Spartan Sites

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As my guidebook indicated, Sparta is not exactly overrun with great archaeological finds. We started the day at the Sanctuary of Amyklaios where there used to be a monument to Amyklaios whom Apollo slew with a misplaced discus blown into him by the North wind. This site was somewhat unique in having a pie-shaped portico labelled the 'throne of Apollo' of which nothing is still visible. The site is still being excavated and it was entertaining to view the beer and pop cans showing where the stakes are for the excavation of this 2500 year old site. The retaining wall around the Sanctuary is still retaining but there is not much else visible.

We then went to the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthaia which is where the Spartan boys became men via a flogging so we used lipstick to draw whip marks on the guys' backs and some of the other guys 'whipped' them for a 'heroes' photo. We then had to have a 'heroines' shot as well so all the gals lined up and since the girls used to dance on the banks of the river Eurotas we all did the showgirl ankle pose for our photo. After that we went up to the Menelaion which is associated with Helen of Troy and her husband, Menelaus. It was hard to imagine what it might have looked like in Classical times as the only things left were a square base, rather small, some dirt and another square of stones that was probably a pedestal, all of which dated from the 7th century BCE. There were apparently two 'manor' houses in the vicinity that dated from the 15/14th century BCE which is closer to the date that Helen and Menelaus were alive. We couldn't see them because of the olive groves surrounding the hill, however. What was interesting at these 'natural' (unexploited) sites is the vicinity and/or visibility of the churches and the site. There was one on the hill beside the statue at the Sanctuary of Amyklaios and one enroute to the Menelaion and another on the hill beside it.

We went on to see the statue of King Leonidas at the sports field and walked up to the Spartan Acropolis. Antonis spoke about the gate and agora, then we saw the remains of a 7th century basilica right beside it before moving on to the area above the Roman theatre. It was mostly ruins with little remaining of the seating but the shape was still visible. We decided to use it for our skits anyway and so spent the afternoon feverishly preparing our scripts and deciding on props. We decided to use the Eleusian Mysteries and consulted my little '15 site' book to get ideas on how to make it a funny skit without moving too far from the facts of the Mysteries. However, since the Mysteries remain that we decided to turn them into a 'going away' party for Persephone when she went to the underworld to join her husband, Hades. We needed some help to create a 'procession' so we recruited some of the other girls and then packed up some gifts for Persephone. We had the new recruits interviewed for suitability as a priestess, then they proceeded to the sea for purification, then they had to be tested, we had another joyful procession and finally they gave their gifts to Persephone. We ended up going to the theatre late and lost some of the light but it went well despite that.

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