The most famous island group in the Aegean Sea comprises some of the most beautiful islands in the world! Gorgeous sandy beaches, architecture in white and blue, traditional lifestyle, folk music, warm, hospitable people, and barren landscapes with isolated chapels turn a trip to the Cyclades into a lifetime experience.
The name “Cyclades” refers to the islands forming a circle (the name in English means: “Argosaronico gulf”) around the sacred island of Delos. According to Greek mythology, Poseidon, God of the sea, furious at the Cyclades nymphs turned them into islands.
The Hydra gulf lies between the Saronic Gulf and the Argolic Gulf and is one of the most popular yacht charter areas in Greece. The island of Hydra (ancient Hydraea) itself is a bare monolithic ridge of limestone, 12 km long by 5 km wide, lying off the southeast coast of the Argolid. Arid and infertile, it lives mainly from the tourist trade and the sale of craft products (jewelry, pottery, embroidery, hand-woven cloth, leather-work). A tempting local specialty is the almond cake called amygdale. North-west of Hydra is the little grazing island of Dokos (the ancient Aperopia), with the village of the same name in a sheltered bay on the north coast. The mainland (in fact the Peloponnese peninsula) features many interesting anchorages and the handsome village of Ermioni.
Hydra was already settled in Mycenaean times but was of little importance until the 18th century. In the 15th century and again in 1770, after the revolt in the Morea, Albanian refugees made their home on the island, and as a result of their efforts – in trade and shipping, but also in piracy – it became prosperous and wealthy. During the War of Greek Independence, the Hydriots converted their trading vessels into warships and met a large proportion of the cost of the war.
The little town of Hydra climbs picturesquely up the slopes of the hills around its sheltered harbor on the north coast of the island. It is now a favorite resort for painters and intellectuals, who give the town its particular aspect and atmosphere. On the quay is the old Conventual Church of the Panya (17th c.), with a beautiful cloister
Spetses, the ancient Pityousa (Island of Pines), is a hilly and well-wooded island off the southwest coast of the Argolida.
The income of the inhabitants comes from farming and now, to an even greater extent, from the tourist trade, for the island’s mild climate attracts large numbers of holiday-makers. This mild climate is described by the Admiralty pilot to be “exceedingly healthy” and is indeed more appealing than Hydra or Dokos. No motor vehicles are allowed on Spetses apart from public service vehicles.
In antiquity, Spetses was an island of no importance. After the Orlov Rising, a rebellion against the Turks supported by Catherine of Great Russia, the population was expelled from the island in 1770, and Spetses town was laid to waste.
The inhabitants soon returned to their island, however, and their trading and seafaring activities brought them prosperity. In 1821 Spetsai was the first island to take part in the War of Independence: an event commemorated every year by ceremonies in the Madonna Armada Chapel in Ayia Marina.
The island’s capital, Spetses is built on the gentle slopes above the wide bay containing its harbor. The present town, with a number of handsome mansions and three interesting churches in Kastelli, the upper town, dates from the 19th century. There is a local museum in a late 19th-century mansion. The tour of the island (12 km) is a pleasant day’s walk, or it can be done in a horse-drawn carriage.
Aegina is one of the most beautiful islands of Argosaronic and that is why it has been loved by so many visitors. According to the Myth, Aegina has the name of the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king. One of its treasures is an extinct volcano that constitutes two-thirds of the island.
It is claimed that Aegina was a colony of Epidaurus. Its placement between Attica and the Peloponnesus made it a site of trade even earlier, and its earliest inhabitants allegedly came from Asia Minor. Minoan ceramics have been found in the context of 2000 BC.
Also, scientists have found there a number of gold ornaments belonging to the last period of Mycenaean art( between 1700 and 1500 BC).
Its early history reveals that the maritime importance of the island dates back to pre-Dorian times. Even during the Greek War of Independence, Aegina became an administrative center for the Greek revolutionary authorities. Ioannis Kapodistrias was briefly established here.
