Week 5 was packed with exciting visits to museums and archaeological sites. The first museum visit of the week was to the National Archaeological Museum. We split into groups and cycled through three rooms focusing on the Cycladic Bronze Age, the late Bronze Age on the mainland, and the Neolithic period. In the room focusing on the Cycladic Bronze Age, we learned about how the materials used show evidence of trade for example obsidian from the island of Milos was also found on Paros and the mainland. Another example is a style of pottery that was Anatolian which is also evidence of contact and possibly trade from distant places. In the room with a focus on Neolithic material culture, we saw obsidian and stone tools that were evidence of long-distance trade. My favorite thing in this room was a possible incense or smoker that could have been used for beekeeping. I found this fascinating because my dad is a beekeeper and I help him harvest honey. I have used a modern beekeeping smoker before so it was really cool to see a possible prehistorical one.
In the room focusing on the late bronze age mainland, we learn about Heinrich Schliemann’s work in excavations and how when he found a golden death mask he thought it was Agamemnon. We learned that the famous “Mask of Agamemnon” is not the original mask Schliemann found and said was on Agamemnon. Death masks are masks made out of gold that were put over the dead’s faces, we also saw baby armor with the same concept but covered the entire baby.
Friday morning we started our weekend trip to the Peloponnese. Our first stop was a quick look at the Corinth Canal which connects the Gulf of Corinth to the Saronic Gulf. Although attempts to build a canal in this part had happened for centuries it was finally accomplished in the 19th century. Our next stop was the archaeological site and museum of Mycenae. This site is where grave circles A and B were and where a lot of the artifacts we had seen in the National Museum had come from. We learned about and saw different types of masonry such as Cyclopean masonry that the Tholos tombs were made from. We saw the Lion Gate which is unique because it is the oldest of its kind in Greece, Minoan influences were present, and the heads are missing.
At the archaeological site of Tiryns, another Mycenaean palace, some interesting things we saw were more Cyclopean masonry, evidence of architectural paranoia (enter on a ramp and then two gates – there is an unnecessary amount of protection created by the architectural), and a bathing slab that is assumed to have had a tub on top of the slab with drainage and wooden benches possibly attached to the slab.
Our final stop of the day before the hotel was the Palamidi fortress. This fortress was my favorite site yet, it was so beautiful and it was so fun to explore.
We spent the night in Nafplio. The town and sea were beautiful. I think Nafplio is my favorite city we have visited so far. We ate gelato sitting by the sea and then ate a delicious dinner at Taverna Vyzantio.
On Saturday we started the day by visiting the Palace of Nestor. I enjoyed hearing about the grace of the Griffin warrior. The grave is assumed to be the grave of a Mycenaean warrior. The grave was covered in dirt which protected it from looters who looted the nearby Tholos tomb. The warrior was buried with over 50 seal stones, 4 gold rings possibly made in Crete, a sword with gold embroidery, a 4cm agate carved with Homeric imagery of warfare, gold cups, necklaces, rings, and silver. The material is a mixture of Minoan and Mycenea materials. After visiting the Palace of Nestor, we had lunch in Pylos by the sea. Then we had our final site visit of the day to the Castle of Pylos (Niocastro). The castle is one of the two castles in Pylos and was built in 1573 by the Ottomans.
On Sunday, our focus was on the Panhellenic Games. We visited two of the four Panhellenic sanctuaries, Olympia and Nemea. The games at Olympia drew in people from all over Greece to participate and watch. Thousands of people would camp out to watch the games. The games would happen every 4 years. The athletes had to train for 10 months before the Olympics and had to have 1 month of training at the site under the sight of the judges. The competition was not only between individuals but also between city-states and at the same time creating a common Greek identity with a shared religion, writings, and traditions. I thought it was interesting how athletes and spectators had to be allowed to pass through other territories without being attacked on the way to the games. The games at Ancient Nemea were the last of the Panhellenic games to start and took place every two years. I enjoyed hearing about the hero sanctuary to Opheltes. Opheltes was a baby that an oracle said not to set down until he could walk but he was set down, bit by a snake, and then died. It is possible that funerary games started the tradition of the games at Nemea.
