The Acropolis Museum is the only museum in the world dedicated entirely to one archaeological site. Everything in it — more than four thousand objects — was found on the Acropolis rock or on the slopes below it, and almost all of it is shown within sight of where it once stood. The museum is in the centre of Athens.

The building opened in 2009. It was designed by Bernard Tschumi with the Greek architect Michael Photiadis, and it was meant to be ready for the 2004 Olympics. But when they dug the foundations, they found a whole Athenian neighbourhood from the fifth century AD underneath. The design was changed so that the museum stands on pillars above it. The excavation is still there: you walk over it on glass floors, and you can also visit it below the museum.

How the building works

The three main levels match the three zones of the Acropolis.

The ground floor holds finds from the slopes, in a long hall with a sloping floor that imitates the climb up the rock.

Above it, the Archaic Gallery is an open space full of sixth-century statues, lit from every side. You are meant to walk around them rather than past them. The Erechtheion room holds five of the six original Caryatids.

The Parthenon Gallery

The top floor is the point of the whole building.

It is turned twenty-three degrees away from the rest of the structure, so that it sits at exactly the same orientation as the temple. It has the same dimensions as the temple. It is enclosed in glass, so the sculptures are lit by the same daylight — and the Parthenon itself is visible through the windows. The frieze runs in one continuous line around a rectangular core, at eye level.

The gallery is also visibly incomplete. About half of the surviving Parthenon sculptures are in the British Museum in London. Their places here are filled with plaster copies, left deliberately pale so that they stand out against the original marble. The sixth Caryatid is in London too.

Talks between Athens and the British Museum have gone on for years without a result. The gaps in the gallery are part of how the museum makes its argument.

Cape Sounion is the southern tip of Attica, where the mainland ends. The Temple of Poseidon stands on the edge of a cliff about sixty metres above the sea, and from it you can see the Saronic islands and, on a clear day, a long way across the Aegean.

Ships coming up from the south saw this temple first. That was the point of putting it here.

The sanctuary

People were worshipping on this rock long before the temple was built. There is evidence of sanctuaries from around the eleventh century BC, and finds from the wider area go back much further.

Four marble kouroi — large standing statues of young men — were made around 590–580 BC and set up here. They were smashed, most probably by the Persians in 480 BC, and buried in the sanctuary. Two of them are now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, together with the architectural pieces from the site.

The Persians destroyed an earlier temple of Poseidon at the same time.

The temple

What stands today was built between about 444 and 440 BC, in the same period as the Parthenon. It is Doric, made of local marble, and it sits on a platform 31 by 13.5 metres at the highest point of the cape.

Sixteen of its columns are still upright, together with two pillars of the porch. On the right-hand one, as you walk in, is the carved signature of Lord Byron, who came here in 1810. He was following a habit that visitors had been practising since Roman times, and the surrounding stone carries many other names.

The second temple and the fortress

Lower down, on a separate terrace, stood the Temple of Athena Sounias. Its plan was unusual enough that the Roman architect Vitruvius wrote about it: instead of columns on all four sides, it had them on two only, the south and the east.

For centuries the two temples were confused. Pausanias, writing in the second century AD, described the temple on the cliff as Athena's. The mistake was only corrected in the early twentieth century, by excavation.

Sounion was also a fortress. In 412 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians walled the whole headland to protect the grain ships that had to round this cape to reach Athens. Parts of those walls and towers survive, and they were repaired again in the third century BC.

King Aegeus

The cape carries one of the best-known Athenian legends. Theseus sailed to Crete to kill the Minotaur and promised his father Aegeus that he would raise white sails on the return if he survived. He forgot. Aegeus, watching from the cliff, saw black sails, believed his son was dead, and threw himself into the sea — which has been called the Aegean ever since.

Hydra is a rocky island in the Saronic Islands, about two hours from Piraeus, with one town built in a steep amphitheatre around its harbour.

