In the shadow of the legendary Taygetus is an ancient and one of the most historic cities in the world, Sparta. In this article we will be taking a walk in ancient Sparta, which is located just behind the modern city of Sparta, for which you can see our article: Sparta the City of Heroes.
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| entrance of ancient Sparta, circular building |
To the left of the statue of King Leonidas, at the end of Paleologos street, there is a road that leads behind the Municipal Stadium of Sparta, which takes you also to ancient Sparta. As spring came, we wanted to wander around the streets where mythical heroes used to walk. The place is fenced but you do not pay an entrance fee.
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| the wonderful nature in the archeological site |
What to mention first about the history of Sparta, with the countless heroes, heroines, great men and women who from the depths of antiquity who wrote golden pages in the history of this glorious city. So we will refer descriptively to what we saw in this beautiful archeological site, where its history can’t leave any visitor unmoved. Before starting our journey, let us emphasize two important pieces of information, because one can reasonably question how a city like Sparta has relatively few monuments within the archeological site. The first reason is the looting it experienced from Slavs and Goths, while the greatest destruction was done in 1730 by the French Michel Furmon, who literally left no stone unturned. The second reason is that neither the excavations are appropriate for the historicity of the place, nor the promotion of the site.
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| circular building |
Starting our journey, one of the first monuments we encounter is the Circular Building. A magnificent building, in which there was a statue of Olympian Zeus and Olympian Aphrodite (600 BC), while there used to be held ceremonies, gatherings and nudity in honor of Apollo. Nearby there are scattered finds, columns, buildings and other impressive finds.
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| monuments |
Of course the spring nature that surrounds the monuments, is of unique beauty. Beautiful flowers of all colors, as well as olives, create a table full of colors.
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| columns in the nature |
A little higher, north of the Circular Building, we find the ancient Agora of Sparta, which dates back to about the 3rd to 4th century BC. At this point we want to add that, according to researchers, the most ancient city of Sparta is located in Pellana, where we will visit at another time.
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| ancient Agora of Sparta |
A little higher we find a place full of monuments, where the Basilica of Nikonos is located, which dates back to the 7th century AD.
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| the great Basilica of Nikonos |
Going uphill we now find ourselves at the Acropolis of ancient Sparta. There is one of the most important temples of the Spartans, that of Chalkioikos Athena, which was the patron saint of the city, while it is one of the longest-lived sanctuaries. The name Chalkioikos comes from the lining of the temple, which was made of copper sheets (chalkos = copper), where mythological representations were depicted, the work of the Spartan sculptor Gitiadas. A very important point for the Spartans, as it was a meeting place for soldiers. Also in the sanctuary were celebrated the victories and achievements of the Spartans. Many votive offerings were found there, dedicated to men and women. Also there was the famous marble body of a hoplite, known as "Leonidas", which is on display at the Museum of Sparta.
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| Sanctuary of Chalkioikos Athena |
Of course there are other monuments too, such as the Archaic Stoa, the Roman wall, as well as the Dikogcho Building which is located next to Chalkioikos Athena.
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| Dikogcho Building |
Just below the Acropolis is the ancient theater of Sparta, with a vast view of the haughty Taygetos, while in between you can see olive groves and a part of modern Sparta. Testimonies for the theater have existed since the 5th century BC while the piece we see is from Roman times, around 30 BC. with a capacity of 17,000 spectators.
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| ancient theater of Sparta, in the backround modern Sparta under the shadow of Taygetus |
Around the ancient theater there are many monuments, columns and buildings that complete the landscape. Somewhere here our hike comes to an end. The history but also the natural beauty of the place, completely filled us. We invite everyone to visit this beautiful and extremely historic corner of Laconia and we wish all of you, to be soon completely free to travel again to our beautiful country.
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| the flowery nature of ancient Sparta Happy Spring |
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