatre

Close to the sanctuary of Asclepius is a stadium (181 m long). It was built in C4 BC and here they held athletic games every four years. You can still see the starting pillars and a number of the stone benches for spectators.

The whole day was a wonderful walk through history. Back on board we had two excellent historians engaged by the Smithsonian Institute. They brought so much of the ancient history of the region where we were travelling come to life.