Join author-filmmaker-mythologist Phil Cousineau on a journey to ancient Greece to visit the legendary sites of Homer’s greatest heroes, Odysseus and Penelope. Together we will explore why this mesmerizing story has shaped our history, philosophy, art, and imagination for over three thousand years.
We will travel across the wine-dark sea and the mythic landscape of the Peloponnese, to the world immortalized by Homer, with a special emphasis on recent archaeological findings, such as the government’s recognition that the Palace of Odysseus on Ithaka was a cult temple for centuries, and the new findings at Nestor’s Palace in Pylos. Inspired by Phil’s new book 'The Wisdom of the Odyssey' and Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming epic blockbuster movie, we will reflect on Homer’s themes of enchantment and disenchantment, the struggle between humanity and the gods, the search for the soul, and the redemptive power of love as Penelope holds off the Suitors until Odysseus’ long-awaited return. Of special interest for us will be the spate of extraordinary new translations and novels that give long overdue attention to the strong female characters in Homer’s epic, including Penelope, Circe, Nausicaa, Calypso, Athena, and Aphrodite. Our journey will take us to sites like the Theater of Dionysus, birthplace of Western drama; the awe-inspiring National Archaeological Museum; Ancient Corinth with its Temple of Apollo, home of King Sisyphus, reputed father of Odysseus; the famed Corinth Canal; the citadel of Mycenae, the kingdom of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra; the Menelaion near Sparta; Nestor’s Palace in Pylos; Ancient Olympia; the mythic island of Ithaka; Delphi; and Eleusis, sacred site of the Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone. Each day will be enriched by readings, soulful discussions, and Phil’s signature “Long Conversations” to bring Homer’s immortal world vividly to life. READ MORE
Phil Cousineau is a writer, teacher, independent scholar, documentary filmmaker, travel leader, storyteller and author of over 40 books including the national best-seller The Art of Pilgrimage, The Book of Roads, and Stoking the Creative Fires, winner of the Book of the Year Award from “Spirituality & Health Magazine.”
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Tour Description
“As you set out for Ithaka hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery… Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for.”
— Constantine Cavafy, Ithaka
Take a journey 3,000 years back in time to the roots of classical Greece and forward to the modern Mediterranean of magnificent landscapes and seascapes, splendid museums, and sublime cuisine.
This carefully and lovingly designed tour is the result of Phil Cousineau’s lifelong fascination with The Odyssey. It combines visits to sites associated with Homer’s epic with daily readings and discussions that explore the too-long-neglected roles of Penelope, Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa, Athena, and Aphrodite. We will explore how the word itself — odyssey — has come to mean “the journey that changes everything,” as well as a metaphor for transformation echoed in art, literature, music, theater, and depth psychology.
Our pilgrimage to Homeric Greece will be augmented by Phil’s innovative style of “The Long Conversation.” Each morning will begin with colorful talks that evoke the spell of one of the most influential stories in Western civilization, discussions that will help put the day’s explorations into context. Each evening will conclude with a dinner that allows participants to weigh in with their responses to their encounters at Homeric sites on our journey.
Our journey will begin in Athens with a welcome drink at our hotel and dinner at a traditional Greek taverna in the vibrant Plaka neighbourhood, replete with bouzouki music, vibrant storytelling, and local food and wine. We will explore the area around the Akropolis, including the ruins of the Theater Dionysus, where drama itself began in the mid-sixth century with the plays of Aeschylus, then the partially restored Sanctuary of Asklepion, the fifth-century center of healing, the Odeon of Herod Atticus, which still hosts music and theater events after two thousand years, and of course, The Parthenon, one of the architectural masterpieces of the world, and the very symbol of The Glory that was Greece.
We then visit the engineering marvel of the Corinth Canal, which connects the Greek mainland with the Peloponnesus, and the citadel of Corinth, long associated with King Sisyphus, where Phil will read from his recent mythopoetic novel, “The Lost Notebooks of Sisyphus.” Nearby are the ruins of Ancient Mycenae, where we will visit La Belle Hellene, named after “The Beautiful Helen of Sparta,” and enjoy a home cooked meal with Phil’s old friend, Agamemnon Dasis. As the great-grandson of the local farmer who helped the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann excavate the palace of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, our Agamemnon will provide a powerful perspective for our visit.
At Ancient Sparta, we will visit the archaeological site of Menelaion, the sanctuary where King Menelaus and Helen of Sparta (soon to be of Troy) were honored into late antiquity. There we will have a reading from the Odyssey that describes the visit of Odysseus’ son Telemachus at court with his advisor, Mentor, to learn about the fate of his father.
