Cape Tenaron

 

Cape Tenaron or cape Matapan is mainland Greece's southernmost point. It was the site of the Ancient city Taenarum.  Nearby is a cave legend claims was the home of Hades the God of underworld.  On the hill above the cave there is a temple dedicated to the God of the sea Poseidon.

Tenaron's lighthouse was built in 1892 and its luminosity was 12 nautical miles.  In 1984 it was upgraded with solar panels and its luminosity is now 22 nautical miles.  The trek to the lighthouse from the end of the paved road is 2.2 kilometers.  For those who decide to take the hike to this very interesting place is better to start early in the morning or late in the evening in order to avoid the blazing summer Greek sun as there is no shade in its entirety.  I visited the site in 1968 when I was serving in the Greek Navy and my brother visited it recently on foot.

Ionian Sea Passage; the conclusion

The Ionian Sea (Greek: Ιόνιο Πέλαγος), the Sea south of the Adriatic, is bound by Calabria and Sicily to the west, and the west coast of Greece to the east.  The deepest point in the Mediterranean Sea the Calypso deep (5,267 meters) is located in the Ionian Sea at 36°34′N 21°8′E. The Ionian Sea is one of the most seismically active regions in the world as three tectonic plates meet in the area between the islands Cephalonia, Ithaca and Zante.  The island of Cephalonia lies to the east of a fault where the African plate meets the European and the Aegean plates.  The major Ionian Islands are collectively known as the Seven Islands (Greek: Επτανησα) and belong to Greece.  Starting from the north are Kerkyra (Corfu), Paxi, Lefkada, Cephalonia, Ithaca, and Zakynthos (Zante) and Kythera.  I always considered the Ionian to be a small sea but this is not the case as the distance from Sicily to city of Patras in Peloponnese is 300 nautical miles.  The distance was approximately equal to our two longest previous passages in the Balearic and Tyrrhenian Seas. 

The crossing of the Ionian was arduous because we struggled with a storm and also we fought opposite winds to our destination.  The whistling in the stays is testimony of winds over 30 knots.  Because of opposite winds we elected to forgo Ithaca and continue towards the gulf and port of Patras in the northwest corner of Peloponnese. 

We were tired and elated when we landed in that city’s marina.  Because of the strenuous sailing during the three-day passage, none of us ate or drank even water.  When we tied at the dock tired and dehydrated, I felt like fainting so I had to lie on ground.   Luckily Alexandra my brother’s wife was there and offered me potato chips (salted) and a coke that brought me back to life! 

Mycenae

Mycenae (Greek: Μυκῆναι) is an archeological site located in the northeast corner of Peloponnese approximately 100 kilometers south from Athens.

The entrance to the citadel is a favorite site for picture taking. Two young tourists, Mark and Chloe, standing in front of the Lion Gate entrance.

According to Greek mythology Perseus founded the city.  The historian Pausanias suggested that Mycenae’s name was derived either from the word μύκης (Greek: mushroom) as Perseus found one at the site or after the cap (mycēs) of the sheath of his legendary sword.  The site has been inhabited since the Neolithic period.  The existing ruins, the fortifications and the Lion Gate were rebuilt with massive stones that they were thought to be the work of the one-eyed giants Cyclops and date from 1350 BC. 

Mycenae was built as a fortified hill surrounded by hamlets and estates.  Since Mycenae was the capital of a state that ruled much of the eastern Mediterranean world, the rulers must have placed their stronghold in this remote region for its defensive value.  Mycenae was a military power and the center of Greek civilization, in the second millennium BC, thus the period from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to its name.

Palaces at that time were stately and featured the throne room.  The throne was placed against the center of a wall that allowed an unobstructed view of the ruler from the entrance.  Frescos adorned the walls and the floor of the palace and many of the houses of his subjects.

Mycenae’s king Agamemnon led the Greeks against Troy.  The Trojan War is one of the most important events and has been narrated through Homer’s Iliad that relates to its siege; and the Odyssey that describes Odysseus’s journey home.

The Ancient Greeks believed that the Trojan War had taken place in the 13th or 12th century BC, and that Troy was located near the Dardanelles.  As of the mid-19th century, both the war and the city were widely believed to be non-historical. However, in 1868, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavated its ruins.

In 1876, Heinrich Schliemann discovered a funeral golden mask. The mask covered the face of a body that he believed belonged to the legendary king Agamemnon. The mask is currently displayed in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.