Marathon, Eleusis,Brauron,and Sounion

This post is a bit out of order--it should be before the Delphi post, but I was too excited about Delphi so I skipped over it. I will give you a very truncated version of our visit, due to the fact that we covered so much in such a brief time span.

The remains of a tholos tomb in Marathon--windows were placed over the graves so the skeletons could be seen.

A tholos on the actually site of the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians who fought and died in the battle were buried here where they fell as a special honor.

A statue of a pre-pubescent girl--a dedication to the goddess: Artemis. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt as well as female puberty rituals. This was at the museum in Brauron

Some more dedications to the goddess. These are fancy perfume holders.

Very cool! Theses are pieces of wooden offering to the goddess. I was surprised there was anything left!

THEE Artemis temple at Brauron. It was probably the smallest temple that I  had seen my entire time at Greece. It was set very nicely into the countryside.

A temple to Poseidon at Sounion.

Another image of the temple. Lord Byron of Britain actually etched his name into one of the columns. 

I found this beauty in the water of the beach at Sounion.

A cave at Eleusis where the grain goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone were worshipped.

A lovely sarcophagus.

A votive offering to Demeter. Pigs in particular were sacred to Demeter. A piglet was a typical offering to Demeter.

A keratid.

This contraption was worn on the knee and thigh of women who worked in the textile industry. Threads were rubbed upon the clay prior to being used.