There are no cars on it. A presidential decree of the 1950s banned motor vehicles to protect the town, and the ban has held ever since — the only exceptions are the fire engine, the ambulance and the refuse lorry. Everything else moves on foot, by donkey and mule, or by water taxi.

The stone mansions around the harbour were built by shipowners. In 1821 the island sent 120 ships and around 5,400 sailors to the Greek revolution, and the admirals who commanded the Greek fleet came from these houses.

Since the 1950s it has also been a place artists come to, and some of them stayed.

Nestled just southwest of the Acropolis, Philopappos Hill is one of the most historically rich and scenic spots in Athens, offering stunning panoramic views of the city. Often referred to as the "Hill of the Muses" in antiquity, this landmark combines natural beauty with historical significance, making it a must-visit for anyone exploring Athens.

A Walk Through History
Philopappos Hill is named after Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos, a prominent Roman official of Greek descent. He was known for his deep ties to both Rome and Athens, and upon his death in 116 AD, the people of Athens erected a grand monument in his honor. This marble tomb, still standing at the hill's summit, is a remarkable piece of Roman funerary architecture that highlights the esteem in which Philopappos was held.

But Philopappos Hill’s historical relevance goes back much further than Roman times. In ancient Greece, the hill was associated with Mousaios, a mythical poet said to be a disciple of Orpheus. The hill was part of the city’s defensive system, with remnants of Themistoclean walls from the 5th century BC still visible today.

Natural Beauty and Stunning Views
While the historical significance of Philopappos Hill is undeniable, its natural allure makes it equally compelling. The winding paths lined with pine trees and native flora lead visitors up to the monument, and along the way, you'll encounter numerous scenic viewpoints. The hill provides breathtaking vistas of the Acropolis, the Aegean Sea, and the sprawling cityscape of Athens.

During a hike up Philopappos, you can take in views of nearby landmarks such as Pnyx Hill, the birthplace of democracy where ancient Athenians gathered for assemblies, and Hill of the Nymphs.

Plaka and Monastiraki are two old quarters in the centre of Athens, in Attica. They lie side by side at the northern foot of the Acropolis, and it is easy to walk through both on the same day. Plaka has low houses, narrow streets and the small white houses of Anafiotika under the rock. Monastiraki has a square with a metro station, a church and a mosque of 1759, and a flea market starts a few steps away. In and around the two quarters are three ancient sites: the Ancient Agora, the Roman Agora with the Tower of the Winds, and Hadrian's Library. Tavernas, cafés and shops fill the streets of both quarters.

The Acropolis Museum is the only museum in the world dedicated entirely to one archaeological site. Everything in it — more than four thousand objects — was found on the Acropolis rock or on the slopes below it, and almost all of it is shown within sight of where it once stood. The museum is in the centre of Athens.

The building opened in 2009. It was designed by Bernard Tschumi with the Greek architect Michael Photiadis, and it was meant to be ready for the 2004 Olympics. But when they dug the foundations, they found a whole Athenian neighbourhood from the fifth century AD underneath. The design was changed so that the museum stands on pillars above it. The excavation is still there: you walk over it on glass floors, and you can also visit it below the museum.

How the building works

The three main levels match the three zones of the Acropolis.

The ground floor holds finds from the slopes, in a long hall with a sloping floor that imitates the climb up the rock.

Above it, the Archaic Gallery is an open space full of sixth-century statues, lit from every side. You are meant to walk around them rather than past them. The Erechtheion room holds five of the six original Caryatids.

The Parthenon Gallery

The top floor is the point of the whole building.

It is turned twenty-three degrees away from the rest of the structure, so that it sits at exactly the same orientation as the temple. It has the same dimensions as the temple. It is enclosed in glass, so the sculptures are lit by the same daylight — and the Parthenon itself is visible through the windows. The frieze runs in one continuous line around a rectangular core, at eye level.

