A couple of days late, but time really is only an illusion when you’re traveling abroad. Getting lost in the Greek culture isn’t so bad and this trip has been so eye opening to me, but anyway.
Our journey started at 8:30 sharp as we headed for the ancient city of Mycenae! It was here that we got to see the magnificent Lion Gate that was constructed around 1250BC! That is very old folks! The surrounding walls from pre-historic times were so large that we were told when the Greeks appeared they believed that cyclops had to have built them because what else would have been strong enough to lift those rocks. It was also here that most Oles took a short stroll into a dark cave that was used to help transport water into the city walls and also was used as an escape route out if invaders were approaching. Overall a great time and coming out of that cave felt something similar to how the man in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave must have felt!
From Mycenae we drove to Nemea the alleged place where Hercules battled and defeated the Nemean Lion as one of his 12 labors. We also learned about the ancient starting mechanism used during sporting events, the hysplex! This starting line was used to make sure no athletes got a head start or cheated because if they were caught cheating it was a good old fashioned flogging that could be expected!
We Oles ended our day by visiting a local winery where we learned all about the process of wine making as wine is a central part of Greek cultures and has many connections to the Greek god Dionysus. Our tour guide for the winery, Dmitri, was so full of energy and was so passionate about wine that he got all of us re-energized after such a long day of touring other sites! We were treated to a late lunch at the winery and then we headed back to Nafplio were we had the rest of the night to explore to our hearts content! Til next time!
By: Sally Manninger
Oles in Greece 2020 