At Olympia we will learn about the relationship between athletics and spirituality, and the parallels between training for war and sports, which was the theme of Phil’s much-lauded book, The Olympic Odyssey. Our visit to the melancholic beauty of this ancient site is designed to help us understand the significance of Homer’s vivid description in the Odyssey of the Funeral Games for Patroclus, often regarded as the first instance of sports writing in history.
From the seaport town of Patras, we take the ferry to “rocky, low-lying, mountainous” Ithaka, as Homer described the home of King Odysseus and Queen Penelope. During our three marvel-filled days on this mythic island we will visit what locals call “Homer’s School,” the ruins of a mighty Mycenean palace long associated with Odysseus and Penelope and their son Telemachus. We will also visit the Loizas Cave, where fascinating artefacts have been uncovered; Polis Cave or the Cave of the Nymphs, where Odysseus is believed to have hidden the gifts given to him by the Phaeacians; and the Archaeological Museum of Vathi. Every morning on the island we will read passages from several different translations, ranging from Alexander Pope and Robert Fitzgerald to Mary Zimmerman and Emily Watson, as well as poems and music associated with the island that has become a byword for “home” the world over. We can count ourselves blessed by the gods and goddesses that we will enjoy an evening at the famous Kanenas Taverna in Stavros of traditional bouzouki music and dancing.
After our stay on Ithaka, we continue to the modern village of Delphi where we will spend the night, then proceed the next morning in ritual silence to the site of the Ancient Delphi and the site of the Oracle. Over the course of his two epic poems, Homer describes the rituals of three different oracles, including the one at Dodona, which Odysseus consulted at a crossroad moment in his ten-year journey home to Ithaka. The ritual at Delphi was enacted for 1200 years, where the Oracle sat on the bronze tripod of Apollo, flanked by her poet-priests, who conveyed to her the questions that brought to her from all over the known world. The pilgrims believed that she was the conduit of the voice and wisdom of the god, and her utterance, called enthusiasmos, the god within, was then taken as cosmic truth. Our lunch in Delphi will be at one of its beautiful cliffside tavernas, a gathering that will allow us to contemplate our time with the Oracle. On the Ancient Sacred Way back to Athens we will make the final stop of our journey in honor of Homer at one of the greatest sites in antiquity, the Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone, at Eleusis. There for fifteen centuries pilgrims participated in an elaborate nine day long ritual ceremony honoring the mysteries of death and rebirth. After our guided visit around the ruins, we will have a ritual Farewell Lunch at the local Kykeon Taverna, named after the fermented barley drink that the pilgrims drank in hopes of an epiphany, a vision of life after death.
You will be met at Athens International Airport and transferred to our hotel in the heart of Athens. If possible, we always suggest arriving a day early to rest up and perhaps have time to explore this ancient city on your own.
Athens, the capital and largest city in Greece, dominates the Attica periphery. One of the world’s oldest cities, it is full of myths, mysteries, and legends. Steeped with a rich history that spans around 3,400 years, the city is home to many sacred ancient sites, monuments, and landmarks. A fusion of old and new, Athens is also a cosmopolitan metropolis buzzing with lively activity and vibrancy. If you arrive early enough, we recommend a visit to one of the more recent glories in Athens, the Akropolis Museum, which is within walking distance of our hotel. Founded in 2009, the museum is devoted to the 3,000 archaeological artefacts, which have been discovered in the shadows of The Parthenon, such as the beautiful Peplos Kore, the Athena Nike, and the Erechtheion Karyatids. Other suggestions are a visit to the ruins of the ancient Lyceum of Aristotle, only rediscovered in 1996, or a performance at the second century Theater or Odeon of Herod Atticus.
In the evening we will gather at the hotel for a welcome drink before walking as a group to the Plaka district for our Welcome Dinner at a traditional taverna, with a splendid view of the Akropolis and Lycabettus. We will get to know our tour leader and fellow travellers as we savour traditional Greek cuisine, admire the stunning views of ancient Athens, and thrill to the sound of bouzouki music.
