The beautiful districts of Trizinia and Argolida
Poros is a small island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, at a distance about 58 km (31 nautical miles) south from Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a 200-metre wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the strait. Its surface is about 31 square kilometers (12 square miles). Poros is an island with rich vegetation. Much of the northern and far eastern/western sides of the island are bushy, whereas large areas of old pine forest are found in the south and center of the island.
The ancient polis of Kalaureia was home to an asylum dedicated to Poseidon, the ruins of which are still accessible on a hilltop close to the town. This asylum may have been linked to the sanctuaries at Geraistos and Tainaros. Ancient historians claimed that Poros was home to an Amphictyony in the Archaic period, a league of the poleis Poros, Athens, Prassiai, Aegina, Epidaurus, Hermione, Troizen, Nauplion and Orchomenus. However, there is no evidence for this, and modern scholars believe the Amphictyony may have been a Hellenistic invention. An enormous feast was found dating to the Hellenistic period in the ruins of the Kalaureia asylum, along with a plaque celebrating the "revival" of the Kalaureian League. In Byzantine times, Poros and other islands were often raided by pirates. During the Ottoman occupation Poros remained independent, and helped neighboring islands after the start of the Greek War of Independence.
Poros island
The island had 4.010 inhabitants as of May 2011 (Hellenic Statistical Authority). It has a good road network and adequate tourist infrastructure, which makes it a popular resort for short holidays. Though possessing no airport, it is easily accessible from Athens via ferry or hydrofoil or from the adjacent mainland via the town of Galatas.
The volcano of Methana
The Methana peninsula contains some 32 volcanoes, which are mostly andesitic / dacitic lava domes. The volcanic activity in the peninsula began one million years ago and continued 950-550.000, 600-100.000, 380-270.000, 80-40.000, 60-40.000 and 30-10.000 years ago. The last eruptions took place in 1700 at a submarine volcano north of the village of Kameni Chora. On land there is also the historic lava dome of Kameni Chora that erupted in 230 BC. Methana is the north-west part of the Cycladic volcanoes that are defined as active (Milos, Santorini and Nisyros). The rocks are mostly dacites and andesites. On Methana there are thermal springs and mofettes (gas exhalations). Methana is cut by many tectonic faults and so it is an area in high danger of earthquakes. The mayor fault cuts the town of Methana from west to east. The fault can be visited in the valley behind the thermal springs.
The Methana peninsula is inhabited since about 10.000 B.C. The first settlements were founded around 6000 B.C. Excavations have brought to light a village and sanctuary from Mycenaean times near the town of Methana at the chapel of St. Constantine & Helen. The items from the time of about 1500-1200 B.C. are to be visited in the museums of Poros island and in Piraeus city. There have been ancient sanctuaries in geometric times about 800-700 B.C. like the geometric temple near Kounoupitsa village. There are about two ancient acropoles (Paliocastro acropolis and Oga acropolis) and many ancient farm sites.
The ancient writers Ovid, Strabo and Pausanias described the historic eruption of the volcano dome near the village of Kameni Hora in the northwestern part of the Methana peninsula. Pausanias also described hot springs after the eruption. Later there were many new buildings and sanctuaries founded near the village Vathy at the Paliocastro hill and around it. Methana was also a phoenician base with the name "Arsinoe".
In the mid-ages there have been built many Byzantine chapels and there was the beginning of villages like Megalohori and Kounoupitsa. In the time of about 1500-1700 new inhabitants (Arvanites) moved from today's southern Albania to Methana.
Coastal Trizinia
The municipality of Trizinia contains some beautiful landscape with small picturesque coastal villages, green hills, often covered with olive trees, secluded beaches and deep clean waters. The towns of Kalloni and Galatas attract the most tourists. Kalloni is known for its carnation flower (Dianthus caryophyllus) production. A few kilometers east of Kalloni the wetland of Psifta can be found. This is an important area, which also belongs to the Natura 2000 network. Rare bird species stop for a few days in Psifta while on their way to Africa. Galatas is the largest town and capital of the municipality of Trizinia. 1-2 kilometers southeast of Galatas one can find the location of Lemonodasos (Lemon-tree forest). There is the possibility of renting a boat from the port of Galatas or Poros for a tour across Lemonodasos. Contrary to Poros island, coastal Trizinia is characterized by a more rustic atmosphere.
