The Great Dionysia of Ancient Athens

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Ancient Athenians welcomed spring with hard drinking and the latest offerings of their favorite entertainers. The Great Dionysia, also known as the City Dionysia (as opposed to the Country Dionysia in the winter) was a major festival held around the vernal equinox beginning in the 7th century BCE. Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, theater and wild abandon was the fitting honoree.

The 5-day(ish) festival evolved over the centuries but here’s more or less how it went:

The festival opened with a grand parade through the streets of the city to the Theater of Dionysus on the slopes of the acropolis. Thousands joined the procession, including Athenians and visitors, who came to town for the occasion. The procession ushered a statue of Dionysus and sacrificial animals to the theater and marchers waved phalloi on poles to symbolize the fertility of the season.

Theater of Dionysus, Athens

Theater of Dionysus, Athens

After the procession, revelers settled into the theater to enjoy competitions between choruses from the different tribes of Attica, who performed poetry and songs in honor of Dionysus.Then there were the sacrifices, followed by feasting and prodigious wine drinking (and associated behaviors).

The next three or four days were dedicated to theatrical competitions. Playwrights would introduce their new works here. Winners were awarded an ivy wreath, but the real prize was the glory and prestige of victory. Most of the ancient Greek drama that we know today was first performed at this festival. Initially only tragedies and satyr plays (satire) were included in the competition, but from the early 5th century, comedies were also allowed. Prizes went not only to writers but also to producers, directors and actors.

 

NAME THAT COUNTRY Episode 89

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Ancient Aegae or Aigai (modern Vergina), in the north of our mystery country, was the 1st capital of the kingdom of Macedon, which produced Philip II and his son Alexander the Great. Even after the capital was moved to Pella, Aegae remained an important religious and ceremonial center and a sophisticated, cultured city, which attracted great thinkers and artists.

The 4th-century BCE royal palace at Aegae rivals the Parthenon in terms of architectural innovation and influence. In 1977, the discovery of the royal necropolis, including the tomb and remains of Philip II, was one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century. Excavation and restoration is ongoing on the large site. Funeral objects and several tombs are on display in the excellent Museum of the Royal Tombs, which is cut right into the tumulus (burial mound). The fresco of the abduction of Persephone pictured above is from one of the royal tombs.

Can you name that country?
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Gayer-Anderson Museum, Cairo

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Gayer-Anderson Museum, Cairo

Gayer-Anderson Museum, Cairo

The Gayer-Anderson Museum in Cairo is one of very few examples of 17th-century residential buildings left in the city. The architecture is of as much interest as the contents on exhibit and visitors get a good sense of how wealthy Egyptians lived 200-300 years ago.

The museum is comprised of two adjoined houses, which stand right up against the southeast corner of the 9th-century Ibn Tulun Mosque. Positioning houses very close to mosques was common at the time and until the early 20th century, Ibn Tulun was swallowed up by houses built all around it. All the houses were pulled down in the 1920s and 30s except two, which the Egyptian government deemed historically important and in fair enough condition to save.

In 1935, Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson, a British officer and doctor obsessed with Middle Eastern and Islamic art, culture and history, was allowed to move into the houses. Anderson joined the two buildings, restored them, and filled them with his large collection of art, antiquities, furniture, carpets, costumes, Islamic and Coptic … and assorted objects. Some architectural features include deep, covered balconies, intricate tile work, painted wood beam ceilings, elaborately carved window screens (mashrabeya), and a rooftop terrace garden with sweeping views of Cairo.

looking out on a minaret of the Ibn Tulun Mosque from the rooftop terrace of the Gayer-Anderson Museum, Cairo

looking out on a minaret of the Ibn Tulun Mosque from the rooftop terrace of the Gayer-Anderson Museum, Cairo

When Gayer-Anderson returned to England in 1942, he donated his collection to the Egyptian government.

The museum is also known as Bayt al-Kritliya (House of the Cretan Woman) because it once belonged to a wealthy woman from Crete.

This place is a maze and full of such a wide range of items (some labeled in Arabic and English, some not labeled at all), a guide is recommended.

NAME THAT COUNTRY Episode 88

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The Cemberlitas Hamam is one of many historical bath houses in our mystery country, as well as thoroughly modern ones, usually in luxury hotels. Cemberlitas dates from 1584 and was designed by the great Ottoman architect, Sinan. 

Towel-clad bathers are separated by gender and can do their own douse-lather-scrub-douse treatment or pay a bit extra to have an attendant do it for them. Traditionally, the hamam has been as much a place to socialize as to get clean; and lounging about on the central platform is part of the experience.

Can you name that country? What about the city?
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Epidaurus, Greece

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Theater of Epidaurus, Greece

Theater of Epidaurus, Greece

Less than 2 hours from Athens, near the Saronic Gulf coast of the Peloponnese, the ancient site of Epidaurus makes an easy day-trip from the capital.

In mythology, Epidaurus was the birthplace of Asclepius, son of Apollo and god of healing. The Asclepion sanctuary there was an active healing center from the 6th-century BCE to the 4th-century CE and then continued as a Christian healing center for another century. The area thrived on the popularity of the sanctuary and the spectacular theater at Epidaurus is one indication of that prosperity. The theater seats 15,000 and the acoustics are so perfect that normal voices on the stage can be heard clearly from every seat. The theater is still used for performances today.

Click to see Greece tours that include Epidaurus.

NAME THAT COUNTRY Episode 87

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In a country chock-full of jaw-dropping scenery, Khor Ash Sham in the Musandam Peninsula is high on the list of extraordinary natural sites. Musandam is something of an outpost, separated from the country’s mainland by a sizable chunk of northern UAE. It thrusts into the Strait of Hormuz at the eastern most point of the Arabian Peninsula. With its deeply cut, mountainous coastline plunging into the sea, the area is often compared to Norway. Day-cruising in the “fjords,” usually with an escort of playful dolphins, is a top tourist attraction in Musandam, along with exploring the rugged interior by 4-wheel drive.

Can you name that country? 
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VIKOS GORGE, GREECE

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Vikos Gorge, Epirus, Greece

Vikos Gorge, Epirus, Greece

Way off the beaten path, isolated by the Pindus Mountains, the Epirus region of northwestern Greece is one of the least populated places in Europe. Ecosystems of exceptional diversity include thick old-growth forests, pure lakes and rivers and a number of endangered species, some found nowhere else.

The Vikos Gorge cuts a deep swath (by some account’s the world’s deepest) through this pristine wilderness, offering magnificent views and, for the fit and experienced, exhilarating hiking. The gorge stretches about 12 miles between the villages of Monodendri and Vikos.

Monodendri village, Epirus, Greece

Monodendri village, Epirus, Greece

Forty-five sleepy stone villages, with their cobbled streets and arched-stone bridges, known collectively as the Zagori, tuck into the surrounding slopes and valleys. Cobbled roads between the villages make for easy-moderate hiking.

Kipoi village, Epirus, Greece

Kipoi village, Epirus, Greece

one of many stone bridges in the Zagori

one of many stone bridges in the Zagori

The nearest major town is Ioannina, about 18 miles away. From Ioannina, 6-8 hours is plenty of time to gaze upon the natural splendor of the Vikos gorge and explore a few villages of the Zagori.

To hike the gorge, good physical condition and some experience is crucial. Descent and ascent are very steep and climbing up and over large rocks may be necessary on the gorge floor.