5 January ’05, Wednesday. In 490 BC an army of 9000 Greeks and 1000 Plataeans defeated the 25,000 strong Persian army. The Greeks were greatly indebted to the ingenious tactics of Miltiades, who altered the conventional battle formation so that there were fewer soldiers in the center, but more in the wings. This lulled the Pursians into thinking that the Greeks were going to be a pushover. As the Pursians broke through the front lines, the remaining Greeks came in from the sides and caught the Pursians in a trap, thus winning the war. 192 Greeks and over 6000 Pursians lost their lives. A runner in full armor was sent to Athens to announce the victory. After arriving and shouting “Enikesame” (We won !) he collapsed in a heap and never revived. The location that the war was fought was Marathon and the distance the runner ran was about 26 miles…thus, the marathon was born in Greece. We headed out to Marathon this morning to see the town and the dam that was built of Pentelic marble the same marble that was used to build the Parthenon. It supplies the city of Athens water. The rest of the day we continued our drive down the eastern coastline enjoying the beauty of the rolling hills to the sea. We also came across the site were the equestrian games were held at the 2004 Olympics. We have seen a lot of the sites since we arrived and this just added one more. What are they going to do with all of these arenas, swimming complexes, stadiums and on and on??? I sure hope they made a lot of money during the Olympics… Anyway, about 2 we pulled up to a beach location and had lunch. It was just one of those perfect places to have lunch…beside the sea, warm sunshine, great food, and the best of company… We finished the day with a ride to Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. The ancient Greeks chose this site for it’s natural beauty and its appropriateness to the god in question…Poseidon, the god of the sea. It was built in the same year that the Parthenon was built, 444 BC. Originally there were 34 Doric style columns, but now there are only 15 left standing. The structure with it’s gleaming white columns standing in contrast to the brilliant blue of the sea and sky, and the craggy spur that plunges 65 meters down to the sea, makes this site one you wont forget. I know I haven’t. I first saw the Temple of Poseidon from the sea in 1960. I was just about to pull into Athens for a little R&R when I was on the aircraft carrier USS Independence. I was as awe struck then as I am now.
Tomorrow is Epiphany (The Blessing of the Waters). The day of Christ’s baptism by St John is celebrated throughout Greece. Seas, lakes and rivers are blessed and crosses immersed and tossed into them. The largest ceremony occurs a Piraeus. In Greece, it is a national holiday and EVERYTHING is closed on national holidays. I hope we have everything we need… If I had guts, I’d drive into Piraeus for the celebrations….I’ve got the guts ok but I’m not nuts either so I guess we’ll miss it.
Tomorrow is Epiphany (The Blessing of the Waters). The day of Christ’s baptism by St John is celebrated throughout Greece. Seas, lakes and rivers are blessed and crosses immersed and tossed into them. The largest ceremony occurs a Piraeus. In Greece, it is a national holiday and EVERYTHING is closed on national holidays. I hope we have everything we need… If I had guts, I’d drive into Piraeus for the celebrations….I’ve got the guts ok but I’m not nuts either so I guess we’ll miss it.