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The Argolid:
           Back to the Argolid, part 1


Christopher Wordsworth. 1882. Greece, Pictorial, Descriptive, and Historical.Tiryns:After you've left Argos, and if you have time, stop in Tiryns (described by Pausanias 2.25.8).  Since the buses run regularly down the main road near the site it shouldn't be too long between visits.  The only thing to really see here  is the acropolis, but it shouldn't be missed.  Take a guidebook since the foundations of the palace (picture) are confusing.  You can still see the hearth, column bases, and even a bath recessed into the floor in the royal quarters.  The entire fortress was inhabited from around 5000 B.C. on, and the most extensive constructions are Mycenaean.  The walls of the fortress are spectacular.  Huge pieces of rock are wedged together to form Cyclopean walls (picture) that surround the entire acropolis.  Strabo (8.6.10) tells us that seven Cyclopes helped to build these walls; I guess we'll just have to take him at his word.  There are some good pictures of the stronghold here, at Dr. J's site.

From on top of the palace you can get a great view on to Nauplio. The entire complex seems very strange,  rising up abruptly from the plain just about a mile from the gulf.  The lower section of the fortress (seen to the left in the picture) has now been closed off as has some of the upper level due to some of the stones falling from their places.


Nauplio:Ancient Argolid port, Modern City, Archaeological Museum, Fortress of Palamedes


Epidauros: An hour bus ride east of Nauplio you'll find the remarkable sanctuary and theater at Epidauros (described by Pausanias 2.26.1).  As Pausanias comments, "The Epidaurans have a theater in their sanctuary that seems to me particularly worth a visit."  The Ancient Theater of Epidauros is the best preserved (or restored) in all of Greece and it has been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.  Its acoustics are amazing also.  At the very top you could hear someone dropping a nickel at the bottom like they were five feet away, and I'm sure countless tourists and tour-guide leaders will demonstrate this for you time and time again.  The theater itself now hosts several theatrical performances each year, though few are in English.  There is an ambitious site online that tries to create an animation of one of Aristophanes' plays, played out on a 3-D model of the theater at Epidauros.  I had a good connection and decent computer but could not get it to work quite right.  You will also have to load a plug-in.  It might be worthwhile since the snapshots from the finished model look terrific.  They also have a photo gallery of Epidauros.  Once again, Dr. J's site has some good pictures of the theater.

Quite some time could be spent at the site since it also includes a large archaeological site of Epidauros.  The reason the theater was built in the first place is due to the healing sanctuary dedicated to the god Asklepios, known as the Asklepieion.  People came from across the Greek world to the classical city-state of Epidauros and stayed in large "hotels" where they underwent treatment for their various ailments.  Dedications from healed people were found abundantly throughout the site and the archaeological museum of Epidauros has many small statues as well as some amazing marble work that is still in excellent condition.  Several main buildings at the site are currently under reconstruction also.  Do not forget to notice the fairly large stadium recessed into a hillside near to the theater where games were held dedicated to Asklepios.

It is common for cruise ships to put in at New Epidauros, where there is also a smaller Theater of Epidauros, on the other side of the peninsula.  Then tour buses take them overland to the archaeological site detailed above.

I hope to soon have more information on other good archaeological sites at: Lerna, Asine, Halieis, & Midea.  There are also numerous small resort towns along the bay.  Some of them are quaint and some more commercial.
 

If you are going from the Peloponnese straight on to Northern Greece as I did, you will have to change bus stations in Athens. There is a connecting bus that runs often between the two main stations, you will just have to find out the number and buy a ticket beforehand like any other city bus. It is very inconvenient, but anything to keep me from staying another night in Athens was worth it.

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