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Travelling through this most ancient of European civilised lands to see the wonderfully frescoed monasteries of Meteora on their pinnacles of rock, the thought-provoking tomb of Philip II of Macedon, still buried beneath its protective tumulus, and the amazingly well-preserved atmospheric ancient city of Dion.
Leaving Thessaloniki our first destination was Pella. Though the site has been occupied since the Early Bronze Age, around 3000BC, the classical Greek city is best known as the birthplace of both Philip II of Macedon and his rather more famous son, Alexander the Great.
King Archelaos made this the capital of Macedonia in the late fifth century BC. It is laid out in a grid - the Hippodamean system, as exemplified at Olynthos on the Halkidiki peninsula. There are some extremely fine pebble mosaic pavements - some in situ and others in the excellent small museum in the nearby town. There were a good few archaeologists working on the site while we were there so it is very much a work in progress.
Philip was born here in 382 BC and his son in 356 BC. They were both great warriors and Philip began a series of wars with the city states of Greece eventually forming the League of Corinth, after victory at the Battle of Chaironeia in 338 BC against Athens and Thebes - two of the most influential. His plan was for the allies to launch a war against the troublesome Persians but he was assassinated before this could be achieved. Instead his son Alexander, at 20 years old, became king of Macedon, quickly putting down the rebellions which had erupted on Philip's death. He then marched 40,000 men into Asia Minor and conquered Syria, Palestine and Egypt and ultimately defeated the Persian King Darius in 331 BC, the subject of the famous mosaic now in the Naples Museum. He continued as far as northern India, but his soldiers were weary - they'd been away from home continuously for ten years. He settled in Babylon in Mesopotamia where he died of a sudden illness in 322 BC at the age of 33. His empire was carved up among his generals.
Over the course of the reigns of these two men Greece progressed from a land of many warring city states toward a Hellenistic culture, though still often riven by two warring leagues of cities.
It is rather atmospheric wandering around these ruins. Though mostly only the lower sections of walls, some columns have been restored and small sections of structures replaced to give some impression of what the city was like. Walking in the steps of Alexander - magical!
There are some fantastic mosaics still to be seen in situ, notably the Abduction of Helen by Theseus - at 8.4m long the biggest at Pella, and the Stag Hunt, both late 4th century BC.
The classical Greek city extended over an area of about 2.5km north south by 1.5km east west, with broad roads between 6 and 9m wide separating the grid layout of buildings. Beneath the roads was a dense network of water and drainage pipes. Water was carried from the mountains via tunnels in the rock to feed the many fountains, wells and cisterns of the city, both in public and private buildings. Smaller homes were of around 200 sq m, larger homes of upto 3,000 sq m in size, with the usual central courtyard and often elaborately decorated rooms with pebble mosaic floors and painted walls.
The city also had its royal palace, two sanctuaries - one to the Mother of the Gods and Aphrodite, the other to Darron, public baths - though many houses also had bathing rooms - and the Agora, very large at 70,000 sq m occupying ten building blocks and with a huge open space at its centre approached by what must have been very imposing monumental terraces fronting the adjoining streets. Here was the centre of commercial and administrative activity with shops, workshops, archives and the seat of the local rulers. The city was obviously rich and economically successful. The city was eventually abandoned following a devastating earthquake and fires destroyed many buildings in the early 1st c. BC.
The museum is well worth visiting. It's not huge and is very well laid out. The two late 4th century BC mosaics of the Lion Hunt and Dionysus on the back of a Panther are worth the effort alone. Both were found in the House of Dionysus, at 3160 sq m the largest house in Pella. As well as natural pebbles, artificial coloured pebbles, lead wire and strips of fired clay were also used.
The first capital of Macedonia, this remained the burial site of Macedonian royalty, even after the capital was moved to Pella. 11km south east of Veria (where we had a truly excellent lunch at Eleas Gi) remains of the ancient city and the necropolis have been excavated. At the heart of the necropolis is the Cemetery of the Tumuli with over 300 grave mounds. The Great Tumulus, 110 m in diameter and 13 m high, was investigated at the end of the 1970s and found to contain four royal tombs.
No photography is allowed inside the tumulus, unfortunately. A great shame as it is one of the most atmospheric "museums" we've ever visited and it is difficult to give a good impression of it. It is mostly quite dark inside with judiciously positioned lighting on the tombs and artefacts.