The gallery is also visibly incomplete. About half of the surviving Parthenon sculptures are in the British Museum in London. Their places here are filled with plaster copies, left deliberately pale so that they stand out against the original marble. The sixth Caryatid is in London too.

Talks between Athens and the British Museum have gone on for years without a result. The gaps in the gallery are part of how the museum makes its argument.

Cape Sounion is the southern tip of Attica, where the mainland ends. The Temple of Poseidon stands on the edge of a cliff about sixty metres above the sea, and from it you can see the Saronic islands and, on a clear day, a long way across the Aegean.

Ships coming up from the south saw this temple first. That was the point of putting it here.

The sanctuary

People were worshipping on this rock long before the temple was built. There is evidence of sanctuaries from around the eleventh century BC, and finds from the wider area go back much further.

Four marble kouroi — large standing statues of young men — were made around 590–580 BC and set up here. They were smashed, most probably by the Persians in 480 BC, and buried in the sanctuary. Two of them are now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, together with the architectural pieces from the site.

The Persians destroyed an earlier temple of Poseidon at the same time.

The temple

What stands today was built between about 444 and 440 BC, in the same period as the Parthenon. It is Doric, made of local marble, and it sits on a platform 31 by 13.5 metres at the highest point of the cape.

Sixteen of its columns are still upright, together with two pillars of the porch. On the right-hand one, as you walk in, is the carved signature of Lord Byron, who came here in 1810. He was following a habit that visitors had been practising since Roman times, and the surrounding stone carries many other names.

The second temple and the fortress

Lower down, on a separate terrace, stood the Temple of Athena Sounias. Its plan was unusual enough that the Roman architect Vitruvius wrote about it: instead of columns on all four sides, it had them on two only, the south and the east.

For centuries the two temples were confused. Pausanias, writing in the second century AD, described the temple on the cliff as Athena's. The mistake was only corrected in the early twentieth century, by excavation.

Sounion was also a fortress. In 412 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians walled the whole headland to protect the grain ships that had to round this cape to reach Athens. Parts of those walls and towers survive, and they were repaired again in the third century BC.

King Aegeus

The cape carries one of the best-known Athenian legends. Theseus sailed to Crete to kill the Minotaur and promised his father Aegeus that he would raise white sails on the return if he survived. He forgot. Aegeus, watching from the cliff, saw black sails, believed his son was dead, and threw himself into the sea — which has been called the Aegean ever since.

Delphi stands on a steep slope of Mount Parnassus, in Central Greece, looking down a valley of olive trees towards the Gulf of Corinth. For a thousand years it was the most important religious site in the Greek world, and Greeks believed it was the centre of the earth.

The story explains the claim. Zeus released two eagles from opposite ends of the world and let them fly towards each other. They met here. The spot was marked with a stone called the omphalos — the navel.

The oracle

Apollo took the sanctuary by killing Python, the serpent that guarded it. From then on the god spoke here through a priestess, the Pythia.

The process was strict. Before speaking she washed and drank at the Castalian Spring, then went down into the innermost room of the temple, sat on a bronze tripod and chewed laurel leaves. Those who came to ask had to purify themselves at the same spring, offer a cake and an animal, submit their question to the priests in advance, and draw lots for the order in which they would be heard. They stood where they could not see her.

At first the oracle spoke only once a year, on Apollo's birthday. Later it was one day a month, and not in winter, when the god was believed to be elsewhere. That is nine days in a year — and kings, cities and generals across the Mediterranean planned around them. At the busiest periods three women served as Pythia to keep up.

The answers were famously open to more than one reading. The most quoted example is the reply given to Croesus of Lydia, who was told that if he attacked Persia he would destroy a great empire. He attacked. The empire he destroyed was his own.

Wealth and war

Cities that received good answers sent gifts. They built small marble buildings along the road up to the temple, called treasuries, to hold them, and filled the sanctuary with hundreds of bronze and marble statues. Delphi became extraordinarily rich.

