Week 14 Glorious Ancient Greece Olympia, Bronze Age Mycenae, Minoan Palace of Knossos

The past 4 days added 3 more "bucket list" places I could check-off. They were cool, cold and wet, and cold and windy, but I didn't care. When we docked in Katakolon, Greece our included excursion took us to the site of the first Olympic Games. The games began in 776 BC on the Peloponnesian Peninsula. The stadium had a capacity of 45,000 all MALE spectators but overseen by a single woman goddess/princess. All other women were under penalty of death (thrown off a cliff) if found to be on the grounds. We walked the grounds and viewed the additions made to the site over the years. The last olympic games were held here in 393 AD. That is a total of 293 games (there were a few years where a game was cancelled). There were games for women called the Heraia, in honor of Hera, wife of Zeus. They had a footrace that was only 5/6th the distance run by men. The images of the winners were said to have been painted on the walls in the Temple of Hera. When Athens hosted the 2014 games the shot-put event was held in the original stadium. We had a very good guide who tied together the ancient gods to the events at the stadium and some of the changes made when under Roman rule. Every 4 years, for the Summer and Winter Games, the Olympic flame is lit at this site and then carried to Athens and onto that years location. The flame is mostly lit with the aid of the sun as it was done in ancient times: March for Summer games and October for Winter game. It was a wonderful experience made even better as the Viking Sky was also in port that day. Many of us from the Viking Star wore our World Cruise coats and hats to help keep anyone getting on the wrong bus or ship.

Palaestra Court to the Gymnasium

Ruins at the site

Art studio for making parts of the complex and later used by Christians for service

Remains of the Temple of Zeus

Remains of Temple of Zeus

Remains of Roman addition (note addition of bricks)

The Treasuries Building

The Treasuries

The Stadium (note: standing was on the hill no seating)

Arch is the entrance to the stadium where athletes entered to start games

The Philippeion dedicated by Philip II after his victory in honor of Zeus

Ruin with wild flowers

Beautiful purple wild flowers

Sister ships The Viking Star (world cruise) and the Viking Sun

Sunset on the Aegean Sea

Our next port of call was Nafplio, Greece. Here, our excursion to the ancient capital city of Mycenae, showed how the Mycenaens under the leadership of King Agamemnon built an empire that defeated Troy. The Bronze Age is filled with myths and stories. From this civilization emerged The Iliad and the Odyssey. The stories of the Trojan War, Helen of Troy, and other myths including Cyclops. Mycenae reached its peak around 1350 BC. This day was the first time we had rain on the excursion. It was cold and windy but not raining when Jeff and I decided we were climbing to the top of the ruins to see the area of the actual palace. We just reached the top and Jeff looked across and yelled "head down now". We only went about 30 feet and it started to rain. Felt like sleet and just windy as heck. By the time we reached the bus we were soaked. We were the last ones on for our group as none of the others wanted to climb. We did what we came to do: see the ruins from above. The museum was amazing and I have posted my pictures on my Facebook page but I will add them at the bottom here.

Said to be the tomb of King Agamemnon and Royal Family

Inside of Tomb where the bodies were laid on ground until they were only bones and then buried elsewhere. It is a perfect circle!

There are three parts of the tomb: Passageway, Entrance, and the upper triangle to represent living.

The upper dome is often left open.

The Lions Gate: Entrance to Palace Grounds

Note the same concept of procession way, doorway, and triangle piece.

The Lions Guarding the Palace

Another View of Lions Gate

Ruins of a possible storage area

Inside view of possible storage area

Base of dwellings inside the walls

View from top of Palace Ruins (Just before the rains came)

View looking to top of Palace ruins with wild flowers

Foundation Stones of Palace

15th Century Venetian Fort Bourtzi in the harbor of Nafplio, Greece

One of Viking Star tenders for getting us to the city of Nafplio, Greece

The Ancient City and Palace of Knossos was almost a no-go. With the heavy winds our Captain decided that the port of Heraklion was unsafe for the ship to dock. As always, Viking works their magic and we docked Souda Bay, Crete. Since so many had booked Knossos as an excursion, as well as other places, Viking offered other options but kept Knossos for those who wanted to now have an 8 1/2 hour trip at almost double the cost. I did not care, I told Jeff I was going and he agreed. It was an exhausting 2+ hour bus ride there and then back. We had 2 hours at the Palace of Knossos, but with no other people there we saw everything we wanted to see except one area. The room where the blue dolphins are located was closed for repairs and more archeological work. The ruins were located in the early 1900s and is the first advanced civilization in Europe. Over 3000 years ago this society is estimated to have had a population of over 600,000. It is estimated that over 5000 year ago, the first metal, bronze, was introduced to Crete. The Minoans became accomplished traders, traveling as far east as Afghanistan and west to Spain. They also traded with the Egyptians to the south and Germanic tribes to the north. The palace was burned down when captured by the Mycenaeans. The city was ultimately abandoned by the Mycenaeans around 1200 BC. The neighboring areas declined but today these villages are being discovered by archeologist. DNA from those living in the mountains of Crete retain DNA from the bones of skeletons found from this period. We then went to a restaurant opened just for us for a delicious Greek meal.

Palace of Knossos entrance area. There is a great deal of reconstruction that may or may not be accurate. The restorer, Sir Arthur Evans, used concrete at the time which is not allowed now.

This is the throne room and it is not known if for king, queen, or goddess

Remember, this dates to over 4000 years ago.

This bull is a prominent symbol of the Minoans and the original is in Athens

Another picture of the same ruins

Outdoor theater/religious ceremony area with a grand entryway the length of a football field.

Another covered area but could not get near to see if any paintings.

Look closely to see the double headed hatchet that is another common symbol of the Minoans.

Wall along a long processional pathway with copies of the original artwork. In Minoan art men are painted in brownish tones and women are painted in white.