First to be said is that the museum consists simply of the interior of the excavated tumulus, all underground, reached by a downward sloping tunnel. Here are revealed the four tombs beneath the main level of the interior of the tumulus where are displayed beautifully restored artefacts found in the tombs. None of the tombs themselves can be entered by the public.
The first excavated tomb that you look down on is quite large with a Doric style facade, unattributed and completely robbed out in antiquity.
The second excavation is of a funerary temple or Heroön, which has fine wall paintings of the rape of Persephone by Pluto. Here there is a cist tomb, a pit lined and covered with slabs of stone, from where the grave goods had also been stolen.
The third tomb was undisturbed and is identified as that of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. It was here in Vergina (ancient Aigai) that Philip was assassinated at the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra. The tomb is reached by a steeply descending ramp ending in front of the tomb entrance, a recessed door in a facade with high relief columns, set into the facade rather than free-standing, and a painting of a hunting scene extending the full width of the facade above the door, about five and a half meters. Inside the tomb are two rooms: an antechamber leading to the burial chamber. In the burial chamber was found a solid gold larnax or casket containing the remains of the king and his golden wreath along with his weapons, personal effects and wooden mortuary couch.
The final tomb, also undisturbed, is said to be that of Alexander IV, the son of Alexander the Great. It is similar in design to Philip's, though smaller, and contained a similar array of precious artefacts.
Many of these treasures are displayed in glass cabinets in the main space of the museum including Philip's solid gold larnax, beautiful gold wreath and finely embossed gold quiver - probably for ceremonial use rather than a practical item.
This was what first lured us to Macedonia - Meteora and its amazing monasteries perched on pinnacles of rock. The rock pillars were formed by the erosive action of flowing water on the landscape and in the eleventh century hermits sought out caves here. In the 14th century monks started to form communities in this inaccessible landscape to escape invaders. Ladders were used to help in the ascent of the pinnacles and material for building the monasteries was either carried or hoisted via ropes and baskets or nets.
The first monastery to be founded, by St Athanasius from Mount Athos on the Halkidiki peninsula was Grand Meteora. By the end of the sixteenth century there were 24 monasteries, beautifully decorated with colourful frescoes. Today four monasteries and two convents are occupied and can be visited. We found that over a couple of days it was quite possible to visit all six, provided you choose the right days as they are not all open at the same time. None allow photography of their frescoes and all require visitors to be modestly dressed, especially women. Most of the churches consist of two chambers: the narthex or entrance area, and the church proper.
This is probably the most dramatic of the monasteries, on its tall pinnacle of rock. Driving up and parking early one morning we saw a primitive cable car - barely more than a metal box on rope pulleys being used to transport goods and workmen to the monastery. However, we were quickly disabused of the notion that we might use it to cross the ravine and instead pointed to a path which descends then ascends via a long flight of steep steps to the entrance.
It's a small place and only a few monks live here. Its 15th century church has two small rooms, their walls covered with frescoes. On leaving we were both given a small piece of highly scented Turkish Delight.
The monastery was founded in 1518 by two brothers on the site of a 14 century hermitage established by a monk called Barlaam.
The frescoes here are particularly good, with a fine Day of Judgement, a popular subject usually depicting the damned disappearing down the fiery throat of a dragon. My favourite fresco shows Alexander the Great as a skeleton in a coffin!
An original rope hoisting net can still be seen here.
By far the largest of the monasteries, also the oldest, Great Meteoron was founded in the fourteenth century and became rich and powerful when the Serbian emperor Symeon Uros became a monk and gave his wealth to the monastery.
The walls and ceiling of the narthex are covered with many depictions of the gruesome martyrdoms of saints: heads chopped off, heads and limbs sawn off, disembowelling, hanging upside down, burning, stretched around a wheel - very gory!
A fifteenth century monastery set in this fabulous landscape, with more beautiful frescoes and one of my favourites "Adam naming the Animals" which can be seen in a postcard in the image of souvenirs on the left. Also another "Day of Judgement" with fiery descent into hell - the mouth of a fearsome creature!
