Hanging Monasteries & Speaking Oracles

It is late and our day is not yet over. In fact, at 8pm we are still on the bus traveling between ancient Delphi and Athens. We hope to arrive in Athens about 9pm, scare up some supper, and rest up a little for our half-day of touring and half-free day tomorrow.

We began today with an uphill drive into the gorgeous sedimentary mountains of Meteora. Here more than three-score monasteries once clung to the precipitous sides of these hills and crags that thrust up into the Greek sky. We visited one, Saint Stephans, to see both old and new churches built hanging out over the

valley below. We saw manuscripts of the 14th century on; many of the older ones were sold across the years and now reside in primarily British museums and libraries. The churches were decorated with typical Greek frescoes depicting biblical stories and Christian saints. As no photography was permitted inside, you will have to use your imagination!

Our drive down from the hills took us through the forests and mountains of Central Greece. We stopped for a short visit at the site of the Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartans and 700 other Greeks stood in a mountain pass against overwhelming odds of Persian invaders. The movie “300” was (very) loosely based on the historical event.

Several hours drive took us to ancient Delphi, the site of the Temple of Apollo and its famous Pythian Oracle. Here the sacred treasuries of all the great Greek city-states stood in the shadow of the vast temple naos, and pilgrims came seeking answers to their deepest questions: “Will my wife give birth to a son or daughter?”, “Will my army defeat the Persians?” “What can I do about my land dispute?” “How can Athens defeat the Persians in battle?” (See a theme here regarding Greece's Persian neighbours?) Of course, consulting the Oracle (a women who may have chewed laurel leaves or inhaled volcanic fumes) cost money, and pilgrims regularly piled on the cash to know their future.

Some of us walked up to the great stadium where athletes competed in the Pythian Games every eight years. Contestants would plunge themselves into the sacred pool as they completed their athletic rites, the games being more a religious offering of exertion than mere competition. Fantastic 4th century BC bronze statue of a Charioteer stands in the museum we visited, a tribute to Classical art.

Tired, hot (as usual) we trudged back to our bus. We have to say that we were thankful to have visited Delphi in the afternoon, after most of the tourists had left. Also, a freak summer rain had come to the region and we had some cloud cover during our walks. As we began our drive to Athens, brilliant bolts of lightening fell from the sky, a sure sign that Zeus, Chief of the Gods, was angry that we were leaving so soon.

Athens lies on the road before us. We will arrive shortly and I will try and post this with some of today's photographic offerings. Tomorrow we climb the Acropolis and Mars Hill!