Trips throughout Greece

Athens - Pireaus - Cape Sounion - Poros - Santorini - Zakynthos - Rhodes - Mikonos - Delos - Corinth - Theater of Epidauro - Nafplio - Mycenae - Delphi - Arahova - Ioannina - Vikos Gorges - Meteora - Messenia and Peloponnesus

One weekend we decided to visit the closest part of Peloponnesus from Athens. We chose three spots: the Theatre of Epidaurus (or Epidavrus), the village of Nafplio and the ruins of Mycenae . These places are near each other (maximum 40 min.), in the region called Argolid.
We took a bus towards the theatre from Athens. Again we ran into a setback when travelling across Greece. There are three Epidaurus: two villages and the theatre, very far from the villages. We brought a map to know our situation at any moment. First the bus stopped in a village called Epidaurus. We asked the driver and his mate if we had to get down here to go to the theatre. They denied and told us to go down further on. The bus went on and stopped in two other villages. We were waiting for the bus to stop in something similar to a theatre, and the bus driver didn't say anything, so we continued in our seats. Suddenly we realized with the map that the bus had taken a road moving away from the theatre location, and both the driver and his mate didn't tell us anything. We made him stop the bus (it is a pity that we didn't speak good Greek) and we went down. We were walking for an hour below a strong hot. We should have gone down in the village situated just before the theatre. In this village there was no indication of anything and the theatre is 30 min. far on foot. Once again we got a confirmation that you have to use all your senses when travelling on your own in Greece to avoid these kind of surprises.

There are two parts to visit: the ruins of the Asclepius sanctuary and the magnificent theatre .

Asclepius was a hero and the god of medicine, whose oracle was consulted by people from the whole ancient Greece . He was Apollo's son, he was breast-feeding by a goat and educated by the centaur Chiron (this centaur, a half-human half-horse being, also trained the Greek heroes Achilles and Ajax before the Troy war. Thanks to the Chiron's lessons and to his supernatural powers Asclepius was so wise that he could even resurrect the deaths. This made Hades and Zeus get really angry because they believed that such a power was only reserved to gods. Zeus killed him and the body was buried in Epidaurus.

The place became a cult centre around 6th century B.C., and it reached a peak in the 4th century B.C. The sick persons came to spend the night, they held different rituals and Asclepius healed them in dreams or he appeared in the dream and afterwards the priests had to solve the meaning and to interpret it as healing treatments, physical exercises, baths and pastimes. The theatre, and the sports facilities (gymnasium, arena, stadium) acquired an important role that finally was translated into the celebration o the "Asclepius games" every 4 years, that included sports, poetry and music tournaments.
During the Roman occupation the sanctuary decreased the influence due to the use of more scientific medicine. The ruin traces were lost until the 19th century when they were found. In 1822 it was the scenario of the independence proclamation of Greece.
Asclepius uses to be represented as a bearded man with the omens stick accompanied with a magic snake. Nowadays the stick and the snake are the emblem of doctors. You never get tired when reading the history of Greece . You find the explanation and origin of so many actual things and traditions that you hadn't posed before. The Greece of history, of the archaeological sites and the ruins is an inexhaustible source of knowledge.

The theatre is one of the best-conserved marvels of the Greek civilization, an example of their perfection and harmony. It was erected in the outskirts of the sanctuary in 4th century B.C. It had capacity for 14.000 spectators and 55 rows of stands. The top of the theatre is 20 m. high and allows superb views of the mild landscape of the Asclepius valley and the smooth hills of the Argolid. In the centre there it is the round orchestra where the chorus was placed.

From the stage, only he basements remain. When you go upstairs, pay attention to the mild curvature, with measures fulfilling the gold rule, which defines the relation between the upper and lower stands (1,619). But even more impacting is the acoustic . Try to hear from any stand to anyone in the middle of the orchestra (this will be easy as hordes of tourists can't resist the temptation and start singing or bawling, in an attempt to emulate the Hellenic ancestors).

In the old site it is possible to contemplate the arena, the gymnasium, the sanctuary of Asclepius, the temple of Asclepius, the altar and the museum. We decided to leave without seeing them as we didn't found it very interesting attending to the bad state of conservation.

From the parking of the theatre, some buses for Athens or Nafplio leave. After eating some fast food from a kiosk below a cool shadow we went to Nafplio.