Dion, Greece.

Yesterday, the weather was terrible with all-day rain and the temperature dropping to 54😱.

 

We even had to light the fireplace!

All was not lost though as we stuffed ourselves with delicious Greek food (rain or shine, they deliver,) watched movies and bonded even more.

The next day, the weather was great, so it was off to see the ruins at Dion and climb Mt. Olympus.

(Joan, my views: Magnificent Mt. Olympus (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

They are still excavating the site!

The ruins of  ancient city of Dion are located at the foot of Mount Olympus in the north of Greece, once known as Macedon.

Houses in modern Dion are close to the museum

Legend has it that Dion was the burial place of Orpheus, the famous Greek prophet and musician.

However, the site was most important under Macedonian rulers, notably Philip II and his son, Alexander the Great as both kings celebrated victories there, and it was at this sanctuary that Alexander conducted sacrifices before his campaigns into Asia.

These marble mosaics were the actual floor of their famous baths.

 It shows the affluence of the period.

Dion is now an UNESCO heritage site, as in the 5^th Century AD, it was an important Holy Place for the emerging Christian philosophy and worship.

In Greece it is the second largest site of ruins after Acropolis and even today when we were there, we saw people still excavating ruins.

Remnants of the solid city wall that once protected Dion.

The stadium is still fairly intact. They held Olympic games here. They lasted 9 days.

Another view of the stadium.

Dion was first made internationally famous through the writings of the Greek poet Homer. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the 7th Century.  

Despite its importance to Greek history and mythology, serious excavation did not begin there until in the 1950’s.

The museum

The museum is only five minutes away and it has a comprehensive collection of artifacts from the period.

If you love Greek history, it's a must.

The mosaics from the baths are well preserved.

The female figures are clad and the males nude.

Busts of Greek philosophers.

A new town has sprung up around the museum. The ruins in the yard and the new homes and businesses in the area, make an interesting contrast.

I thought this was a vineyard but it's a Kiwi orchard

An aged horse gets a morning walk

new homes are right beside the ruins in the museum yard.

The thieving British (11)

On the 7^th February, I posted a blog entitled “The Thieving British”. The article was subsequently carried in Public Opinion.

Smelting metal

In the article, I expressed shock at the story on BBC which exposed Britain’s audacity in loaning treasures it had stolen from Ghana, to a museum there. 

The artifacts had been stolen by Britain in 1874!

In April 2023, several media houses in Britain carried reports to the effect that King Charles 111 of England, supports a study into the British royal family’s links to slavery. According to a section of the story, this is 'part of a series of stories on royal wealth and finances, as well as the monarchy's connection to slavery.

Interesting, in his recent memoir "Spare," Pince Harry wrote that; "the monarchy rests upon wealth generated by 'exploited workers and thuggery, annexation, and enslaved people.'"

The new study which Charles has okayed is supposed to be complete by 2026.

While some will consider this a well-intentioned move, does it really go far enough, or should the research into Britain's thuggery, annexation and exploitation cover not only slavery but also colonialism, since it all happened in one fell swoop without any significant break?

(Remember, in 1874 when they were still stealing artifacts from Ghana and others, slavery was supposed to have been already abolished by Britain!)

This  upcoming report on the royal's enrichment, will clearly not cover both atrocious periods therefore. 

I am however hoping that those who are negotiating for reparations on behalf of Africa and the Caribbean, don't take a similarly half-hearted approach!

Take the glorious Industrial Revolution that propelled Britain economically and still allows it to be held in high esteem and keeps it as somewhat of an economic powerhouse today.

The story below published by the British Guardian, newspaper on the 5^th July 2023 exposes the myth about the British technological prowess. 

The headline of this story was; “Industrial Revolution iron method ‘was taken from Jamaica by Briton.” The bi-line was; Wrought iron process that drove UK success was appropriated from black metallurgists, records suggest.”

It said in part; "An innovation that propelled Britain to become the world’s leading iron exporter during the Industrial Revolution was appropriated from an 18th-century Jamaican foundry, historical records suggest. The 'Cort' process, which allowed wrought iron to be mass-produced from scrap iron for the first time, has long been attributed to the British financier turned ironmaster Henry Cort. It helped launch Britain as an economic superpower and transformed the face of the country with “iron palaces”, including Crystal Palace, Kew Gardens’ Temperate House and the arches at St Pancras train station.Now, an analysis of correspondence, shipping records and contemporary newspaper reports reveals the innovation was first developed by 76 black Jamaican metallurgists at an ironworks near Morant Bay, Jamaica. Many of these metalworkers were enslaved people trafficked from west and central Africa, which had thriving iron-working industries at the time.

Dr Jenny Bulstrode, a lecturer in history of science and technology at University College London (UCL) and author of the paper, said: “This innovation kicks off Britain as a major iron producer and … was one of the most important innovations in the making of the modern world.” The technique was patented by Cort in the 1780s and he is widely credited as the inventor, with the Times lauding him as “father of the iron trade” after his death. The latest research presents a different narrative, suggesting Cort shipped his machinery – and the fully fledged innovation – to Portsmouth from a Jamaican foundry that was forcibly shut down.

The Jamaican ironworks was owned by a white enslaver, John Reeder, who in correspondence described himself as “quite ignorant” of iron manufacturing, noting that the 76 black metallurgists who ran the foundry were “perfect in every branch of the iron manufactory”, and, through their skill, could turn scrap and poor-quality metal into valuable wrought iron.”

 Charles can make mealy mouthed apologies for slavery, but will the exploited ever be compensated for how his empire and its descendents have lived and prospered from the brain and brawn of our ancestors from slavery through to the end of colonialism?

Prince Harry of the British Royal tribe is the only one who got it right. But will his brother who is the only one who can determine that the descendents of the exploited receive any form of justice, make it right?

Don't hold your collective breaths!