Ithaca

We were introduced to this poem as students on the University of Missouri- St Loius archaeology course we attended in Pylos, Greece in 2006.
It is a comment on the the ideas behind Homer's "The Odyssey".
The author is a well known Greek poet.
I find it useful both as an inspiration and a guide so I have put it up here so that it is always available to me.

Ithaca
When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:

You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many,
when, with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithaca means.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)

http://cavafis.compupress.gr/

Greece - After Easter

After Easter we visited the Palace of Nestor, a few kilometres from Koukounara and the main site of antiquity found in this area. Last year, as archeology students, we started to uncover what may prove to be a minor palace which was associated with the main palace, but situated near to the village of Iklena. So it was with some satisfaction that we entered Nestor's palace knowing a little about it!

These pictures show Sam at the site and in both pix is the bath which is purported to be where Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, was bathed by the beautiful Polycaste, the youngest daughter of King Nestor. The bath is very small, far too small for most adults today, and is a reminder of the short stature of the ancients.

"When she had bathed him and rubbed him with olive oil, she gave him a tunic and arranged a fine cloak round his shoulders, so that he stepped out of the bath looking like an immortal god. He then went and sat down by Nestor, the shepherd of the people." Homer- "The Odyssey". Rieu, E.V.(Translator ) 1987 London:Guild Publishing.

The site is covered with an iron roof and is protected by a vigilant security fellow. It has a commanding view to the sea. Linear B tablets were found here which had been fired, rock hard in the conflagration which consumed the palace. Finally deciphered they proved to be a mundane record of goods such as olive oil paid to the King by individuals. As the palace was largely wooden, built from the large tracts of forests which were then here, there is little left of the construction. However traces of skillful tile work and other pottery survive at the site. It is well worth a visit.
At the Southern edge of Pylos stands the Castle. In earlier times it has been used as HQ for numerous invading and aiding forces. It stands guard over the entrance to the Navarino Harbour and has also been used by the state as a common prison. Snow was imprisoned here in 1942 after his forced March from Kalamata. He managed to escape, probably during a British air raid, with 6 others all with rifles! Only he and Ernie remained at large, the 4 others being picked up shortly after by motorbike patrols. Snow and Ernie were then found in the fields by a Greek who brought them food and drink, and then organised shelter for them, hence Koukounara.
Today the castle is empty and one has to conjure very hard to realise what the condition here were like. The views out to the bay are breath taking.












On the Wednesday after Easter we were invited to Geroge and Amistasia's home in Kalamata.
Possibly a better word for it is a mansion! It is the final stages of construction and consists of 4 apartments, one each for the boys when they are older, one for Vasiliki who is George's mum, and one for George and Amistasia. We had lunch in this beautiful home and
looked out to the sea of Kalamata Bay and to the old castle.
After a trip around the highlights of Kalamata with Amastasia and the boys We took our leave from this lovely family with a lot of sadness, but with firm committments to stay in touch.

Amastasia outside one of the schools she teaches in.

The following day, Thursday, we were invited to Theodoro & Dina's house in Koukounara, for lunch. And what a lunch it was! Vasiliki and Georgos were also there which was just as well as only George spoke any English. But, of course, it didn't matter as we loosened up with beer and local wine and great merriment was the result! Dina's lamb was cooked in their traditional wood oven and was, simply, to die for. I didn't feel too guilty about eating so much meat as it went down with green vegetables (boiled oregano), and salad steeped in olive oil, not to mention lots of other traditional Greek food.

During this final week I realised an ambition to get to the top of a conical shaped hill (620m) which stands directly above the town of Chandrinos and which can be seen from Koukounara.
I wanted to get up there because I knew that Snow, Ernie and possibly other New Zealanders had stayed in the ruined church at the top. But how had they survived without water?
Ernie tells the story of them living up there and lighting a fire in the ruined church to keep warm and to cook with. One day the local Papas (Greek Orthodox Priest) arrived to see them on the summit and said, "What do you expect me to tell the Italians about the smoke coming from your fire? Maybe I will tell them that there is a new volcano in the area!" Nowadays there is a rough road to the top, back then it was all bush beating. So the priests were as tough as the soldiers. There was water at the top too! A deep artifical well had been built which took rain from the roof of the church.







JJP in the old part of the tiny Church.

So our final day at Koukounara came to an end with another dinner at the Taverna. Georgos shouted us the meal at which He, Vasiliki, Theodoro, Dina, Sam, Gina, myself and Varna were present. We had a lovely time but it was tinged with sadness. We said goodbye to Georgos, Varna, Theodoro and Dina and made our way to Vasiliki's for our final night. Never will we forget these people who have been so generous and open.

Tomorrow we must say goodbye to Vasiliki too, but we are determined to return next year.

To Vasiliki and her family, to Georgos and Varna and to Dina and Theodoro we want to say thank you and Arohanui.

Something good has sprung from the sadness and bravery in Greece, Italy and New Zealand those 60 odd years ago.

To Greece - March 2007!

Athens

Having watched the TV programme "Airport" we had booked with "Easyjet" with some apprehension. However there were absolutely no problems. But it is different!

