Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
was deemed to be the dwelling of the Muses. On its slopes was Delphi, the sanctu-
ary of Apollo.
While sanctuaries dedicated to Zeus, the god of rain, thunder and lightning, were
located on mountain tops, shrines dedicated to Apollo did not need to stand above
the clouds. They were nevertheless usually built in dramatic elevated spots. The
sharp contrast between the bright geometrical forms of the shrine and the rough
masses of the earth exalted the nature of the young god of light and reason 'drama-
tizing at once the terrible scale of nature and the opposing patterns which are the
result of disciplined human action in the world' (Scully, 1979, p. 100).
As with Minoan peaks, visibility remained a crucial aspect of the sacred geogra-
phies of ancient Greece. These geographies, in turn, often remained closely inter-
twined with coastal navigation and its 'practical geographies'. In ancient Greek
the word
oros
means both 'mountain' and 'landmark', a testimony to the enduring
importance of mountains and promontories as landmarks for sailors (Figure 7.1a).
Templed promontories are to be found not only in the Aegean, but also on all the
shores of the Mediterranean and beyond: from the tip of Sinai, 'a notorious spot for
conflicting winds and currents dreaded by Greek and Roman seamen', to southern
Portugal and the Crimean Bosporus (Semple, 1932, p. 614). These holy seamarks
signalled places of severe storms, as the high relief on which the sanctuaries were
located often converted the straits and bays below into sea canyons through which
winds seasonally blew with restless violence. Templed promontories marked the
fine line between known land and boundless sea (Mavian, 1992, p. 41). As such,
they were also the first familiar features the returning seaman would have glimpsed
on return to his homeland.
Lofty mountain peaks were also employed as beacons to convey long-distance
messages. 'The Assyrians used beacons at fixed distances of two hours' journey,
and, since lighting a beacon of itself can carry no detailed message, a fast courier
was dispatched with the news at the same time' (Pattenden, 1983, p. 269). Likewise,
according to Herodotus (
History,
9: 3), during their invasion of Greece in 480 BC
the Persians set up an efficient system, extending from the coast of Asia Minor
across the Aegean islands to Attica. The employment of fire signals by the Greeks
became common by the time of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC). The Mace-
donians imitated the Persians, and were in turn imitated by the Romans (Pattenden,
1983, pp. 269-70). The most notorious account of mountain beacon-signalling is
given by Aeschylus in his description of the capture of Troy by the Greeks. The
news of victory was conveyed almost instantly through a chain of mountain bea-
cons linking Troy to Argos, which corresponded with sea marks that had been long
familiar to Greek sailors (
Agamemnon,
281-316; Semple, 1932, pp. 586-88).
In the Mediterranean of classical antiquity, however, mountains were not only
locations of sanctuaries and beacons. Visually striking peaks were often reposito-
ries of titanic myths used to explain natural phenomena. Mount Etna, the highest
volcano in Europe, was deemed to be the residence of Hephaestus. Here the de-
ity of fire and forge would place his heavy anvil on Typhon, a monster Zeus had
imprisoned in the fiery mountain. 'At every eruption the earth groaned and shook,
