Mycenae

Mycenae inheritor of the Cretan empire looks out across the plane of Argos to the sea. It's elevated position afforded protection from surprise attacks by pirates, at the time of its power the population was grouped around the vast Central fortress, where the reigning family had its residence and burial place. The famous "gate of the lions" is in the northwest corner of the fortress (the design is Cretan); the passage beyond it leads to the royal graveyard where Schliemann discovered priceless treasures in 1876.

Outside the fortress proper lie impressive beehive tombs including the one ascribed to Agamemnon. The stone over the doorway alone is reckoned to weigh some 120 tons. After the burial of the head of the family, the entrance passage was completely filled with earth to prevent the plundering of the tomb.

Epidavros

The ancient town of a Epidavros near the east coast of the peloponnese, was famous as the most important center for the warship of Aesculapius the god of medicine. When a patient recovered after treatment by the doctor priests he would dedicate a replica of the part of his anatomy that had been affected and the museum there contains a remarkable collection of these fascinating offerings.

Within the sacred precincts were also included a stadium and the great theater. This latter, the work of Polycleitos the younger (late 4th century BC) is the best preserved of any of its kind. Its sitting capacity is approximately 15,000 and its acoustics are superb. A festival of ancient drama is performed there every summer by the royal theater company.

Nafplion

An aerial view of the Nafplion peninsula. the Acronafplion citadel which dominates the town from a height of 279 ft occupies the site of the ancient acropolis whose foundations serve as a base for the Venetian and Turkish ramparts. Parts of the Venetian fortress were later employed as a prison.

It’s easy to understand why the ancients considered DELPHI the centre of the earth, especially given their penchant for awe-inspiring sacred spots. Framed on all sides by the soaring crags of Parnassós, the site truly captures the imagination, especially in spring, when wildflowers cloak the precipitous valley. But more than a stunning setting was needed to confirm the divine presence. Sanctity, according to Plutarch, was confirmed through the discovery of a rock chasm that exuded strange vapours and reduced supplicants to incoherent – and undoubtedly prophetic – mutterings.

Brief history
The first oracle established here was dedicated to Gaia (“Mother Earth”) and Poseidon (“Earth Shaker”). The serpent Python, son of Gaia, dwelt in a nearby chasm, and communicated through the Pythian priestess. Python was later slain by young Apollo, who supposedly arrived in the form of a dolphin – hence the name Delphi. Thereafter, the Pythian Games were held periodically in commemoration, and perhaps also to placate the deposed deities. Delphi subsequently became one of the major sanctuaries of Greece, its oracle widely regarded as the most truthful in the known world.

The influence of the oracle spread during the Classical age of colonization and its patronage grew, peaking during the sixth century BC, with benefactors such as King Amasis of Egypt and the hapless King Croesus of Lydia. Delphi’s wealth, however, made it vulnerable to Greek rivalries; by the mid-fifth century BC, the oracle became the object of a struggle between Athens, Phokia and Sparta, prompting a series of Sacred Wars. These culminated in Philip of Macedon invading southern Greece, crushing the city-states in 338 BC at the Battle of Chaeronea. Delphi’s political intriguing was effectively over.

Under Macedonian and later Roman rule, the oracle’s role became increasingly domestic, dispensing advice on marriages, loans, voyages and the like. The Romans thought little of its utterances, rather more of its treasure: Sulla plundered the sanctuary in 86 BC, and Nero, outraged when the oracle denounced him for murdering his mother, carted away five hundred bronze statues. Upon the proscription of paganism by Theodosius in 391 AD, the oracle ceased.

The sanctuary site was rediscovered towards the end of the seventeenth century and explored haphazardly from 1838 onwards; systematic excavation began only in 1892 when the French School of Archeology leased the land. There was initially little to be seen other than the outline of a stadium and theatre, but the inhabitants of Kastrí village, set amid the ruins, were evicted to a new town 1km west (now modern Dhelfí), and digging commenced. By 1903, most of the excavations and reconstruction visible today had been completed.