Luckily we checked in early at Luton after a 4 hour foggy journey down from Harrogate. There is no seat allocation and our early check in meant that we were placed very early in the queue to board the aircraft. Our boarding pass was stamped queue "A" and there turned out to be 4 queues. So apart from those with young children and the few who had paid 7.50 pounds each to jump the queues we were among the first to board. Amazingly, I thought, the first row at the front of the aircraft was not taken so we plunked ourselves down and enjoyed limitless legroom for the journey. We had taken our own food which was just as well as prices on the aircraft were high. Arriving at Athens we collected our bags cleared immigration and customs and caught the extremely modern Metro to Monastriaki, the station being 200 metres from our hotel. So, thanks to the internet and the "Rough Guide to Greece" we arrived smoothly and safely. And with a view of the Acropolis like this who would not be happy?

Around the corner from the hotel, the "Attalos", we found a nice Greek restaurant - the "Bairaktiris". Not only was the food and wine a great reintroduction to Greece but the welcome afforded us, and the service, reminded us of the essential qualities of the Greeks: kindness and hospitality. The fact that there was a Bazooki player and a singer who played guitar made a really perfect evening. At 11.30 we staggered into bed with Greek songs running round are heads and wine, garlic, meat & vegetables rumbling round our stomachs.

The following morning a knock on the door announced the arrival of Sam! We had been waiting for this moment for nearly a year so we had a lot of greeting and talking to do. Sam was a little spaced out after flying from Sydney to Bangkok and then straight on to Athens, but we found time to see a little of Athens and to revisit our restaurant that evening. The following day we took a number 51 bus out to one of the 2 main intercity bus stations and booked our seats on the bus to Pylos on Sunday. There followed over the next couple of days visits to the Acropolis and it's museum, the Museum of Archeology, the Palace and the Olympic Games Stadium. All in beautiful weather, cloudless and about 17 degrees. Athens was lovely with wild flowers starting to bloom and spring definitely in the air, if the public activities of numerous birds were any indication.

Koukounara

Leaving Athens at 9.00am on Sunday we had a 6 hour bus ride to Pylos. Even got glimpse of the Corinth Canal.

Arrival at Koukounara was an emotional event with huge welcomes from Vasiliki and Georgos. Vasiliki has given us the top floor of her house which is a self-contained two bed roomed apartment. We are so lucky! The following day we picked up a rental car in Pylos, and thanks to Christos, our taxi driver, who would take no payment! That evening we went out with Vasiliki and Georgos to the local Taverna and had a great meal of octopus, squid salads, etc etc etc! Because it was lent there was no meat or dairy products on the menu.

Sam helped the Taverna owner's daughter with an assignment and we got home about 10.00pm

. Early by Greek standards. What an experience to renew friendships and retell stories! A time to remember forever.

Thursday before Easter 5th April

From the minute we arrived in Koukounara we were treated as members of the family. We shared Vasilki's meals throughout the time we were there and spent much time with her, and her family. Vasiliki your cooking is superb! And it was Lent! More important was the fact that the time we spent with Vasiliki and her family and with Georgos, bought us close to them. We will continue to go back to Greece regularly as we all want to continue the relationships into the next generations.
Today George and Amastasia arrived with their 2 boys, Pete & Bill and Amastasia's mother, Georgia. Amastasia speaks excellent English so our communication is now not an issue. It was wonderful to meet them.

We accompanied them to church that evening. It was a great experience with the glitter, colour and symbolism of the Greek Orthodox Church. The boys helped the Priest to take the service, which was quite long and full of sorrow. Taken in ancient Greek it seems to preserve important parts of the culture and is a community focus in this small village of 130 people. After church at about 10.00pm we had supper which reflected the principles of Lent. i.e. not meat, dairy or oil products. However we did not starve!

Before the church service, which started at about 7.00 p.m., we drove to a Tholos Tomb at the site of Nestor's palace, just north of Koukounara. Tholos tombs were used by the ancients to bury their very high ranking dead with their valued belongings. Consequently these tombs which are reasonable common have been raided and pilfered over the last 2500 years. The earlier tombs were constructed under ground, but gradually the tombs became built into hillsides so that they were extremely hard to find. After a burial the entrance was blocked up with heavy rubble and covered with earth. Thus the tomb soon blended back into the landscape. The Tholos tomb we saw had been reconstructed and as you can see it is a large affair. After the death of the next King the tomb was opened, fumigated and cleaned and the new body deposited with it's finery. Thus in neighbouring museums there are exquisite examples of jewellery made from gold and other precious metals and stones.

Good Friday 6th April
With the Priest dressed in the dark purple robes of yesterday the service was somber and divided into two parts. Half way through the representation of the body of Christ in a coffin was solemnly paraded through the streets of Koukounara, followed by the congregation. Local custom has it that all these Easter activities are accompanied by the letting off of large numbers of huge fire crackers. So the church service and the parade was punctuated regularly and frequently by huge explosions. I've never heard anything like it! Sam was asked to be one of the 4 pall - bearers so it was nice to feel really included. Everyone was pleased to see us at church and were most welcoming. It was a great experience to see the faith and commitment of the locals. More Lenten food after the service.