(Overnight in Athens at the Amalia Hotel or similar)
This morning we begin with the first of our “Long Conversations,” a Phil Cousineau tradition for the last thirty-five years of his leading tours around the world, an exercise that helps put each of our travel days into context. We begin with a discussion of the 3000-year-old history of Homer’s masterpiece, which has been told and retold in myriad ways over the centuries, rendered in dozens of translations, theater, dance, opera, and movies. The time-defying theme of Odysseus’ tenacious desire to “get home again” is still a powerful metaphor for learning how to rediscover our true selves, but is increasingly being viewed by modern scholars as the story of a deeply scarred warrior, “a lost soul,” who needs to heal before he can “retrieve his soul” and restore his family and kingdom back on Ithaka. This year’s approach will expand on the perspective of Phil’s new book The Wisdom of the Odyssey, in which we explore the gleaned insights from Homer’s imperishable book to show how timely and relevant the epic poem is in the modern world.
After a brief break, we will take our van to the National Archeological Museum, where we will see many of the marvels uncovered archaeologists over the last century that help provide us a panoramic view of Homeric times. This includes the golden Mask of Agamemnon, excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in Mycenae, the Antikythera Mechanism, considered to be the first computer and the bronze Zeus or Poseidon, the bronze Ephebe or Paris of Troy, discovered in what Greek fishermen have long called “the blue museum,” the depths of the Aegean. Other highlights include the Aphrodite with Pan and Eros, the bust of the Minotaur, and the Aphrodite of Cnidus, one of the inspirations for the Venus de Milo. These treasures will provide us with visual markers for the rest of our journey.
For lunch (own expense) we will gather at one of the wonderful tavernas overlooking the agora, the ancient marketplace below the Akropolis. After we dine together we will take a relaxing stroll through the agora, past the Temple of Hephaestus, god of the forge, one of the most intact buildings from antiquity, and up the north slope of the Akropolis, past the restored Theater of Herod Atticus, completed in 161 CE, renovated in 1950, and still in use today for vibrant theater and musical performances.
Finally, we make our way in late afternoon, to the Parthenon, a Doric-Ionic temple built between 447 and 438 BCE on a design by Ictinus and Callicrates and highlighted by Phidias’ awe-inspiring statue of the goddess Athena. Long considered one of the architectural masterpieces in the world, it was the center for religious life in the powerful city-state of Athens, and the very symbol of what Edgar Allan Poe (of all people!) described as “The Glory that Was Greece.”
After a leisurely visit, we take a short break and then walk down the north slope of the Akropolis to the Agora, the marketplace, heartbeat of ancient times.
Evening at leisure with optional meeting in the Plaka at one of the tavernas that specialize in souvlaki, which proud owners will remind customers was first mentioned in Book 9 of Homer’s Iliad. There, the brooding hero Achilles hosts the world’s first barbecue, a feast of skewered and roasted meats, for the envoys sent by Agamemnon to persuade him to rejoin the Siege of Troy. The poet writes that while Odysseus was feasting he filled his cup with fine red wine and pledged his allegiance to Achilles.
(Overnight in Athens at the Amalia Hotel or similar)
Enjoy a traditional Greek breakfast followed by our Long Conversations: “The Curious Relationship between Sisyphus and Odysseus.” Afterward, we take our coach to the Peloponnesus, crossing the astonishing architectural marvel of the Corinth Canal, begun by the Roman emperor Nero, who abandoned the project, and which was finally resumed in 1881 and completed in 1893. After a short stop at the canal, we make a brief visit to Ancient Corinth to learn about its immortal mythical King Sisyphus, described by Homer himself as “the wisest of mortals,” and later regarded by classical Greek playwrights as the true father of Odysseus. The wisdom of defying the authority of the gods is the basis for Phil’s mythopoetic novel, “The Lost Notebooks of Sisyphus.” While in Corinth we will visit “The Apollo Pottery Shop,” near the impressive ruins of Apollo’s temple, where the owners will demonstrate the craft of painting mythological themes onto their pots and vases
After lunch in the modern village of Mycenae (provided by the tour) we visit the citadel itself with a local guide, then visit the nearby Tholos Tomb (known locally as the Tomb of Agamemnon or Treasury of Atreus) an awe-inspiring colossus of a beehive-shaped stone hut, one of the architectural wonders of Greece.
On our way to our hotel along the sea, we will make a brief stop at Tiryns, a mighty fortress that flourished between 1600-1100 BCE, and built by none other than Hercules. Afterwards, we drive south to beautiful Nauplion, situated on the coast, and featuring a magnificent town square.
Dinner on our own in the heart of the city.