The Sacred Precinct
The Sacred Precinct, or Temenos (Sanctuary) of Apollo, is entered – as in ancient times – by way of a small agora enclosed by ruins of Roman porticoes and shops selling votive offerings. The paved Sacred Way begins after a few stairs, zigzagging uphill between the foundations of memorials and treasuries to the Temple of Apollo. Along each edge is a jumble of statue bases where gold, bronze and painted-marble figures once stood; Pliny counted more than three thousand on his visit, and that was after Nero’s infamous raid.

The style and positioning of these memorials were dictated by more than religious zeal; many were used as a deliberate show of strength or as a direct insult against a rival Greek state. For instance, the Spartans celebrated their victory over Athens by erecting their Monument of the Admirals – a large recessed structure, which once held 37 bronze statues of gods and generals – directly opposite the Athenians’ Offering of Marathon.

Further up the path, past the Doric remains of the Sikyonian Treasury on the left, lie the foundations of the Siphnian Treasury, a grandiose Ionic temple erected in 525 BC. Ancient Siphnos (Sífnos) had rich gold mines and intended the building to be an unrivalled show of opulence. Above this is the Treasury of the Athenians, built, like the city’s “offering”, after Marathon (490 BC). It was reconstructed in 1904–1906 by matching the inscriptions – including a hymn to Apollo with musical notation – that completely cover its blocks.

Next to the Treasury are the foundations of the Bouleuterion, or council house, a reminder that Delphi needed administrators, and above stretches the remarkable Polygonal Wall whose irregular interlocking blocks have withstood, intact, all earthquakes. It, too, is covered with inscriptions, mostly referring to the emancipation of slaves; Delphi was one of the few places where such freedom could be made official by an inscribed register. An incongruous outcrop of rock between the wall and the treasuries marks the original Sanctuary of Gaia.

Finally, the Sacred Way leads past the Athenian Stoa (which housed trophies from an Athenian naval victory of 506 BC) to the temple terrace where you are confronted with a large altar, erected by the island of Chios (Híos). The Temple of Apollo now visible dates from the mid-fourth century BC, two previous versions having succumbed to fire and earthquake. The French excavators found only foundations, but re-erected six of the Doric columns to illustrate the temple’s dominance over the sanctuary. In the innermost part of the temple was the adyton, a subterranean cell at the mouth of the oracular chasm where the Pythian priestess officiated. No trace of cave or chasm has been found, nor any trance-inducing vapours, but it’s conceivable that such a chasm did exist and was closed by later earthquakes. On the architrave of the temple were inscribed the maxims “Know Thyself” and “Moderation in All Things”.

The theatre and stadium used for the main events of the Pythian Festival occupy terraces above the temple. The theatre, built during the fourth century BC with a capacity of five thousand (the seats sadly roped off), was associated with Dionysos, the god of ecstasy, the arts and wine, who ruled Delphi during the winter when the oracle was silent. A path leads up through cool pine groves to the stadium (its seats also off-limits), artificially levelled in the fifth century BC to a length of 178m, though it was banked with stone seats (giving a capacity of seven thousand) only in Roman times – the gift, like so many other public buildings in Greece, of Herodes Atticus.

The Castalian spring
Following the road east of the sanctuary, towards Aráhova, you reach a sharp bend. Just to the left, marked by niches for votive offerings and by the remains of an Archaic fountain-house, the celebrated Castalian spring still flows from a cleft – the legendary lair of Python.

Visitors to Delphi were obliged to purify themselves in its waters, usually by washing their hair, though murderers had to take the full plunge. Lord Byron, impressed by the legend that the waters nurtured poetic inspiration, also jumped in. This is no longer possible, since the spring is fenced off owing to sporadic rock falls from the cliffs.