Easter Saturday 7th April
We left Koukounara early for a flying visit to Olympia. Because the roads were busy with people coming home to their villages the round trip traveling time took us 5 hours. We spent about an hour at the site which was not nearly enough, but just enough to give Sam a taster so that he can return. Much of Olympia was built from soft stone from the sea and in many places one can see the compressed shells and sand which make the site so susceptible to erosion. We got back to Koukounara exhausted, but with time to have a 3 hour rest before church service which was the highlight of the day. The priest this time dressed in lighter robes and the service was lighter in tone as it celebrated the rising of Christ.

The ornateness of the interior of the church was immensely impressive to one used to the plain interiors of Anglican churches. There were subtle changes in the flowers and ribbons which were part of the decoration. And I'm sure that there were many other changes for this important day that I did not pick up. The service, although entirely in ancient Greek, was full of symbolism. Perhaps the most striking was the lighting of candles, from the Priest's candles, in the darkened church. Each member of the congregation carefully nursed their candle and took it home where it was placed to oversee the ending of Lent. The singing was similar to plain chant and seemed mainly to be done by two leaders, one of whom was Georgos.

Koukounara has a local tradition of youths setting off huge explosions during and after the services at this time of year. So great was the sound that at times it was impossible to hear the Priest! After the service al greeted each other and we walked home with our candles. The church seemed to be playing a big role in keeping this community together as there were people of all ages present. And the behaviour of all the children was perfect.

Easter Sunday 8th April
We awoke to the smell of charcoal spits roasting lambs throughout the village and to the lively sound of Greek music and more fireworks, - refreshed ready to embark upon a new scale of feasting!

However before this we visited Georgos and Varna and spent sometime talking and drinking coffee before setting out with Georgos to his garden. He visits twice a day and again we spent about 45 minutes with him in one of his favorite spots. This time the vine leaves had not covered the "bush house" and we sat out in the warm sun talking about Greek philosophers, modern Greek politics and, of course, Snow and Ernie. During the war there was a political divide throughout the country and it was evident in Koukounara. Georgos was part of the communist group and he helped to blow up two bridges in the region. At that time the communists were supportive of Britain. Somebody asked Georgos' father if he would hide Snow and Ernie as it was known that the family were supporters of Britain. He agreed to do this and the two men were shuttled between 3 houses at night to avoid the Germans and later the Italians. One of the other houses was that of Stevos,who was Vasiliki's father. Later

Snow and Ernie spent more time out at Stevos' farm where they were more removed from the village and where they could escape into a deep river bed should they need to. Vasiliki had taken us to the farm and showed us where the house stood.Two orange trees survive from that time and we all had some of the fruit. So it was a direct link to Snow as he had eaten from the same tree. Along the road stands another huge old tree, not a lemon tree. It is a landmark and has latterly been used by the air force to plot maps. Snow loved this tree and Georgos told us that Snow insisted that workers who had come to clear the surrounding land should leave the tree for them for shade. It was much smaller then. Georgos thinks it is now about 75 years old. Sam with his Greek Ya ya, (Grandmother), Vasiliki.

We walked back with Georgos to his house and then back to Vasiliki's for the feast.
It was certain that Lent has finished! We piled our plates high with Lamb roasted in oregano, olive oil and lemon juice. Low temperature for about 3 hours. It fell apart. With it came salad with the oil dressing, Tzasiki, potatoes cooked with the lamb, feta and bread, and wine. The only thing to do was to do as the Greeks do and go to bed.

At 5.30 a tap on the door announced the arrival of Amastasia who had invited us out to pick wild flowers. We were not very successful but we met an old friend of George and Amastasia, Hosta, who made us coffee at his farm house. Soon his sister and her daughter arrived with a lovely wired haired terrier called Dick. We had a lovely time with them all in the old farmhouse which was much as it was during war time. Now it has running water and soon it is to have electricity. It houses the Albanian workers who come to work on the farm.

Easter Monday 9th April
Sam and I drove into Pylos to get some antibiotics for Gina who has a really nasty cough, - probably a chest infection. But everything in Pylos was closed so we came home with nothing. Our flat tire will have to wait till tomorrow too.

We had lunch with Georgos and Varna. Before we started Georgos took us to his farm where his family had hidden Snow & Ernie. Today it looks quite different as during the war it was planted in grapes and you could see for miles. Now the olives groves are beautiful, but they limit the view. We visited the farm house, built by Georgos' father, where Snow & Ernie lived and saw the old well, still in use, from where they saw the British attack on an oil tanker berthed at Pylos. Only one aircraft was involved, coming in very low from Kalamata and so keeping out of the arc of the guns around Pylos which were directed towards the sea. The tanker was destroyed but the warship which was refueling got away. Never the less there was great celebration at the farm that day. We also visited another store house which Georgos built around 1947. Again we had perfect weather, and returned to Georgos' house where Varna had prepared a beautiful lunch of lamb, meat patties, salad with oil and lemon juice, and feta. Preceded by Ouzo and accompanied by beer. And so to bed!