Day 7 – The oldest of the oldest

Today promises to be one of the highlights of the trip and it also promises to be a bright day. Mount Etna shows itself for the first time . A thick gray plume of smoke rises from the top. Not only water vapour, but also ashes.

Syracuse was founded by Greeks from Corinth and was one of their most important cities. In fact, it was the most important Greek city on the island and in time it also founded colonies in Sicily. For 27 centuries, the city has played a key economic and cultural role. It is still one of the most beautiful baroque cities.

The city was one of the most powerful strongholds in the Mediterranean and strategically very important. The rulers of Syracuse are therefore a reflection of the rulers of Sicily: from the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Arabs, to the Normans, Anjou, Aragon, ...

The island of Ortigia, is the heart of Syracuse. Here are a number of important monuments. And here we start our tour with the Italian Margarita as guide who speaks perfect Dutch.

First stop is the remains of the Temple of Apollo. 

Built in the 6th century BC, this temple is the oldest Doric temple west of Greece. The dimensions are considerable. Over time, this temple has served as a Byzantine church, mosque, Christian church, … We continue our way to the beautiful Palazzo Duomo. The current town hall and cathedral are located here. When you look at the baroque facade of the cathedral, it is hard to believe that this used to be a completely different construction. It is a converted temple. The cathedral used to be the Athena Temple. It was transformed into a basilica by making arched structures in the inner walls of the temple and bricking up the spaces between the columns with the stones that were recovered. This resulted in a Christian church with three naves. For the record, a typical Greek temple consisted of a columned exterior, built on the principle of six columns in the front and the double + one along the side. Inside was the closed off interior, which consisted of three parts: the vestibule, followed by the sanctuary containing the statue of the god and at the back was the treasury. The Greeks built their temples with an east-facing entrance. The side where the sun rises, the side of life. We get a moment to gaze at all this splendor. We walk through the city to the quay where we take a tour of the harbor in Flandria style. 

The cruise takes about fifty minutes and we sail all the way to Castello Maniace, the southernmost point of the island. This is where Syracuse's most famous resident died. The scientist Archimedes was born here in 287 BC and is therefore actually a Sicilian Greek. Thanks to his ingenious inventions, the city was able to withstand the Roman siege for three years. He let the strong sunlight shine on the Roman ships that caught fire through enormous mirrors. His self-invented catapult was also used during the defense of the city. He was eventually killed by the Romans.

This afternoon we have lunch in a trattoria, a simple restaurant where 'la mama' serves typical dishes from a fixed menu.

In the afternoon we visit the Neapolis, the archaeological site where all the antiquities of Syracuse are located. We start at the Roman Amphitheatre, which was built in the early years of the Roman Imperial era (they thought the existing Greek theater was too small). 

With dimensions of 140 x 119 m, it is only slightly smaller than the Arena of Verona. A pond has been constructed in the middle with two poles in it. The idea was simple: two gladiators had to stand on it and try to push the other one into the water. Not a problem in itself, were it not for the fact that the pond was full of crocodiles…

Then we walk past what our guide calls the largest barbecue in the world. It is the huge altar of Hiero II that served as a place of offering to Zeus. 

450 bulls were sacrificed annually here: the blood was for the slaves, the smoke was for the supreme god and the meat was eaten by those present. By the way, that was the only time Greeks ate meat. Normally they fed on fish, fruits and vegetables.

Meanwhile, we hear rumbling in the distance and the sky becomes more and more darker. There goes our beautiful day. Hopefully we can keep it dry until we get back on the bus.

We walk along the quarries, from which the architects excavated millions of cubic meters of stoneto be used in their temples and other structures. Many slaves were employed here, as well as political prisoners. The well-known 'Ear of Dionysius' is one of the most impressive quarries. The story goes that thanks to the exceptionally good acoustics of this cave, the tyrant Dionysius could hear exactly what his political opponents who were imprisoned there, told each other. He always wanted to nip an insurrection in the bud.

Finally, we visit the Greek Theater, one of the most important preserved theaters in the world and one of the largest from that time. It was carved out of the rocks. Many tragedies by the playwright Aeschylus premiered here in this beautiful place. The Greeks played with masks for two reasons: women were not allowed to enter the theater and so the women's roles had to be played by men and make-up did not exist yet.

Meanwhile the thunderstorm is approaching and we rush to the bar at the entrance. We are just sitting down when the first drops fall. But that can't spoil the fun. Our trip to Syracuse is over and so is our tour and it ended with an absolute blast. Our eyes don't just shine from the rain, but also from all the beautiful things we got to see today. Syracuse is definitely a highlight. Our tour may be over, but our vacation not yet. Because the next highlight is yet to come: our  relaxing holiday in our beloved Taormina.