July 13th - Day 33

Herkyna Spring

Happy Friday the 13th! This morning we set off for our 8 day trip through northern Greece. While I was not looking forward to having to live out of a suitcase again, I was looking forward to staying in hotels with AC. The last two nights in Athens have been almost unbearable because of the heat. But I digress...

Our first stop of the day was Thebes. We got shown around the current excavations by the director of the site and then he took us on a walking tour and showed us some of the other remains scattered throughout the town. Our first stop was at the Temple of Apollo Ismenios. There is not much left of the temple that is visible except a few walls, so it was a quick stop. We continued to walk through Thebes and saw the Herakleion (shrine of Herkles), the Church of Agios Gregorios, the Elektra Gates, some treasury buildings, and an archive. Our tour ended at the archaeological museum currently under construction. We got to go inside the museum and see a few pieces that are being stored there and will eventually be apart of the exhibits when it opens to the general public, but there wasn't really a lot to see.

After that we hopped on the bus and drove to Livadia were we had lunch next to a beautiful spring. The spring was called the Herkyna Spring and is said to have been the site of the Trophonius oracle. The hero/god Trophonios was believed to be the protector of the city. Today the spring is surrounded by a park and it was a very pleasant place to stop for lunch. I think we all enjoyed dipping our tired feet in the cool spring.

Our next stop was in Distomo to see a memorial commemorating the Distomo massacre that occurred during World War II. The massacre occurred on June 10, 1944 and was part of a collective punishment policy of the Germans in response to the killing of 3 Germans at the hands of local guerrillas. The Germans, who believed that the town was harboring the guerrillas, rounded up the inhabitants and killed them, sparing no one. Photographs of the victims were hung in a room with their names and ages. The Germans spared no one in this massacre and there were photos of men, women, and children, young and old. It was an extremely powerful memorial.

Church of Hosios Loukas

Our final stop of the day was at Hosios Loukas, which is located on the western slopes of Mt. Helicon near ancient Stiris. It is home to the Monastery of Hosios Loukas and is one of the most important and well preserved Byzantine sites. The monastery was founded in the 10th century and is home to some spectacular mosaics, frescoes, and other religious artwork. It was an important site of pilgrimage because of the healing miracles said to be performed by Hosios Loukas.

After we finished at the monastery it was back on the bus and off to Delphi where we will be spending 2 nights. I'm super excited about tomorrow as we will be visiting the ancient site of Delphi. It is definitely one of the sites that I have been looking forward to since I found out I was coming to Greece.