Actually a nunnery, we found that St Stephen's closed for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Founded in the late fifteenth century it has two churches and is very easy to access, via a bridge spanning the gorge between the rock pinnacle on which the monastery sits and the main mass of the mountain. Very jolly nuns in residence.
More wonderful frescoes, these fairly modern towards the end of the twentieth century: gory martyrdoms, a Judgement Day and another version with ladders, the sinners being pushed off and falling head first into the gaping mouth of a beast. As in the other monasteries, a plank of wood is used as a sounding board for calls to services, in memory of the one used by Noah to call the animals to the Ark.
A beautiful small monastery - actually home to nuns - one of the most picturesquely situated in Meteora on its steep sided rock and much photographed from vantage points around the area. Quite a few steps to climb from the roadside car park, but not too bad - also accessible from the road above when you have to tackle a climb back up at the end of your visit.
A jolly nun took our fee - as in all the monasteries 2 Euros each.
Rousanou is quite small, at least the part accessible to the public - there looks to be more associated buildings nearby. The two chambered church again has fine frescoes of the "Day of Judgement" and martyrdoms.
From Meteora we drove through parched landscape, and the rather more interesting gorge of the Vale of Temba, to Platamonas on the east coast. We stayed in the Hotel Royal Palace; lovely hotel and location right on the little harbour, but the service could have been a bit more attentive. We had a room on the harbour side of the hotel with views out to sea; lovely in the early morning to watch the flotilla of small boats heading out to the fishing grounds.
On the northern edge of the town the castle of Platamonas commands an impressive position, on a hill close to the sea and with extensive views inland. Its situation at the head of the Vale of Temba guards the ancient route between Macedonia and Thessaly.
This Crusader castle dates from 1204 and was built on the ruins of an earlier Byzantine 10th century castle, itself built on the site of a 4th century BC Hellenistic fortification. The castle consisted of three baileys or fortified enclosures and a keep with encircling walls, the outer wall reinforced with eight towers. Additionally there were officers quarters and early churches, all but one of which were destroyed by the Turks who took the castle at the end of the fourteenth century, converting the remaining church into a mosque.
In the ruins of two churches are a few poor fragments of the frescoes which once decorated the walls.
The entrance to the hexagonal keep is high in the wall and, according to the Green Guide, could only be reached with ladders.
The highest mountain in Greece at 2,918 metres (9,573 ft) and legendary home of the twelve Greek gods. North west of Platamonas and 20km from the sea, the area within which it lies became the first Greek National Park in 1938, extending for 238 square kilometres around the mountain.
The mountain itself encompasses several peaks including Mytikas, the highest, known as Pantheon in ancient times when it was believed to be the meeting place of the gods. The ravines on the mountainside were said to be where the gods lived.
One of the most atmospheric archaeological sites we have visited. It requires a good few hours to see properly as so much of the town and outlying sanctuaries has been excavated. We were the only people wandering around in the morning, when we explored the sanctuary area. Almost a magical feel of the past, especially at the Sanctuary of Isis.
Dedicated to Zeus (Dias - of Zeus) this ancient settlement was given a huge boost in the 5th century BC by King Archelaos I, the same king who made Pella the capital of Macedonia. Here he instituted a festival of athletics and drama in honour of Zeus. The Macedonian kings made sacrifices to the gods in Dion before going into battle and celebrated their victories here on their return - Alexander the Great made sacrifices here before setting off on his eastern journeys.
Apart from the large temple to Zeus there were several other sanctuaries including one for the earth goddess Demeter and another for the Egyptian goddess Isis - a favourite of Alexander. Building work stretched from the time of the founding of the city through the Hellenistic period up until Roman times - a Roman colony was founded here by Augustus around 30BC. In the 5th century AD a series of earthquakes caused evacuation of the town which was subsequently engulfed in mud.
Many statues and artefacts have been found at the site, such as a cult statue of Hera, wife and one of the three sisters of Zeus, which had later been built into an early Christian wall. The original artefacts have been removed to the excellent museum for safe keeping, but there are a good number of replicas in place. The site is divided between the sanctuary area and the site of the ancient city and there are lots of information boards. Much of the sanctuary area is waterlogged and the extensive city is very exposed, with little shade.