(Overnight in Nauplion at Park Hotel or similar)
After breakfast at the hotel, we gather for a morning discussion based on Phil’s 2022 book, Who Stole the Arms of the Venus de Milo? and augmented by the larger Homeric theme of “enchantment” and the struggle over will power between mortals and immortals. The famous statue of Venus/Aphrodite was inspired by the story of the torrid love affair between Paris, the prince of Troy, and Helen of Sparta, which art historian Kenneth Clark said inspired more art than any other story in history from antiquity. For the purposes of our own travels in search of the Odyssey, this is the first of many enchantments that led to the Trojan War, and were later magnified by the spellbinding adventures with the Cyclops, Circe, Calypso, the Sirens, and many more, during the ten wandering years of our hero Odysseus.
We then travel by bus to Ancient Sparta, in the heart of Laconia, where Paris, under the spell of Aphrodite/Venus, came to seek the hand of Helen. The Trojan prince had been promised the hand and the heart of the most beautiful woman in the world. by Aphrodite, in exchange for his judging her to be “the most fair of all the goddesses.” Hence, the story of “The Judgment of Paris. What is rarely acknowledged in the telling of this radically influential myth, is that Aphrodite likewise cast a spell upon Helen, so that their fateful meeting in the Palace of her husband Menelaus, would become the stuff of legend. In the Odyssey, the impressionable Telemachus, son of Odysseus, is inspired by Athena to “Go seek news of your father.”
To catch a glimpse of the importance of these mythic figures, we will visit the strange pyramid-shaped archaeological site across the river from modern Sparta, the Menelaion, now regarded as the Sanctuary of Menelaus and Helen. We will explore the area with a local guide and discuss phenomenon of the fertility cult in honor of Helen, which thrived for millennia. According to no less an authority than Pausanius, the first-century travel writer and geographer, the royal couple were buried there.
We will enjoy a traditional lunch (included in tour price) in Sparta. After our visit to Sparta, we continue to Ancient Pylos.
(Overnight in Pylos at Hotel Karalis or similar)
After breakfast at the hotel, we gather for a morning discussion about the the Palace of Nestor, often considered the best-preserved palace in Greece, whose history dates back to Neolithic times. Our visit will be in honor of King Nestor, who fought alongside Odysseus at Troy. In the Odyssey, Homer writes that the goddess Athena suggested that Telemachus visit King Nestor to gain knowledge of his father’s whereabouts because “Wise Nestor” fought alongside his father at Troy. The site is noteworthy for the discovery of thousands of clay tablets in Linear B script, which was used for writing Mycenean Greek.
After lunch (at own expense) we drive for two hours to Ancient Olympia, where we will explore with a local guide the curious relationship in the ancient world between athletics and warfare. This is where the Greek ideal of arete, excellence was literally exercised, but in body, mind, and soul. Considered a national shrine for the ancient Greeks because it housed the Temple of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The site housed many treasures and works of art ranging from temples to Hera, Hekate, and Dionysus, monuments, sacred altars, theatres, and statues. Recent findings have pushed the origins of the competitions there from the traditional 776 B.C.E. to around 1250 B.C.E.
Our visit will feature Phil’s findings based on his book, The Olympic Odyssey, which was gifted to all 1700 American athletes at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The connection with Homer is unexpected but rich, as he often regarded as the first sportswriter in the world because of his deeply informed description of the so-called Funeral Games for the fallen hero Patroclus, in the Iliad. Together, we shall make our way to the ancient gymnasium and the palaestra (wrestling forum), the Temple of Zeus, one of the original Seven Wonders of the World, the Temple of Hera, where the Olympic Torch is ignited for every modern Olympics, and the wondrous Archaeological Museum, which features the astounding statue of Hermes by Praxiteles. We will then walk through an old olive grove for a visit of the Olympics Museum, which features a collection of Olympic torches, medals, and memorabilia of the Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the visionary who revived the Modern Olympic Games in the belief it would revive the spirit of the well-lived life. Enjoy lunch near the museum (own expense).
This evening we will enjoy dinner at our hotel.
(Overnight in Olympia at the Amalia Hotel or similar)
Following our hotel breakfast we will gather on our hotel’s beautiful outdoor patio for an invigorating discussion about the symbolic power of Ithaka in mythology, psychology, poetry, and the arts. After our talk we will take our coach to the port of Patras, where we will catch a four-hour ferry to Pisaetos harbour, Ithaka, then on to the nearby beautiful harbour town of Vathi.
Tonight we will enjoy dinner at a lovely local seafood restaurant located along the bay (at own expense).
