Tall stories upon a shallow shore

Submitted by Iza on Thu, 02/09/2023 - 18:16

Text by our correspondent from Didyma, Glenn Maffia.

As one can imagine, I do have somewhat of a luxury in that the subject matter of my columns, the ancient past, generally affords me to escape the rigours of reporting current news. Well, almost. Sometimes a snippet of current news does occasionally leap the divide of the millennia.

Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates in Ephesus

Plucking from the garden of history

Submitted by Iza on Thu, 02/02/2023 - 16:57

Text and photos by our correspondent from Didyma, Glenn Maffia.

Following on from my previous article (Apollo on my mind), I believe that it may be necessary, even prudent, to qualify some of the evidence which I proffered therein.

Most notably the abject attitude of some local people towards this incredibly rich vein of historical artefacts which are seemingly endless in their historical scope, the innumerable disparate peoples and cultures, the endless number of belief systems which were active over so many millennia and the sheer diversity within this landmass which once was, without doubt, the ‘crossroads of the earth’.

Apollo on my mind

Submitted by Iza on Tue, 01/24/2023 - 12:18

Text by our correspondent from Didyma, Glenn Maffia.

Just prior to Christmas, I received a number of communications from my sources within Europe concerning the future of investigations into the Temple of Apollo at Didyma. Nothing concrete, you must understand, but nonetheless intriguing in the way that such archaeological tenets are being evolved, or rather dissolved, by the principle institutions engaged in this highly valuable and crucial work.

Waxing lyrical from esoteric heights

Submitted by Iza on Fri, 11/11/2022 - 13:09

Text and photos by our correspondent from Didyma, Glenn Maffia.

There appears to be few pertinent ideas circulating within our present age, an age of mass media disseminating dogmatic ‘information’ across the political and financial arenas of this ever shrinking world.

I have noticed that conversations I overhear in public are generally in broad agreement with each other, as the kernel of that ‘news’ invariably arrives from the same source, albeit across possibly differing mediums. Such be today’s viral propagation.

This has also infected my sphere of interest; that of history, aesthetics and archaeology. I hope that you have the patience to tolerate me whilst I endeavour to redress the equilibrium to a level of sanity.

The 'streaming' sky above the Temple of Apollo in Didyma

Tourism gate-crashing culture through the backdoor

Submitted by Iza on Sun, 11/06/2022 - 16:46

Text by our correspondent from Didyma, Glenn Maffia.

An article appeared in the Didim press a short while back, where the title rather intrigued me in respect that it suggested that the Temple of Apollo, at the very least, would be afforded some defence against the rampant exploitation of mass tourism.

Though, after absorbing the content, I was left utterly deflated in any lingering hope that those whom purport to care and tend to the protection of this site have any altruistic motivations whatsoever.