The Marmaria
Across and below the road from the spring is the Marmaria (marmariá means “marble quarry”, after the medieval practice of filching the ancient blocks for private use).

The most conspicuous building in the precinct, easily visible from the road, is the Tholos, a fourth-century BC rotunda. Three of its dome-columns and their entablature have been rebuilt, but while these amply demonstrate the original beauty of the building (which is the postcard image of Delphi), its purpose remains a mystery.

At the entrance to the precinct stood the original Temple of Athena Pronaia (“Fore-Temple”, in relation to the Apollo shrine), destroyed by the Persians and reconstructed during the fourth century BC beyond the Tholos; foundations of both structures can be traced. Outside the precinct on the northwest side (above the Marmaria) is a gymnasium, again built in the fourth century BC, but later enlarged by the Romans; prominent among the ruins is a circular plunge-bath for athletes’ refreshment after their exertions.

The museum
Delphi’s museum contains a rare and exquisite collection of sculpture spanning the Archaic to the Roman eras, matched only by finds on Athens’ Acropolis. It also features pottery, bronze articles and friezes from the various treasuries and temple pediments, which give a good picture of the sanctuary’s riches.

The most famous exhibit, with a room to itself at the south end of the galleries, is the Charioteer, one of the few surviving bronzes of the fifth century BC, unearthed in 1896 as part of the “Offering of Polyzalos”, toppled during the earthquake of 373 BC. The charioteer’s eyes, made of onyx and set slightly askew, lend it a startling realism. Other major pieces include two huge kouroi from the sixth century BC, betraying clear Asiatic/Egyptian stylistic traits; a life-size, sixth-century BC votive bull fashioned from hammered silver and copper sheeting; and the elegant Ionic winged Sphinx of the Naxians, dating from 565 BC. In the same gallery, the Siphnian frieze depicts Zeus and other gods looking on as the Homeric heroes fight over the body of Patroclus. Another portion of this frieze shows a battle between gods and giants, including a lion graphically mauling a warrior.

The Athenian Treasury is represented by fragments of the metopes (friezes) depicting the labours of Hercules, the adventures of Theseus and a battle with Amazons. A group of three colossal if badly damaged dancing women, carved from Pentelic marble around an acanthus-topped column – probably a tripod-stand – dates from the fourth century BC and is thought to represent the daughters of Kekrops. Among later works is an exquisite second-century AD figure of Antinoös, favourite of Roman emperor Hadrian.

Modern Dhelfí
Modern Dhelfí, 500m to the west of the site, is as inconsequential as its ancient namesake is impressive. Entirely geared to mass tourism (including Greek skiers), Dhelfí’s only real attraction – besides proximity to the ruins and access to Mount Parnassós – is its cliffside setting.

Museum of Delphic Festivals
The stone house where the poet Angelos Sikelianos once lived exhibits artefacts and paraphernalia relating to the events he and Eva Palmer organized in 1927–30. Their idea was to set up a “University of the World” and make Delphi a cultural centre. The project eventually failed, though it inspired an annual Delphic Festival, held now in July of each year, with performances of contemporary drama and music in the ancient theatre.

The ruins of Ancient Corinth (Arhéa Kórinthos) occupy an extensive site 7km southwest of the modern city and are an essential stop. The site is split into a vast, impressively excavated city with the Temple of Apollo at its core, and even more compelling is the stunning acropolis site of Acrocorinth, towering 565m above the ancient city. To explore both you need a full day, or to stay overnight at the adjacent village.

Brief history
Ancient Corinth was a key centre of the Greek and Roman worlds, whose possession meant the control of trade between northern Greece and the Peloponnese. Not surprisingly, therefore, the area’s ancient and medieval history was one of invasions and power struggles that, in Classical times, was dominated by Corinth’s rivalry with Athens, against whom it sided with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War.

