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Published: August 9th 2007
So the day I was about to leave Thebes, I finally got in touch with Dr. Aleydis Vander Moortel. She is the director of the excavation at Mitrou, an island near the small beachfront village of Tragana in northern Boeotia. The site has been producing an enormous amount of pottery and other remains from the Bronze and Geometric ages, as well as finding numerous buildings, cysts graves etc. At this point none of the chronology is absolutely fixed, but the excavation is still only in it’s late Bronze age levels in most areas.
Getting to the island was an experience in and of itself. I took the bus to Lamia from the Liosion KTEL station in Athens (after much searching to find the station) and asked the driver to put me off in Tragana. After an hour or so, he put me out on the highway and told me to walk North. I thought I had a pretty good fix on which island I was going to, but I wasn’t sure, and none of the locals I talked to seemed to know what island I was talking about. So with the help of my compass, I navigated my way around
the tangle of narrow, dirt roads that wind their way a vast orchard of olive trees that surrounds the village. That is until a kindly local came upon me on the road and gave me a lift to the shore on his motorcycle. Which was awesome, by the way.
So I reached the shore and found the only way to reach the island, unless one is fortunate enough to have a boat, is to wade through the water which is about thigh deep. Had I known this, I’d have dressed differently. As it was, I was wearing long white pants and tennis shoes. That was a trip, I can tell you.
As soon as I reached the shore, dried my feet and replaced my shoes and socks, I made my way to the area where I had seen tents set up, assuming that was the site of the excavation. The path to the site was strewn with hundreds and hundreds of pot sherds, no doubt turned up by a plow. Before the excavation, the entire island was covered with an olive orchard, and there is still a sizeable grove present which offered welcome shade.
I reached the excavation site and
introduced myself around to everyone. Dr. Vander Moortel wasn’t there yet (as I had learned en route to Tragana) but with the help of some maps provided by the excavation team, I gave myself a little tour of the site. I can tell you the finds were pretty impressive. The team of students working on the site were also really friendly, and I was a little surprised to hear them all listening to CCR on their portable radio, but it looked like they were all having good fun, but also working really hard. It occurred to me that that was what I had to look forward to in Helike, hopefully.
I eventually did meet Dr. Vander Moortel and she was very nice, but unfortunately we had to cut our visit short as things were quite hectic for her as she’d only just returned to the site and there were a number of matters that required her attention. I also met a very nice young woman named Teresa Hancock who was working in the apotheke that day. She was from the University of Toronto and told me she had worked recently in Kommos, Crete. Kommos was the port town of Phaestos
(a Minoan palatial settlement in Southern Crete) where my professor had worked in the late 70s, and Teresa said she’d actually met him at one point. She also gave me some contact info for Joe and Maria Shaw, the current directors of the excavation at Kommos and said to call them when I was in Crete if I wanted to see the site. Teresa and I exchanged info so hopefully we can meet up Stateside sometime in the near future.
So the time had come for me to head back to Athens, and I made my way back up to the highway where the KTEL stop was. After an hour, and five unsuccessful attempts at flagging down passing KTEL busses, a young man pulled up in his car and offered me a ride to Athens, which I gladly accepted. His name was Aleko and he was very nice, though we couldn’t really communicate that well as he spoke no English and my Greek is still very basic. Nonetheless he drove me the hour or so back to Athens and put me out near a Metro station so I could make my way back to Zografou where I’m staying with Denise.
Things in Athens have been amazing of course. The very first day I had for sightseeing here I went to the National Archaeology Museum in the morning, and to the Acropolis in the afternoon. Finally I got to see the artifacts and ruins I’d been hearing about all my life and that I’ve been studying in school for the past three years. I was disappointed to hear that they didn’t have a catalog available at the moment (which has been the story at most of the museums I’ve visited). I had to go out to the newsstand to get one that was sort of decent. Most of the catalogs you can buy in museum shops here etc. are by no means complete. Most only have highlights of each collection. I haven’t given up on finding more complete editions though.
