We walked into the centre today and headed for the
Silversmith Museum that is housed in part of the castle complex. It was very
interesting to see the intricate nature of the silver objects, especially the
filigree work. Silver work was used to show the wealth and status of the
important people both with the women’s jewellery and the men’s weapons. Some of
the incredibly ornate silver-decorated guns must have been purely for show as
they looked totally impractical.
We moved on to the archaeology museum, just a short distance from where we
observed the Epitaphios last night. This is another modern, spacious museum
with well-presented exhibits and excellent information boards in English. There
were a number of highlights but the stand-out exhibits were the Oracle Tablets
from Dodoni used by pilgrims to ask questions of the oracle. These varied from
enquiries about everyday life to ones from states asking whether they should
establish a new colony.
There were also lots of finds from the Nekromanteion of Acheron, a fascinating
site further south in Northern Greece. This is a site that has fascinated me
ever since we visited it in the 1990s. Built on the Acheron River that was
thought to be a passage to the underworld, it was dedicated to contacting the
spirits of the dead through an oracle.
Ioaninna was quiet today as everyone
prepared for the celebrations tonight and we went back to the van to relax
before we set off again for the centre at 23:00.
We headed for the Metropolitan Church of Saint Athanasius, recommended to us by
a friend of the campsite owner. We queued to buy white candles and went into
the church briefly to observe the service before joining the large crowd in the
courtyard. This would not be considered a polite thing to do in England but in
Greece it is quite acceptable, and common practice, to wander in and out of the
church during a service. Midnight approached and the clergy came out of the
church to stand at a rostrum where microphones and speakers allowed the crowd
to follow the service. The white candles were lit inside the church and flowed
out into the courtyard, the flame being passed from person to person. It
finally reached us we lit our candles. Midnight arrived, the priest announced ‘Christos
anesti’ (Christ is risen) and the crowd replied ‘Alithos anesti’ (truly He is
risen) the chanting reached a crescendo, the bells rang very loudly and behind
us, outside on the road, an army band started playing the national anthem with
the soldiers singing – not that anyone could hear them as they were drowned out
by everything else.
The crowd started to drift away, many going to restaurants where they would eat
the traditional soup made with lamb innards. It doesn’t sound very appetising and
Jane is definitely not keen, but on the few occasions that I have tried it, I
thought that it was very good. We decided to give it a miss and walked back to
the campsite.
Photos: A silver filigree plate from the silversmith museum; Detail of a bronze
jug from the Nekromanteion (510-490 BC); Bronze eagle from the temple of
Aphrodite at Dodona; A lead oracle tablet from Dodona reading “Good fortune.
The city of Chaones asks Zeus and Dione if it is better and advisable to move
the temple of Athena Pollas to a better position”; The flame reaches us just
after midnight.
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