Added Priene. From Akurgal: "Priene was built on the Hippodamian system, i.e. according to a city plan in which streets intersect at right angles, and is the oldest and finest example of this type to be found among Hellenic cities."

Added Miletos. The irony of Miletos is that where water once surrounded this promontory at the head of the gulf of Latmos, today the sea is gone and the land is wet. But it's not anywhere near as horrible as the disappointed author of the Blue Guide would have you believe: "Miletus is not one of the most attractive sites in south west Turkey. During late autumn, winter, and early spring much of the area occupied by the ruins is an unpleasant morass. In summer this becomes a drab brown wilderness covered with low thorny scrub. A sense of profound melancholy broods over the ancient city, a feeling of abandonment and decay that is accentuated by the monotony of a landscape little relieved by the occasional tall clump of reeds or jagged stump of a ruined building."

Added Didyma, Bassae, and Sardis. Didyma—"the most impressive single ancient monument on the west coast [of Turkey]"—was photographed late in the day when the sky was still blue. The Temple of Apollo at Bassae was in a tent, unfortunately, which meant that it was impractical to shoot full panoramas in such a closed space. Fresh rain at Sardis covered the Lydian capital with a carpet of green.

Added Herakleia under Latmos and Gerga. On the shores of lake Bafa, Herakleia's long walls snake up Mount Latmos where Endymion is said to sleep forever deathless and ageless. Bean said this about Gerga: "It is indeed no more than a village, but the remains are so striking and unusual that the present writer at least knows no place more fascinating."

Added Lerna and Smyrna. There was constant rain at Smyrna which Bean places "among the pleasant places of the earth." There is much that is unique at this Aeolian and later Ionian city: the 9th cent. B.C. Oval mudbrick house, the archaic megaron, and a collection of some of the oldest and most beautiful column capitals and bases. At Lerna, where it is said Herakles slew the Hydra, you can find one of the most elaborate Early Helladic buildings ("The House of the Tiles").

Added the last two sites I have from Athens today: the Athenian Kerameikos and the Olympieion (Temple of Zeus). The Kerameikos was another rather extensive site that was shot over the course of a few days. The Olympieion was rather frustrating. One almost needs a fisheye lens to photograph this building properly.

Metis has entered its second incarnation.

It is now much more friendly to low-bandwidth users (even modem connections). It now only loads the particular node it needs. Pages are now roughly 200 to 300 kilobytes in size.

Metis will now generate a catalog of features for each site allowing you to jump from one to another very quickly.

Most sites now have plans that are synchronized with the node you are currently viewing showing you where you are on a site. These plans are zoom-able as well as click-able (you can jump to the nearest node by clicking on the plan).

URLs can now be created that reference anything anywhere in Metis. Please see the section in the FAQ on "How to create URLs . . ." if you are interested in making your own links. The list on the Highlights page will give you examples of the linking possibilities.

You can still download the old type of Metis "scene movies" (where all the nodes from a site are packaged together). Look for links at the bottom of each site page.

All new sites are marked in the catalog with a red asterisk.