ODYSSEY TOURS to ANCIENT GREECE

2010 Tour is FULLY BOOKED

9-day Greek island retreat on Myth and Dream, May 2011

Myth & Dream
with Brian Clark & Peter O'Connor
April 27 - May 10, 2010

This is the 8th and final tour that Brian Clark and Peter O’Connor will conduct in this format. Over the past decade Odyssey Tours to Ancient Greece has been exceptional in that it has not only offered the opportunity to visit lesser known sanctuaries and sacred sites of Ancient Greece, but also has presented a unique experience of dream groups and seminars on literature, theatre, myths, dreams and psyche with like-minded travellers.

Fees include 14 nights accommodation based on double occupancy in 3-4 star hotels with private facilities, all breakfasts, two dinners, five lunches, all land and sea transportation within Greece, entrance fees to all museums and sacred sites, tips, taxes, guides, tuition fees, and all materials.

TOTAL PRICE: Australian $ 6,295.00
if fees are paid in full by December 1, 2009.
TOTAL PRICE: Australian $ 6,795.00
if paid after December 1, 2009.

Fees are based on double occupancy. If single occupancy is available a single supplement of Australian $950.00 will apply. Payments received after April 1, 2010 will be subject to a surcharge. Fees are quoted in Australian dollars. In the case of a dramatic currency fluctuation Odyssey Tours to Ancient Greece reserves the right to charge a supplement due to any disparity in currency rates.

Tour space is limited so early registration is advised. To ensure
a place please remit a nonrefundable deposit of Australian
$ 750.00 to Odyssey at the Chiron Centre. Visa and MasterCard facilities are available. Please make cheques payable to the Chiron Centre. Upon registration some travel brochures, maps and further information is available.

Should you have questions please contact
Brian Clark at the Chiron Centre on (03) 8415-0315.

 

Peter O’Connor and Brian Clark are your guides for this unique tour to the sacred sites of ancient Greece. Like pilgrims in the ancient world we will journey to sacred sanctuaries that were an integral aspect of the religious life of the ancient Greek and as such were the sacred temenos where transitions in one’s life could be ritualised and rendered meaningful. Dreams and divination were part of the ancient Greeks’ religious life and on this pilgrimage we will be visiting the ancient sites that were dedicated to dream incubation, healing and oracles.

Being the final tour in this series Peter and Brian will use Homer’s Odyssey as the inspiration for this expedition, following some of Odysseus’ homecoming footsteps. Peter O’Connor will conduct an ongoing dream group to enrich and give meaning to our experiences and Brian Clark will facilitate groups exploring relevant mythological and historical connections. Both Brian and Peter will lead discussion groups and seminars on the Odyssey and its mythological ad psychological significance.

 

DAY 1 Tuesday, April 27, ATHENS

Our journey begins in Athens the central focus for the classical period where the seeds of mathematics, astronomy, architecture, philosophy, theatre and science were sown influencing the course of Western civilisation. We will gather in the early evening in our Hotel Amalia to meet one another and orientate ourselves for the journey which lay in front of us. After, we will walk through the colourful Plaka to our taverna where we will share our first meal together.

 

DAY 2 Wednesday, April 28 NAUPLION

This morning we will board our private bus to visit the sanctuary of Eleusis where the most celebrated mysteries of the ancient world, the Eleusinian mysteries, were enacted. For over a millennium pilgrims came to experience the mysteries of death and rebirth, just as Demeter’s daughter Kore had done when she was abducted into the underworld. At Eleusis we will stand on the sacred ground dedicated to the great goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone, which hold the mystery of the Eleusinian initiations. After visiting the sacred site we will have lunch together before we cross the Gulf of Corinth onto the Peloponnese and the enchanting Venetian seaside port of Nauplion, the original capital of modern Greece.

 

DAY 3 Thursday, April 29 NAUPLION

In the morning we will visit Asclepius’ main healing sanctuary at Epidaurus, the location where dream and psyche meet. Set in the gentle Argolid Hills surrounded with pine trees and oleanders, people from all over the ancient world would visit this sacred sanctuary to honour Asclepius, the God of Healing, hoping for a dream vision to cure their illness. We will tour the site starting from the grand gateway, where ancient pilgrims arriving from the harbour would have entered, as well as visiting the famous theatre, the small museum, and the Tholos. After our visit we will return to Nauplion for an afternoon free to visit the town. In the early evening we will regroup for a seminar.

 

DAY 4 Friday, April 30 OLYMPIA

Today our journey will take us through the high terrain of the Peloponnese to the sanctuary of Bassai. Isolated in the mountainous wilderness the temple dedicated to Apollo Epikouros is located in a spectacular setting and remains impressively intact given its remoteness. Due to the inclement weather the temple is now protected by a large white tent which poignantly contains the sanctity and mood of the sacred site. After our lunch in a nearby village we will continue on our journey to Olympia, home to the Olympics and one of the most impressive classical sanctuaries in Greece.