Ancient site of Troezen
Troezen (modern name: Trizina) is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Trizinia, of which it is a municipal unit.
According to Greek mythology, Troezen came into being as a result of two ancient cities, Hyperea and Anthea, being unified by Pittheus, who named the new city in honor of his deceased brother Troezen. Troezen was the place where according to mythology Aethra, daughter of Pittheus, slept with both Aegeus and Poseidon the same night, and fell pregnant with the great Greek hero Theseus. Before returning to Athens, Aegeus left his sandals and sword under a large boulder in Troezen, and requested that when the child was able to prove himself by moving the boulder he must return the items to his father in Athens; Theseus did indeed lift the boulder when he came of age.
Troezen is also the setting of the Euripides tragedy Hippolytus, which recounts the story of the eponymous son of Theseus who becomes the subject of the love of his stepmother, Phaedra. While fleeing the city, Hippolytus is killed when his chariot is attacked by a bull rising from the sea. A cult built up in the ancient city around the legend of Hippolytus. Troezen girls traditionally dedicated a lock of their hair to him before marriage. Other plays on the same subject have been written by Seneca and Jean Racine, also set in Troezen.
Before the Battle of Salamis (480 BC), Athenian women and children were sent to the ancient city of Troezen for safety on the instructions of the Athenian statesman Themistocles. In 1959 a stele was found in a coffee house in Troezen, depicting the Decree of Themistocles, the order to evacuate Athens. The stele has since been dated to some 200 years after the Battle of Salamis, indicating that it is probably a commemorative copy of the original order. The temple of Isis was built by the Halicarnassians in Troezen, because this was their mother-city, but the image of Isis was dedicated by the people of Troezen. The ancient city also possessed a spring, supposedly formed where the winged horse Pegasus once came to ground.
Ancient Theater of Epidaurus
Epidaurus (or Epidavros) was a small city (polis) in ancient Greece, at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: Palaia (old) Epidavros and Nea (new) Epidavros. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epidavros, part of the peripheral unit of Argolis. The seat of the municipality is the town of Asklipieio (modern name: Lygourio).
Epidaurus was independent of Argos and not included in Argolis until the time of the Romans. With its supporting territory, it formed the small territory called Epidauria. Reputed to be the birthplace of Apollo's son Asclepius, the healer, Epidaurus was known for its sanctuary situated about five miles (8 km) from the town, as well as its theater, which is once again in use today. The cult of Asclepius at Epidaurus is attested in the 6th century BC, when the older hill-top sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas was no longer spacious enough.
The prosperity brought by the Asklepieion enabled Epidaurus to construct civic monuments too: the aforementioned huge theatre that delighted Pausanias for its symmetry and beauty, which is used once again for dramatic performances, the ceremonial Hestiatoreion (banqueting hall), baths and a palaestra. The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus theater was designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC. The original 34 rows were extended in Roman times by another 21 rows. As is usual for Greek theatres (and as opposed to Roman ones), the view on a lush landscape behind the scene is an integral part of the theatre itself and is not to be obscured. It seats up to 15.000 people.
The theatre is marveled for its exceptional acoustics, which permit almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken word from the proscenium or scene to all 15.000 spectators, regardless of their seating. Famously, tour guides have their groups scattered in the stands and show them how they can easily hear the sound of a match struck at center-stage. A 2007 study by Nico F. Declercq and Cindy Dekeyser of the Georgia Institute of Technology indicates that the astonishing acoustic properties are either the result of an accident or the product of advanced design: The rows of limestone seats filter out low-frequency sounds, such as the murmur of the crowd, and amplify/reflect high-frequency sounds from the stage.
In the coastal town of Palaia Epidavros another, much smaller ancient theatre can be found. That theatre is also used for smaller scale performances.