That wealth was fought over. Four Sacred Wars were declared over control of the sanctuary between the sixth and fourth centuries BC. The Amphictyonic League, an association of Greek peoples, managed it, and the Pythian Games were held here every four years — the second most important games after Olympia, and the only ones with musical as well as athletic contests.

The last recorded prophecy was given around AD 393, when the emperor Theodosius ordered all pagan sanctuaries closed.

The village on top

By the Middle Ages a village called Kastri stood on the sanctuary, its houses built out of the ancient stone. Everyone knew what lay underneath, but nobody could excavate a living settlement.

It took an earthquake in 1870 and a determined Greek government to change that. The whole village was bought out and moved to where modern Delphi now stands, and in 1892 the French Archaeological School began what became known as the Great Excavation. They laid a small railway across the site to carry away the spoil. Within a year they had uncovered the Treasury of the Athenians.

What to see today

The Sacred Way climbs in a zigzag from the entrance. It is lined with the bases of monuments and the remains of the treasuries, of which the Treasury of the Athenians has been rebuilt and stands complete.

Above it is the Temple of Apollo, with six columns re-erected. The famous maxims — Know thyself, Nothing in excess — were carved at its entrance.

Higher still is the theatre, and above that a steep path leads to the stadium, where the Pythian Games were run. It is the best preserved in Greece and most visitors do not make the climb. It is worth it.

Below the main site, on the other side of the road, is the separate Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, with the Tholos — a circular building of the fourth century BC, three of whose columns still stand. Nobody knows what it was for. Between the two sites, beside the road, is the Castalian Spring.

The Archaeological Museum is at the entrance. Its best-known object is the Charioteer of Delphi, also called Heniokhos, the rein-holder.

It is a life-size bronze of about 470 BC, and one of only about five large Greek bronzes that survive from the classical period. It was dedicated by Polyzalus, the ruler of Gela in Sicily, after his chariot team won at the Pythian Games, and it originally stood in a group with a chariot, four horses and two grooms. Only the driver came through complete, apart from his left arm.

It survived because it was buried. The earth protected the metal, and the statue still has its inlaid glass eyes.

The museum also holds the Sphinx of the Naxians, the twin archaic statues of Kleobis and Biton, and the omphalos stone.

Nestled in the northeastern Peloponnese, the ancient site of Mycenae offers a window into a civilization that flourished over 3,000 years ago. Revered as one of the major centers of Greek civilization, Mycenae's archaeological wonders captivate history enthusiasts.

Historical Significance

Mycenae, the legendary city of King Agamemnon, holds a pivotal place in Greek mythology and Homeric epics. The city dates back to the second millennium BCE and was a dominant cultural and military power. Its influence stretched across the Aegean world, marking the height of the Mycenaean civilization, which is often referred to as the cradle of Greek culture. The Mycenaeans are credited with developing the early Greek language and script known as Linear B, contributing significantly to the foundations of classical Greek culture.

The Lion Gate

One of the most iconic structures at Mycenae is the Lion Gate, the main entrance to the citadel. Built around 1250 BCE, this monumental gate features a relief of two lions above the entrance, symbolizing the power and prestige of Mycenae. It is the only known monumental sculpture of Bronze Age Greece and stands as a testament to the architectural prowess of the Mycenaeans.

The Treasury of Atreus

Another significant structure is the Treasury of Atreus, also known as the Tomb of Agamemnon. This impressive tholos, or beehive-shaped tomb, was constructed around 1250 BCE. The grandeur of its design, with a massive lintel stone weighing over 120 tons, showcases the advanced engineering skills of the Mycenaeans.

The Royal Palace

Situated at the summit of the citadel, the remains of the Royal Palace reveal the luxurious lifestyle of Mycenaean royalty. The complex includes a megaron, a large rectangular hall that served as the king’s throne room, adorned with vibrant frescoes that once decorated the walls. The palace complex also featured storage rooms, workshops, and residential quarters, indicating the centralized nature of Mycenaean society and its hierarchical structure.