(Overnight in Ithaka at the Mentor Hotel or similar)
After breakfast on the gorgeous patio of The Mentor Hotel, overlooking Vathi Bay, we will craft a group reading of the Odyssey of passage set in Ithaka. This promises to be both entertaining and enlightening as we will have an open discussion about the way the translations have shape-shifted over the centuries. We will also explore the centuries-long debate, which dates back to the 3rd century BCE, about the specific location of Homer’s Ithaka.
After lunch (included in tour price) we will be guided by Spyros Couvaras, a member of the Odyssean Studies Center, to the town square of the beautiful village of Stavros to see a scale model of ancient Ithaka, and the small but important Archaeological Museum of Stavros, where we will see fragments of twelve bronze ceremonial tripods in honour of Odysseus found in the nearby Polis caves. One is famously inscribed: EYXHN ODYCCEI, a reference to the gift of Alcinoos, King of Phaecia, to Odysseus.
Then we take a short drive by coach to the so-called “School of Homer,” the reputed ruins of Odysseus and Penelope’s palace, which archaeologists believe are strongly suggestive of Mycenean settlement dating back to palatial phase of Greek history. Recently, the Ministry of Culture in Athens has recognized the grounds of the Agios Athanasios, an eighth century Chrisitan church on the grounds, which can now be definitely identified as the “Odysseion of Ithaka,” a sanctuary devoted to the hero-worship of Odysseus, which lasted for many centuries and became a bona fide pilgrimage destination during Hellenistic – early Roman times.
After our visit to these haunting ruins, we will visit the Polis Cave, where a variation of the “Odysseus cult” was ritually celebrated for eight centuries. Time permitting, we will end our visits with a drive to the peak of Pilata Hill to enjoy one of the finest panoramic views in all of Greece. The site overlooks the Three Seas that Homer describes are visible from Odysseus’ Ithaka, and finally to the Homeric “Melanydros Fountain.”
(Overnight in Ithaka at the Mentor Hotel or similar)
Today we enjoy a morning of storytelling and discussion about the Odyssey, including recent mythopoetic renderings of Homer’s myths, including Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, Madeline Miller’s Circe, and Emily Wilson’s celebrated 2017 translation, the first by a woman. We will have an animated session that explores the various treatments of the long story of Odysseus and Penelope on the stage, in the movies, and on radio and television, including Ovid’s Metamorphosis, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, and Mary Zimmerman’s brilliant adaptation, The Odyssey: A Play.
After our “Long Conversation”, we will attempt to visit the Archaeological Museum of Vathi to see its beautiful collection of rare vases from the so-called “Dark Ages,” as well as vases from the Geometric Period, striking Ithacan bronze coins from Classical times, some with the very face of King Odysseus, and a magnificent wooden model of Odysseus’ Palace. Today we offer a feast worthy of the Golden Age of Homer, to be held at the highest point on the island, at the monastery on Mount Nerion, overlooking the bay and the Aegean, catered by our friend Aphrodite, owner of the Kanenes Taverna, in Stavros.
(Overnight in Ithaka at the Mentor Hotel or similar)
Today we enjoy a languorous breakfast and Long Conversation on the patio of our wonderful Mentor Hotel overlooking Vathy Bay, reflecting on how Homer’s story has taken on a life of its own, the very word “odyssey” coming to mean not just any journey, but the one that changes everything. For our final session on Ithaka, we will share each other’s odysseys, telling the stories of our lifelong explorations to find or restore our own homes.
Afterward, we will make a visit to Loizos Cave, an evocative site linked with Odysseus’ cult and rich in archaeological finds.
The remainder of the day is free to enjoy as you wish. Weather permitting, we will drive to a nearby beach for time to swim, hike, or journal.
Lunch and dinner at own expense today.
(Overnight in Ithaka at the Mentor Hotel or similar)
This morning we leave early for our ferry, arriving four hours later back on the mainland, where we will meet our coach driver at the port of Patras. There we will take a short lunch break at a taverna along the promenade before leaving on our two-hour coach drive to the ancient sanctuary at Delphi. Along the way we will take advantage of the time to contemplate the “Delphic Question” you will be bringing from home, in the spirit of centuries of pilgrims who came here before us. Arriving in Apollo’s own town around 230 pm, we will have time to freshen up at our hotel before visiting the site. Our connection to the Odyssey can be found in the way Homer evokes the ancient Greek impulse to seek out divine help from the gods when mortals found themselves at a crossroad in their lives. In Book 14, Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, tells his old friend Eumaeus that he once sought advice from Zeus at Dodona about how he might get home. Later, in Book 19, again in disguise, he confesses to his wife Penelope that he made a pilgrimage the sacred oak tree of Dodona “to learn the will of Zeus.”
