Ammoudia beach Parga, Acheron Delta and Ephyra Necromanteion, Greece land of myths | Travel Guide
The Necromanteion of Ephyra
Near the village of Mesopotamos is one of the most exceptional surviving oracles of the ancient world. A must see attraction in the area.
The Nekromanteion (Greek: Νεκρομαντεῖον) was an ancient Greek temple of necromancy devoted to Hades and Persephone. According to tradition, it was located on the banks of the Acheron river in Epirus. This site was believed by devotees to be the door to Hades, the realm of the dead. The site is at the meeting point of the Acheron, Pyriphlegethon and Cocytus rivers, believed to flow through and water the kingdom of Hades. The meaning of the names of the rivers has been interpreted to be "joyless", "burning coals" and "lament.
The word Necromanteion means "Oracle of the Dead", and the faithful came here to talk with their dead ancestors. Ritual use of the Necromanteion involved elaborate ceremonies wherein celebrants seeking to speak to the dead would start by gathering in the ziggurat-like temple and consuming a meal of broad beans, pork, barley bread, oysters, and a narcotic compound. Following a cleansing ceremony and the sacrifice of sheep, the faithful would descend through a chthonic series of meandric corridors leaving offerings as they passed through a number of iron gates. The nekromanteia would pose a series of questions and chant prayers and the celebrants would then witness the priest arise from the floor and begin to fly about the temple through the use of Aeorema-like theatrical cranes.
Countless beaches, countless choices
Sixty kilometres of sandy beaches and fine swimming await you from Preveza to Parga; Loutsa, Valtos, Lychnos, Ammouthia, Lygia, Kastrosykia…the list continues with a typical mixture; some secluded and practically untouched, some organised with busy beach bars.
The Nekromanteion was an ancient Greek temple of necromancy devoted to Hades and Persephone. According to tradition, it was located on the banks of the Acheron river in Epirus, near the ancient city of Ephyra. This site was believed by devotees to be the door to Hades, the realm of the dead. The site is at the meeting point of the Acheron, Pyriphlegethon and Cocytus rivers, believed to flow through and water the kingdom of Hades.
In the Sanctuary goes the ancient by offering libations (libations, offerings) to the dead to communicate with the souls and get various information, after suitable preparation. Ritual use of the Necromanteion involved elaborate ceremonies wherein celebrants seeking to speak to the dead would start by gathering in the ziggurat-like temple and consuming a meal of broad beans, pork, barley bread, oysters, and a narcotic compound. Following a cleansing ceremony and the sacrifice of sheep, the faithful would descend through a chthonic series of meandric corridors leaving offerings as they passed through a number of iron gates. The nekyomanteia would pose a series of questions and chant prayers and the celebrants would then witness the priest arise from the floor and begin to fly about the temple through the use of Aeorema-like theatrical cranes.
The Necromanteion functioned until 167 BC when it was looted and destroyed by the Romans and it was inhabited again in the 1st e.X. century. In the excavations that have been made in the region have collected important findings. From an architectural point of view the Nekromanteion is identified with majestic mausoleum to the East of the 5th century.
It consists of polygonal masonry, iron gates, internal division with corridors construction that serves the worship and the rituals for the gods. The main sanctuary is a square building with sides of 22 m. length and is divided with two parallel walls in a central room and two small in side. Includes main hall, corridors, reception rooms and staff rooms preparation, the warehouses in which were preserved jars with the offerings of visitors, the maze and the actual shrine. Below the central hall is another underground chamber carved in the rock, the roof of which rests on fifteen limestone arches.
Ammoudia is a small beautiful village on the northwest coast of Greece in the region of Epirus. The village belongs to the Prefecture of Preveza is placed on the waves of Ionian Sea at the estuaries of Acheron River. It is an appreciable touristic choice as it combines a quiet familiar atmosphere with a variety of activities and sights of a huge mythological, historical and environmental worth. Based on mythology Ammoudia was the passage to the netherworld as the souls should cross Acheron during their travel to Hades kingdom, the one of the three kingdoms of ancient Greek world.
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