Athens by night showing the Acropolis
Athens is the capital of Greece. It was also at the heart of Ancient Greece, a powerful civilisation and empire. The city is still dominated by 5th-century BC landmarks, including the Acropolis, a hilltop citadel topped with ancient buildings like the Colonnades Parthenon Temple. The Acropolis Museum, along with the National Archaeological Museum, preserves sculptures, vases, jewellery and more from Ancient Greece.
Greece is home to many undeniably great things, undoubtedly, the Olympic games are one of it’s greatest. These happened a long way from the island of Crete.
The ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, when Koroibos, a cook from the nearby city of Elis, won the stadion race, a foot race 600 feet long. According to some literary traditions, this was the only athletic event of the games for the first 13 Olympic festivals or until 724 BC. From 776 BC, they held the Games in Olympia every four years for almost 12 centuries.
Contrary evidence, both literary and archaeological, suggests that the games may have existed at Olympia much earlier than this date, perhaps as early as the 10th or 9th century BC.
The ancient Olympic Games were obviously part of a religious festival in honour of Zeus, the father of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. They held the festival and the games in Olympia.
The Greeks that came to the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia shared the same religious beliefs and spoke the same language. The athletes were all male citizens of the city-states from every corner of the Greek world, coming from as far away as Iberia (Spain) in the west and the Black Sea (Turkey) in the east.
They named the sanctuary specifically in antiquity after Mt. Olympos, the highest mountain in mainland Greece. In Greek mythology, Mt. Olympos was The ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, when Koroibos, a cook from the nearby city of Elis, won the stadion race, a foot race 600 feet long. According to some literary traditions, this was the only athletic event of the games for the first 13 Olympic festivals or until 724 BC. From 776 BC, they held the Games in Olympia every four years for almost 12 centuries.
Contrary evidence, both literary and archaeological, suggests that the games may have existed at Olympia much earlier than this date, perhaps as early as the 9th or 10th century BC.
The Greeks who came to the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia shared the same religious beliefs and spoke the same language. The athletes were all male citizens of the city-states from every corner of the Greek world, coming from as far away as Iberia (Spain) in the west and the Black Sea (Turkey) in the east the home of the greatest of the Greek gods and goddesses.
The origin of the Olympics is shrouded in mystery and legend; one of the most popular myths identifies Heracles and his father Zeus as the progenitors of the Games. According to legend, it was Heracles who first called the Games “Olympic” and established the custom of holding them every four years. The myth continues that after Heracles completed his twelve labours, he built the Olympic Stadium as an honour to Zeus. Following its completion, he walked in a straight line for 200 steps and called this distance a “stadion” (Ancient Greek: στάδιον, Latin: stadium, “stage”), which later became a unit of distance. The most widely accepted inception date for the Ancient Olympics is 776 BC; this is based on inscriptions, found at Olympia, listing the winners of a footrace held every four years starting in 776 BC. The Ancient Games featured running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, discus and javelin throws, a foot race, and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, pankration, and equestrian events. Tradition has it that Coroebus, a cook from the city of Elis, was the first Olympic champion.
The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, featuring sporting events alongside ritual sacrifices honouring both Zeus (whose famous statue by Phidias stood in his temple at Olympia) and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia. Pelops was famous for his chariot race with King Oenomaus of Pisatis. The winners of the events were admired and immortalised in poems and statues. The Games were held every four years, and this period, known as an Olympiad, was used by Greeks as one of their units of time measurement. The Games were part of a cycle known as the Panhellenic Games, which included the Pythian Games, the Nemean Games, and the Isthmian Games.
The Olympic Games reached the height of their success in the 5th and 6th centuries BC, but then gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power and influence in Greece. While there is no scholarly consensus as to when the Games officially ended, the most commonly held date is 393 AD, when the emperor Theodosius I decreed that all pagan cults and practices be eliminated. Another date commonly cited is 426 AD, when his successor, Theodosius II, ordered the destruction of all Greek temples
An Acropolis is any citadel or complex built on a high hill. The name derives from the Greek akro, “high” or “extreme/extremity” or “edge”, and polis, “city”, translated as “high city”, “city on the edge” or “city in the air”, the most famous being the Acropolis of Athens, Greece, built in the 5th century BCE.
