A visit to the "land beyond the sea" - Heraion in Perahora |
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| An impulse of the moment drove me last Sunday at a sacred place, at Heraion of Perachora. My camera was with me and the spirit of the explorer that always lives inside me drove me to a beautiful place at the most amazing time of the day... at the sunset. So... let's visit together the "Land Beyond the Sea" as the ancient Corinthians called the Perachora. Let's meet Hera, the queen of the Olympian deities. The ancient shrine of Hera at Perachora lies on the shores of a sharply pointed peninsula between the Halcyonic Gulf and the Gulf of Corinth. The road from Corinth, running northwest via Loutraki, passes (on the right) the village of Perachora, which was badly damaged in an earthquake in 1981, skirts a lake (bathing beach, taverna) and ends near a lighthouse (20 km/12.5 mi). |
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| The village is built amphitheatrically on the surrounding hills having a panoramic view at the Corinthian Gulf in the SW and the Limni Vouliagmenis, a coastal settlement next to a blue lagoon in the West. |
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| Below, to the left, is the little bay with the remains of the ancient sanctuary; straight ahead, on the south side of the gulf, is the prominent bulk of Acrocorinth. It is well worth while making the trip to Perachora both for the historical importance of the scanty remains, dating from the early period of Greek temple-building, and for the magnificent setting; and there is, too, the additional attraction of a swim in the ancient harbor. |
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As the last cove on a rocky spur jutting deep into the Gulf, Perahora would have been a mariner's salvation on many a stormy day or night. No one knows why it was sacred to Hera rather than Poseidon, although Argos, which staked an early claim, may have wanted their patron goddess' blessing on the outpost. Settlers from Argos built the first temple down by the Sea in the 8th century BC, and the Corinthians, who supplanted them a couple of centuries later, placed another one almost on top of it, barely shifting the foundations. It was dedicated to Hera Akraia (of the tip). The agora, surrounded by an L-shaped colonnade, occupied the rest of the wide ledge. Legend has it that Medea fled to the Heraion from Corinth , where her husband Jason was king, and murdered their children here. In the Mycenaean period the sanctuary belonged to Megara, later to Corinth. The oracle here, sacred to the goddess Hera, flourished particularly in the Geometric period (ninth and eighth C.), although nothing is known of the cult practices. In 390 the sanctuary was seized by the Spartan Agesilaos. During the Roman period the site was abandoned. It was excavated by British archeologists in 1930-33. |
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One of the six Olympians, the daughter of Kronos and Rheia, Hera is the beautiful and powerful wife of Zeus. The queen of the Olympian deities. She is a daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and wife and sister of Zeus. Hera was mainly worshipped as a goddess of marriage and birth. It is said that each year Hera's virginity returns by bathing in the well Canathus.
Hera is a title given to her by the Greeks; it means "Lady". She is depicted as a young lady, fully clad and of stunning beauty. She is often is wearing a high, cylindrical crown. She was born, according to the summarians, in the isle of Samos on the banks of the river Imbrasos near a water willow which still existed in the days of Pausanais. She had been raised in one legend, by Macris or by the daughters of the river of Asterion . Her childhood was spent on the isle of Euboa. |
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| As with all goddesses she had the power to prophecy, The power to move through the air, and the power to change her shape. A goddess could also negotiate with other deities for other temporary powers. She was the goddess of heaven and the goddess of marriage and the life of married women and so she had most of powers in these realms. Within her own realm she could set the natural law and provide fixes when her law went awry. Most of these fixes were transformations which she performed with the aid of a wand. She could change the nature of a marriage and what happened to the two partners, including how the woman's birth goes and whether the husband is faithful. |
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| The peacock (the symbol of pride; her wagon was pulled by peacocks) and the cow (she was also known as Bopis, meaning "cow-eyed", which was later translated as "with big eyes") are her sacred animals. The crow and the pomegranate (symbol of marriage) are also dedicated to her. Other attributes include a diadem and a veil. Hera is portrayed as a majestic, solemn woman. |
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| Though little remains of the Temple of Hera, this is still an idyllic place to come and swim, with a wonderful lighthouse and chapel, and crystal-clear waters. Snorkellers can see ancient ruins underwater. |
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| I was there during the sunset. I used a rock as my chair and I left my mind to fly and my eyes to enjoy the spectacular painting I had in front of me… a painting with amazing colors capable to offer calm of my mind and rest of my body. |
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| At the rocky cape Heraion a stone lighthouse stands there as a protector and guide of the sailors who pass from the sacred place of Hera offering them a signal of the land, a signal to drive them at the right sea path for their destination. |
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As the sun is hiding itself at the blue waters and as the red curtain getting darker my mind travels at the time and at the myth. Why I have come here? I had obeyed at the impulse of the moment. I left one more time my instinct to drive and bring me close to a sacred place... one more time close to Hera. A couple of years ago I visited one more of her sanctuaries, the Heraion of Samos. I had many years to visit that place. I was there at a decisive time of my life. I needed a pat at my shoulder to start a new life, an encouragement to give me the strength to stand at my feet. Walking at the ruins of the temple I felt the energy that those ruins reflected and filled my existence. I have changed as a person and as a woman after that visit. I took the lessons I needed in order to be a warrior, a warrior of life. I am still at the training course that started that particular day. I have passed plenty rough tests and I have discovered pieces of myself I have never imagined that existed. I opened my heart and I left my instinct to drive me to some other worlds. Last week something happened again and made me feel unstable again. It was a matter of trust for this instinct, a fight with the logic thinking. The solution came to me with this travel at the sacred place of Hera... a trip to a place I visited for first time. |
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O royal Hera, of majestic mien, aerial-formed, divine, Zeus' blessed queen, (Orphic Hymn 16 to Hera) |