Epidaurus was a small city in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: Palaia Epidavros and Nea Epidavros. It was named after the hero Epidauros, son of Apollo.
Epidaurus was independent of Argos and not included in Argolis until the time of the Romans. With its supporting territory, it formed the small territory called Epidauria. It was reputed to be founded by or named for the Argolid Epidaurus and to be the birthplace of Apollo's son Asclepius the healer.
Epidaurus is best known for its sanctuary, the Asclepeion, situated about five miles (8 km) from the town, with its theatre, which is once again in use today. The cult of Asclepius at Epidaurus is attested in the 6th century BC when the older hill-top sanctuary of Apollo Maleatas was no longer spacious enough. It was the most celebrated healing center of the Classical world, the place where ill people went in the hope of being cured. To find out the right cure for their ailments, they spent a night in the endometria, a big sleeping hall. In their dreams, the god himself would advise them on what they had to do to regain their health. Within the sanctuary, there was a guest house with 160 guest rooms. There are also mineral springs in the vicinity, which may have been used in healing.
The prosperity brought by the asclepeion enabled Epidaurus to construct civic monuments, including the huge theatre that delighted Pausanias for its symmetry and beauty, used again today for dramatic performances, the ceremonial hestiatoreion (banqueting hall), and a palaestra. The ancient theatre of Epidaurus was designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC. The original 34 rows were extended in Roman times by another 21 rows. It seats up to 14,000 people.
The theatre has long had a reputation for its exceptional acoustics, which reportedly allowed almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words from the proscenium to all 14,000 spectators, regardless of their seats.
Poros is a small Greek island pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about 58 km south from port of Piraeus' Port. Like other ports in the Saronic, it is a popular weekend destination for Athenian travelers.
It is divided into two parts: Sphaeria, the southern part, which is of volcanic origin, where today's city is located, and Kalaureia, the northern and largest part. A bridge connects the two islands over a narrow strait.
Poros is an island with rich vegetation. Much of the northern and far eastern/western sides of the island are bushy, whereas large areas of old pine forest are found in the south and center of the island. It has a good road network and adequate tourist infrastructure, which makes it a popular resort for short holidays.
The island had an important role during the Greek Revolution in 1821, due to its strategic position. The Greek revolutionary leaders, often met in Poros to discuss and plan their future actions. The first Greek naval base was established in Poros in 1828 and remained there until 1878. In September 1828, the ambassadors of England, France, and Russia met in Poros with Ioannis Kapodistrias in order to determine the borders of the future Greek state, which was established two years later, in 1830.
Poros was the site of the first naval base in modern Greece, established in 1827 during the Greek War of Independence. Most of the activities of Poros naval base were moved to Salamis Naval Base in 1881. The site is still used today by the Hellenic Navy as a training center for naval personnel.
Nafplio is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece that is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages during the Frankokratia as part of the lordship of Argos and Nauplia.
During the Greek War of Independence, Nafplio was a major Ottoman stronghold and was besieged for more than a year. The town finally surrendered on account of forced starvation. After its capture, because of its strong fortifications, it became the seat of the provisional government of Greece.
Count Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first head of state of newly liberated Greece, set foot on the Greek mainland for the first time in Nafplio on 7 January 1828 and made it the official capital of Greece in 1829. He was assassinated on 9 October 1831 by members of the Mavromichalis family, on the steps of the church of Saint Spyridon in Nafplio. After his assassination, a period of anarchy followed, until the arrival of King Otto and the establishment of the new Kingdom of Greece. Nafplio remained the capital of the kingdom until 1834 when King Otto decided to move the capital to Athens.
Nafplio maintains its own distinct traditional architectural style with many colorful buildings around the old town, influenced by the Venetians, due to their domination between 1338–1540 and during the Kingdom of the Morea and by the Ottomans. Furthermore, the city also contains a great number of eclecticist and neoclassical buildings and even a smaller number of modernist buildings