Traces of 6th century BC buildings have been found on the site of the Sanctuary of Demeter, the Greek goddess of harvests, earth fertility and the seasons. These were succeeded by Hellenistic buildings - two late 4th century BC Doric temples dedicated to Demeter and her daughter Persephone, with renovations in the Roman period. Originally there would have been a number of altars in front of the temples for sacrifices and libations. Now there are only low walls and a few replica statues.
Nearby, towards the River Vaphyras, is the Sanctuary of Zeus Hypsistos, a monotheistic cult. It consisted of a courtyard surrounded by colonnaded galleries and rooms.
On the north side of the sacred precinct stood the small temple dedicated to Zeus Hypsistos, where a statue of the god, raised on a pedestal and holding his trademark thunderbolt in his right hand, was found. It was probably originally accompanied by the statue of Hera found built into the city wall.
A large marble eagle stood to one side of the statue of Zeus. There was an altar, with a relief of an eagle and a bull, in front of the temple and a stone block, also with a carved relief of an eagle, set with an iron ring where animals would have been tied before sacrifice. The originals can all be seen in the museum.
Just across the river is the tranquil Sanctuary of Isis. In ancient times there existed here a sanctuary dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of childbirth, and Aphrodite, the goddess of the foothills of Olympus. In the second century AD Artemis was succeeded by the Egyptian goddess Isis. The ruins of these older buildings have been found beneath the current second century AD buildings.
The sanctuary is composed of a sacred precinct and several temples, one dedicated to the cult of Aphrodite. Two of the smaller temples, dedicated to Isis Tyche and Aphrodite Hypolympidia, shelter sacred springs. The main temple was dedicated to Isis Lochia, the goddess protecting women following childbirth. The central court of the precinct was crossed by a long, straight pavement flanked by low walls, meant to represent the River Nile.
The site lies underwater, crossed by a raised walkway, but is peaceful and very atmospheric. Statues reflect in the still waters, broken only by the stealthy progress of a white egret.
Isis as Demeter
Among the ruins of the main temple a relief dedicated to the triad Sarapsis-Isis-Anubis was found. It was originally on the facade of the main temple and depicted the goddess as Demeter, holding a sheaf and a sceptre. On the marble steps intriguing slabs with the imprints of feet were discovered; they are said to have been left by pilgrims - amazing!
The wet landscape near the river was swarming with brightly coloured insects, I think they were damselflies, but absolutely beautiful - especially the male!
One of the photographs also turned out to have a praying mantis in it - though we didn't spot it at the time!
Of the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus almost nothing remains. Once it would have been the most splendid and revered of sacred sanctuaries, where the Macedonian kings made their sacrifices and celebrated their victories with magnificent feasts. Here the New Year celebrations took place, at the end of September in the Macedonian calendar, when many animal sacrifices would have been made. Before embarking on his eastern campaigns, Alexander the Great sacrificed here at the great altar of Zeus Olympus. Traces of the 4th century BC altar, originally 22 metres long, remain. In front of it were three rows of eleven tethering blocks for the sacrificial animals. The sacrifice of a hundred oxen, known as a hecatomb, was an important element of the public cult of Zeus.
In 219 BC the sanctuary was burned to the ground by an Aetolian army but the citizens of Dion rebuilt it, burying in pits many of the destroyed dedications - pits which have now been uncovered revealing artefacts and historically important inscriptions.
Inside the sanctuary were statues of the Macedonian kings and probably the famous bronze horsemen commissioned by Alexander and created by Lysippos, representing 25 of Alexander's companions who, though Alexander was victorious, fell at the Battle of the Granikos River in 334BC. The bronzes were carried off to Rome by the Roman general Metellus in 148BC.
To the north are the remains of a small baths complex and nearby to the south - on top of part of the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus - the small, horseshoe-shaped Roman theatre, probably built during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian in the second century AD. Wedge-shaped vaults supported 24 tiers of stone seats.
The much larger Hellenistic theatre, which today is covered with wooden seating, was built in the second half of the third century BC to replace an earlier construction. The later theatre was built into an artificial hill which supported the rows of seats.
The Sanctuary of Asklepios is called an Asklepion, dedicated to the god of healing, revered throughout the civilised ancient Greek world, for instance at Pergamon. The remains are situated within a shady grove of trees, though the nearby presence of springs would have been important in its location as pure water was essential in the practices of the cult.
