General Information

Duration:

1 Days

Location Start:

Your hotel or Terminal at Amalia Hotel

Location Finish:

Your hotel or Terminal at Amalia Hotel

Phone:

0030-210-9420984

Fax:

0030-210-9420552

Payment Types:

• Cash
• Credit Card
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• Travellers cheque
• Paypal
• Wire Transfer

We Speak:

English

Last updated: 12/19/2008

Itinerary

Day 1

1st Day: Corinth Canal ? Drive to Mycenae the legendary home of the Atreides, where you visit the archaeological site and then depart for Nauplia (lunch). Afternoon at leisure and overnight. (L.)

2nd DAY: Nauplia - Morning at leisure and then depart for Epidaurus - visit the archaeological site and the theatre famous for its remarkable acoustic ? Drive back to Athens (B.)
Operating From 1 Apr 2009 to Oct 29th 2009 - Every Tue & Wed

Extra Information

Inclusions -

Entrance fees

Exclusions -

Dinner

Extras -

Mycenae, the legendary home of the Atreides, is situated upon a small hill-top on the lower slopes of Euboea Mountain, between two of its peaks, on the road leading from the Argolic Gulf to the north (Corinth, Athens, etc.)

The site was inhabited since Neolithic times (about 4000 BC) but reached its peak during the Late Bronze Age (1350-1200 BC), giving its name to a civilization which spread throughout the Greek world. During that period, the acropolis was surrounded by massive "cyclopean" walls which were built in three stages (ca.1350, 1250 and 1225 BC) except on its SE flank where a steep ravine provided natural defense. A palace was built on the summit of the hill while towards the Argolic plain lay the wall - painted "Cult Center", the main gate or "Lion Gate" and "Grave Circle A" which contained the treasures now displayed at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. On the NE side, a tunnel leading to a subterranean fountain was built in "cyclopean" masonry in around 1225 B.C. More tombs, "Grave Circle B", and large tholoi as well as houses were discovered outside the walls. Mycenae was occupied without interruption until 468 B.C. when it was conquered by the city of Argos and its population banished. It was reoccupied in the 3rd century B.C. for a relatively short period. It had been abandoned for some time when Pausanias visited the site during the 2nd century A.D.

In 1841, K. Pittakis cleared the "Lion Gate" and in 1876, H. Schliemann started the excavations of the "Grave Circle A" which P. Stamatakis continued in 1877, bringing to light a sixth shaft grave. From 1864 to 1902, excavations at the palace, the subterranean fountain, and many chamber tombs were conducted by Ch. Tsountas while restricted excavations were also carried out by D. Evangelides in 1909, G. Rodenwaldt in 1911 and A. Keramopoulos in 1917. Further excavations were conducted by A.B. Wace during three campaigns, in 1920-1923 on the acropolis and the tombs, in 1939 and 1950-1957 on the houses and tombs at the Lower City. Simultaneously, from 1952 to 1955 the Greek Archaeological Society under the direction of G. Mylonas and J. Papadimitriou investigated more houses as well as "Grave Circle B", while G. Mylonas and N. Verdelis uncovered more houses. Finally, the "Cult Center" was revealed by the British School of Archaeology under the direction of Lord Taylour and was further investigated by G. Mylonas and Sp. Iakovides of the Greek Archaeological Society in 1959 and 1969-1974.In 1950, the Restoration Service undertook works on the tomb of Clytemnestra, under the direction of An. Orlandos and E. Stikas. In 1954, E. Stikas consolidated and restored the megaron, the area south of the "Lion Gate", and the "Grave Circle B" and in 1955, the walls north of the "Lion Gate" as well as the courtyard of the palace.

The Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus was the most celebrated healing centre of the ancient world.

The cult is attested as early as the 6th century B.C. when the hill-top sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas was no longer spacious enough for the public worship of the Epidaurus city-state. 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 B.C. enabled the implementation of an ambitious building program for the construction of monumental buildings for the worship (the temple and the altar of Asklepios, the Tholos, the Abaton, etc.), and later, of buildings mainly secular in character (the Theatre, the Ceremonial Hestiatoreion, the Baths, the Palaestra, etc.). The Asklepieion survived until the end of antiquity, having experienced a second heyday in the 2nd century A.D. The French Scientific Mission to the Peloponnese was the first to conduct excavations on the site. However, all the monuments of the Asklepieion have been brought to light in systematic excavations carried out by the Greek Archaeological Society (1879-1926) under the direction of P. Kavvadias. Additional investigations were conducted in 1942-43 on the Abaton and building E, by E. Martin and H. Metzger. The excavations were resumed from 1948 to 1951, and have been continued since 1974, mainly in the sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas. Since 1985, complementary archaeological research has been undertaken by the Committee for the Preservation of the Epidaurus Monuments. The first restoration works at the Asklepieion started on the Theatre in 1907, and continued in 1954-1963. In 1984, the task of rescuing the sanctuary from decay as well as improving its presentation as a whole, while organizing an instructive and controlled route for the large number of visitors, was undertaken by the Committee for the Preservation of the Epidaurus Monuments. The restoration of the Abaton, the Tholos, the Propylon of the "Gymnasium", and the Gate of the West Parodos of the Theatre, with extensive conservation treatment of the authentic material, is in various stages of implementation. Also, for the direct rescue of the authentic material of other monuments, Greek and Roman, conservation is currently in progress. In 1988, the Asklepieion was included in the World Heritage List.

The Castle of Palamidi at Nauplion:
The castle of Palamidi lies on a high hill (216m. a.s.l.) to the east of Acronauplia which was first fortified by the Venetians during the second Venetian occupation of the area (1686-1715). It is a typical baroque fortress, based on the plans of the engineers Giaxich and Lasalle. In 1715 it was captured by the Turks and remained under their control until 1822, when it was liberated by the Greeks. Small-scale restoration work has been carried out on the walls. The 5th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities recently restored the retaining wall of the castle and rebuilt the crumbling parts at the south end of the fortification.

The most important monuments of the site are: The Castle. Venetian defensive structure dated to the beginning of the 18th century. It consists of eight bastions surrounded by walls. A long stairway reinforced with small battlements starts at the foot of the NW slope and leads up to the fortress on the top of the hill. Church of St. Andrew, built in one of the bastions of the fortress. It is a barrel-vaulted church with the eastern half built under one of the arches supporting the walls. Its free-standing part is two-aisled. The prison of Kolokotronis. One of the bastions, the so-called "Miltiades" was used as the prison cell of Theodoros Kolokotronis, a hero of the Greek Revolution.