Mycenae - Epidaurus
On Thursday, May 30th, our class took a day trip to see various historical sights found outside of the city of Athens. Our day tour brought us to the Corinthian Canal, the ancient Citadel of Mycenae, and finally Epidaurus: the Sanctuary of Asclepeios.
After about an hour of driving, our group made its first stop at the Corinth Canal. The Canal is truly breathtaking, and for a person with a fear of heights, I have to say I was slightly nervous standing on the bridge, only looking over the railing once. At 8 meters deep, 22 meters wide (at the bottom), 90 meters high, and a whopping 6,343 meters long, the canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland.
A construction of such a canal was initially proposed in classical times, with the dream of connecting the two seas and avoiding the long trek around the Peloponnese. The canal was finally completed in 1893, but unfortunately it is too narrow for modern ships to go through, and is largely unused for its intended purpose. However, one of Greece's main industries, other than shipping, is tourism, and several companies offer tours through the canal. Tourists can also get a great view of the canal from the bridge, like we did, and bungee jumping is also an activity offered in the canal.
The second stop of the day brought us to the Citadel of Mycenae and the Tomb
of King Agamemnon. Much of the Citadel was constructed between 1350 and 1200 BC, and consited of 900 meters of Cyclopion fortification walls, whose stones are made of fossils from ancient quarries. It was 300,000 square meters, and was home to the King, Queen. The Lion Gate was the main entrance to the citadel, and for fortification reasons it was the only entrance for a long time. The gate has a 13 ton stone above the doorway, on top of which two lions are depicted standing on an alter, hence the name 'Lion Gate.'
According to our Guide, Angelos, the Mycenaeans were warlike people, and they were farmers. The region where it is located is one of the most agriculturally prosperous in the country of Greece, and even today it is used intensively for agriculture. The Mycenaeans harvested many olive trees, and exported lots of olive oil to the Afghanistan region. This might explain why the Mycenaeans were the first to bring the chariot from the middle east.
One of the first things we saw inside of the Citadel was a large burial site. The Mycenaeans did not use cremation, so they would bury the bodies of the dead on top of one another, in the same spot over time, to celebrate their common ancestors. Archaeologists uncovered 19 skeletons in this one burial site, along with 14 Kilos of gold, and a mask which could have belonged to Agamemnon. This is where the royalty were buried, often gilded with golden leaves when they were laid to rest. Inside of the Citadel wall were also lots of storage areas for the agriculture, which was the main driver of the economy. Additionally, there were several workshops which were used to build weaponry, but as Angelos noted, they would not use heavy metals. At the top of the Citadel there was the palace, which unfortunately was not well preserved.
From the top of the hill, where the palace used to be, there is a great view of the mountains across the valley. On one of the Mountains Agamemnon is depicted, whose protruding nose is one of the mountain peaks, and the rest of his body laying to the right. Obviously this is not really Agamemnon, but it is worth noting because the Mycenaeans may have believed it was.
The North side of Citadel had a second gate for emergencies, and a spring, which lead to the construction of and underground cistern to collect water from the natural spring. The houses of Mycenae were located outside the walls of the Citadel, but the citizens were allowed to come inside the walls of the Citadel in case of Emergency.
Just up the road from the Citadel of Mycenae is the tomb of Agamemnon. It is the first monumental grave in ancient Greece, and is in a beehive shape. The stone at the top of the entrance far surpasses that of the Lion Gate, weighing in at 130 tons.
When I walked into the tomb I immediately noticed the drop in temperature, as well as a musty smell. The next thing I noticed was the acoustics of the tomb. If you stand at the wall of the tomb and make a noise, almost no echo is created. But as you move towards the center of the tomb, the echo becomes more and more prominent. Lastly, there was some black char on the walls, which apparently was created by shepherds lighting fires in the tomb.
The final stop of the day brought us to Epidaurus: the Sanctuary of Asclepeios, ancient god of healing. This is one of the best preserved ancient theaters in all of Greece, and was truly a site to behold. The ancients believed that when you heal your body, you heal your soul, and so the theater was also located next to a sauna. The theater, however, is where people would come to heal their souls. Plays were held here once a year for five days, and it was a celebration that was free for the public to attend. They were funded by beneficiaries, where one lucky (or unlucky) wealthy citizen would be chosen at random to fund the entire thing. Most of the plays were tragedies connected with mythology. Early on, the plays were centered around the gods, then in the middle of the 5th century BC it was a willing of the gods and humans, and finally it became centered around the faults of humans. There were also satirical plays consisting of political comedy and commentary. The theater had 3 gates: those coming from the farmlands would use the East entrance; those coming from the ports would use the West entrance; and those coming from the palace would use the central entrance.
