The Rambling Writer’s Greek Islands 2019, part 7: Roman Ruins in Kos Town

Thor and I continue our ramble among the ancient Roman sites threaded along the streets of Kos Town. Come walk with us!

NOTE: Of course, Thor and I had to make another trip to Greece, as he’s fallen as much in love with the islands as I am. This time I wanted to return to Crete after 37 years, to introduce Thor to “glorious Kriti” and research more settings for my novel-in-progress, THE ARIADNE DISCONNECT. After time-traveling via ruins and museums to explore the mysterious, vanished Minoan culture, we went ferry-hopping to relax on a couple of our favorite islands.

Last week we exited the reconstructed Roman villa that gave us a 3D experience of a luxurious two-story dwelling of aristocrats. Kos Town is a walker’s paradise, as so many sites are within easy strolling distance. Passing this lovely little bird vapa that provided springwater…

…we headed south to look for the Odeum, a Roman theater, but first took an interesting wrong turn when this friendly cat insisted on leading us down a tree-lined lane…

…past a church and cemetery, to an improvised cat sanctuary where caring locals were feeding and housing many strays. Greeks do love their cats.

Reorienting, we found the small Roman odeum, which has been partially restored.

Much smaller and more intimate than the large, open-air Greek theaters we have seen in previous blog posts, this odeum was roofed and had a labyrinth of tunnels beneath it.

There are remnants of decorative frescoes on some walls, and niches that housed statues, some of which are now in the Kos Archaeology Museum (see post of May 9).

Ongoing excavations next to the odeum include this lovely mosaic floor. It does seem that in Greece, you can hardly put a shovel into the ground without running into ancient history.

Meandering along, we entered the West Site complex of Roman structures including a gymnasium, dwellings, and monuments.

The Nymphaeum is one of many ancient Greek and Roman monuments honoring the nymphs of sacred springs. They often began as natural grottoes, but could then be covered with a structure.

Here is the large mosaic of the Judgement of Paris, when the poor mortal was forced to choose the most beautiful goddess, stirring up a whole lot of trouble leading to the Trojan War. These days, a tuxedo cat presides over the gathering.

The border seems to depict gladiatorial combat with wild beasts.

In attitude and appearance, this feline fellow reminded us of our Tucker cat back home, displaying sublime indifference to human toils and glories.

In the early 1900s, the Italians had restored the stately columns of the gymnasium, but many were tumbled again in the recent earthquake.

Here, again, we see the modern city snugged up against the ancient sites, as we slip easily through the time portals.

Circling back toward the north end of the site, we admire more mosaics in dwellings.

I particularly enjoyed this detail of a wild boar hunt with spear, as it perfectly illustrated a scene in my novel-in-progress, in which Peter Mitchell is pressured by the New Amazons into joining them in a wild boar hunt — with spears. Apparently some hunters even today follow this dangerous ancient method. Those boars are huge and vicious!

Remaining walls show traces of colorful frescoes.

The Abduction of Europa mosaic, illustrating the story of Zeus disguising himself as a bull to kidnap the mortal and take her to Crete, where their union led to King Minos, the labyrinth and Minotaur, and princess Ariadne….

Next week: Local villages and beaches of Kos.

*****

You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Cafe is available in print and ebook: The Ariadne Connection.  It’s a near-future thriller set in the Greek islands. “Technology triggers a deadly new plague. Can a healer find the cure?”  The novel has received the Chanticleer Global Thriller Grand Prize and the Cygnus Award for Speculative Fiction. Sara has recently returned from another research trip in Greece and is back at work on the sequel, The Ariadne Disconnect. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com