Following Odysseus Not the end of the world Amarna city of light ...

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GreenSpainUrsula Kampmann goes in search of Romans and Visigoths in Cantabria and AsturiasIt was on 13 January 27 BC,when the Civil War amongthe Romans had just been settledby a complex act of state.Octavianus had assumed the honorarytitle of Augustus and, in addition,a range of functions securinghis retention of power. His majorproblem was the army. After thebattle of Actium, 70 legions wereunder arms and, although not allthese legions had their official combatstrength of 6,000 men each, theRoman army, including the cavalryand navy, now totalled a colossal250,000 men. Every one of thesesoldiers expected a piece of land bigenough to sustain his family at theend of his military career, but therewas simply not enough to go round.A huge, idle army might become acradle of rebellion, and Augustus1. Aureus made ofgold mined in Spainshowing Augustus and,reverse, the templeof Jupiter Tonans(Thundering Jupiter),19-16 BC. Augustuswas almost killed bya stroke of lightning,after which he builta temple to JupiterTonans. Courtesy ofThe New York Sale XX(2009) 391.had no choice but to put his soldiersto use. This he did by conqueringareas he had previously avoidedbecause of their difficult terrain. So,when the campaigning season of27 BC began, Augustus left Romeand personally took command ofthe conquest of northern Spain.The roads across this barren,rough countryside have improvedbeyond measure since Augustus’day. But when we cross the border1between France and Spain around2,000 years later, we notice thatone thing has remained the same.You can only drive along the northcoast, or into the heart of thecountry on the famous Way of StJames, and there are still few connectionsbetween these two routes.The northern and southern partsof the area are separated by theCantabrian Range, which runs eastwestabout 15 kilometres inlandfrom the coast, and whose peakscan reach 2,500 metres.We decide to cross ‘Green Spain’by driving along the coast and soonlearn why it is so called – becauseit rains so much here that everythinggreen flourishes. The mostpopular souvenir is not, as youmight assume, the scallop shell of StJames but a strong umbrella that46Minerva November/December 2012
Travel342can be put to good use rather often.We travel through Cantabriauntil we reach Asturias. Bothregions take their names from tribesAugustus planned to subdue in26 BC. The inhabitants, however,put up a fight. They withdrew intonumerous mountain passes, waitedfor the marching Roman columnsto approach, then attacked them bytriggering rockfalls.Initially Augustus stayed with hisarmy but, when a thunderbolt struckone of his torch-bearers standingnearby, he interpreted it as divineadvice that he should withdrawimmediately to his headquarters. Sohe left his army with the order thatthey should smoke out the enemyforces. The local resistance fightersretreated to Mons Vindius, a peakin the Picos de Europa, where they2. The rocky regionof Las Médulas innorthern Spain, wheregold was once mined,is now a park withWorld Heritage status.3. The church of OurLady of Covadonga.Pelagius (Pelayo), oneof the last survivingVisigoths who becamethe first king of Spain,defeated the invadingMoorish army atCovadonga afterreceiving a sign fromthe Virgin Mary in theform of a jewelledwooden cross.4. The site of CastroViladonga, which datesback to around 50 BC.were surrounded by the Romantroops and starved out.Today the Picos de Europa is anational park whose snowy heightsoverlook idyllic lakes – an areamuch favoured by hikers. After astroll, we move on to Covadonga,where Pelagius, one of the last survivingVisigoths, entrenched himselfafter being chased by Muslimtroops in 722. Luckily, the VirginMary sent him a cedar cross decoratedwith gold and jewels (you canstill see a replica of it in the treasureroomof the cathedral of Oviedo) asa sign that he would triumph – soPelagius prevailed and began theReconquista (Reconquest) of landseized by the Muslims.Around Covadonga we discovertraces that lead you back to thebeginning of Spanish history. Inthe small hamlet of Villanueva, forexample, is the church of a monasterybuilt in memory of Pelagius’son Fávila. He reigned for only twoyears and died during a bear hunt aspictured on a carved stone we see onthe portal of the monastery of SanPedro de Villanueva. Although youwill be unlikely to meet any yourself,brown bears still live in the Picosde Europa. Only a few kilometresaway is the small modern town ofCangas de Onís, the first capital ofAsturias. On a hill visible in the distancestood the church constructedby Favila (of which only the foundationstone now remains) probablythe first to be constructed afterthe Islamic conquest of Spain in AD711. In 1630 under Philip IV whilea search was being made for thetomb of Pelagius, Spain’s first king,Minerva November/December 201247
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