Though the word is Greek in origin, it has come to designate any such structure built on a high elevation anywhere in the world. The Castle Rock in Edinburgh, Scotland, for example, fortified as early as 850 BCE, would be considered an acropolis, as would be those cities of the Maya Civilization which fit that definition, even if they were not built on a natural elevation, but one made by human hands. This same model would apply to the Native American cities of North America and their great mounds such as those at Cahokia or Poverty Point which had temples and residences built on hand-packed elevated ground.
Although there were other city-states in ancient Greece boasting an impressive acropolis (such as Thebes, Corinth and, most notably, at Kolona on the Island of Aegina), and the designation acropolis was also used in ancient Rome for a series of buildings set on a higher elevation than the surrounding area, in modern times the word acropolis is synonymous with the ancient site at Athens.
Mycenaean Acropolis
Evidence of human habitation on the Athenian Acropolis dates to the Neolithic Period but the development of the site and the surrounding area begins with the Mycenaeans Civilization (c. 1700-1100 BCE). The Acropolis rises 490 feet (150 m) above the surrounding area that would become Athens and has a surface area of approximately 7 acres (3 ha) and so was a natural choice for a fortification. The Mycenaeans had fully established themselves by c. 1400 BCE through a fortress and palace on the Acropolis with smaller buildings below in what would become the agora of Athens and monumental tholos (beehive-shaped) tombs (of which over 50 have been excavated in the area). The Mycenaean culture was highly developed and Mycenaean society was hierarchical with a king at the top followed by nobles, warriors, priests, and common people.
The Acropolis served the same purpose for the Mycenaeans as it would later in the Archaic Period (8th century – c. 480 BCE) as the residence of the king, storehouse, and treasury. It was also the site of at least one temple to a female deity (possibly Athena) which featured a sacrificial well or pit offerings were thrown into. The Mycenaean Civilization declined c. 1100 BCE during the period known as the Bronze Age Collapse, but their culture was preserved in the works of the Greek poets Hesiod (l. 8th century BCE) and Homer (l. 8th century BCE), especially in the latter’s Iliad and Odyssey. The Athenians would later claim for themselves a special status as their city was associated with the culture of great heroes like Achilles and Odysseus and, although there were other city-states throughout Greece which could claim the same, none had the impressive height of the Acropolis with the Cyclopean Walls of the Mycenaeans still in place.
Archaic Acropolis
The agora was a residential district with a central marketplace by the 6th century BCE while the Acropolis continued to serve a religious and political purpose. By this time, Athena was already acknowledged as the patron deity of the city and the myth of how she won that honour was well known. According to the tale, the early king Cecrops wanted the city named for himself, but it was so beautiful that the gods felt it deserved an immortal name. Athena and Poseidon contended about who would have the honour and presented the people with gifts. Poseidon struck a rock on the Acropolis and brought forth water so the people would never have to suffer drought while Athena dropped a seed into the Acropolis’ earth which swiftly grew into an olive tree. Recognizing the many uses and worth of the olive tree, Athena was chosen as the city’s patron.
The Parthenon
A busy street in Athens
Santorini is probably the most well-known of the Greek islands
I left France in 1994 because they offered me the job of building the first 9-hole golf course on the island of Crete. The weather, the people, not to mention the Greek Mezze, are without a doubt, wonderful. I prefer Greek mezze to French cuisine. It is also a lot cheaper than anywhere you can eat in France. Crete is a long way from where the Ancient Olympic Games were held.
While in Crete, I lived in Elounda, which is just up the road from Aghios Nikolaos. This is where I built the 9-hole par 3 golf course, at Porto Elounda Hotel. The Greek owner wanted it built so the visitors from his two hotels could play golf. He could have made a lot more money by opening the course up to holidaymakers from other hotels. However, a Greek always knows better, so subsequently, it was only open to guests of his resorts.
Everything about living on the island of Crete was perfect. The only downside was having to work for a Greek. For that reason, the old saying comes to mind; Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts. However, to live on Crete as a retiree would be close to perfect. Just do not work for a Greek.
I moved there in 1994 when their currency was the Greek Drachma. Undoubtedly, when they changed to the Euro, you expect the prices in the shops to change, however, to be doubled overnight was ridiculous. Then, each year, the number of tourists arriving gets less and less, so the locals had one solution for this; they put up their prices. Which meant a lot fewer tourists arriving next year. As I have said, a Greek knows better.
The bottom line is it is now far too expensive for a retiree on a fixed income. The weather, the people and the Greek Mezze are without a doubt great, just difficult on a fixed income.
The Harbour of Aghios Nikolaos
The Old City of Hania
The 9-hole golf course at Porto Elounds, Crete