Grave Circle A

One of the most significant discoveries at Mycenae is Grave Circle A, an elite burial site within the citadel walls. Excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in the 19th century, the graves contained a wealth of artifacts, including the famous Mask of Agamemnon, a gold funeral mask that epitomizes Mycenaean art. The burial practices and grave goods provide valuable insights into the social structure, religious beliefs, and daily life of the Mycenaeans.

The Archaeological Museum of Mycenae

No visit to Mycenae is complete without exploring the Archaeological Museum, which houses many of the artifacts uncovered at the site. The museum's exhibits include pottery, tools, weapons, and jewelry that illustrate the daily life and artistic achievements of the Mycenaeans. Notable exhibits include the gold death masks, intricately decorated ceramics, and detailed fresco fragments that once adorned the walls of the palace. The museum provides additional context and insight into the lives of the Mycenaeans, enriching your understanding of this ancient civilization.

Plaka and Monastiraki are two old quarters in the centre of Athens, in Attica. They lie side by side at the northern foot of the Acropolis, and it is easy to walk through both on the same day. Plaka has low houses, narrow streets and the small white houses of Anafiotika under the rock. Monastiraki has a square with a metro station, a church and a mosque of 1759, and a flea market starts a few steps away. In and around the two quarters are three ancient sites: the Ancient Agora, the Roman Agora with the Tower of the Winds, and Hadrian's Library. Tavernas, cafés and shops fill the streets of both quarters.

Schinias is where Athens goes for a beach that does not feel like a suburb. It is a long curve of fine sand on the northeast coast of Attica, about an hour from the city centre, with pine forest growing almost down to the water.

Behind the trees lies the largest wetland left in Attica, and behind that the plain of Marathon.

The beach, the forest, the marsh, a rocky peninsula and part of the bay were all declared a national park in 2000. That is why the place still looks the way it does.

It is also the exact spot where the Persian fleet landed in 490 BC.

Vouliagmeni Lake in the Attica region, is known for its stunning natural beauty and healing waters. The lake, which is fed by underground thermal springs, maintains a steady temperature year-round, making it an ideal spot for swimming and relaxation. The surrounding limestone cliffs and verdant vegetation add to the serene atmosphere, while the mineral-rich waters are believed to have therapeutic properties. The lake is surrounded by well-maintained facilities, offering visitors a comfortable environment for swimming, sunbathing, and dining at nearby cafes.

The broader Vouliagmeni area is equally attractive, offering a mix of natural beauty and seaside luxury. Vouliagmeni Beach, with its clear waters and sandy shores, is just minutes away from the lake, offering another perfect spot for sunbathing and swimming. A short drive away, Glyfada is a cosmopolitan area with upscale restaurants, vibrant nightlife, and a bustling marina. For those interested in history, the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, located about 40 km from Vouliagmeni, provides a stunning glimpse into ancient Greece and offers panoramic views over the Aegean Sea.

Tourism in Vouliagmeni tends to peak during the summer months, attracting both locals and international visitors, especially for its wellness offerings. While the lake area is developed, it maintains a peaceful, upscale atmosphere, making it a top destination for those seeking a combination of relaxation and mild outdoor activities.

Cape Sounion is the southern tip of Attica, where the mainland ends. The Temple of Poseidon stands on the edge of a cliff about sixty metres above the sea, and from it you can see the Saronic islands and, on a clear day, a long way across the Aegean.

Ships coming up from the south saw this temple first. That was the point of putting it here.

The sanctuary

People were worshipping on this rock long before the temple was built. There is evidence of sanctuaries from around the eleventh century BC, and finds from the wider area go back much further.

Four marble kouroi — large standing statues of young men — were made around 590–580 BC and set up here. They were smashed, most probably by the Persians in 480 BC, and buried in the sanctuary. Two of them are now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, together with the architectural pieces from the site.

The Persians destroyed an earlier temple of Poseidon at the same time.

