Meteora—Those Gigantic Rock-Masses
THE gigantic rock-masses of Meteora, in Thessaly of central Greece, are a real wonder! And the great plain of Thessaly itself is a museum of natural masterpieces. Its beauty and fertility are renowned. On approaching the plain from the east, one passes through the breathtaking, gatelike gorge of Tempe, under the shading of colossal Mount Olympus, the mythical residence of the 12 Grecian gods. At its foot the Piniós River flows, and at the extreme west end of the plain stands Meteora.
This gigantic rocky group causes amazement, admiration, fear, joy, and dizziness. Some of these rocks reach a height of 600 meters (1,970 ft). They sprout like obelisks. And they are surely tremendous heaps of witness to the mighty Creator.
According to some geologists, the formation of Meteora dates back to the remotest geological periods, when the whole Thessalian Plain was a seabed pressed from the sides to form undulations and irregular surfaces. Other researchers set the probable time of Meteora’s formation at just a few millenniums ago and ascribe it to earthquakes and erosion caused by water. Yet, all of them admit that the carver of these giants was water acting with tremendous force. One may, of course, wonder about the source of all that water.
The Flood in Legend
Ancient Grecian mythology refers to this area. According to Pindar’s odes and the writings of Apollodorus, when the mythical Deucalion was king of Phthia in Thessaly, Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods made up his mind to exterminate impious and mischievous humankind by a deluge. With a view to escaping the wrath of the gods, Deucalion had an ark constructed. In it he put the necessary provisions. Right after he entered the ark with his wife Pyrrha, a mighty deluge broke out, flooded the larger portion of Greece, and drowned “almost all humans.” During the deluge the mounts of Thessaly were supposedly formed. For nine days and nights, Deucalion’s ark moved to and fro over the waves until it ran aground atop Mount Parnassus, in Thessaly.
After getting out of the ark, Deucalion offered a sacrifice to Fixius Zeus. The god Zeus commanded Deucalion and Pyrrha to throw stones behind them. Those thrown by Deucalion became men, whereas those thrown by Pyrrha came to be women. A twisted version, indeed, of the Bible’s record of the factual Deluge of Noah’s day!—Genesis 6:1–8:22.
The Monasteries of Meteora
Great Meteora rises to a height of 613 meters (2,011 ft) above the Pineós riverbed. Situated on the flat top of the mount is the monastery of Metamorphosis, the largest of the six now in operation. The ascent by paved road and carved stone stairs is not easy.
In the monasteries of Meteora, there are now libraries containing a considerable number of manuscripts. Many were found to be hidden in such places as walls and roofs or under a mattress.
The contents of the manuscripts are mostly religious and ecclesiastical. But there are also manuscripts of historical, literary, philosophical, and scientific content. Their sheets are of parchment or of paper, and they are dated from the 9th to the 19th century. Among them is the parchment Codex 591 dated 861-62 C.E. This is the oldest manuscript in Greece, contains 423 sheets, and consists of interpretative discourses on the Gospel of Matthew.
There are also archives containing such documents as gold-embossed pages of Byzantine emperors and patriarchs. The total number is about 3,000. But the Bible manuscripts are few, for the copyists of Meteora have engaged themselves little in this kind of work.
The monasteries are full of religious images (icons) portraying both mythical and real persons, as well as events testifying to the monks’ religious convictions. For instance, one representation of the Second Coming depicts sinners being thrown into the mouths of terrible monsters. Elsewhere, in the temple of John the Baptist, there is a relief depicting a horseman before whom stands Venus.
So ends our visit to Meteora. Whatever we may think of man-made things now found there, we are moved by the grandeur of this gigantic rocky group situated in Thessaly.
[Picture Credit Line on page 30]
Embassy of Greece photo