We started the day in Patras, the town in which we spent the night. Mike talked to us at this section of the rather large Roman stadium.
We then walked over to the partially reconstructed Odeion (a building like a theater but smaller and used for singing and poetry competitions).
The views from the top row of seats was amazing.
On our way to the castle at Clemoutsi, we stopped n Andravida to see The Church of Agia Sophia which was surrounded by a gate. Jack, the director of the School and leader of trip 2, had to ask the guy at the periptero (cigarette/candy/magazine stand) for the key. The church may have been constructed in 1205 when the Peloponnese was captured by Frankish knights and Andravida became the capital principality of Achaia.
At Clemoutsi, we saw the first of several castles on this trip. This one was built in 1223 by Geoffrey I Villardouin and Clemoutsi was once the capital of the Venetian district of Elis. By the way, I learned quite a bit about the Franks and Venetians on this trip--I had no idea there were so many knights and castles in Greece!
Inside rooms of the fortifications are museum exhibits open to the public. We were also allowed into a room which is not currently open to the public which had objects from everyday life.
Our last stop of the day was Olympia, site of the original Olympic Games. We were joined by Nancy Bookidis who used to be the Assistant Director of Excavations at Corinth. She guided us through many parts of the site over the next couple of days. As Members of the American School, we were allowed past the ropes into the temple of Zeus, which had the biggest column drums I have ever seen.
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| Massive column capital |
When the site closed for the day, we walked down to a recent excavation of a temple or sanctuary (I can't remember which and I can't find any notes about it) before we headed back to the hotel (http://www.olympia-palace.gr/).
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