Greece 2021

Wednesday17November

Wake up at Hani Inn, hotel located 8 kilometers from Epidaurus. We have breakfast in what looks more like the owner's living room than a hotel dining room...  

We have sandwich bread and the fireplace is eyeing me, especially since there is everything needed to toast it... I grab the utensil and wedge a slice of bread in it and shove it all on the embers. Neither one nor two, the owner sees that and takes matters into her own hands and adds slices for me! But I want it well toasted on both sides! But she prevents me! And of course, she only speaks Greek, and we can't understand each other   ! In short, she will win the duel and I will have to be satisfied with my toasts toasted on only one side...        

Once the toasts are in the stomach, we can reach Epidaurus where one of the most famous and spectacular theaters of antiquity awaits us.

"The theater of Epidaurus is the best preserved and passes for the most accomplished of all ancient Greek theaters. Probably built at the beginning of the 3rd century BC, it has reached us in exceptional condition. The grey limestone tiers, almost all original, have only been restored on the two wings." © Wikipedia

The hemicycle is composed of 55 rows, separated into two levels by a corridor called diazoma.

The radius is 58 meters, and the last tiers reach a height of 22 meters.

12,000 spectators can take a seat here.

"The acoustics of the theater of Epidaurus are rightly renowned. The slightest sound produced at the bottom of the tiers propagates to the upper rows. Visitors traditionally experiment with whispers, a drop of a coin or a match struck in the very center of the orchestra, where there is a circular slab, reputed to be the altar (thymele) of the god Dionysus." © Wikipedia

Oaks surround the entire theater including behind the last tiers.

The seats of the first row were entitled to a backrest.

There is not only the theater in Epidaurus. Excavations have revealed a whole sanctuary which turned out to be a high place of Greek medicine. During Antiquity, pilgrims flocked from all over Greece to be treated in the sanctuary of Asclepius, god of healing. This place housed very famous doctors. © Wikipedia

The gymnasium. The site was also the place where sporting events were organized.

The stadium with its starting line.

Illustration of the start of the race with a "barrier" system that lowered for everyone thanks to ropes.

And yes, the competitions took place in the simplest device!

The tholos under restoration.

The Katagogion, the hotel, or what remains of it, which received pilgrims. There were about 160 rooms.

Epidaurus was inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage list in 1988.

Short tour in the museum.

Text relating the miraculous cures of Asclepius (Second half of the 5th century BC).

Inscription with the hymn to Apollo and Asclepius, by the Epidaurian poet Isyllos (Around 280 BC).

We take the road again and prepare to leave the Peloponnese. We are in Corinth at the isthmus joining mainland Greece.

The marina of Corinth and Pegasus on his fountain.

Corinth is best known for its canal! It joins the Gulfs of Corinth and Saronic in a straight line. One in the Ionian Sea and the other in the Aegean Sea. We are precisely at the far East where the canal joins the Aegean Sea.

We go up the canal (by road) and arrive at the first third.

A double bridge for cars and on each side, a small passage for pedestrians.

"The canal is 6343 meters long and 25 meters wide. The trench reaches a maximum height of 52 meters for a depth of 8 meters. It allows ships to avoid a 400 km detour around the Peloponnese peninsula. About 11,000 ships use this route each year." © Wikipedia

If you feel like it. You can save time by quickly joining the water via a small bungee jump...  

Last look at the canal and leave the Peloponnese for good. We cross to the mainland for the last days of the trip! Heading for Athens which we will bypass to go to the peninsula south of the capital.

Here we are arrived in Agias Marinas, a small town 30 kilometers south of Athens. We enjoy the entire floor of a modern house that we rented via Airbnb for two nights!

Night photo with the trails of planes landing at the international airport Eleftherios-Venizelos 15 kilometers from here.

Thursday18November

The large terrace of the house! It's not hot enough to enjoy it but that's okay! Today, we won't be there, but at the very south of the peninsula, at Cape Sounion.

Fifteen minutes are enough for us to approach Cape Sounion that we can distinguish way over there in the distance. We can even guess its ancient temple at the very top of the cliff...

Small zoom on the temple.

And hop, now we are on the cape...

And here we are near the temple. It is the temple of Poseidon from the 5th century BC.

According to mythology, Zeus offered this temple to Poseidon the god of the sea and oceans, because the latter was upset that Athena was elected Protector of the great city of Athens...

"Of the 38 columns that the temple counted, 15 are still standing, including four reassembled in the 20th century." © Wikipedia

Lots of graffiti engraved by visitors from different eras...

A Ligurian crocus (Crocus ligusticus), small touch of color on the ancient sand of Cape Sounion...

Ha. If ever archaeologists lost pieces of the puzzle, they are there...  

Return to our Airbnb and again, night photo session on the terrace...

Friday19November

Before joining our last stop, short passage through the thermal station of Vouliagmeni. But we will not enjoy its lake (formed 2000 years ago following the collapse of the cave overlooking it) and its medical virtues with its water rich in hydrogen sulfide. We resume the road, destination the capital Athens!

Our last days will be spent in the big city, which means that we no longer need the car! So we return it where we picked it up, that is to say at the airport. A bus will take care of bringing us back to the city. Before abandoning our vehicle which will never have failed, a quick look at the dashboard... 4066.5 kilometers on the odometer! Not bad for a little tour of mainland Greece!