The temple

What stands today was built between about 444 and 440 BC, in the same period as the Parthenon. It is Doric, made of local marble, and it sits on a platform 31 by 13.5 metres at the highest point of the cape.

Sixteen of its columns are still upright, together with two pillars of the porch. On the right-hand one, as you walk in, is the carved signature of Lord Byron, who came here in 1810. He was following a habit that visitors had been practising since Roman times, and the surrounding stone carries many other names.

The second temple and the fortress

Lower down, on a separate terrace, stood the Temple of Athena Sounias. Its plan was unusual enough that the Roman architect Vitruvius wrote about it: instead of columns on all four sides, it had them on two only, the south and the east.

For centuries the two temples were confused. Pausanias, writing in the second century AD, described the temple on the cliff as Athena's. The mistake was only corrected in the early twentieth century, by excavation.

Sounion was also a fortress. In 412 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, the Athenians walled the whole headland to protect the grain ships that had to round this cape to reach Athens. Parts of those walls and towers survive, and they were repaired again in the third century BC.

King Aegeus

The cape carries one of the best-known Athenian legends. Theseus sailed to Crete to kill the Minotaur and promised his father Aegeus that he would raise white sails on the return if he survived. He forgot. Aegeus, watching from the cliff, saw black sails, believed his son was dead, and threw himself into the sea — which has been called the Aegean ever since.

Daphni Monastery stands eleven kilometres northwest of central Athens, in Attica, on the old road to Eleusis and Corinth. That road was the ancient Sacred Way, and this spot was already holy long before there were Christians here.

A sanctuary of Apollo Daphnaios stood on the site until the Goths destroyed it in AD 395. The name comes from the laurel, daphne, the tree sacred to Apollo. When the first monastery was built here in the sixth century, its builders reused the Ionic columns of the temple in the porch. One of those columns is still there. Lord Elgin took the others to London in 1802.

The church

What visitors come to see was built at the end of the eleventh century, probably around 1080, paid for by someone wealthy whose name is not known.

The church is an octagonal cross-in-square building. Eight piers carry a broad, high dome, and because they are pushed out towards the walls the interior is a single open space rather than a set of compartments.

Its mosaics date from about 1100 and are the best-preserved set from that period anywhere. Seventy-six scenes survive on gold ground, and the craftsmen were almost certainly brought from Constantinople.

The famous one is the Christ Pantocrator in the dome — a severe, unsmiling face looking straight down at you. Elsewhere the style is gentler: the scene of the angel appearing to Joachim, with its quiet gestures and open landscape, is often pointed to as an early example of that gentler style.

In 1990 UNESCO listed Daphni as a World Heritage Site, together with Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni on Chios. The three are treated as one entry.

French monks and Frankish dukes

Crusaders sacked the monastery in 1205. Arrowheads were later found driven into the dome mosaic, at eye level, in the cheek of the Pantocrator.

Two years later Otho de la Roche, the Frankish Duke of Athens, handed Daphni to Cistercian monks from Burgundy. They stayed for about two hundred and fifty years. They rebuilt the outer porch, added a west front with pointed Gothic arches, walled the monastery, and put a second floor above the entrance with a spiral stair in a tower.

Two dukes of Athens were buried here. Their stone sarcophagi, carved with lilies and Latin crosses, are still in the porch.

The Ottomans expelled the French monks in 1458 and the monastery returned to Orthodox hands.

Damage and repair

Daphni has been shaken repeatedly. Earthquakes cracked the dome in the nineteenth century and brought down part of the Pantocrator. A restoration in 1888 did further harm, stripping the Byzantine roof tiles and replacing them with cheap ones.

The 1999 Athens earthquake hit it hard, and the monastery was closed for around fifteen years. A second earthquake in 2019 brought down part of the north wall and shook more pieces loose from the mosaics.

Work has been going on ever since. Parts of the church are held up by metal shoring, and some of what you see will be scaffolding.

