Did you know that Greece’s name isn’t actually Greece? The Romans derived the name “Greece” from the Latin word graecia, meaning “land of the Greeks”. Today its official name is the Hellenic Republic and its people are known as Hellenes.
Greece has more than 6,000 islands and islets scattered throughout the Aegean and Ionian Seas. Around 227 are inhabited, including Crete, Santorini, Mykonos and Milos (which we visited by ship after the Greek mainland).
But back to our holiday in “the land of the Greeks” in September/October 2023. Our brief trip through France’s Normandy, Brittany and Loire regions was followed by a “mythical Grecian discovery (which) encapsulates the intriguing history of ancient Greece”, as Insight Vacations puts it.
We flew from Paris to Athens, one of the most ancient cities in the world. The city took its name from Athena, the goddess of wisdom and daughter of Zeus. Apart from being the capital of Greece (or the Hellenic Republic), it was also at the heart of ancient Greece, a powerful civilization and empire.
We began our trip with an exploration of the city which is dominated by 5th century BC landmarks like the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Arch of Hadrian. Next was a visit to the Acropolis, one of the most important ancient sites in the Western world. Crowning the top is the Parthenon, visible from almost everywhere in the city. We also saw the Temple of Athena Nike, also known as the Temple of the Wingless Victory, and the six stone-carved caryatids that make up the Porch of the Maidens on the Erechtheion.
Then it was off to the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, the largest archaeological museum in Greece and one of the most important museums in the world devoted to ancient Greek art. It was founded at the end of the 19th century to house and protect antiquities from all over Greece, thus displaying their historical, cultural and artistic value. And its contents are a sight to behold!
Before we hit the road to Thermopylae, we popped in at the city’s famous Plaka district for lunch. You cannot travel on an empty stomach!
Thermopylae is famous as the mountain pass where King Leonidas led his Spartan army, along with fellow Greek soldiers, into battle against the Persians in 480 B.C. There is a memorial dedicated to Leonidas and his courageous Spartans.
Our first day ended in Kalambaka, a town in the shadow of “the Pinnacles of Meteora”, another bucket list item for my wife. After breakfast the next morning, we took the winding road up to the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site of Meteora, meaning “in the air”, “lofty” or “elevated”. These massive pinnacles of smooth rock are ancient. Twenty-four monasteries were established between the 13th and 14th centuries, but only 6 remain, built on top of immense natural pillars and hill-like boulders that dominate the area. This is one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, second in importance only to Mount Athos. We visited one of the monasteries and stood in wonder at the stunning views over the Pineios Valley.
Still in awe of what we saw at Meteora, we travelled south the next day to Mount Parnassus. On our way we stopped for an early lunch in Kastraki where we were entertained by a rather vivacious hostess! She was highly entertaining, the food was excellent, the wine equal to the occasion and the atmosphere jovial!
Then it was off to the foothills of Mount Parnassus. Here we ascended “the Sacred Way of Delphi” with a local expert, passing by the Parian marble Treasury of the Athenians and the Polygonal Wall with its interlocking stones still perfectly intact after thousands of years. Then came the Temple of Apollo where for 14 centuries the mysterious Oracle of Delphi breathed her enigmatic “words”, rumoured to have successfully predicted events related to the Argonauts expedition and the Trojan War.
Nearby is the Archaeological Museum of Delphi which reveals through hundreds of exhibits the history of the Delphi sanctuary, the most important site of ancient Greece. The rich collections of the museum consist of beautiful marble statues, sculpture works, coins and other finds from that time.
Then it was off to Olympia on Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula. Ancient Olympia is the site where the Olympic Games began in 776 BC in dedication to Zeus. Its extensive ruins include athletic training areas, a stadium and temples dedicated to the gods Hera and Zeus. The Archaeological Museum of Olympia exhibits finds from the site, including a statue of Hermes attributed to the sculptor Praxiteles. We saw the ruined Temple of Zeus that was built to honour the ruler of the gods and then continued our exploration through time to the athletes’ gymnasium and the Ancient Stadium of Olympia with its characteristic arch. The start and finish points for the sprint track are still marked by stones!
It was time to be fed so we went to a local wine and olive estate for a farm to table lunch with a difference: we were going to prepare our own lunch! And mine was enjoyed with a local wine, what else!
Mycenae and Nafplio followed the next day. Mycenaean Greece was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland Greece with its palatial states, urban organization, works of art and writing system. In Mycenae we visited the ruined city, walked through the Lion Gate and saw the giant Cyclopean stones used to build the city walls.
"Cyclopean", the term normally applied to the masonry style characteristic of Mycenaean fortification systems, describes walls built of huge, unworked limestone boulders which are roughly fitted together. Between these boulders, smaller chunks of limestone fill the interstices.
Then it was off to visit one of the nearby royal “beehive-tombs”, tombs shaped like a beehive cut in a hillside and usually approached by a horizontal passage. The tholos tomb is a round, beehive shaped structure famously built by the late Bronze Age Mycenean peoples. These were royal examples of the commonly employed chamber tomb.
Later we met the artisans at a family-run pottery studio, got a quick education in pottery and then viewed beautiful works of art on display … and spent more money!
The elegant town of Nafplio - known for its beautiful architecture, colourful shops and cafes - was next on our itinerary. Nafplio (or Nauplio) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese peninsula and the capital of the regional unit of Argolis, and an important tourist destination. Being one of the most picturesque and romantic cities in Greece, Nafplio is absolutely worth visiting. Its rich culture, fascinating history and striking natural beauty will leave you in awe.
From here our journey continued along the shores of the Saronic Gulf to pass over the Corinth Canal, dividing the Peloponnese and mainland Greece. The Corinth Canal is an artificial canal in Greece that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, making the peninsula an island.
Our last night in Athens we discovered another of the city’s vibrant tourist districts, Psyrri, where we stopped off at one of the many restaurants for supper. Vibrant Psyrri centers on Iroon Square, whose surrounding streets have eateries offering meze and live music, including rembetika (Greek blues). Bars with DJs stay open late, as do tavernas serving traditional specialties like meatballs and Greek salad. Small artisan shops, often decorated with graffiti, sell handmade leather bags, indie fashions and offbeat homewares.
The “land of the Greeks” is much more than just its ancient and very rich cultural history and highly interesting mythology, good food and great wine, it is also about natural beauty. Over 80% of the country is covered by mountainous terrain, making it a truly scenic place to visit.
Although the mainland part of our Grecian holiday had come to an end, Greece’s second largest city was our first port of call on the first day of our boat trip to four of the country’s famous islands as Thessaloniki is a port city on the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. After a walk along the waterfront and the many cafes along Aristotelous Square, we visited the city’s ancient monuments such as the Arch of Galerius.
The city still has much evidence of its Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history , especially around Ano Poli, the upper town. The ruins of Roman Emperor Galerius’ 4th-century palace include the Rotunda that has been both a church and a mosque. Much of the city center was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1917 and the rebuilt 20th-century city has a modern European layout.
Next up, four of Greece’s famous islands.
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