The Archaeological Site
The ruins now visible are those of the Agora (Forum)
of the Greek city, as it was in Roman times, which
developed mainly during the 1st century A.D. A
stately avenue led up to the Forum from Lechaion (Leheo),
the city's port on the Gulf of Corinth. The spacious
enclosure contained arcades, shops, places of
worship, small temples, administrative buildings as
well as the city's three ancient fountains, Iera
Krini, the Kato Pirini springs and Glafki. On the
mound, to the north of the Forum, seven of the
thirty-eight columns of the archaic temple of Apollo
have remained standing (it was built about the
middle of the 6th century B.C.). To the N.W. of the
Forum lie the remains of the theater and the Roman
Odeon.
Museum
Finds from the pre-historic settlements which had
existed in the Corinth district consist mainly of
tools, pottery, weapons and ornaments. Articles
excavated within the area covered by ancient Corinth
are vases in the Corinthian style, sculptures
belonging to various periods. mosaics, coins,
exvotos from the sanctuary of the healer god
Asklepeios, etc. Noteworthy also are the so-called
early Corinthian vases. One of the more complete
sets is that of Roman portrait statues.
Acrocorinth
An ancient fortified citadel at the foot of which,
on the northern side, the city of Corinth was built.
The fortress now standing was built in Byzantine
times, over the ruins of an ancient structure.
Various additions were made by Frankish, Venetian
and Turkish conquerors. On the summit, there are
ruins of Byzantine, Venetian and Turkish buildings
as well as the ancient Ano Prini spring.
Mycenae is the site of a pre-historic citadel
fortified with Cyclopean walls with two gates (the
Lion Gate and the North Gate) as well as two small
auxiliary exits. The first walls were built around
1350 B.C. but the citadel assumed its present form
around the year 1200 B.C. Inside the enclosure, the
more important buildings are the Granary which, in
fact, was the garrison's quarters, the two
sanctuaries, Grave Circle "A" which contains six
royal tombs of the 16th century B.C. and the living
quarters of the dignitaries and of priests in the
lower citadel (House of the Warrior Vase, the Ramp
House, the South House and the Tsounta House). There
is also the Mycenaean palace on the crest of the
hill, a smaller palace further east, known as the
House of the Columns, the House of the Artists and,
finally, at the N.E. extension, the Secret Cistern.
Groups of Mycenaean dwellings have been excavated
outside the walls as well as Grave Ciicle “B”, nine
"tholos" tombs of the Atridae among which the
treasure of Atreus, also known as the "Tomb of
Agamemnon", the tomb of Clytemnystra, the tomb
Aegisthus, and others.
The Sanctuary of Asklepeios
Little indeed is left of the most important
sanctuary that was erected mainly during the 3rd and
4th centuries B.C. In the center of the enclosure
stood the temple dedicated to the healer-god
Asklepeios. Surrounding it were colonnades where the
sick could rest and take cures (one such being known
as the "Avaton" or "Enkimitrion" where patients
would spend the night seeing visions of Asklepeios
in their dreams and thus become cured) as well as
places of worship among which was the Tholos,
designed by the architect Polyklitos Junior and
renowned for its decorative sculptures. Outside the
enclosure stood the dwelling of the priests, the
doctors, a gymnasium, baths and other structures. To
the S.W. of the sanctuary was the 5th century B.C.
stadium in which athletic and musical contests were
held every four years. At the S.E. end was the
Katagogion, by far the largest building in the
entire compound. It served as a guesthouse with no
less than 160 rooms for visitors who were healthy.
In Roman times, hot baths were added to the
facilities.
Theater
The open-air theater stands to the S.E. and is the
best preserved theater in all of Greece. It was the
work of the architect Polyklitos Junior (4th century
BC.), and seats 14,000 people. It has amazingly good
acoustics.
Museum
This museum exhibits pieces from the tholos and the
temple of Asklepeios, gypsum casts from pediments
(sculptures by Timotheos), Roman portrait statues,
inscriptions, medical and surgical instruments and
exvotos. Many of the inscriptions are, in fact,
prescriptions for medicines and descriptions of
cures, valuable texts as far as the history of
medicine is concerned and sometimes amusing as well.
Along the foothill of Mount Taigetos, known as
Mizithra, the ruins of a dead Byzantine city are
spread. Its fortress, palaces, mansions and
dwellings of the poor, its monasteries and churches
are easily seen. The castle dominates the
surroundings from the summit, an excellent vantage
point and an impregnable fortification, built in
1249 A.D. by William de Villehardouin. A few years
later, it passed into the hands of the Byzantines
and the northern sector, below the castle, began to
be inhabited. In the ensuing two centuries, there
came into being first the Ano Hora (Upper Town) and
then the Kato Hora (Lower Town). Each defended by
walls h
In Upper Mystras stood the Palace of the Despots,
a rare specimen of Byzantine civic buildings, the
grand hall which is well preserved. A little higher
up are the remains of the palace church of Aghia
Sofia. In the lower town stand the ruins of the
majority of the monastic and ecclesiastic buildings.
