The Peloponnese: Rough Plans

DAY 1: the Peloponnese

Welcome! I am writing a blogs series about my road trip in Greece. This is part 2- head over to part 1 if you missed it. Subscribe at the bottom of the page to be updated on future blogs about my time in Greece!  

Continuing from my last post where I talked about how I had an unplanned road-trip laying ahead of me, I got into the rental car early on my first morning, fresh and excited. I had decided to explore the Peloponnese: a region to the west of Athens, full of ancient sites and beautiful coastlines. This area is huge and could take an entire week to explore. I was lucky I could hit a few places on the fringes within a day trip from Athens.

As I had arrived late the night before, I was delighted when I exited my apartment to see the townhouses and mandarin trees lining my lane. The sun seems to sparkle in Greece; that morning it reflected-off the pastel houses and clothes on lines suspended in the air. It seemed like a balmy, spring day rather than the dead of winter. Despite the skinny, one-way streets and reckless drivers everywhere, I managed to get out of Athens (holding my breath) and onto the freeway. I was on the road for about two hours, absorbed every moment by the landscape, experiencing it for the first time.

ANCIENT CORINTH

First stop in the Peloponnese was Corinth- an ancient site on the coast, home to key points of Greek (and Roman) history. The port city began to flourish from the 10th century BCE. Julius Caesar and Roman emperors, Hadrian and Nero, attempted to re-establish the area and it became a centre of early Christianity following St Paul’s visit (my Sunday School memory remembers him scolding the women, ah Biblical sexism!). It was abandoned from Nero’s death in 68 AD until the 19th century when evacuated by the Greek Archaeological Service.  In the present day, luckily for me on this end of history,  it is a tourist attraction.

Walking through the ruins, I was awed by the coastline views. I know back in the day civilisations were perched up on hills for security reasons but one could think they were just grabbing prime real estate. The site itself is extremely well preserved, with the Temple of Apollo still standing proudly. It was mind-blowing to think of the flourishing cultures that frequented the area my feet walked on over a thousand years ago.

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The museum, on the site of the ruins, was humble in size but moving nonetheless. I cannot recall many times when I have experienced ancient art and artefacts on the site they were created and used. I was struck by the preservation of some pieces, with pink pigment paint still evident on sculptures. Even recovered graves were built around, leaving their bodies, while exposed to the public, undisturbed and left in peace.

Luckily, because it was the off-season, the area was mostly free of tour buses and tourists. I was able to explore the area around the site in peace. At a café, two puppies decided that I was their friend and while I played with them their owner said I could keep them. Very tempting – but unfortunately Australia’s biosecurity laws told me no.

MYCENAE

After stopping in a small town and having the best Greek salad of my entire existence served by a man who was thrilled to have customers in the middle of winter, I headed to the ancient site of Mycenae. Its expansive historical significance is jaw-dropping. In the Bronze Age its population reached 30,000 over 32 hectares of land. In fact, the area was inhabited from Early Neolithic times until its downfall in the 13^th century BC. And here it was, with a parking lot, 4 euro entry and all mine to explore.

If there is anywhere you need to visit in your life and have your breath taken away, it is not the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben or the Sydney Harbour Bridge- it is this place where you can make in physical contact with pre-historical times. I am dumbfounded it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site only as recently as 1999.

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The on-site museum was a contemporarily designed space which effectively exhibited a very ancient past. Artefacts dated back to the Neolithic period (7^th millennium BC!) and I was mesmerised by their other-worldliness. But I didn’t feel disconnected from these alien-looking objects for long as the accompanying text was very informative. While I have a history degree I don’t know much pre-1500 AD history so it was a great learning experience for me.

The building was also architecturally interesting, with large windows overlooking the same magnificent landscape its ancient citizens would have also gazed upon. I had started my holiday exploring the MET in NYC and now, 6 weeks later, I was visiting a physically isolated institution that could rival its effect and prominence.

The site is expansive (it was home to a civilisation after all!) and the signage around the site was very useful to understand its historical context. I felt frozen in time as I gazed at the ruins and imagined their bygone uses. I could have spent a whole day walking through the ancient city surrounded by the stunning landscape- and I certainly recommend plenty of time. The Lion Gate and grave circles were stand-outs but the most incredible aspect was the Treasury of Atreus, located a short drive away from the main site. Unfortunately, it was looted but being able to be immersed inside was a moving (slightly spooky) experience.

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NAFPLION

I concluded the day in Nafplion, a sunny beachside town not far from Mycenae. While some parts of the day had been gusty and cold, Greece is like Melbourne with a 4-seasons-1-day routine and, thus, the sun did shine now and again. There was a medieval castle on a hill above the town (the different time periods I hit in one day is insane!) but, as it was late afternoon, the one thousand step hike to reach it was too daunting. Instead, I, wandered the old-city streets, ate gelato and gyros and sat by the ocean- making friends with a dog and also the man who made my gyros (we talked Greek economics in depth).

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My partner took the reins for the three-hour drive back from the Peloponnese to our Athen’s apartment while I slept after a long day of history-nerding. On the way, he stopped to grab a coffee from a small roadside café and must have seemed a little cute in his dreary attempt to order a long black, as they laughed and gave it to him for free. I arrived home slightly flustered thanks to Google maps (see the last post for map tips!) but happy and content that, despite only having rough plans, day one of road-tripping Greece had been successful and full of exciting moments.