When you walk up the steps to reach the top of the Athens Acropolis, one of the first things you see are the six caryatids who support the porch of the Erechtheum. There is so much detail in these old pieces of marble,
Not much of the pediment remains still attached to the Parthenon. Some pieces are in museums in Athens and others, known as the Elgin marbles, in the British Museum in London. The huge statue of Athena, which was situated in the center of the structure, is long gone, but it must have all been a wonder to see.
Every two hours there is a changing of the guards in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers which takes place in front of the old royal palace at Syntagma Square in Athens.
The guards, called Evzones, are chosen for their height (tall) and ability to balance on one foot. I had to stop and watch this on every trip I took to Athens and never saw one soldier make a wrong move.
On our last trip to the Greek Peloponnese, we stayed in a house that overlooked Nea Epidavros which was our home base as we explored the southern part of the Greek mainland. The town was built by this cove which is not visible from the sea so that it was protected from pirates.
We had a great view of the town, the sea and orange groves that were blooming and filled the house with a wonderful scent. On this particular trip we were accompanied with Ric Spiegel, Mary Collins and Becky Jones.
It was early May and still a bit too cool to swim. This is Becky working on her sketch book and journal.
We met Mike, who owned the town bakery. He became our best Greek friend while we stayed in Nea Epidavros. He said he learned English by listening to our music.
One of Mike's friends showing off her grandson.
The tall Greek in the center is Spyros Petrounakos, a Greek archeologist, who walked us around ancient Epidavros while giving us a history lesson. It's a long story but he spent the day with us as a favor for a person who owed us an even bigger favor. When we offered to pay him he refused and said it wasn't necessary. His wife, also an archeologist, was on a dig on Crete.
The Sanctuary of Asklepios in Epidavros is mostly known for its 2,000 year old theatre, famous for its acoustics and seating capacity of 12,000 where the Classical Greek plays were performed. A performer speaking in a normal tone can be heard at the top of the theater. The sanctuary was not a city but rather a healing center for the ancient Greeks. It had a hospital and surgery rooms, hot and cold baths, temples, gardens, a stadium and the theater. It was the first medical center of the classical era. Pretty much all that remains now is the theater which is still the site of an annual music, dance and theater festival.
The often photographed Lion's Gate of ancient Mycenae. The stones used for the fortress walls were so large the ancient Greeks thought only gods could have moved them there.
The Tomb of Agamemnon is a large tholos, or beehive tomb, at Mycenae. It was built about 1250 BC. Other tholos have been discovered at Mycenae, but none as large as this one. There is no proof of who was buried in the tomb but incredible treasures were discovered here and are now in the Athen's archeological museum.
The death mask of Agamemnon discovered at Mycenae is now in the National Archeological Museum in Athens. This mask and the Minoan frescoes in the museum are my favorite things among all the other incredible treasures. I have a photo of the mask, but this is from the museum website and is better than the one I took.
I'm looking down over the ruins of old Mycenae. In the second century BC, Mycenae was one of the major centers of the Greek civilization. It was a military stronghold that dominated much of southern Greece, Crete, the Cyclades and parts of southwest Anatolia. The Mycenaeans replaced the Minoans as the rulers of the Aegean. At its peak in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000. This was also the period that inspired the stories about Helen of Troy.
This tombstone in the Kalavryta cemetery shows four male members from the same family who were executed by the Germans. Note the ages. There are many other tombstones all marked with the date, 13 December 1943.
We took a train trip through beautiful countryside to the town of Kalavryta. The town's story isn't as nice. As punishment for killing German soldiers, the German army executed 438 men and boys from this town. The women and young girls were locked in a school which was set on fire. Fortunately they were able to escape. This memorial is called the Place of Sacrifice.
Mykonos windmills from a 1967 photograph. It was a nice place to visit then known mainly for its nude beaches, a rarity at that time in Greece.
Kathy and I walked in this shop and spent some time talking to this young couple. They invited us to their house that evening for a meal. This was so typical of Greek hospitality.
Kathy and I visited Mykonos in 1978 and tourism was already beginning to build, but it was still a nice place to visit. Nowadays it's know as one of the party islands. I'm glad we got to see it in an earlier time.
Rhodes is another Greek island that used to be nice to visit before it was discovered by thousands of tourists. This is Lindos and its acropolis. Like many Greek islands, the fortress here has been occupied in succession by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Knights of St. John, the Ottomans and the Germans before Greece regained its independence.
The Knights Hospitaller occupied Rhodes and other Greek islands in 1309. This fortress in the city of Rhodes was their administrative center and palace of their Grand Master. It was captured by the Ottoman Turks in 1522.
Inside the knight's fortress.
All that remains of the Temple of Athena in Lindos on Rhodes. Near here were the German gun placements that were the basis for the movie, The Guns of Navarone.
Greek monastery near Sparta.
When driving in Greece you occasionally pass these roadside shrines called kandylakia. You'll hear that they mark the spot of an auto fatality. Although some do, a Greek told me most indicate a miracle or that there is a church nearby. Others are put up by families to show their faith.
If you're in the southeastern corner of the Greek Peloponnese and you're hungry, you take a ten-minute ferry ride to the small island of Poros for a nice meal. Just something different to do.
Napflion is one of nicest cities in Greece. We have stayed here before while exploring the Peloponnese. We just took a day trip this time to shop and eat since Ric and Mary had never been here.
Napflion has a number of nice shops that allow you to spend whatever your budget allows.
But the real reason we came here was to eat. The cafes and restaurants have Greek food fixed in interesting ways.
This was just little lunch snack to tide us over until the evening.
These were so good. Rice and meat wrapped in grape leaves with a very special sauce.
The Corinth Canal runs through the Isthmus of Corinth, which divides northern and southern Greece. Corinth was a great city in classical times but sadly not much of the old buildings survive today. The canal was built, or carved out of stone, in 1893 so ships wouldn't have to sail around the tip of Greece to reach the Aegean. It's a bit narrow for many modern ships.