The sanctuary was in operation for at least 600 years from the time of its founding in the late 4th century BC, and members of the family of Asklepios, such as Hygieia, goddess of good health, as well as companions, were also worshipped here.
The sanctuaries all lie outside the Hellenistic walled city of Dion. A substantial settlement existed here at least as early as the 5th century BC to be close to the revered sanctuary of Olympian Zeus. The extensive city remains are primarily of the Hellenistic period.
The city wall shows signs of at least three building periods: the original wall from the time of the Macedonian King Kassander, around 300BC, repairs to the wall after the Aetolian invasion in 219 BC, and late Roman repairs in the mid 3rd century AD and again towards the end of the 4th century. Defensive towers, 7m x 7m square, were built into the wall every 33m. There was also a moat and possibly a harbour on the River Vaphyras on the eastern side.
The rectangular defensive wall enclosed an area of about 43 hectares but the area of the city gradually declined over time. By the mid 3rd century AD it was down to 37 hectares and at the time of the final Roman repairs to the wall in the late 4th century a cross wall reduced the city area further to only 16 hectares.
In its heyday, during Hellenistic and early Roman times, the city was a thriving, bustling metropolis having fine villas, guesthouses and inns, baths and public latrines, temples, churches and a Hellenistic agora succeeded by a Roman forum.
The main road into the city, the Cardo Maximus, is broad and straight traversing the width of the city and its rectilinear grid of streets.
Just inside the south entrance on the west side of the road are a set of well-preserved public latrines with the usual underground water-running cleansing system, which give a very good idea of how they would have originally looked.
There were shops lining the street as well as villas and public buildings such as baths. Each shop would have had a shutter to close it from the street. When open the customer would usually stand on the street side of the counter while the shopkeeper served from behind, and the range of goods would have been extensive: oil,perfume, fish, shoes, fruit and a wide range of other foodstuffs.
A late 4th c. BC "Monument of the Shields" has been set up under cover on the west side. It is thought that this beautiful frieze of military tunics and shields would have originally decorated a Hellenistic building in the agora, though later it was used on the eastern facade of the Roman basilica.
The road is formed from huge blocks of stone, fitted together in a giant mosaic. No doubt it was a bit smoother before the earthquakes but, nevertheless, carts would have had a very bumpy ride, though horses and litters would have been much more comfortable. Like Roman Ostia, or Pompeii and Herculaneum, it is easy to imagine traffic on this road and shops busy with customers.
To the west of the public latrines was a large Roman baths complex built in the late 2nd c. AD.
Apart from the usual changing rooms and bathing pools and more latrines, it also encompassed an odeum (a small theatre), rooms for social activities and an area dedicated to the cult of Asklepios.
The hypocaust heating system has been exposed and restored and is in very good condition.
The Roman forum is just to the west of the Monument of the Shields, north of the great baths. This was the administrative centre of the city with public buildings set around a large open square. On the west a small building was discovered with walls painted to look like marble which has been identified as an Augustineum - used in the cult of the Emperor. Two large buildings have also been identified on the west side of the forum, the names of their owners were stamped on the underground lead water pipes. Epigenes' villa also had sewage system. On the west side was the Roman basilica, intended for banking and commercial activities, and also probably the curia where the rulers of the Roman colony held their meetings.
Further along the corso maximus, at the junction with the road leading to the west gate, is a large polygonal building covering about 1400 square metres, probably for us as a market hall. Outside the main entrance on the south side is a large stone block with different sized hollows - some kind of volumetric measuring device. Inside the entrance is a mosaic of wrestlers, quite open to the elements.
The area of the Dionysus Villa encompasses not only a luxurious villa but also an extensive baths complex and shops as well as the Dionysus shrine. It dates from around the 2nd century AD, at the height of the Roman occupation.
The mosaic floor of a banquet chamber has been particularly well-preserved and is almost intact, showing Dionysus in a panther-drawn chariot and six portraits of actors.
Here at the eastern edge of the city, near the river, the ground is increasingly waterlogged and we hopped from boulder to dry ground making our way south, past the collapsed ruins of the eastern latrines, the House of Zosas where some lovely mosaics were found, and so to a very welcome cold beer before visiting the museum.