Thus inspired and enthused (both ancient Greek words), we will walk in meditative silence from our hotel in the village of modern Delphi to the archaeological site, to help orient ourselves for our own symbolic encounter with the Oracle. At the Castilian Springs near the entrance, we will meet our local guide, who will lead us for an hour and provide an overview of the magnificent history of Ancient Delphi, the most revered site in antiquity.
Afterwards, each of us will be granted a few minutes of contemplation at the symbolic entrance to the Temple of Apollo, where the Delphic Oracle resided for over 1200 years, remembered ever since for the inscribed Sayings of the Seven Sages, which were etched into the Temple of Apollo (the most famous being Gnothi Sauton, Know Thyself), and where the Oracle or Sibyl who uttered prophecies and answered the questions of pilgrims who had traveled there from all over the Mediterranean. Afterwards, we will ask The Question that brought us to Greece. the World. After our time exploring the Ancient Theater and the beautiful excavated stadium, the sit of one of the four Ancient Olympic gatherings.
Our visit will be topped off by a visit to the magnificent Archaeological Museum. There is housed what is believed to be the original Omphalos stone, dropped from the heavens by Zeus himself, and Praxiteles’s sublime marble statue of Dionysus.
(Overnight in Delphi at the Amalia Hotel or similar)
Today we enjoy our Long Conversation on one of the most unexpected themes in Homer—the feast, the shared meal—and its role in the all-important code of hospitality, xenia, which helped forge the Greek identity. Our innovative way to explore the surprisingly frequent scenes of eating and drinking the Iliad and the Odyssey will be to offer a four-hour cooking class in one of the most picturesque and charming sites in the country, the fourteenth-century BCE village of Galixadi. Afterward, on our way back to Delphi, we will visit Arachova, on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, for coffee break and an opportunity for last-minute shopping.
(Overnight in Delphi at the Amalia Hotel or similar)
After breakfast in Delphi, and our Long Conversation reflecting on the journeys of Odysseus and Penelope and how our own travels have shaped us, we journey back toward Athens, stopping at one of the greatest shrines of antiquity, Eleusis, where the Mysteries were performed for nearly 1500 years without interruption. Over the centuries, the archaeological site has been devastated by pillaging, strip-mined for its marble and architectural marvels, but it remains one of the most mysterious sacred places in the world. Due to its connection with the cults of Demeter, Persephone, and Hades, Eleusis has been the focus of innumerable studies in modern depth psychology, comparative mythology, and feminist studies.
Together with our local guide, we will learn about the all-night public procession from Athens, and the secret ceremonies that honored the wandering Mother Goddess who was mourning the disappearance of her abducted daughter. Their mythic drama was reenacted here from around 1100 BCE until Theodosius razed the temple complex in 393 CE centuries. The playwright Sophocles remarked, “Happy is the man who has seen the secret rites,” referring to the rituals that scholars like Karl Kerenyi described as a series of revelations of the possibilities of rebirth. At Eleusis we have the chance to enjoy what the legendary traveler Dame Rose Macaulay called “the pleasure of ruins,” being reminders of our mortality.
Our stops at the site include the reputed Cave of Hades, from which the God of the Underworld emerged to seize the young Persephone, the Well of Demeter, where the goddess of agriculture grieved over her missing daughter, and the scattered remains of the Telesterion, four times the size of the Parthenon, and the temple where the final ceremonies were performed.
After our afternoon musings around the sacred grounds, we will walk to the nearby Kykeon Taverna, where we will enjoy a lovely Farewell Lunch and toast to our adventure walking in the footsteps of Homer, Odysseus, and Penelope.
We then continue our journey to Athens for our last night. Optional casual gathering at the Kafeneio Oraia Ellas (Coffee House of Beautiful Greece), established in 1839 as the go-to place for travelers on the Grand Tour. Later the kafeneio became the center for revolutionaries, poets, and writers such as Hans Christian Anderson, and where the antimonarchic newspaper, “The Future of Greece” was published.
(Overnight in Athens at the Amalia Hotel or similar)
After breakfast we say a fond farewell to our newfound friends and tour leader as our time together in Greece comes to an end. We will travel home with incredible memories and a deeper understanding of the importance of the sites visited and their role in Homer’s Odyssey.
After check-out, you will be transferred to Athens International Airport for onwards flights home.
(B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner)
Note: This itinerary is subject to change due to conditions beyond our control
