Heading Home
Trip Start
Jun 01, 2008
1
22
23
Trip End
Jun 30, 2008
Athens,
Attica,
Greece
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sunrise at Olympiaki Akti
After a few minutes of contemplating Dawn and how She rouses the roosters and other who attune to Her, I tiptoe to the balcony to snap the sun that She heralds as He rises over the sea. Here the sea is greenish and very warm now, yet it still glistens in a way that says "Greece" in a soft voice. He shines through greyish clouds that don't portend rain. Rain is for the spring and the green grains. Now the hay is stacked, the wheat sifted and bundled, the fruit is huge and sweet. The olives and grapes will happily absorb the unrelenting sun all summer and will reach perfection in the fall. This is the way it has been since the time of the Mycenaeans, no since before them: late Neolithic, whenever crops were first planted and the Goddesses of those crops were first perceived and honored. The connection of Goddess and grain is so close, so connected, that we still call grains by the Goddess names: cereals (for Ceres) in English and demetraia (for Demeter) in Greek.
We pack up and make our way over to Dion, our last stop, the sacred site of the Macedonians in antiquity, where the biggest altar was devoted to Zeus, but He arrived late here, as He arrived late in other locations, too, like at Olympia. Goddesses were first worshipped here by Mycenaeans and their very ancient temples remained until early Hellenic times, when Doric temples were erected almost on top of the old
Altar to Zeus, Dion
. In the historical era, the Goddesses were called Demeter, Persephone and Artemis. Around them, people honored the land, the cycles of nature, the wild creatures with whom we share the Earth or whom we've sometimes eaten. Zeus arrived with the need to proclaim laws, settle border disputes and, of course, win wars.Much of the site is from the Roman era, which is impressive and beautiful but out of touch with what preceded it, even before the Christian era. The works of man reflect a concern with status, identity and power, not love for the Earth and respect for Her abundance and creatures.
We walk the site of Dion, which is extensive and even more excavation is underway. But the sweet coolness of Dawn has given way to the heat, so we soon escape to the shaded patio of the entry gate with a cool drink. Later we drive up to the museum and discover it is closed! A local proprietor, seeing us as potential customers, waves us up to her shaded deck. She explains, in Greek, that the museum is closed until October and, as a result, very few tourists are filling the lane of tavernas just behind the museum, including hers. In fact, the entire time we are there, we are the only customers. We share the space only with the owner's extended family, including some very cute preschoolers looking out for each other
Ancient Temple at Dion
. I suspect that some local people may come after church lets out, which happens as we are driving away, but we're sad for the townspeople who depend so much on the tourism generated by the site and museum. For sure, the museum probably needed renovation, but Karen said that she hoped the Ministry responsible gave the people some sort of advance notice. Even so, what can the people do with that knowledge? This is their home; the taverna is where they live. What else are they to do? Even confronted with the unchangeable, they are hospitable, enduring and resilient, accepting of what is in a way that is foreign to most North American businesses.So we return to the high-speed Ethniki Odos (National Highway), which is mostly upgraded to four lanes all the way from Thessaloniki to Athens. The section through the Tempi Valley is still narrow, winding and scenic and probably presents engineering challenges for constructing four lanes. The present drive, however, while slow is ruggedly beautiful.
I'm delighted to see that along this mountainous road are many springs and fountains, each one named for an ancient Goddess! I wondered: are these ancient place names that have persisted until now? Was there always, for example, a Pigi Artemidis? Were there always fountains at these locations? Or were the springs found when the present relatively modern road came through and then given names to reflect an honored past? I need to do some research
Mt. Olympos, veiled in clouds
! But in the meantime, I feel my sense of connection to place and history through these divine names: Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis. As always, Goddesses and female spirits are connected with place and nature, especially water.If the engineers have to blast tunnels through the mountains of Earth--the greatest Goddess of all--as they have in so many places on the National Highway, they will be furthering the separation of humans and Earth. We will fly through the area hardly noticing the wonderful sculpture of Earth here, nor pausing to taste the waters of the divinely named springs, letting their coolness flow over our faces and heads. We'll drive even faster, not savoring the moments, arriving at our destinations drained rather than restored.
Surely the mad traffic of a Sunday night in Athens reflects the human disconnection from nature and eternity. I watch the teaming cars and think of swarms of insects, probably roaches. They honk, yell, cut each other off; tempers rise. We can't find our hotel for the night but, when we finally stop in a less crowded neighborhood of Vari to ask for help, the young couple who manage a store there get us sorted out. In fact, the husband, named Costas, returned to his Vespa and led us through rural back allies, next to sere fields, dry red soil and grey rocks and palatial houses, to our destination
Submerged precinct of Isis, Hellenic Dion
. He is happy to help, that's all. In Greece, you're really not alone, especially when away from crowds and cars. In the quieter places, you can connect just as people, no matter the amount of language you have in common. In these places, especially, the Greeks are eager to help someone in distress, to offer comfort or even a joke about the weather of the traffic. We are all more human.So, we settled into our last hotel, upsets of the day--being lost, being overwhelmed by traffic, running out of money, discovering our hotel had no elevator and an iffy air conditioner--faded away. We enjoyed a final taverna meal then savored some chocolate gelato while watching the final game of the Euro Cup (Spain won). As we repacked to come "home," we noticed a family of goats in an enclosure on the ruddy hill behind us. Chickens and roosters strutted among the goats. Oddly, we felt like we were already home.
