Woke up a little bit earlier than usual to work out and eat breakfast, which was earlier today because of our trip. Breakfast was good as usual and we piled onto the bus. Our group of 20 has become 21, as Amy’s daughter Sophie joined the trip! She just finished school for the year in England and will be with us for most of the remainder of the trip. It has also added another shoutout to our bus count off with “kai ena” (and one) on to the last number said by Paniotes.
Anyways, we hopped on the bus and headed for Eleusis. On the way though, we got extremely lucky when the Monastery Dafni turned out to be open. We went in to a pretty unassuming church and saw some of the most beautiful mosaics I have ever seen in my life. The tiles were so unbelievably detailed and honestly looked more like a painting than a mosaic at a distance. The whole panoply of Byzantine Christian iconography was on display, including a massive Jesus icon on the center dome. We moved on from there to Eleusis, which was once the site of the Eleusinian mysteries, a practice about which we still know extremely little.
Looking up the steps to the actual site of the mysteries at Eleusis.
Our lecturer there was Dr. Isabel Pafford, an expert on religion and the site. She too us on a tour of the site and discussed what we know about the Eleusinian rites. There was “something seen,” “something heard,” and “something shown” but beyond that no more is known about the rites themselves. We do know that it cost money tube initiated, but foreigners, women, and slaves could be initiated, which its uncommon. I also made a dog friend! He came over to the group and I patted him during the introduction. I named him Cleisthenes and he tailed the group for most of the site visit. After that we were back in the bus to head to Eleutherai.
Such a cute fluffer.
Eleutherai is a fort. A big fort. We were greeted at the base of the hill by Dr. Sylvian Fachard and the sites co-director, Dr. Alex Knodell. We hiked up with our lunches in tow. I carried the case if water bottles and while my legs were on fire by the end, I made it. We listened to a lecture about both the site and the Mazi Project, which is an archaeological survey and excavation coordinator of the region. There are a lot of fortifications in the hills surrounding the fertile plain, suggesting that this area was a disputed birder in antiquity. I walked the north walk 300 m end to end and was almost to the south before I had to head back for lunch. I also had a really interesting discussion about siege tactics and weaponry in antiquity with the lecturers.
The fort at Eleutherai.
From there it was on to another for, this one at Aigosthena. After a 1981 earthquake significantly damaged the almost perfectly intact fort, the Ephorare, or local branch of the Archaeological Service, decided to completely reconstruct one of the towers. They're in the final stages of their work, and 90% of the tower is original material. It's close to 40 feet high with archer slots and catapult holes dotting the outward faces. In just a few months, people will be able to go up and experience the tower as it once was.
Looks kind of like a porcupine.
After that, it was time for the beach in the gulf of Corinth. And what a beach it was. Warm water, little fish, hot sun, and good company made for a wonder ninety minute stopover. The swim stops are an awesome perk of the trips and I definitely am happy I brought swim trunks. Now I'm sitting on the bus back after which we have dinner and probably an early sleep. We leave in two days for our 10 day Peloponnese trip and I'm super excited to do so.
Thanks for reading.
Updated to clarify that it is spelled Eleusis, not Eleusina.
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