Delphi stands on a steep slope of Mount Parnassus, in Central Greece, looking down a valley of olive trees towards the Gulf of Corinth. For a thousand years it was the most important religious site in the Greek world, and Greeks believed it was the centre of the earth.

The story explains the claim. Zeus released two eagles from opposite ends of the world and let them fly towards each other. They met here. The spot was marked with a stone called the omphalos — the navel.

The oracle

Apollo took the sanctuary by killing Python, the serpent that guarded it. From then on the god spoke here through a priestess, the Pythia.

The process was strict. Before speaking she washed and drank at the Castalian Spring, then went down into the innermost room of the temple, sat on a bronze tripod and chewed laurel leaves. Those who came to ask had to purify themselves at the same spring, offer a cake and an animal, submit their question to the priests in advance, and draw lots for the order in which they would be heard. They stood where they could not see her.

At first the oracle spoke only once a year, on Apollo's birthday. Later it was one day a month, and not in winter, when the god was believed to be elsewhere. That is nine days in a year — and kings, cities and generals across the Mediterranean planned around them. At the busiest periods three women served as Pythia to keep up.

The answers were famously open to more than one reading. The most quoted example is the reply given to Croesus of Lydia, who was told that if he attacked Persia he would destroy a great empire. He attacked. The empire he destroyed was his own.

Wealth and war

Cities that received good answers sent gifts. They built small marble buildings along the road up to the temple, called treasuries, to hold them, and filled the sanctuary with hundreds of bronze and marble statues. Delphi became extraordinarily rich.

That wealth was fought over. Four Sacred Wars were declared over control of the sanctuary between the sixth and fourth centuries BC. The Amphictyonic League, an association of Greek peoples, managed it, and the Pythian Games were held here every four years — the second most important games after Olympia, and the only ones with musical as well as athletic contests.

The last recorded prophecy was given around AD 393, when the emperor Theodosius ordered all pagan sanctuaries closed.

The village on top

By the Middle Ages a village called Kastri stood on the sanctuary, its houses built out of the ancient stone. Everyone knew what lay underneath, but nobody could excavate a living settlement.

It took an earthquake in 1870 and a determined Greek government to change that. The whole village was bought out and moved to where modern Delphi now stands, and in 1892 the French Archaeological School began what became known as the Great Excavation. They laid a small railway across the site to carry away the spoil. Within a year they had uncovered the Treasury of the Athenians.

What to see today

The Sacred Way climbs in a zigzag from the entrance. It is lined with the bases of monuments and the remains of the treasuries, of which the Treasury of the Athenians has been rebuilt and stands complete.

Above it is the Temple of Apollo, with six columns re-erected. The famous maxims — Know thyself, Nothing in excess — were carved at its entrance.

Higher still is the theatre, and above that a steep path leads to the stadium, where the Pythian Games were run. It is the best preserved in Greece and most visitors do not make the climb. It is worth it.

Below the main site, on the other side of the road, is the separate Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, with the Tholos — a circular building of the fourth century BC, three of whose columns still stand. Nobody knows what it was for. Between the two sites, beside the road, is the Castalian Spring.

The Archaeological Museum is at the entrance. Its best-known object is the Charioteer of Delphi, also called Heniokhos, the rein-holder.

It is a life-size bronze of about 470 BC, and one of only about five large Greek bronzes that survive from the classical period. It was dedicated by Polyzalus, the ruler of Gela in Sicily, after his chariot team won at the Pythian Games, and it originally stood in a group with a chariot, four horses and two grooms. Only the driver came through complete, apart from his left arm.

It survived because it was buried. The earth protected the metal, and the statue still has its inlaid glass eyes.

The museum also holds the Sphinx of the Naxians, the twin archaic statues of Kleobis and Biton, and the omphalos stone.

The Sanctuary of Eleusis lies about twenty kilometres northwest of Athens, in Attica, at the end of the ancient Sacred Way. For roughly two thousand years it was one of the most important religious centres in the Greek world, and what happened inside it was never written down.

