Today, we went to the Nekromanteion (the Oracle of the Dead). In the story of Persephone, she was brought to the Underworld by force to marry Hades. Any normal person could go, to ask a question to the dead. They could only go once though, because then they would figure out the scam. First they had to pay a lot of money. They were cleansed in utter darkness so as not to get contaminated by the spirits of the dead. They ate pork, broad beans, lupin, barley bread, and drank water, milk, and honey. The priests prayed to the demons, then throws a stone to chase away all evil. The broad beans and lupins cause indigestion, hallucinations and vertigo. They believed they were walking for days into the Underworld, when actually they were walking through a short maize, with disoriented shadows all around them. When they arrived in the room that they would speak to the dead, they had to stay on the other side of the room, so they wouldn't see that their great-grandmother was actually being played by a random man. During the cleanse, the pilgrims didn't know how long they were there (it was 28 days). Also, the priest would ask them questions about what they were looking for, and put together an answer they could invent.
The different rooms would be covered by dirt, so we could only see a church.
After the cleanse, this arch is where the priest would throw the stone.
This is the beginning of the maize.
The room to speak the the dead.
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