Side Trips

Tiryns

From the moment that you see Tiryns, you'll understand why Homer called this Mycenaean citadel "well-walled." The Archaeological Site of Tiryns (tel. 27520/22-657) is usually open in summer, daily from 8am to 7pm; in winter, Monday through Saturday from 8am to 5pm. Admission is 2€ ($2.60). Tiryns is 5km (3 miles) outside Nafplion on the Argos road. If you have a car, this is an easy drive; if you don't, take one of the frequent Argos-Nafplion buses and ask to be let off at Tiryns. Taxi drivers will take you to Tiryns and wait while you visit; expect to pay around 25€ ($33) for an hour visit. A small stand by the ticket booth sometimes has cold drinks and postcards.

Tiryns is a good deal better preserved -- and much less crowded and more pleasant to visit -- than Mycenae. Most scholars assume that Tiryns was a friendly neighbor to the more powerful Mycenae, and some have suggested that Tiryns was Mycenae's port. Today, Tiryns is only a mile from the sea; in antiquity, before the plain silted up, it would have been virtually on the seashore.

Tiryns's citadel stands on a rocky outcropping 27m (87 ft.) high and about .3km (990 ft.) long and is encircled by the massive walls that so impressed Homer. Later Greeks thought that only the giants known as Cyclops could have positioned the wall's 13-metric-ton (14-U.S.-ton) red limestone blocks, and archaeologists still call these walls "cyclopean." Even today, Tiryns's walls stand more than 9m (30 ft.) high; originally, they were twice as tall -- and as much as 18m (57 ft.) thick. Tiryns seems to have increased its fortifications around 1400 B.C., but to have been destroyed around 1200 B.C., whether by an enemy or an earthquake is not known.

Once you climb the ramp and pass through the two gates, you'll find yourself in an impressive series of storage galleries and chambers on the east side of the citadel. One long passageway with a corbeled arch has glistening walls that were rubbed smooth by the generations of sheep that took shelter here after Tiryns fell.

The citadel is crowned by the palace, whose megaron (great hall) has a well-preserved circular hearth and the base of a putative throne. This room would have been gaily decorated with frescoed walls; you can see the surviving frescoes, some with scenes of elegant women riding in a chariot, in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Lesser folk would have lived below the citadel on the plain. Two tunnels led from the lower slopes of Tiryns out into the plain to the large subterranean cisterns, which held the secret water supply that allowed Tiryns to withstand even lengthy sieges.

Insider Tip: If you want a quick dip after you visit Tirnys, take one of the side roads to the Gulf of Argos from the Nafplion-Argos road that Tirnys overlooks. A sandy beach stretches almost all the way from the outskirts of Nafplion to the hamlet of Nea Chios, where there are fresh fish restaurants. The water is shallow enough that you can wade a long way out, which makes this an ideal spot for families with young children. The men wading about with long-handled nets are rooting around in the sand for mussels. The families hanging their washing out to dry on trees and bushes are Gypsies. As always at a public beach, it's a good idea to lock your car and keep an eye on valuables.

Ayia Moni Convent

This hillside convent is just a 3km (1 1/2-mile) drive outside Nafplion. Until recently, much of the drive was through countryside. Now, the road to the convent winds uphill through a fast-growing suburb, where houses and small apartment blocks are fast replacing the olive groves. Still, the convent itself remains peaceful. To get here by car, head out of Nafplion on the Epidaurus road. Turn right at the sign for Ayia Moni and continue on a partly bumpy road uphill to Ayia Moni. The convent is usually open from about 9am to 5pm in winter, later in summer, but closed during the afternoon siesta (about 1-4pm).

Ayia Moni was founded in the 12th century, and the church is a fine example of Byzantine church architecture, with nice brickwork. Many of the other buildings here are modern and were built after a series of fires destroyed much of the original convent. If the main door is closed, knock.

The nuns sometimes have embroidery to sell and are usually more than willing to show you the church and garden and tell about the rich Greek-American benefactor who rebuilt the convent.

The spring that feeds a small pond just outside the convent walls is one of a number of springs in Greece identified as the place where Zeus's wife, Hera, took an annual bath to restore her virginity and renew Zeus's ardor. Today, the spring water is considered both holy and delicious; pilgrims often fill bottles to take home.