Thursday 16 June: 130km Platees - Thiva - Livadia - Delphi

In the village of Platees some ruins from an ancient battle served as our starting point this sunny Thursday morning. A very energetic and enthusiastic local ultra-distance runner, Panajotis, joined us for the first 8k. From here we ran through a quilt of hilly fields of yellow, brown, and green, with trees sporadically dotted around like green cotton buds. Favourably placed water sprinklers gave some temporary relief to hot runners, and dark green mountain ranges surrounded it all.

We arrived in the historic city of Thiva. It only has 35000 inhabitants, but because of its historic status it is still called a city. Thiva was the city in which Harmonia, the Greek Goddess of Harmony, was married to the city’s king Kadmos. She was the daughter of Ares, the God of War, and Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty. And it was also the city of the famous Sphinx, a mystical figure embodied as a cross between a woman and a lion, the guardian to higher knowledge.

Crowds of people, most seated at the several local restaurants, cheered loudly as we ran by. In the square a platform had been built for us and we were greeted by the city’s Mayor and other official personages. After the ceremony we were invited for some refreshing drinks.

Every runner had a very different experience of running on this day. For some it was a piece of cake running through open fields with a constant cool breeze at their back. For others it was a struggle running along wind still roads, flanked by steep hillsides and tall blooming hedges, with the sun blazing down.

We passed through a quaint little city called Livadia, and then stopped for some lunch at a nearby roadside picnic area. After a long run in intense heat few things are as appealing as fresh, juicy, sumptuous watermelon, mmm…

The views were breathtaking all the way as we ran on higher altitudes along the mountainsides, passing a picturesque little mountain village, Arachova, on the way.

Deciduous trees opened the way to the historic city of Delphi. Delphi is probably most famous for its Oracle, which the high priestess, the Pythia, was in charge of. The whole city was dedicated to Apollo, the Sun God. It was also a cultural and political metropolis, where people from all countries could meet. It was a city that held the ideals of freedom and security. If a slave made it to Delphi and wrote his name on the temple of Apollo, he was declared a free man. Delphi was also an architectural wonder housing 3600 statues, temples, a theatre, and a stadium. It was obvious that the Mayor of Delphi, who received us, was very proud of his city’s historical heritage.

Jan Klaile

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