Academically, I am from a science background. Dates, years and odd names of emperors were never my cup of tea. Still, some interesting stories stayed etched in my memory, one of which was of King Porus, telling the victorious Emperor Alexander, that he (Alexander), should treat him (Porus), as one king treats another.
Therefore, when the opportunity to visit Greece presented itself, along with the blue domes of Santorini, I wanted to see the ancient land, and traces of its great civilisation, from which Alexander came to our country. I also found that Greece was the cradle of Western civilisation and the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles and the Olympic games, which further strengthened my resolve to visit Greece. Since most of the time we were on a cruise ship, which touched a number of Greek islands, I had the opportunity to see different parts of Alexander’s kingdom (Greece has 3,500 islands – many of them uninhabited).
Luckily, contrary to my fears, I never experienced seasickness or claustrophobia. Our room was very near the deck, so most of the time I was on the deck, seeing the ship cruising on the waves and some really beautiful sunrises, sunsets, moonrises and moonsets – all different from one another. The sea was everchanging – placid at one moment, furious at the next, sometimes ink blue, at other times turquoise and sometimes emerald green. Our journey started from Athens, where we first visited Acropolis, literally ‘the city at the highest point,’ an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, which contains the remnants of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance.
Till today, no building in Athens can tower over the Acropolis, and all buildings should have a direct view of the Acropolis. There is evidence that this area has been inhabited since the sixth millennium BC, but the existing structure, as also the Parthenon, and Erechtheion, all temples to Goddess Athena (the last mentioned was partly dedicated to the God Poseidon also) were built during the time of Pericles (460 BC to 430 BC). The statues presiding over these temples were spirited away to England by the notorious Lord Elgin between 1801 and 1812, but the restored columns of these structures mesmerise tourists with their majesty and beauty, particularly the six sculpted female figures, that function as supporting columns of the Erechtheion.
Nevertheless, the archaeological museums at Acropolis and Olympia have some outstanding examples of Greek sculptures; one can easily see the folds of clothes, tensed muscles and sinews, in the statues of warriors in these museums. Similarly, the beauty of females portrayed in statues can still be felt, after more than two thousand years. At the time when the Acropolis, and other grand structures, were being built in Greece, Gautam and Mahavira were at the peak of their glory in India. Thus, we gave the world spiritual guidance in that era, but nothing matching the majesty of Greek architecture, was built in India. Historically it is well known that the Roman pantheon adopted most Greek deities, but gave them new Latin names, for example Zeus became Jupiter, Athena became Minerva, Poseidon became Neptune, and so on – with Apollo being the notable exception, who retained his original name. However, the similarity between Greek deities and Hindu gods, has gone unnoticed. Tridevi and Athena have much in common, Athena is a virgin warrior like Goddess Durga, personifies learning and intelligence like Goddess Saraswati, and has an owl for companion like Goddess Lakshmi.
The Delphi Museum has a beautiful black-coloured head of Apollo, made of wood, ivory and gold, dating back to 550 BC. Also, the Omphalos stone at the Apollo temple in Delphi visibly resembles a Shiva linga. Remarkably, Apollo has a visible third eye in his forehead; our guide told us that Apollo was very much like God Shiva, who resided in the Himalayas; both Gods were archers, shown in half male – half female forms, patrons of dance and music and protectors of animals. Statues of Apollo show him holding a deer, just as early statues of Shiva show him with a deer. Just like Lord Shiva, people offered fruits, flowers and animal sacrifices to Apollo. Such similarities between two ancient civilisations, separated by thousands of kilometres, took my breath away, and kindled an interest in history in me. Our cruise ship docked at Katakolon, a picturesque port, about thirty-eight kilometres from the ruins of Olympia, where the Olympic games were held every four years between 776 BC and 394 BC.
Olympia was dedicated to Zeus, the father of gods. Apart from stadiums, its zenith Olympia had more than 70 temples in total, as well as treasuries, altars, statues, and other structures dedicated to many deities The stadiums are well preserved; some events for the 2004 Athens Olympics were held here, but only traces remain of the other buildings. An unfortunate similarity between the two great civilisations – Indian and Greek – were the repeated invasions by plunderers, who never let their citizens enjoy peace, and took away their carefully accumulated wealth. At present, much like India, Greece is quite successfully trying to come to terms with the modern world. Looking at the majestic ruins of ancient Greek temples and buildings, I was poignantly reminded of Lord Byron’s poem, the Isles of Greece:
“The isles of Greece, Where burning Sappho loved and sung, Where grew the arts of war and peace, Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung! Eternal summer gilds them yet, But all, except their sun, is set.”