Tourism, Necromancy and ...Heading for Hades?

Today I am taking you on a trip to the south-west of Greece, to the area near Prevesa in Epirus, to the very old city of Ephyra. Below you see a map outlining several archaeological sites of significance in the locale. The old city was said to be at the confluence of the River Acheron and its tributaries, the Pyriphlegethon  and the Cocytus. 

The modern names of the two latter rivers, the Vouvos – what sounds to me onomatopoeic, echoing  the sound of the running water, but, in fact, could be translated as ‘the silent one’, so quite mysterious  – and the Black River,  are much less dramatic than their original names. The three ancient river names mean: Joyless, Burning Coals and Lament, respectively.  Sounds like an extract from a Scottish Presbyterian minister’s sermon describing what lay ahead of the poor sinners in his congregation.

And that is not too far off the mark, for the nearby Nekromanteio  is related to Necromancy,  described by my trusty Chambers Dictionary as ‘the art of revealing future events by calling up and questioning the spirits of the dead.’ Next is an aerial photograph of the site excavated by Professor Sotirios Dakaris of the University of Ioannina in the 1960s and 70s. Reference to the works of Herodotus and Thucydides     (I just love that name!) and to the descriptions in Homer’s Odyssey led to the site being identified as the Acheron Nekromanteio.

               

 

                         

Here is H, the tourist, reading up about and me inspecting the walls of the ancient temple devoted to Hades and Persephone on the banks of the Acheron.

                                                                                                       

 

 

 Let me put these two characters in the context of Greek mythology.

The Titans were the divine descendants of Uranus, god of the sky, and Gaia, goddess of the earth. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus, leader of the Titans. Hades and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, defeated their father’s generation of gods and assumed power over the cosmos, becoming rulers of the Underworld, the air and the sea, respectively. Persephone was the beautiful daughter of Demeter, goddess of grain, agriculture and fertility, who was abducted by Hades. In her fury Demeter swore to make the earth barren and destroy mankind if her daughter were not returned.  An added complication was that Persephone had eaten pomegranate seeds and whoever tasted the food of Hades was obliged to stay there. However, following the intervention of Rhea, mother of Zeus, Hades and Demeter – I know!! – a deal was struck whereby Persephone was allowed to spend some months in the Underworld,  when autumn and winter reigned above, and, on her return to earth for the rest of the year, man could enjoy the seasons of spring and summer. What an imaginative explanation for our meteorological cycle!!

   The River Acheron, with its chasms, canyons and caves, was believed to be the entrance to the Underworld and the path the dead followed to reach Hades. Believers visited the place to consult the souls of the dead who, on leaving their bodies, were believed to have acquired knowledge of the future. Excavation on the site has enabled archaeologists to surmise what went on here around the 7^th to 5^th centuries B.C.

                 

        

 

              

Visitors entered the north entrance and lived for some time in the accommodation there, being prepared mentally and physically for the next stage, following a specified diet.  Evidence from the pots and vessels below shows that the guests ate meals of grains, beans and pork there.                                                           

                                          

 

After purification, ceremonies of sacrifice, libation and cereal-offering were carried out.

Only then could believers, led by a priest, enter the dark hall with stone-hewn archways : the Palace of Hades and Persephone, to commune with the souls of the dead.      

 Here we are in the hall, hopefully not heading for Hades – just visiting!          

                                      

                                                                           

                                                                                           

It was interesting to see, just beyond the wall of the site, this dignified Cypress tree, a tree which symbolises mourning.  Both in Europe and in the Muslim world, this tree is often found in cemeteries. Associated as it is with death and the underworld, it was a very appropriate place for it to be growing.             

                                                                                                                                                        

Greeks claim to love nature but are not renowned for respecting it. Not fifty yards from the famed archaeological site, this sight confronted, or rather affronted, us. 

Given that the prefix necro- means death – as in necrosis and necromancy – though it’s too decomposed to identify whether it was a Ford or not, I believe that what we found just nearby Nekromanteion, could be described as a ….necro-Mondeo!