Every year vast numbers of tourists flock to the Acropolis in Athens to photograph a key remnant of ancient Greece. Very few visit a valley, in rural Greece, that is flanked by olive groves and fertile mountains, though it has equally impressive monuments.
Messene, in south-western Peloponnese, though little known, is among the most impressive archaeological sites in the country. For the past 29 years, ongoing excavations in Messene by Petros Themelis and his associates have uncovered an elaborate ancient city - complete with theatres, a stadium, breath-taking temples, sanctuaries, water fountains, statues and private residences. Defensive walls surround it.
”All the findings point to the fact that Messene was an outlying region in the ancient Greek world, which began to grow as the other big centres began to decline,” said Professor Themelis. ”It enjoys, among other things, the advantage of never having been destroyed or covered by later settlements, since the villages were located outside the ancient walls.”
Ancient Messene was built in 369 BC by the Theban general Epameinondas, after he had defeated the Spartans. They were longtime enemies. The Spartans had enslaved the Messenians from the 8th century BC, for more than two centuries. The Messenians were known as Helots to the Spartans, who used them to farm their land while the male Spartans were off fighting. The new city was built by the Greek architect and urban planner Hippodamus, using pioneering town-planning and fortification techniques. It was considered larger than ancient Athens, covering 290 hectares of land. Ancient Messene flourished during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, thanks to its rich agricultural and livestock production and trade with Italy, Crete and Egypt. Its fortifications, which were 9.5 kilometres in length, helped to make it the most heavily defended city in Greece. Its public buildings and temples were accessible to all.
Most impressive among them was a complex comprising the gymnasium and stadium of Heroon, which had a length of 200 metres, as well as a theatre, which could seat 12,000 spectators - and was also used for political meetings. Excavations over the years have brought more than 18,000 artefacts to light, including the Asklepeion, a group of buildings originally adorned with more than 100 bronze and stone statues and dedicated to Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing. Other sites that have emerged are the temple of Poseidon, the sanctuary of Demeter and the Dioskouroi, and the ancient market-place (or agora). Archaeologists have unearthed large chambers to the east of the Asklepeion, which contained the ekklesiasterion; a small theatre-like assembly hall for political gatherings, plays and musical performances; the bouleuterion, a council hall used for meetings of representatives of Messenian cities; and an archive.
Opposite the ekklesiasterion stood a series of niches, which represented small shrines or sanctuaries, including one dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. ”Every aspect of the architecture was designed to express beliefs about democracy, equality before the law and equal property rights,” said Themelis, as he proceeded to sweep away dirt from a circular Roman-era structure having exquisite mosaic floors. ”The city was built such as to ensure the equal distribution of land between the rich and poor, while everyone could access its majestic centre, comprising the agora as well as all of its public buildings and religious monuments.”
For more than six decades, the ancient theatre of Messene had hosted cultural and political events that were attended by major historical figures of the time, such as King Philip V of Macedonia. Last summer, after 1,700 years in silence and decay, the restored theatre reopened its gates to the public with an opera performance. ”When we started with the excavations we were disappointed, because we did not find the theatre at first. There were only a few benches and the surrounding olive groves,” said Themelis. The theatre’s restoration was funded by the 2nd and 3rd Community Support Framework and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. A State fund crisis has left archaeologists heavily reliant on private funds to continue the excavations at the site. ”The Ministry of Culture simply does not have the money for funding new excavations; it only undertakes restoration work,” said Themelis.
A new initiative is in the works, which will allow guests from the nearby Costa Navarino resort to temporarily work side-by-side with the team of archaeologists on the excavation and reconstruction of the ancient Messene site.
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