So after the museum, I went to the Acropolis. I’d heard beforehand that the Acropolis museum is now closed because they’re moving everything to the new museum down the hill. I can’t imagine why they thought it’d be a good idea to do it in the summer with all the tourists coming, but they didn’t ask me. But nevertheless, the site
itself was wonderful. The view was spectacular of course. The structures themselves are really in fine shape when you consider their age and all they’ve been through. The size of the buildings was impressive but the things that impressed me the most were the smaller details. When you get up close, you really appreciate the fact that the architects didn’t just settle for a building that was colossal in size but also wanted to create a complex work of art with numerous elements drawing on many different sources. Of course much of this is lost to us now with most of the sculpture having been removed, but you can still get a glimpse of the intricacy of the project in the moldings and other architectural details that survive.
I subsequently found in my sightseeing, especially at the Agora and Kerameikos, that in most of these places, you still have an unimpeded view of the Acropolis and its structures. For the ancients, who at that time could have seen the Acropolis from anywhere in the city, the Acropolis must have been incredibly imposing, both aesthetically and symbolically. It also must have been extremely depressing to look upon the ruins of it
after the Persian sack, for the 30 some years before Pericles rescinded the agreement not to rebuild the monuments.
The next day, I went to the Goulandris and Benaki museums. Both have outstanding collections of course, and the two museums are very close together, so the smart thing is to make a day of it, seeing the Goulandris (which closes earlier) in the morning and early afternoon, and then the Benaki. The collection and the Benaki is particularly interesting because, as it says in their brochure, it spans 8000 years from Greek history, from the Neolithic Age right up to the 1824 War for Independence and into the last century. Of course any archaeology student should go for the vast collection of Bronze Age, Iron Age and Classical finds, but anyone can appreciate their wonderful collection of traditional Greek costumes, which can be found on the upper levels. I’m not sure how many there are exactly but there are many dozens from all over Greece, mostly deriving from the 19th century. They’re all very intricate, especially the women’s costumes and one can imagine the time and care that went into producing these garments, some of which would have been worn
on a daily basis.
And so the next day, I went to the Agora and Kerameikos. One of the first things you see when visiting the Agora is the 5th century Temple of Hephaistos (known erroneously as the Theseion) which is the best preserved Classical temple of the Greek world. It certainly doesn’t compare in size with the Parthenon, but like the Parthenon it is a Doric building with Ionic elements (most notably two bands of friezes at the east and west entrances). The friezes are remarkably preserved, though I couldn’t find any information saying whether they were the original ones or whether they’d been replaced by copies. After that I walked down the path to the main Agora, where I could see the ruins of the seat of Athenian power, the Bouleuterion. The Classical remains are mixed in with later Roman buildings, including the Stoa of Attalos, which houses the Agora museum. The Agora collection is not huge but the quality of the objects is outstanding. Among them are rich Mycenaean finds, jewelry and other graves goods from the so-called “Rich Lady Grave” of the 9th century BC, as well as numerous finds from the Archaic and Classical ages
and later.
Next I visited the Kerameikos to the north. It’s museum was also quite impressive, especially for the new Kouros which was unearthed in 2003 and is now exhibited in the front room. It appears to be a twin (albeit a less complete twin) of the New York Kouros. When you walk around the site itself, the ground is peppered with bits of pottery, some quite large, especially along the South wall. In the remains of the structures, one can really see how each generation built atop the other. There seems to be some ongoing excavation in the northeastern corner of the site as well, and even more to the east as you’re approaching the gate. The area along the south wall probably warrants more invesitigation, but since it now supports the modern Ermou street, there may never be a full on excavation.
The next day (Saturday), I spent the day with Denise and her friends from Cyprus. She took me up to Lycabettas (or Likavittos) hill, which afforded an amazing view of the city as you can see from the pictures.
This may be my last entry for a while as I’m leaving this evening for Helike, near
Nikolaiika in the Peloponnese to take part in the excavation there. As far as I know, the nearest internet connection is 15 minutes away by bus in the next town. But I will update as soon as I can.
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Beth Anderson
non-member comment
I like the picture of the jockey, naturally!
All the pictures are interesting, but of course the one with the horse is my favorite! Cuzn Beth