The sanctuary belonged to Demeter and her daughter Persephone. The myth is the reason it is here: Hades took Persephone into the underworld, Demeter searched for her nine days and nights without eating or drinking, and she rested at Eleusis. While she mourned, nothing grew. Zeus finally forced a settlement — Persephone spends part of the year below and part above, and the seasons follow her.

The Mysteries

Every year, in the month that fell between late August and September, the Eleusinian Mysteries were celebrated over nine days.

They began in Athens, at the sanctuary of Demeter below the Acropolis. On the second day the candidates went down to the sea at Phaleron to purify themselves. Then a procession walked the Sacred Way from Athens to Eleusis, carrying the sacred objects, led by a priestess. Herodotus put the number of people on that road at thirty thousand.

At Eleusis the initiates fasted through the day and drank the kykeon, a mixture of water, barley and herbs. At nightfall they went into the Telesterion, a great square hall filled with columns, and there the initiation took place: things were shown, things were said, and the ceremony ended with the revealing of the sacred objects.

Every initiate swore never to speak of it. In two thousand years, nobody did.

Modern scholars are divided. Some think the priests staged a vision of the afterlife using darkness, torchlight and sacred objects. Others think the kykeon contained something that altered the mind. Both remain guesses.

Initiation was unusually open for the ancient world: it was not restricted to citizens, and women and slaves could take part.

The end

The sanctuary was still working in the fourth century AD, when the Roman emperors closed the pagan cults. Alaric's Goths destroyed it in 396.

What to see today

The site is large and much of it is at foundation level, so it rewards patience.

The entrance leads into a Roman courtyard with a small temple and the remains of two triumphal arches, and then to the Greater Propylaia, a Roman gateway built as a copy of the entrance to the Athenian Acropolis.

Beyond it, the Lesser Propylaia is the more interesting of the two. Its roof was carried by two Caryatids, and one of them is in the museum here.

The Ploutonion is a cave in the rock, sacred to Hades, and understood in antiquity as the entrance to the underworld through which Persephone returned.

The Telesterion itself is a great square platform cut into the hillside, with rows of steps around the sides where the initiates sat.

Near the entrance is the Kallichoron Well, where Demeter is said to have rested.

The museum

The museum stands inside the site, in a building of 1890, and it was completely redisplayed in 2023.

Its best-known piece is the Caryatid from the Lesser Propylaia, a large statue of a girl carrying a basket on her head, with the carving of her face and jewellery unusually well preserved. There is also a seventh-century BC amphora showing Odysseus blinding the Cyclops, and the sculpture known as the Fleeing Kore.

The displays include digital reconstructions of the buildings, which make the site outside far easier to understand.

Epidavros lies on the northeast coast of the Peloponnese, and the name covers three places: an ancient sanctuary inland, and two small coastal towns.

The sanctuary belonged to Asclepius, god of medicine, and for centuries it was the most respected healing centre in the ancient world. Its theatre, built in the fourth century BC, is the best preserved in Greece and is still used every summer. The whole site has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1988.

On the coast, Palaia Epidavros was the ancient city itself — it has a second, smaller theatre and a Roman settlement lying under shallow water. Nea Epidavros, further north, is where the first Greek constitution was signed in 1822.

Hydra is a rocky island in the Saronic Islands, about two hours from Piraeus, with one town built in a steep amphitheatre around its harbour.

There are no cars on it. A presidential decree of the 1950s banned motor vehicles to protect the town, and the ban has held ever since — the only exceptions are the fire engine, the ambulance and the refuse lorry. Everything else moves on foot, by donkey and mule, or by water taxi.

The stone mansions around the harbour were built by shipowners. In 1821 the island sent 120 ships and around 5,400 sailors to the Greek revolution, and the admirals who commanded the Greek fleet came from these houses.

Since the 1950s it has also been a place artists come to, and some of them stayed.