From Maine to Greece. Illustrator series. Necromanteion of Ephyra (400–300 BC aprox., the only known Ancient Greek oracle of the dead), Greece — 08.10.2021
Something funny happened on the way to the Nekromanteion. We are definitely not in Maine, but not a problem. We do not need to learn to speak early Greek to join the fun. My colleagues from Portugal had shared pictures of their explorations. We have been working together on monolithic work. We have been finding a multilayer art form which gives a lot of insight to lives of ancient humans. We were surprised to find it on masonry; Ancient Greek masonry. If you have been following this blog you will have a good understanding of how this works. The Illustrator program allows me to lift and separate the layers. The art here is super, and I do not try to pretend that my highlighting is the art form. It does allow me to keep track of the different subject and styles for future comparisons. This is all new for me anyway, so there is a lot of room for improvement. So for now thank you so much for looking, and lets get on with the show.
Above I have included a recent video about The Nekromanteion of Acheron. I like the video very much. I will give a little historical back ground but the video will put you in the mood for the rest of the show.
By definition Nekromanteion means “Oracle of the dead”. Many in ancient times believed that their ancestors could provide information and favors if given an opportunity. To get that opportunity rituals were arranged here at the Nekromanteion. After cleansing and offerings the pilgrim was allowed into the lower chamber where the dead could respond to the living. So If your clean and refreshed lets get started.
The first clue, to something funny going on the way, is the masonry with a flower pattern. As you are walking, you can notice that the flower design take on the form of narcissus. The narcissus flower is popular with the under world. The ancient Greek’ s love for Persephone is well known, and the narcissus, is her flower of choice. As the queen of the underworld, every soul coming and going to and from our realm, had to pass by her. She has command over nature and it’s resources. She is there when you are born and when you die. Flowers are appropriate for both occasions. This flower design in the polygonal masonry is used throughout the walls that create a long procession.
sacred masonry starting with offerings of flowers and narcissus are a favorite.
The grey square on the right side of this page was the base of the oracle of the Nekromanteion, and on top of it was a pyramid ziggurat like structure, that’s why the external walls of the square are so large ( 2 meters). This was the base of a pyramid.
This is the plan from the nekromanteion, and the little square in the middle of the main building has our fabulous walls
Many walls with sacred masonry with flower motif
Following the long procession of sacred patterned walls, the flowers start to take second stage, as they start swarming with fish life. Among the many fish a cuttlefish makes way.
As the light falls on the walls, it reveals a relief sculpture crated by the artist/masons of the time. At this point of our journey I start picking up large hand shapes supporting the flower shapes in the masonry. It appears that the hands actually are offering the flowers or accepting them. It is all done with beautiful gestures. But then I see a big mouse peeking out of the flowers! If you are surprised by the presence of mice as I was, with a little research, it all makes sense. Here is a good time to point out, how taking this approach to looking at these stones, can reveal new venues of study. I, at first had no reason to think mice would have such center stage. Now, after spotting them here, I am able to better understand the ancient humans.
Mice represent man and the god Apollo. They scamper about the ground below the alters. There may be a reference to the post flood experience as rodents rose up out of the ground escaping rising waters.
No Gate to Hades should be without its three headed canine. If you enjoyed the video I suggested you may have picked up on a controversial idea of this site being the oracle mentioned in the Homer’s Odyssey.
I can not find a wall that is not heavy with images.
Through out the walls there are human bodies gesturing. Large hands pointing the direction to continue. The birds are everywhere. Very often if you have a human hand, it will share the same space as the wing of birds with the pin feathers also hand digits.
In the image below there is a human with out stretched arms at times climbing and at times appears to be praising. This character is often found at the bottom if design and reaching up.
For this part of the Necromanteion experience, I would like you to sit down and get comfortable. We are invited to focus on one wall in more depth. Using the program Illustrator we can separate some of the different layers . Hopefully diving into the layers of images in this one wall will help others see more. All the walls here are intense with layers representing early Greeks life and beliefs.
Viewers will have their own initial image that opens it up for them. I have noticed the fish first but then the hands and mice started jumping about. The GOD hands are always there to guide. The mice are held in the hands of Apollo.
Below Apollo’s hands, with flowers, gently hold his little mice minions
At times the snake moves in and the little mice are in danger. I may be stretching it but I believe the mice are a post flood symbol. As the water table rose the mice would have been seen scurrying in droves to higher ground.
I have left everyone plenty of mice to find. I got the feeling this not the last we have seen of these mice. According to Greek myth the mice also represent man. I have noticed that on this wall the mice activity is layered with the human activity. For now lets head to the ocean where I hear the fish are jumping. Below the fisherman and his boat seem to be assisted by dolphin.
below is an image lifted from the wall using the Illustrator program. as you can see there is a lot going on. If it was paint it would be very heavy.
Well, after the intense ride above, I will have warn folks that things can get pretty wild at the Nekromanteion. A buddy system may be a good idea. Take moment and rest your eyes on our wall of focus below and see if you can not find your sea legs.
these illustrator images are fast sketches. I certainly do not pretend to out shine ancient Greeks with my highlighting, but it does give a guide, and fun for some to look at . Below are some fish scenes of ancient Greece.
