Mycenae... Nemea.... Mystras... OH MY!

Every semester, CYA/DIKEMES holds faculty guided field trips to the Peloponnese, Delphi, and Northern Greece, in order to give students the chance to have lessons on site of many of the locations in which we study. The first was a five day trip is to the Peloponnese, Tuesday to Saturday, in which we cover the Eastern and Southern Coast of the Peloponnese.

Tuesday morning we left for the Peloponnese from Athens, and stopped shortly at the Corinthian Canal, where we were able to walk across the bridge connecting "mainland" Greece and the Peloponnese. The canal is four miles long and seventy feet wide at the bottom. From ground level to sea level (at which the canal was cut, removing the need of locks) is 250 feet, and the water depth is 26 feet deep.While the canal was proposed during ancient times, construction of the final canal didn't occur until 1881. Unfortunately, between the time that construction on the canal began and the time that the canal opened, cargo ships radically changed and the canal no longer is able to accommodate the size modern ships. The canal did, however, separate the Peloponnese from the mainland, essentially making it an island.

Corinthian Canal

Our first official stop was to the Bronze Age settlement of Mycenae, which is known for its famous tombs and the legendary hero Agamemnon. Mycenae is the cradle of Greek civilization, dating from 1400 B.C. to 1150 B.C. and is crucial to our understanding of Bronze Age Greece (think Trojan War period). The most exciting aspect of the archeological remains of Mycenae are the giant Tholos tombs, which are bee-hived shaped burial mounds that were built into the existing landscape. The most famous and well preserved of these Tholos tombs is the Treasury of Atreus, which was named by Heinrich Schliemann after the legendary father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. These Tholos tombs combine post and lintel construction with corbel vaulting to create large tombs with haunting acoustics. These are incredible structures of engineering that have (mostly) remained structurally sound for over three thousand years.

Treasury of Atreus

Internal Corbel Vaulting

Mycenae is also known for its fortified citadel, which contains a megaron, or palace complex. The walls of this citadel are called 'Cyclopean" Walls as Ancient Greeks believed that the multiple ton stone blocks could only have been moved by the mythic cyclops. The entrance to the citadel is marked by the famed Lion's Gate, named for its carved relief of two lions (or as my professor liked to call it... The Griffin Door! HA!).

Lion's Gate and the Cyclopean Walls

After touring the citadel complex of Mycenae, we traveled to Nafplio, the first capital of Modern Greece.  Here we were taken on a walking tour of the city, where we got to see the first public school of Modern Greece, as well as the first state building and military garrison. We were even able to see the place in which the first governor of Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias, was assassinated by political rivals. 

Stray Bullet Holes from the assassination of Kapodistrias

Wednesday, my Sports and Games in the Ancient World class traveled to Ancient Nemea, which has the best preserved stadium in Greece. We were able to take a tour of the stadium structure, from the changing rooms of the plaestra, to the stadium structure itself. For the past month, along with learning the theory of sports in ancient Greece, we have also trained in the running events, particularly the stade (192 meters) and the diaulos (a double stade). This training has included practicing the proper starting technique for the hysplex and balbis (grooved starting block) as well as running with the proper form and stride. At the stadium of Nemea, we were given the chance to race on the actual stadium where athletes competed for glory thousands of years ago. In the races I came in fourth place in my class, which would not have won me the prized celery crown in antiquity, but I am proud of my efforts nonetheless.

Stadium of Ancient Nemea

In the afternoon, we went to Epidaurus, which I had went to earlier in the semester. We were able to go down to the Stadium in Epidaurus, where we compared its structure to the stadium at Nemea (Nemea wins). The most exciting part, however, is that I got to sit in the same seat that Nero, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius sat in at the Theater of Epidaurus! My butt touched where their butts touched!! Ahhh.... The thrills of a Classics Major!

On Thursday, we traveled to the fortified Byzantine town of Mystras, where my Byzantine Art and Architecture class was able to see the progression of Byzantine iconography and architecture during the late Byzantine period. The fortified town of Mystras includes multiple monasteries, a palace complex, houses, and a complex sewage and plumbing system. Mystras is one of the best preserved Byzantine cities in Greece, and served a seat of power for the last two Byzantine dynasties - the Palaiologos family and the Kantakouzenos family. At its peak, Mystras was a center of scholarly learning and imperial power that bridged east and west, which is evident in the iconography and architectural styles found within the town. Having just traveled to Istanbul, It was really exciting to see the divergence in Byzantine styles from the capital during the height of Byzantium and a Greek city during the end of the empire. Mystras was a beautiful city filled with examples of the ingenuity and skill of the Byzantines (indoor plumbing) and exemplified the role of Byzantium as the bridge between the West and the East.

Mixed-Style Basilica in Mystras