Nafplio Greece Local Attractions
ARGOS (Argolis), NAFPLION
It was created and remains in same region for 5.000 years and is the most ancient city in Greece, and perhaps in Europe, with enormous historical and archaeological background. Argos is located on the Mycenae-Nafplio-Epidaurus axis and it is 135 km from Athens, with driving and railway transportation options.
It is the largest city, the economic and commercial centre of the prefecture of Argolida, with big farming production and fairly large industrial presence, specializing in the packing process, shipping process and wholesale of farming products.
Argos has an abundance of archaeological monuments with the most important of these the imposing Ancient Theatre the 4th century BC, built on the rocks, with capacity of 20,000 spectators.
In the same region one can find the Roman Baths, the Ancient Conservatory, the Ancient Market and the Criterion.
On the hill called Larissa, west of the city, the Medieval Castle dominates the scene, while on side of the hill the historical church of the Hiding Virgin Mary supplements the idyllic landscape. Further north we find the hill called Aspida, home of the ancient temple of Deirada with Mycenae-era graves.
Despite the volume of antiquities and the justified archaeological interest, Argos is a modern city that bustles of life and constant movement. Interesting places to see are exceptional neoclassical buildings such as Kallergeio, the City Hall, the Konstantopouleio Palace, the house of Trikoupis family and others…
THE ELLINIKON PYRAMID, NAFPLION
The Ellinikon Pyramid also known as the Kehrion Pyramid is located in Ellinikon, just a few kilometers from Nafplio. It is the most important and best preserved pyramid in Greece. The story surrounding the monument was that it was built as a polyandria, a common grave, for those soldiers who had fallen in the struggle for the throne of Argos back in the 14th Century B.C. The structure resembles a pyramid with the decorations of Argolic shields, showing the military connection. Another pyramid that Pausanias saw on his journeys was at Kenchreai, another polyandria dedicated to the Argives and Spartans who lost their lives at the Battle of Hysiai in 669 B.C. Unfortunately neither of these structures remain fully intact today to test how closely they resembled the pyramids of Egypt nor is there any proof that they even resembled an Egyptian pyramid at all. This means there are two surviving pyramid-like structures still available to study, one at Ellinikon and the other at Ligourio, a village near the ancient theatre of Epidaurus. With these two pyramid’s base stones remaining, it is possible to determine that Grecian pyramids existed, but were not used as the Egyptians used them.
MYCENAE, NAFPLION
Mycenae was an ancient city of Argolida near the mountain of Tritos and opposite from the gulf of Argolis.
In the second millennium BC Mycenae was one of the major centers of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae. This fact motivated Heinrich Schliemann to excavate the general area and he discovered the ruins of Mycenae in 1874–76.
The most distinctive building-type was the beehive-shaped tomb (tholos), the most famous example of which is the ‘Treasury of Atreus’ (c.1300 BC) in Mycenae; its dome remained the largest in the world until the Pantheon in Rome was built some 1400 years later. The treasures in gold and other precious materials discovered by Schliemann and later excavators bear witness to the wealth of the civilization.
The Lions Gate, the splendid megalithic monument, is considered as the first example of monumental sculpture that we know in Europe. It is the main entry of citadel of Mycenae and was manufactured around 1250 B.C. It took its name from the eminent embossed representation of two lions that adorns the triangle above the gate.
West of the citadel of Mycenae we find the second “Circle of Graves”, one of the more important monuments of region that give us elements for the architecture of the graves and the customs of Mycenae. It constituted part of the pre-historic cemetery of the region and it contained 26 graves which were surrounded by circular grounds. It is dated around 1650-1550 B.C.
TIRYNS, NAFPLION
The city of Tiryns, situated on a ridge in the plain between Nafplio and Mycenae, has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age (3rd millennium BC) but attained its greatest splendor in the late Mycenaean period (c. 1400-1200 BC). The hill on which it stood was only 18 m (59 ft) higher than the surrounding plain, which in ancient times was a salt march. Tiryns was associated in ancient legend with Perseus and with Eurysthus, in whose service Hercules performed his twelve labors. The palace on the summit of the citadel was excavated (1884-85) by the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and until the later discoveries in Crete was considered the most complete example of the home of a prehistoric king in the Aegean area. It includes entrance gates, paved courts, large halls, vestibules, smaller rooms, and a bath. It was apparently built by stages; the complex of buildings representing both earlier and later palaces. Tiryns survived into the classical period but was destroyed by Argos about 468 BC.
EPIDAURUS, NAFPLION
The Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus was the most celebrated healing center of the ancient world. A mortal physician deified by Zeus after his death for retrieving a patient from the underworld, Asklepios was typically depicted clutching a staff and flanked by a dog and a serpent - common symbols of wisdom. The authority and radiance of Asklepios as the most important healer god of antiquity brought to the sanctuary great financial prosperity, which in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, enabled the implementation of an ambitious building program for the construction of monumental buildings for worship and later, of buildings mainly secular in character such as its magnificent theater. This sanctuary was active from the 6th century BC until at least the 2nd century BC when the traveler-historian Pausanias recorded a visit.