Having defeated the Greek city-states of the Achaean League, the Romans razed the city in 146 BC, before rebuilding it on a majestic scale in 44 BC under the command of Julius Caesar. Initially it was intended as a colony for veterans, later becoming the provincial capital. Once again Corinth grew rich on trade – with Rome to the west, and Syria and Egypt to the east. The city endured until rocked by two major earthquakes, in 375 and 521, which brought down the Roman buildings and again depopulated the site until a brief Byzantine revival in the eleventh century.

The excavations
Entering from the north, you are in the Roman agora, an enormous marketplace flanked by the substantial foundations of a huge stoa, once a structure of several storeys, with 33 shops on the ground floor. Opposite the stoa is a bema, a marble platform used for public announcements. At the far end are remains of a basilica, while the area behind the bema is strewn with the remnants of numerous Roman administrative buildings. Back across the agora, hidden in a swirl of broken marble and shattered architecture, there’s a fascinating trace of the Greek city – a grille-covered sacred spring, at the base of a narrow flight of steps.

More substantial is the elaborate Roman Fountain of Peirene, which stands below the level of the agora, to the side of a wide, excavated stretch of the marble-paved Lechaion Way – the main approach to the city. The fountain house was, like many of Athens’ Roman public buildings, the gift of the wealthy Athenian and friend of Emperor Hadrian, Herodes Atticus. Water still flows through the underground cisterns and supplies the modern village.

The real focus of the ancient site, though, is a rare survival from the Classical Greek era, the fifth-century BC Temple of Apollo, whose seven austere Doric columns stand slightly above the level of the forum, flanked by foundations of another marketplace and baths. Over to the west is the site museum (same hours as site; included in site admission), housing a large collection of domestic pieces, some good Greek and Roman mosaics from nearby, a frieze depicting some of the labours of Hercules, and a good number of Roman statues.

A number of miscellaneous smaller excavations surround the main site. To the west, just across the road from the enclosing wire, there are outlines of two theatres: a Roman odeion (endowed by Herodes Atticus) and a larger Greek theatre, used by the Romans for gladiatorial battles. To the north are the inaccessible but visible remains of an Asklepion (dedicated to the god of healing).

Acrocorinth
Rising almost sheer above the lower town and the fertile plains, the medieval fortress of Acrocorinth is sited on an imposing mass of rock, still largely encircled by 2km of wall. Despite the long, 4km climb (nearly an hour’s broiling walk) – or a ten-minute drive up from Ancient Corinth – a visit is unreservedly recommended. Looking down over the Saronic Gulf and the Gulf of Kórinthos, you get a real sense of its strategic importance. Amid the extensive remains is a jumble of chapels, mosques, houses and battlements, erected in turn by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Frankish crusaders, Venetians and Turks.

The Turkish remains are unusually substantial. Elsewhere in Greece evidence of the Ottoman occupation has been removed or defaced, but here, at the start of the climb to the entrance, you can see the still-used fountain of Hatzi Mustafa, Christianized by the addition of great carved crosses. The outer of the citadel’s triple gates is also largely Turkish; the middle is a combination of Venetian and Frankish; the inner, Byzantine, incorporating fourth-century BC towers. Within the citadel, the first summit (to the right) is enclosed by a Frankish keep – as striking as they come – which last saw action in 1828 during the War of Independence. Keeping along the track to the left, you pass some interesting (if perilous) cisterns, the remains of a Turkish bathhouse, and crumbling Byzantine chapels.

In the southeast corner of the citadel, hidden away in the lower ground, is the upper Peirene spring. This is not easy to find: look out for a narrow, overgrown entrance, from which a flight of iron stairs leads down some 5m to a metal screen. Here, broad stone steps descend into the dark depths, where a fourth-century BC arch stands guard over a pool of (nonpotable) water that has never been known to dry up. To the north of the fountain, on the second and higher summit, is the site of the Temple of Aphrodite; after its days as a brothel, it saw use as a church, mosque and belvedere.