The town of Nafplio
Nafplion (modern name: Nafplio) is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in Greece that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The population of the greater municipality of Nafplio was as of May 2011 33.260 people. The town was the first capital of modern Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the peripheral unit of Argolis. The old town of Nafplio is known as Acronauplia.
The Acronauplia has walls dating from pre-classical times. Subsequently, Byzantines, Franks, Venetians, and Turks added to the fortifications. Nafplion was taken in 1212 by the French crusaders of the Principality of Achaea, then in 1388 was sold to the Republic of Venice. During the subsequent 150 years, the lower city was expanded and fortified, and new fortifications added to Acronauplia. The city was surrendered to the Ottomans in 1540, who renamed it Mora Yenişehri and established it as the seat of a sanjak. At that period, Nafplion looked very much like the 16th century image shown below to the right.
The Venetians retook Nafplion in 1685 and strengthened the city by building the castle of Palamidi, which was in fact the last major construction of the Venetian empire overseas. However, only 80 soldiers were assigned to defend the city and it was easily retaken by the Ottomans in 1715. Palamidi fortress is located on a hill north of the old town. During the Greek War of Independence, it played a major role. It was been captured by Staikos Staikopoulos on 31 November 1821.
During the Greek War of Independence, Nafplion was a major Ottoman stronghold and was besieged for more than a year. The town finally surrendered because of starvation. After its capture, because of its strong fortifications, it became the seat of the provisional governments of Greece. Count Ioannis Kapodistrias, first head of state of newly-liberated Greece, set foot on the Greek mainland for the first time in Nafplio on 7 January 1828 and made it the official capital of Greece in 1829. He was subsequently assassinated by members of the Mavromichalis family on the steps of the church of Saint Spyridon in Nafplio on 9 October 1831. After his assassination a period of anarchy followed, until the arrival of King Otto and the establishment of the new Kingdom of Greece. Nafplion remained the capital of the kingdom until 1834, when King Otto decided to move the capital to Athens.
During the 20th century the city underwent a gradual transformation and a new part was added. Tourism emerged slowly in the 1960s, but not to the same degree as around other areas of Greece; nevertheless, it tends to attract a number of tourists from Germany and the Scandinavian countries in particular. Nafplion enjoys a very sunny and mild climate, even by Greek standards, and as a consequence has become a popular day- or weekend road trip destination for Athenians in wintertime.
Nafplion is a port, with fishing and transport ongoing, although the primary source of local employment currently is tourism, with two beaches on the other side of the peninsula from the main body of the town and a large amount of local accommodation. There are frequent bus services from/to Athens operated by the KTEL Argolidas company.
Hydra island
Hydra is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece, located in the Aegean Sea between the Saronic Gulf and the Argolic Gulf. It is separated from the Peloponnese by a narrow strip of water. In ancient times, the island was known as Hydrea (Υδρέα, derived from the Greek word for "water"), which was a reference to the springs on the island.
The municipality Hydra consists of the islands Hydra (area 50 km2), Dokos (12.5 km2) and a few uninhabited islets.
There is one main town, known simply as "Hydra port" which has a population of 1980 as of 2011. It consists of a crescent-shaped harbor, around which is centered a strand of restaurants, shops, markets, and galleries that cater to tourists and locals (Hydriots). Steep stone streets lead up and outwards from the harbor area. Most of the local residences, as well as the hostelries on the island are located on these streets. Other small villages or hamlets on the island include Mandraki, Kamini, Vlychos, Palamidas, Episkopi, and Molos.
In the 19th Century, Hydra was home to some 125 boats and 10.000 sailors. The mansions of the sea captains that ring the harbor are a testament to the prosperity that shipping brought to the island which, at the date of the Revolution, had 16.000 inhabitants. During the Greek Revolution, the fleets of Hydra and the other two naval islands of Psara and Spetses were able to wrest control of the Eastern Aegean Sea from the Ottoman Empire.
When the Greek War of Independence broke out, Hydra's contribution of some 150 ships, plus supplies, to fight against the Turks played a critical role. The Greek admiral Andreas Miaoulis, himself a settler on Hydra, used Hydriot fire ships to inflict heavy losses on the Ottoman fleet.