Overview
- History - Mythology
Rituals - Sacred
to Hekate -
Images - Role
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Overview
- History - Mythology Hekate Pilgrimage |
In August and September 2003 a group of four traveled around Greece to visit sites sacred to Hekate. To help others planning a similar expedition in the future, I offer a brief outline of the practicalities. This page will be updated with more details shortly, and a new section documenting the sites is currently under construction. Please note that though I've mentioned specific hotels and a car rental company, prices change and you may be able to find a better deal than we did.
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| A new section describing these sites is under construction. It includes photographs, historical background and personal impressions of each location. Sites marked above with an asterisk (*) have hot links on the map to pages ready to view. | |
We met in Athens on August 30 th. and
spent two days touring Athens. We stayed at the 'Art Gallery Hotel', which is
a short walk from the Acropolis and from most of the car rental companies. We
paid 110 Euro per night for a triple room, with optional breakfasts at 4 Euro
each. Personally, I wouldn't bother with breakfast, but the hotel is comfortable
and the staff were helpful. The full address is:
Art Gallery Hotel, Erechthiou 5, Kouaki, 117 42, Athens, e-mail ecotec@otenet.
Although the National Archaeological Museum is closed until June 2004, there are other notable places to visit in Athens.
Leaving Athens
We picked up our rental car on Monday 31st. Public transport in Athens is good, so I wouldn't bother hiring a car to tour the city. After some research, I found the best deal with Auto Europe.
From Athens we headed to the island of Aigina to visit the site of the Temple of Aphaia. The museum (see Hellenic Ministry of Culture site) is worth a look, but doesn't have any Hekate related material.
Next was Argos, which now has very little evidence that it was an ancient site of Hekate worship. (See Hellenic Ministry of Culture for details for the site.)
Eleusis was amazing! Although the site is now set amidst industrial workshops and fast food outlets, it retains a powerful sense of sacred power. We stayed in an comfortable apartment rented by the Hotel Mellisa, Persefonis 13, Elefsis, telephone 076-567. Room rates vary according to the time of year, but expect between €65 and €80 for a two person room.
The site is in the southern part of town but is quite hard to find. If you get to the hotel, they will direct you. Otherwise, head into the center of the town and look out for a small signpost. See Hellenic Ministry of Culture site for details of the site.
Delphi was next, an extensive site set very beautiful mountains. The nearby town is inevitably touristy, but has a wide range of good accommodation.
After Delphi we headed north to Kavala, passing Mount Olympus on the way. We had planned to take a ferry from here to Samothrace, but due to the change to the winter schedule, had to drive on to Alexandropolis. Do check ferry times! The Summer and Winter schedules are very different, with far fewer ferries running after the end of August.
Samothrace was well worth the effort:The island itself is lovely and the site, the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, is very interesting. See the Hellenic Ministry of Culture details on the site.
From Samothrace we headed back to Thessalonki, which was our final stop. The UK contingent flew home from Thessalonki on Sunday August 7th. while one of the group continued exploring with a visit to Crete.
Useful Links:
Ancient Greek History and Culture Resources
E-mail discussion group
Our e-mail discussion group 'Hekate Pilgrimage', is pretty quiet now, as the public planning stage is over for now. However, we hope that there will be another Pilgrimage next year or after, so the list will stay active. If you would like to join the list, send a message to: Hekate-Pilgrimage-subscribe@yahoogroups.com