VISITORS
During the past few weeks there have been several groups of visitors who toured the museum, site, and stadium, and then were informed about the Nemean Games.
September 9 – The German Olympic Academy, led by Achim Bueble (Managing Director) and Prof. Dr. Manfred Lämmer, brought about 85 high school teachers to Nemea.
September 20 – The Estonian Olympic Academy, led by Reele Remmelkoor (Director), brought 20 of its members for a visit, including half an hour in the Society’s exhibition room.
September 25 – Nineteen members of the Damaris “Journey through Ancient Greece” group from Britain, led by the sisters Jane Maw Cornish and Mary Kehoe, came back to Nemea again, but now their visit included time in the exhibition.
September 26 – We received a surprise visit from the Venezuelan Ambassador to Greece, the honorable Rodrigo Oswaldo Chaves Samudio. He had another surprise for us – the diary (in Greek translation) of Francisco de Miranda, a native of Caracas and a freedom fighter in many parts of the world, including the USA, France, and his own Venezuela.
In 1786, on his way to Constantinople and while waiting for a boat from Corinth to Athens, Miranda decided to walk to a site with three columns which was four hours distant. We read that, on the morning of June 9, he “descended into a lovely valley in the center of which are the three columns that I mentioned, of the Doric order with very beautiful proportions . . . and nearby it is believed was the forest of Nemea . . . “ This is a wonderful addition to our collection of early visitors to Nemea, and we thank Ambassador Chaves warmly.
October 5 – Steve Thurlow brought 13 members of his “Wine for Life” group from Toronto, Canada. The guards at the site were on strike, so the view of Nemea was from the top of the Evangelistria Hill, but it was nicely supplemented by the Society’s displays showing details of the stadium and its excavation which otherwise would not have been seen by this group.