Ancient Greece
With a rental car, you can easily visit all places except Athens in one day.
Epidavros
Epidavros was an ancient city in the province of Argolis in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese. The location and the perfect port made Epidavros an important port city in antiquity. The place was also very famous and as a health resort in antiquity. Here was Asklepio's temple, which was visited by the sick for advice on treatment and cure. The holiest site for all temples in Greece was in Epidavros. Epidavros is today best known for its fantastic old theater from the 300s B. A building that makes the biggest impression on all visitors. It is considered one of the largest and best preserved ancient theaters. There is room for 13,500 visitors in the stands. There are 55 rows of benches that climb up the hill. The orchestra, the place where the actors and the choir are located, has a radius of 12 meters. The acoustics in this giant theater are so good that if you drop a coin on the round metal plate in the middle, its sound can be heard to the top row and it is a distance of 60 meters.
Corinth Canal
The Corinth Canal is a connection between the Saronic Sea and the Gulf of Corinth.
This canal was started in ancient times. Emperor Nero came so far that he had the cover staked out and took the first sods. However, no canal was built until our time. It was built between 1881 and 1893 and cost a total of 7 million euros. It is over 6 km long, 23 meters wide and 12 meters deep. The height from the bridge down to the water is 60 meters
The city of Corinth
In ancient times, Corinth was one of the most powerful and richest cities and was so even in Roman times. Through its ports went trade between East and West and it was a constant stream of merchants from the Orient and the West who brought enormous riches to the city. The sacred prostitution protected by the goddess of love Aphrodite was enormously lucrative.
Since the end of the 19th century, American archaeologists have been conducting extensive excavations of the area where ancient Corinth lay. In 146 BC, however, the city was destroyed by the Romans who then rebuilt it. It is for the most part the latter we see the ruins of today. From Greek times, it is the Temple of Apollo that catches one's eye in Old Corinth. On a small hill in the western part, seven Doric columns rise, which are the remains of the Temple of Apollo. Remains of a theater and the remains of a beautiful cobbled street to the famous Peirenes fountain have been found during the excavations.
According to legend, it was a cunning, profiteering and lying man named Sisyphus who founded the city. The god Zeus was deeply in love with a nymph that he carried away and hid. The nymph's father, the river god Asopos, searched for his daughter everywhere. Sisyphus told where Zeus had hidden the nymph and as a thank you for the enlightenment, the river god Peirene donated the fountain to Corinth.
Napflion
Naplion is a small and beautiful port city that has experienced many fates under its various rulers. During the War of Independence, the city was the capital of Greece for a short period. The city is located at the foot of a mountain and on the top of the mountain are the remains of fortifications. The fortress, called Palamidi, was built in the late 17th century by the Venetians. From here you have an incredible view of the sea, the mountains on the other side of the bay and out over the Argolis plain.
Inland some distance is the Hagia Mone convent with a famous spring where the goddess Hera bathed every year to regain her virginity. In the bay just outside the harbor is the small islet Burdzi, which was built in 1411. According to the stories, Nauplion's last executioner lived and lived there. If you want to visit the islet, boats leave from the harbor.
Mycenae
From the finds that came to light during the excavations, it has been possible to deduce that as early as 3000 BC, a culture flourished which gradually developed and reached its peak between 1600 and 1100 BC. This is a time period which after the find site Mycenae was named the Mycenaean period.
The Perseus saga tells how Mycenae arose. In nearby Argos reigned a king, Akrisios, who was foretold that his grandson would one day kill him. Fearing that the prophecy would come true, he had his only grandson, Danae, locked up in a copper tower. The girl was beautiful and aroused the love of the god Zeus. He came to her in the form of a golden rain and eventually she gave birth to her son Perseus. The father did not believe in this divine fatherhood and locked his mother and child in a wooden coffin that he sent to sea. It drifted ashore on the island of Serifos, where they were caught in the net of the fisherman Dikty. By the way, Dicty's brother was Polydeukes, king of the island of Serifos. Perseus grew up to be an active young man and became one of Athena's favorites. He eventually came to Argos and was reconciled with his grandfather, Akrisios. One day while competing in sports, Perseus accidentally threw his discus so that it hit his grandfather in the head. He died and the prophecy had come true. Desperate, Perseus moved from Argus and built the castle of Mycenae for himself.
Among the other kings who ruled in Mycenae, it is the two that both mythology and literature wrote about, namely Atreus and Agamemnon.
Through his brother's treacherous act, Atreus came to murder his own son. To take revenge, he invited his brother and his two children home for a party. He murdered the children and invited his brother to eat their meat. Because of these acts, eternal curse rested on the atriads, the descendants of Atreus. His son, Agamemnon, was already cursed. On his return from Troy, he was murdered by his wife and her lover. Agamemnon's son, Orestas, was avenged.
Athen
The Acropolis rock is part of a Late Cretaceous limestone ridge that cuts through the Attica plateau in the northeast to the southwest axis and includes the Likavitos hill, the Philopappos (Museum) hill and the hill of the Nymphs.
The rock rises from the basin about 70 meters and levels to a flat top 300 meters long by 150 meters wide. Its flat top is due to the numerous landfills that have accommodated construction of fortifications and temples since the Mycenaean era. With its many shallow caves, the abundant percolating water springs and steep slopes, the Acropolis was a prime location for habitation and worship location for Neolithic man.
The Acropolis is the one historical site you can't miss. You can take a tour or wander up there yourself but during the summer, whatever you do, unless it is overcast, go early or late in the day. It can get very hot up there and gasping for breath can take way from your ability to marvel at the greatest of all archaeological sites. Getting to the Acropolis is easy and more pleasant than ever because the large avenues which border the south and west of the site (Apostolou Pavlou in Thission and Dionissiou Areopagitou in Makrianni) have been turned into giant pedestrian streets with cafes and restaurants and the walk is quite pleasant.
Poros Greece