First published: 31/12/18.

Stanislaw Warwas 4.0

Temple Of Apollo Epicurius At Bassae

Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae (Inscribed)

Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae by Stanislaw Warwas

Site visited in December 2018. The temple is not isolated as it seems. It can be reached by taxi (not too expensive) from Andritsaina or Figaleia, both connected by buses from Pirgos (Andritsaina also from Tripolis), only during the week days, no weekends. I’ve chosen Andritsaina, taking a bus at 6:15 from Pirgos – it takes 1 hour and 45 minutes to get there; after arriving in the village, I had a coffee in a small restaurant where I left my backpack and the owner arrange a taxi for the temple – only one way, cos I decided to walk down the 14 km road from the temple just to catch a returning bus to Pirgos at 2pm.

The temple is still covered with a bit worn-out and dirty tent, but even so, it makes a very good impression. Being one of the best preserved from antiquity, it still needs some (huge!) repair and reconstruction works before the tent can be taken off. Inside the tent you can watch an informative movie about the reconstructions.

The remaining columns and walls make you feel so small when you’re so closed to them; there are still lots of scaffoldings and other hardware upholding the structure. Lots of numbered pieces of the temple roof around. And lots of cats too.

I was the only person visiting that morning so the lady selling tickets walked with me around and pointed elements that shouldn’t be missed, like the old temple west of the present one (you can see only some foundation), the remains of ionic columns, special structure of the platform, vestiges of the civil buildings to the east of the temple, the exact place where the statue of Apollo and the Corinthian column was located… She told me about the EW location and the southern door and also mentioned about pre-mythical beliefs that influenced temple position.

This is for sure not the site that puts a spell on you, but I really enjoyed spending one hour there and the long way back to the village.

Comments

No comments yet.

Log in to post a comment