Thasos (Greece)

We didn’t have to pack up this morning because we’re staying another night in Thassos. There was an optional ride around Thassos Island this morning; and, half of us chose not to ride it. I believe that it’s the same route as the annual Thassos Tour that happens each May, a total of 96 km (60 miles). It is so wonderful to have an entire day to explore a town full of ancient ruins!

In one of the little free libraries in my neighborhood, there was a 20-year-old guidebook to Greece with a page on Thassos. It seems that Thassos has less well marked and maintained ruins now, or, perhaps it’s because tourist season is over. Many restaurants and shops are closed until next summer. As far as Google Maps is concerned, there is no longer a Thassos Tourist Services and thus no maps. Google Maps did locate some of the other ruins mentioned.

Agora

My first stop was the Agora, which is next to the Thasos Archaeological Museum. It is a surreal experience to simply walk through and atop blocks of stone that were carved and built 2500 years ago. No entrance fee. No docents or guards. Simply free rein to explore. Later in the afternoon, I wandered by the other end of the agora to see three school girls using the agora and temple to Artemis as their path to get home.

Amphitheatre 

From the agora, I followed signs for the 4th century BCE amphitheatre. There is a long set of stone stones up to it. There were two gentlemen working near the entrance that greeted me. However, the entrance booth window was closed and the gate look locked. A bit of a disappointment. Yet, I kept going up the path that was now a steep trail. There were light posts along it that no longer had working lights, so, it must be a functional path, even though Google Maps didn’t have it listed. Eventually, it met another path. Turning left, I was able to get to a fence surrounding the theatre where work was going on.

Medieval fortress

Turning around, I headed further up the hill on this new path. The broken out, rusty lampposts continued along it, even as it became more overgrown. When there were breaks in the foliage, the views were becoming more and more stunning. Near the top of this hill is a medieval fortress. Later in the day I would learn that the fortress was built over a temple to Apollo. There used to be a sign among the ruins; however, now it is broken and graffitied with all text and images missing. It was great fun to wander all over these ruins and take in the spectacular views of the Aegean Sea.

Aegean sea

The path with broken lampposts continued on the other side of the fortress to another set of ruins. Google Maps didn’t have a name for it; and, there was no sign. Perhaps this was the temple of Athena mentioned in my guidebook. Surprisingly, I heard a cough. Thankfully, it was only a goat! There had been lots of goat poop around the fortress. I hadn’t seen another human since the amphitheatre.

Next the path arrived at the altar to Pan, which was only a semicircle carved into the rock. Another long destroyed sign with no information. Later at the museum there would be a drawing of the other carvings around the semicircle. Where those carvings are today? They didn’t appear to be in the museum. At the top of the rock was the highest point of this hill, from which a ragged Greek flag fluttered in the wind. It was  magnificent spot to eat a snack while enjoying the view from the shade.

Steep stone steps down 

On the other side of this high rock, there was a set of steep stone stairs with a rusty, dilapidated railing. I gingerly made my way down them to the trail below, which now ran along stone walls. The trail was more and more overgrown until it came to four stone steps leading to a dead end neighborhood street. This entire time, I’d been waiting for stray dogs to accost me but have luckily only encountered the ubiquitous cats. Trying not to stand out too much, I tried to greet or wave at all the residents passing or on their porches.

Gate of Zeus and Hera

The street ran into a street with more ruins, the gate of Silenus, which had stone steps leading from the road down. From there, I walked over to the gate of Zeus and Hera, which still has an eroding bas-relief sculpture on its pillar. Here ended the guidebook tour. I wasn’t far from the hotel and went searching for some lunch. Some school girls were eating gyros across from a gyro restaurant; and, they were made just like in Toronto: with French fries rolled in. It was a filling lunch.

Giant Kourus statue at museum

After lunch, I finally headed to the museum. The giant statue in the entrance was excavated in pieces from the temple of Apollo during a French archaeological expedition in the early 1900s. The museum also gave more details on the agora, the amphitheater and the altar to Pan. There were several other sites mentioned that I hadn’t visited in the morning. At the end of my visit, the docent pulled out a well worn map for me to photograph of all the ruins around Thassos. Then, I set off to find a few more listed. They were much smaller. One was a bit of someone’s backyard. It must be difficult to dig a new basement or decide to put in a garden and then find an ancient ruin that must be preserved. 

Ancient ruins in a backyard