7/16 - Elis, Patras Museum, returning home

Veteran readers, skip to the next paragraph. New readers, pictures are currently beyond my technical capabilities but that will hopefully be rectified shortly upon my return to Athens. Which is tonight! Fingers crossed Lenovo’s service center was speedy.

Departure was capital E Early this morning. We had breakfast at 645 and were on the bus by 715. Our first stop was Elis, the polis that was responsible for the administration of the Olympics in ancient times. After defeating and destroying their rival Pisa, they controlled the games almost uninterrupted until the Roman conquest of Greece.

We went first to the small dig house/apothiki that has been converted into a small museum. The highlight of this museum was a massive pithos jar over 7 feet tall that looked like it could comfortably fit five people inside comfortably. We quickly headed up to the proper archaeological museum, which covered pre history to the Roman period. One cool item that I hadn't seen before was the skull of an aurochs, the super cow that was used in bull jumping. There were also scores of small discs that have been identified as theater tickets, a practice not really attested elsewhere in the record.

Lastly, we headed out to the actual site and poked around. We sat on the theater grass while Amy talked to us about Elis. The city sits in a marshy area, which makes it incredibly fertile. This marshy land, however, also makes it difficult for archaeologists to dig deep trenches for study. The area was also known for having many horses, which were a large source of wealth for the city. We walked a ways down into the agora too, where we found many very fine shards of pottery. Why they weren't in a storeroom somewhere was unexplained, but these things happen. We got back the bus shortly thereafter and headed for Patras.

The remains of the theater at Elis.

The Patras Archaeological Museum is awesome, by the way. The galleries are huge and not overfilled. The mosaics are phenomenal. They even have a catwalk over the center of the rooms so you can look down onto the exhibits. We did the “find a gift for each person” thing and I had Bradley. I gave him a huge mosaic of athletes and musicians together. Talia very kindly gifted me some awesome pipes with an inscription! It shows the name of the man who built the branch of the water system.

The fantastic pipes at the museum.

We bought lunch things at the grocery store and had a huge picnic feast at the table in the back of the bus. It's always great to have people come to the back to hang out with us too. We had Abi, Talia, Sophie, Amy, and Asia back with us today at different points. Back of the bus is awesome and I'll look forward to having the experience on the Northern Greece trip.

We drove to Corinth next, where we had been invited to see a brand new gallery of the museum there. The curator, Dr. Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst, who we had met before, greeted us there. The new galleries contain a comprehensive Corinth exhibit, from the early city to its destruction by the Romans. The centerpiece of the exhibit is the display of the famous Klenia Kouroi, robbed from graves in 2010 and just now being zzdisplayed. The statues are glorious Parian marble and are incredibly detailed. The agallery had just opened on Wednesday, or we would have done it earlier in the trip. Ioulia solicited our feedback on the exhibition at the end of the tour as well. Overall, I felt the labels were a little cluttered and some were a little out of place, but the exhibition as a whole was nice. Also, no photos of the kouroi were allowed, so you'll have to settle for this bronze griffin head instead.

The majesty of the rest of the statue must have been something to behold. 

We moved further into the isthmus next, seeking signs of the diolkos, where ships or their goods were apparently hauled across the isthmus to save time sailing around the Peloponnese. There's not a whole lot to see, as a modern canal has replaced much of the course of the road. Still, the wheel ruts are there and the route remains a studied and debated topic to this day.

The study of the diolkos is difficult because much of it is under a modern canal. 

Our final stop was Kenchreai, the harbor on the south side of the isthmus for Ancient Corinth. Truly though, the reason we were there was the beach. I opted not to swim and instead clambered up the hill on the edge of the bay to get a good view and take some pictures. After about 30 minutes, it was time to get on the bus and start our final journey to home.

The climbing here was pretty good. Definitely learned how slippery a carpet of pine needles can be.

The Peloponnese trip was incredible. The mountains, the sites, and the adventure were top notch. I'm not upset that we’re returning to the comforts of Loring Hall, but this will not be the last time I cross the isthmus.

Thanks for reading.

Sorry for the day late post, I think I may have fallen asleep before posting.