Really sorry if this looks laconic and cramped but I had to reduce it almost in half to be within the limits
I start early morning from the South East end of Attiki region and it's such a sweet morning indeed. I couldn't have ordered better weather conditions leaving the North end of Sounio Park:
Later I start riding up to Penteli mountain. It's a lovely route with good tarmac and nice bends that you can find on the maps as "Leoforos Dionisou". The viewpoints on this road are very frequent and I don't hesitate to make my first stop with generous view to Athens:
Apart from the view I also enjoy the silence:
There are nice gravel routes around leading you to even more viewpoints off the beaten track:
Mountains are generous, you can even ease your thirst:
I jump back on the bike to continue this scenic route full of Green peppered with some Yellow:
with more view points on the way:
Here's a summary of clips taken while riding Penteli mountain:
Penteli is past behind me and I am riding on 83 heading North. This is also a nice route with moderate traffic except the summer high season during the hours that people go or return from the beaches. 83 brings you to Marathon lake, one of the most classic destinations for a day trip if you are based in Athens. It's an artificial lake due to the Marathon Dam, a construction that finished in 1929 aiming to solve the problem of water scarcity of the region. A couple of bends before the Dam you can see elements of the first water system installed, now exposed to the visitors:
It's also a very nice area full of trees and birds singing, ideal for a soothing stop:
Back in the day it was built they didn't feel obliged to make a two way street and it's still a single lane:
Yes, you have to wait for your turn to pass it so keep that in mind during high season though the beauty of the area makes it impossible to regret the time spent.
Have a look at the ride up to the Dam:
Of course the lake took it's name from being only 5 km away from the settlement of Marathon where Athenians fought victoriously the Persians back in 490 B.C. The constructors felt committed to these important historic facts hence they took care of its aesthetics to match the impressive Ancient Greek heritage:
They really paid attention to detail back in the day. Did you notice that small edifice on this last picture bottom left at the Dam's base? This one:
It's an exact copy of the temple built by Athenians at Delphi after their victory in Marathon.
I soon leave the main road at Vothonas where I turn left to try out an alternative route for my first time. That brings me to the tiny local stone theater of Kalentzi via a route like this:
It's a cute little theater under the trees:
And such a lovely cleansing spot:
A sweet ride through a pine tree forest later brings me to the ancient site of Amfiaraeion. The first thing that impresses me as I park my bike outside the entrance of the site is its location. Imagine a small valley of pine trees with their scent flooding your nose. Now consider that I am already used in such places but still this manages to impress me. Ancient Greeks definitely had a taste.
The first overview of the main part of the site already makes me feel it worth visiting this gem which lies just 50km North of Athens:
Built in the late 5th B.C. this site used to be a Sanctuary, Oracle and therapeutic center dedicated to Amfiaraos, a mythic fortune teller of the Ancient Greek Mythology with medical knowledge . It's touching to see writings on marble 23 centuries old with the same alphabet I use today:
Spring decorates this beauty in a well deserved way:
Not much are saved from the Ancient temple but you can allow your imagination to gallop watching its ruins:
In the following pictures you get a taste of the politics of that era (see cropped sign for info)
Every 5 years in order to honor Amfiaraos the area hosted a celebration (Amfiaraeia) which included musical and theatrical contests as well as athletic ones. In the next picture you can see the list of winners written on marble (cropped sign provides more info):
In this picture is what used to be the Altar and Men's bath as there is also a spring here (considered sacred back in the day).
The stream might look dry to you at first glance:
However there's still a bit of running water that I find meters later:
It's lovely to listen to the water running so humble and soothing (check video later).
The South East side of the site is at a slope with undefined ruins surrounded by pine trees:
What is not undefined and definitely interesting at this part of the site though is "Klepsydra":
It's worked as a hydraulic clock. When its tank was full of water a piece of wood was floating on top. As the tank drains via a small hole the wood goes down as well dragging an indicator reading the time on a scale. A similar construction can be found in the Ancient Agora of Athens as well.
Back to the main site, time to take those stairs up and enjoy the view:
Below you can see what's left from the once impressive Stoa of the site:
In the next image you see the first quarter of the site as you enter with the temple of Amphiaraos on the top right corner:
Lovely benches outside the Women's bath:
View to Stoa from the North East end of the site:
Back to the steps I used before for some overview, this time in order to visit the theater of the site:
This small stone theater was built during the 2nd B.C. it had seats from wood and was supposed to host 300 spectators. 5 special ones from them would enjoy the experience in one of those marble thrones:
Here's the theater's entrance/exit:
And here's how it looks from the highest spot I managed to climb:
Here's a summary of clips I shot inside the site (buttery smooth this time, hoping to ease the pain from the blurry previous ones 🙂):
Hope you enjoyed my first post lockdown trip, see you on the next one(s) 🙂