The theater is well known for its acoustics, and this was very apparent upon entering the theater. The material of the theater absorbs acoustic waves and reproduces them. Our guide, Angelos, had us stand in the center of the stage while he walked around to and from the center, continuously clapping. It sounded almost the same no matter how close or how far he clapped from us. When we had free time I climbed to the very top row of the theater. There was a remarkable view of the surrounding terrain from up there, and I can only imagine how amazing it would have been to watch a play in ancient times. From the top row I was also able to clearly hear a professor lecturing at the very bottom, who was talking at an inside voice. I also realized that I could pick up on almost any conversation happening in the stadium, no matter how far away it was happening. This was a great way to end the day, and I will never forget how beautiful it was to sit up there and take it all in.
After about an hour of driving, our group made its first stop at the Corinth Canal. The Canal is truly breathtaking, and for a person with a fear of heights, I have to say I was slightly nervous standing on the bridge, only looking over the railing once. At 8 meters deep, 22 meters wide (at the bottom), 90 meters high, and a whopping 6,343 meters long, the canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland.
A construction of such a canal was initially proposed in classical times, with the dream of connecting the two seas and avoiding the long trek around the Peloponnese. The canal was finally completed in 1893, but unfortunately it is too narrow for modern ships to go through, and is largely unused for its intended purpose. However, one of Greece's main industries, other than shipping, is tourism, and several companies offer tours through the canal. Tourists can also get a great view of the canal from the bridge, like we did, and bungee jumping is also an activity offered in the canal.
The second stop of the day brought us to the Citadel of Mycenae and the Tomb
of King Agamemnon. Much of the Citadel was constructed between 1350 and 1200 BC, and consited of 900 meters of Cyclopion fortification walls, whose stones are made of fossils from ancient quarries. It was 300,000 square meters, and was home to the King, Queen. The Lion Gate was the main entrance to the citadel, and for fortification reasons it was the only entrance for a long time. The gate has a 13 ton stone above the doorway, on top of which two lions are depicted standing on an alter, hence the name 'Lion Gate.'
According to our Guide, Angelos, the Mycenaeans were warlike people, and they were farmers. The region where it is located is one of the most agriculturally prosperous in the country of Greece, and even today it is used intensively for agriculture. The Mycenaeans harvested many olive trees, and exported lots of olive oil to the Afghanistan region. This might explain why the Mycenaeans were the first to bring the chariot from the middle east.
One of the first things we saw inside of the Citadel was a large burial site. The Mycenaeans did not use cremation, so they would bury the bodies of the dead on top of one another, in the same spot over time, to celebrate their common ancestors. Archaeologists uncovered 19 skeletons in this one burial site, along with 14 Kilos of gold, and a mask which could have belonged to Agamemnon. This is where the royalty were buried, often gilded with golden leaves when they were laid to rest. Inside of the Citadel wall were also lots of storage areas for the agriculture, which was the main driver of the economy. Additionally, there were several workshops which were used to build weaponry, but as Angelos noted, they would not use heavy metals. At the top of the Citadel there was the palace, which unfortunately was not well preserved.
From the top of the hill, where the palace used to be, there is a great view of the mountains across the valley. On one of the Mountains Agamemnon is depicted, whose protruding nose is one of the mountain peaks, and the rest of his body laying to the right. Obviously this is not really Agamemnon, but it is worth noting because the Mycenaeans may have believed it was.
The North side of Citadel had a second gate for emergencies, and a spring, which lead to the construction of and underground cistern to collect water from the natural spring. The houses of Mycenae were located outside the walls of the Citadel, but the citizens were allowed to come inside the walls of the Citadel in case of Emergency.
Just up the road from the Citadel of Mycenae is the tomb of Agamemnon. It is the first monumental grave in ancient Greece, and is in a beehive shape. The stone at the top of the entrance far surpasses that of the Lion Gate, weighing in at 130 tons.
When I walked into the tomb I immediately noticed the drop in temperature, as well as a musty smell. The next thing I noticed was the acoustics of the tomb. If you stand at the wall of the tomb and make a noise, almost no echo is created. But as you move towards the center of the tomb, the echo becomes more and more prominent. Lastly, there was some black char on the walls, which apparently was created by shepherds lighting fires in the tomb.
The theater is well known for its acoustics, and this was very apparent upon entering the theater. The material of the theater absorbs acoustic waves and reproduces them. Our guide, Angelos, had us stand in the center of the stage while he walked around to and from the center, continuously clapping. It sounded almost the same no matter how close or how far he clapped from us. When we had free time I climbed to the very top row of the theater. There was a remarkable view of the surrounding terrain from up there, and I can only imagine how amazing it would have been to watch a play in ancient times. From the top row I was also able to clearly hear a professor lecturing at the very bottom, who was talking at an inside voice. I also realized that I could pick up on almost any conversation happening in the stadium, no matter how far away it was happening. This was a great way to end the day, and I will never forget how beautiful it was to sit up there and take it all in.
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