 

DAY 5 Saturday, May 1
OLYMPIA

Today is May Day, the celebration of spring. We will drive to the high plateau of Pholoë and its famous forest often referred to as the Centaurian Forest, where Heracles hunted the golden hind sacred to Artemis and where he diverted the river Alpheus to clean the Augean stables. The vast forest of Pholoë is a fabulous place, famous for its numerous myths and legends of gods, nymphs and centaurs. This is the site of the kingdom of Pholus where the kind and virtuous Centaur gave shelter to Hercules on his hunt for the Erymanthian Boar. It is considered the oldest European self planted beech and oak forest and the biggest in the Balkans spreading for almost 33.000 square meters. The rivers Erymanthos and Ladon create a unique and enchanting environment. Pausanias described the Ladon as the most beautiful river in Greece and on its river banks Pan used the reeds to fashion his syrinx or pan pipes. Here we will enjoy an afternoon picnic in the protected parkland.

 

DAY 6 Sunday, May 2
OLYMPIA

In the morning our guide will lead us through the impressive site of Olympia, which houses a magnificent collection of statues and friezes in its spectacular museum. One of the exhibits features the pediment and friezes of the 12 Labours of Heracles from the temple of Zeus. Statuary includes Praxiteles’ controversial masterpiece of Hermes holding the infant Dionysus. We will visit the site where the ruins of the temple of Hera and Zeus, the stadium and treasuries are located. Here is the site of the first Olympic Games in 776 BCE commemorated by the eternal flame where the modern ceremonies of the Olympics always commence.

DAY 7 Monday, May 3
ITHACA

This morning we are bound for the harbour of Patras where we board a ferry for Ithaca, the homeland of Odyssey, the hero of Homer’s homecoming epic The Odyssey. Greek poet Constantine Cavafy also immortalised Ithaca in his eponymous poem where he suggests: Always keep Ithaca in your mind. To arrive there is your ultimate goal. But do not hurry, the journey is all. This evening we will gather in our hotel for our first seminar on the Odyssey.

 

DAY 8 Tuesday, May 4
ITHACA

Homer said Ithaca was ‘good for goats’, perhaps due to the island being craggy and mountainous. Or was it because time seems to stand still and when it is not standing still, time wanders around aimlessly. Today we will explore the island, its magnificent vistas and its charming villages and imagine the ancient island that Odysseys, Penelope and Telemachus loved.

 

DAY 9 Wednesday, May 5
ITHACA

In the morning we will meet to continue our exploration of the Odyssey, the mythic background of the narrative and its contemporary psychological significance. This afternoon will be free for your own exploration and enchantment.

 

DAY 10 Thursday, May 6
PARGA

Early afternoon we will catch the ferry that will take us back to the mainland village of Astakos. Here we will again meet our bus that will transport us north along the Ioanian coastline to the picturesque town of Parga in the prefecture of Epirus.

 

DAY 11 Friday, May 7
PARGA

In the morning we will travel to scenic valley of Dodona, Greece’s oldest oracle. Set in the serenity of an exquisite valley are ruins of one of the ancient world’s most important oracular sites. Remaining from this ancient oracle to Zeus is an impressive theatre surrounded by natural splendour. The original focus of the oracle was the talking oak tree. The rustling of the leaves, the flight of the doves, sounds emitted by bronze cauldrons encircling the tree were all aspects of the oracle which can be archaeologically traced back to the 8th Century BCE. After our visit we will continue onto the charming township of Ioanina where we will have lunch together near the lake.

 

DAY 12 Saturday, May 8 DELPHI

In the morning we will take the varkakia (small boats) from our hotel up the river Acheron, one of the mythical rivers of the underworld. Crossing the Styx we will disembark where a guide will escort us to the Nekyomanteion, renowned in the ancient world as an oracle to the dead. At this sanctuary of Hades and Persephone arcane rituals were performed to solicit guidance from the deceased. Here the rivers of the underworld unite, where Odysseus consulted the underworld seer Tiresias performing the ritual that called up the spirits from the underworld. After our visit we reboard the bus for our southward journey to Delphi.

 

DAY 13 Sunday, May 9
DELPHI

In the morning, with our local guide, we will visit the museum at Delphi in order to orientate us to this impressive and revered site. Encased in the museum are beautiful artefacts from the numerous treasuries, the Sphinx of the Naxians the colossal statues of the twin kouroi, Kleobis and Viton, the famous statue of the Charioteer. Then our guide will take us through the imposing site built into the slopes of Mount Parnassus where we will see the Rock of the Sibyl, the magnificent treasuries, and the Temple of Apollo where the Pythia prophesied. We will have some spare time to either climb up to the Stadium or visit the Theatre of Dionysus or meditate by the Castilian Springs. We will re-group at the spectacular temple of Athena Pronoia where pilgrims climbing to the site would stop and offer a votive to the goddess Athena. Then we will continue on to the mountain village of Arahova to have a late lunch together in one of its quaint cafes.

 

DAY 14 Monday, May 10 ATHENS

Today is our last day and to ritualise the closing we will visit the chthonic oracular site of Trophonius where the mythical rivers of Lethe (forgetting) and Mnemosyne (remembering) meet. Here in this peaceful place we will start to close our journey. Then we will continue to Athens where in the evening we will share our last meal together in the Plaka.