Tradition has it that the last of the Byzantine
emperors, Constantine the 12th, Palaeologos, was
crowned in the Cathedral Church of Mystras, which is
dedicated to the martyr Demetrios. The floor of the
church is decorated with the base relief of the
double-crested Eagle of Byzantium. One of the
Cathedral buildings shelters the Museum which
contains mostly architectural members from various
other buildings. The church of the Evangelistria has
beautiful sculptured decoration while the churches
of Aghii Theodori and Panaghia Odigitria (also known
as "Afentiko") belong to the Vrontochi monastic
complex. Built in the 13th century AD., the church
of Aghii Theodori is the oldest in Mystras. A little
more distant are the Pantanassa convent (the only
one occupied by nuns) in whose grounds there is a
very elegant designed chapel and the Perivleptos
Monastery containing some of the finest frescoes to
be seen in Mystras (end of 14th century, A.D.).
At the foot of the Kronion Hill stretches the space
formed by the wedge of land between the converging
rivers of the Alfios and the Kladeos. This was the
site called the Sacred Grove of the Altis, regarded
as belonging to Zeus which, in historically recorded
times, the most famous of Greek sanctuaries was
established. Formerly it had been a place of worship
of pre- Hellenic deities. Every four years, athletic
contests were organized here in honour of Zeus,
lasting seven days.
According to legend, the Olympic Games began
after a vic tory by Pelops against Oenomaos, King of
Pissa. Historically the Olympic Games began in 776
B.C. Up to the 5th century B.C., the sacred
enclosure contained the Heraion, the Prytaneion, the
Pelopeion and the Hippodameion, while at the foot of
the Kronion Hill stood the twelve Greek city
treasures. Outside the enclosure to the west was the
Stadium with a 45,000 seating capacity (men only
were allowed in). Access to the Stadium was along a
vaulted passage: and, to the south, was the
Vouleutirion where the Olympic Senate met. From the
5th century onwards, the sanctuary assumed its final
form with the impressive temple of Zeus (Peripteral
in the Doric style), the Metroon, the Arcades (Stoa
of Echo and the Southern Stoa), the Gymnasium and
the Palaestra, the living quarters of the priests,
the large Leonidaion Hostel an the Filippeion. To
the south of the dwellings of the priests,
excavations revealed the studio of the sculptor
Phideias in which he carved the gold and ivory
statue of Zeus. Finally, in Roman times, the villa
of the Roman emperor Nero was added, also the
"Exedra" of Herod Atticus and Roman baths.
The Olympic Games ceased in 393 A.D. after the
edict issued by Theodosius the Great which forbade
all pagan festivals. They were revived for the first
time after fifteen centuries, in 1896 in the marble
stadium in Athens. Today, an international Olympic
Academy functions at Olympia. There is also a Museum
of Olympic Games where data connected with the
Olympic Games are displayed together with a
collection of commemorative postage stamps.
Archaeological Museum
The two Museums at Olympia contain most interesting
exhibits. Among various other items, there is the
most impressive collection of sculpture of the
austere style (first half of the 5th century B.C.).
There are also the pediments and metopes of the
temple of Zeus. The east pediment portrays
preparations for the chariot race between Pelops and
Oenomaos while the west pediment shows the battle
between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. The twelve
metopes, three of which are gypsum casts, depict the
twelve Labours of Hercules. Two more masterpieces of
the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. are to be seen in the
originals of the sculptors Paionios with his statue
of Niki (Victory) and of Hermes by Praxiteles. Of
the terracotta sculptures, the most complete is a
composition of Zeus and Gannymede (most probably
from a temple pediment). There is also a rich
collection of bronze articles such as figurines and
small effigies, tripods, strips, arms and portions
of armour (helmets, breastplates, grieves, etc.).
Among these is a Persian helmet from the booty
captured by the Athenians, after the battle of
Marathon. Plus the helmet worn by Miltiades, the
victorious commander of the Athenian forces in that
battle.
The Museum and Archaeological Site at Isthmia, the
Museum at Sikiona, the Archaeological Site of Nemea,
the Museum at Patras, the Patras Odeon, the Museum
at Nauplia, the theater and the Museum at Argos, the
Heraion Archaeological Site at Argos, the Museum and
the Temple of Athena at Tegea, the Archaeological
Site of Tirynes, (Tirintha) the Archaeological Site
of Lerna, the archaeological site at Megalopolis
with the largest ancient theatre, the Temple of
Epikourios Apollon at Vasses, the Palamidi Fortress,
the Archaeological Site at Likossoura (in the
province of Arkadia), the Museum at Piles, Trifilia,
the Palace of King Nestor, the Museums at Kalamata,
Mavromati, ancient Messini and Sparta.
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