The layer with skin divers blends well with all underwater scenes from the shallows to the deep sea. Swimming with dolphins may have been a thing in ancient Greece.
There are multiple fishermen that fit nicely in this boat, but if you look around a little on your own you will find different style of boats and nets. I can pick them out for you, but then I would not leave anything else for others to find.
Below the fisherman get a launching with GOD hands blessing.
Even the whales are in GOD s hands! ❤
Lots of action for the fisherman!
Everyone enjoys eating crab below.
There are crabs, snails, and many other resources for ancient Greeks from the sea. The Greek folk appear very comfortable in the water. If the viewer follows the little snail and his friends about the ocean scene he seems to settle near the center bottom of the wall. Here with a little looking the snail becomes the design on the side of a boat.
Taking a short intermission from the Illustrator program. Now that you have been bombarded with images of the sea we can return to the original wall and take a break. Feel free to find your own boat and other sea creatures. I know I saw plenty of sea turtles and squid not to mention sharks! There are plenty of discoveries left to be made.
I hope you were able to find the nautilus above along side the squid. These folk had deep knowledge of the sea. But now we are turning away from the shore and port to explore the Greek country side. Here we are invited on a hunt. Starting with a parade of elephants to provide courage, especially if it is the large cat you are after.
But hold on, the large female elephant is giving birth. This could be a sign of luck for the hunt. In any case there is a lot work to maintain the healthy elephant troop.
We may want to let the hunting dogs out. There
is a lot of doggy action.
The horse, of course is rearing to go.
As we are preparing for the hunt everyone is getting organized to head out. There is a lot of preparation and things can look a little jumbled with all the dogs horses and elephants.
Finally, as we are heading out on a hunt for large cats, we come across a field of narcissus. At the edge of the field is a stone wall. A strong perfume fills the air. Even with the odor of all the animals, the sweet pungent perfume is dominant.
Along the stone wall are some chickens, where a lovely maiden sits among the golden narcissus flowers. Everyone stops in their tracks to behold such beauty.
This may also be a good time to relax your eyes from the illustrations and view the wall to check out the real art form.
This whole scene was not expected. I really was on a lion hunt. Instead I find this beautiful maiden. Looking closer I notice a small owl on her left shoulder. There is a lot of chatter among the men about who this maiden may be. It is not long before the name Persephone begins to float up in the chatter. Suddenly out of nowhere a large man grabs her from behind as he covers her mouth! Everyone is stunned as the beautiful maiden is kidnapped! The beautiful Persephone is kidnapped by her own father Apollo and forced to marry the lord of Hades. She becomes the queen of the underworld. The Greeks obviously had great praises for her to build a wall of this nature. It is truly amazing.
We have spent a lot of time on this one wall and still there is more to uncover. I am glad to leave the many other treasures to find. I really want to make my way to the cellar where I believe the really old art work is. I believe it could be Neanderthal/Erectus site that was rediscovered by the early Greeks, and then they added their own stories in the walls above.
Before we head into the cellar, We did find the large cats on our hunt. What a fun filled day at the Nekromanteion. Below are a few more images with the large cats and fox and many other game if you care to join.
I want to apologize for the low quality image here. I am diligently working at updating. We have seen so much here on this wall. I assure you there are also scenes of childbirth along with many other scenes that would occupy the hearts and lives of these earlier folk.
By this time our brains begin to feel like spaghettis with all the images. With all the dendrites in our brains busy we finally make our way to the basement. As I understand it, initially, the passage to the actual Oracle site was small and rocky, maybe with fill over time. Since then the Ancient Greeks carved out a larger access. We are focusing on is the back wall.
As I mentioned before I have been mostly looking at this type of work. It uses a lot of the same techniques as the wall above. The manipulation of the surface of the stone has been worked to reveal images from the past. With knapping, tapping, etching, scraping, etc., the early folks worked their visions into the stone. Yet here the stone and figures are distributed differently. The work does not have that puffy stone effect of the wall above. Here things become more expressionistic. The artist worked closer with the original stone. There is a different relationship between the stone and the artist. The fashion and use of fur and feathers is different.
I also notice that the features on the faces are treated differently. These are the type of features I am familiar with. These are not the same as faces in masonry in the walls above. The folk and fauna all seem to be a little furrier. The central fissure in the stone can be read as a birth canal or the mast of a crude boat.
The surface of the back wall of the cellar of the Nekromanteion is protected from the elements and has less erosion then the wall above. Although I believe the walls above are very old, I believe the back cellar wall is much older, reaching back to the Ice age. That is saying a lot, but by the approach to the stone by the artist as well as the treatment of the subject matter it is what makes the most sense to me.
There are what could be mammoth or elephant with large bovine kneeling near by. There are layers here too. As always the more you look the more you find.
I did noticed one thing and of course I could be wrong about everything, is that in the wall in the basement, the artist did not mind flipping upside down in their quest for more working surface.
I hope you have enjoyed our tour of the Nekromanteion of Acheron. I know I have learned a lot. Thank you so much for joining me. Super thank you to Pedro and Bruno for there insight and travels. It has been a joy.
P. S. There are mice everywhere. 😏
Originally published at https://karolabryant.blogspot.com on February 14, 2022.
