archaeology
archaeological sites to visit online
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Slideshow!
This page contains a slideshow focusing on a specific archaeological site in Greece or Italy. Currently showing are pictures of the wonderfully preserved Greek temples at Agrigento (aka Agrigentum, Girgenti), Sicily. They include the largest ever temple - the Temple of Zeus, with a ground plan bigger than a football pitch - sadly just a gigantic pile of rubble due to an earthquake - but there's a slide of one of the "telamones" - male equivalents of caryatids which were about half the height of the actual temple! There are the picturesque, but quite bogus, ruins which reconstruct a never-existing Temple of the Dioscuri, and several views of the best preserved Greek temple after the Hephaesteion in Athens, the so-called Temple of Concord. It looks beautiful with its warm honey-coloured stone - but the original was covered with stucco made from crushed white marble - to make it look like a real Greek temple! Once loading is complete (this will take about 30 seconds with a 28.8k modem), just sit back and enjoy the slides - which will change automatically every few seconds - although you have the option to pause if you want a good look at any particular one.]
The Athenian Agora
This is a fully interactive visit to the ancient city-centre of Athens. Tour the market as it was in the time of Socrates, the shops, the courts, the stoas ... You will load up a plan (25k) on which you can click to explore anything that looks interesting. As you wander, you will begin to build up a complete picture of the political, social and cultural life of the Athenians of the 5th century
BC Nemea
A visit to the beautiful and peaceful site of Nemea in the Peloponnese - where Heracles killed his lion, and the home of other interesting myths. Also the site where the Nemean Games were held, every two years between Olympics.
Sparta
Pictures and information about ancient and modern Sparta: too often ignored and unvisited by Classicists who take Thucydides too literally. True, many of the sites are hard to find and are in themselves - as Thucydides warned - unimpressive. But I defy any visitor to be unmoved by the snow-capped wall of Taygetus, the Temple of Artemis Orthia (where such horrors took place), the view from the Menelaion (and surely it was Menelaus' palace?) - or further afield Gytheion - raided by Brasidas - and Mount Ithome. Contains thumbnails which can be expanded to full views.
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The Olympic Games
Pausanias was a great source of information on the ancient Olympics. But you won't find a plan or pictures of the site here (although I'll show you where to find them) - this page deals with the controversial aspects of the ancient and modern Olympics in an interactive way.
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Architecture
How to study Greek Architecture in your local city, town, village or housing estate. Examples from York, Bedford and North Norfolk. Also an architectural quiz, to help you master the basic technical terms (doric, ionic, pediment etc)
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Oracles
The ancient sites like Delphi, Dodona, Epidaurus where men tried to get answers to the questions that worried them - anything from health to politics.
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Dr J's Home Page
Dr Janice Siegel's marvellous pages are the place to find pictures of nearly everything in Classical Greece, plus illustrated texts, illustrated lectures and much more. Superb! You'll particularly appreciate the picture of Hotel Clytmnestra in Mycenae, offering rooms with baths.
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Classical Backpacking in Greece
David A Webb's superb scholarly guide to Greek sites - including some of the more off-beat ones. The bibliographies are excellent. Specific Sites (so far - last checked December 2001):
Attica & Megarid: Aigosthena, Brauron, Daphni, Eleusis, Eleutherai, Megara, Piraeus/Phaleron, Rhamnous, Sounion, Thorikos; Peloponnese: Agamemnoneion, Megalopolis, Menelaion, Nauplio, Nemea, Perachora, Sparta, Tegea;
Argo-Saronic Isles: Aegina, Poros/Kalauria
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