Today is the birthday of the author. In England they will be firing the 21 gun salute but here they don't know the significance of the day so there will not be any great celebrations. This is good as I prefer to keep the occasion low-key – I can't cope with all that pomp. I really don't feel a day over 56, which is just as well because that is how old I am.
After a gentle start, we set off for the nearby Necromanteion of Ephyra my favourite ancient site in Greece. Situated on a low hill close to the ancient River Styx (the river of the dead), the building dates to the Hellenistic period and was destroyed by fire in 168 BC. This is where the ancient Greeks came to visit the Oracle of the Dead and communicate with their ancestors. The buildings are surrounded by a large polygonal wall and after passing through the entrance you arrive at the courtyard and the priests' houses. Next are the visitors rooms and baths where they are fed on a diet of fermented beans and lupin seeds, inducing hallucinations. After offering sufficient gifts to the Oracle, the devotee is taken to the purification room before being lead through the famous labyrinth to the Underworld. At the end of the labyrinth is the cult room where votive offerings are made before the victim is taking into the depths of Hell. This is a massive room cut into the solid rock below the buildings. Here he is able to meet the shades of his ancestors and ask questions of them, a process helped by the priests who lowered down images of the dead on sheets and could reply to the questions in suitably deep Underworldly sounding voices from the room above using holes in the roof of the cellar. This must have been a very frightening experience but worth every penny to get that important advice from your ancestors. Pithoi for storing the grain and quern stones for grinding it lay around the rooms and areas have been identified that were used to store the votive offerings. The windlass mechanism for lowering the pictures of the shades was found in the room above. It is believed that the site was used into the Roman period. It is a fascinating, evocative site.
All of this is very poorly explained on the site but I have an excellent guide book bought many years ago that explains it all. I noticed that the guide book is no longer on sale but this might be due to the fact that, as explained in the Blue Guide, some experts have suggested that the Necromanteion theory is not correct. They say that it was a fortified house in a strategic position on the Acheron Lake (now dried up) and that the Hell room was actually a very large water cistern. The windlass mechanism is explained as parts of a catapult and missile points. They claim that other houses of similar design have been excavated elsewhere. I must say that this has some merit although the labyrinthine corridors need to be explained. Perhaps they were a security device to restrict access to the inner stronghold of the house? Anyway, this is all far too practical – I will continue to believe the romantic explanation of the Necromanteion.
Continuing on the theme of death, we drove on to Glyki where visited the source of the Styx. The modern name of the river is the Acheron and Glyki (Greek for sweet) is so named because of the vast quantity of sweet (drinkable) water that emanates from the nearby Archeron Gorge.
We parked the van next to the rivers and watched the aquamarine water rushing by whilst we had our lunch sat in the sun. We then walked up the gorge with vertical cliffs towering above on both sides and it was only a few metres before we came across our first spring pouring out at great speed from a hole at the bottom of the cliff. This was repeated many times as we went deeper into the gorge. Sometimes the water came up under pools causing violent currents in the water – bubbles rose as trapped air was release. The walls closed in until is as impossible to walk any further. Our way was blocked by a massive spring pouring out thousands of litres every minute from a fissure in the cliff. Many years ago, with our son Simon, we waded though the freezing cold water and here it was almost impossible to stand up due to the force of the water. It is said that anyone who immerses themselves totally in the Styx will become immortal. Achilles was dipped in but his heel was not immersed and that led to his weakness. Jane is immortal but Simon and I failed to live up to the challenge, we both decided that the opportunity for immortality did not justify the pain of that freezing water.
If you are passing through this area of Greece, do drop (literally perhaps) into Glyki. The kayaking down the gorge looked like great fun (we saw lots of people doing this) and they also organise pony trekking and horse riding through the gorge. And whilst you are here, why not consult the shades of your ancestors at the Necromanteion.
Whilst we were within the cellar of Hell, I received a phone call from my, very much alive, mother wishing me a Happy Birthday, so I was able to consult one of my ancestors by the magic modern technology. We were amazed that we got a signal in a cellar with solid stone on all sides considering that we can't even use the mobile phone in our house in Somerset!
We drove back to Parga going into the town for a meal in the evening, starting with an ouzo at a café overlooking the beautiful bay with its islets, whitewashed chapel and ruins on the Venetian castle high above us. We had intended to eat in one of the smart restaurants on the front but then discovered a Giro (Greek kebab) shop with tables outside. That was it, a Giro plate washed down with Retsina. As we returned to the campsite the bushes on both sides were alive with the flashes of fireflies. A perfect end to a perfect birthday.
Photos: The Necromanteion labyrinth; Hades – ideal for mobile phone calls; The limit for walking in the Acheron Gorge – after this it is very cold wading or swimming!; A major spring gushes from the rock.
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