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Olympus
Orchomenos
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Pelion
Pelion Villages
Pylos
Santorini
Sparta
Tiryns
Thessalonica
Vassai
Vergina/Aegae
Volos
Zagorohoria

Arcadia
And the Peloponnese’s Hidden Treasure

Spring and Autumn is the best time to visit the Peloponnese. The hills, the valleys and the ground under the old olive trees are covered with alsorts of wild flowers: of which tiny deep yellow calendulas, tall blue-purple chicory, multicolored anemones, and blood-red poppies are the most prominent. There are over 6,000 species of aromatic plants and wild flowers in Greece, more than in any other European country, and spring is the time to admire them. Even the rocky mountains seem to be covered with a wonderful floral carpet at this time of the year; the same bare mountains that during the long summer months are golden brown with only a few green patches.

In the minds of many cultured western visitors the region of Arcadia - the mountainous central part of the Peloponnese - has been associated with lush green pastoral landscapes, as Rossini painted it in his famous picture we admire at the Louver. But the scenery in real-life Arcadia couldn’t be further from that imaginary picture. There are no deep green forests with waterfalls, and although goats and sheep may often be found grazing on the shrub-covered hills, the shepherds of Arcadia with faces carved by the long exposure to the blazing sun look nothing like the pink-cheeked men depicted in the painting.
Nevertheless, there is a part of the picture that illustrates an important aspect of the Arcadian landscape. In the picture, Poussin’s imaginary shepherds gaze at an ancient tombstone with the inscription Et in Arcadia Ego. Arcadia, along with the rest of the Peloponnese is indeed filled with ancient stones. Some of the finest ruins in the world, from various glorious eras of the country’s rich history are concentrated in this part of southern Greece. Perhaps the oldest of all archaeological sites is the Palace of Mycenae, the seat of the most important Greek kingdom that lasted from the 15th to the 13th century BC. It was in this, now ruined, palace, that Queen Clytemnestra together with Aegisthus, her lover, murdered the powerful King Agamemnon when he returned triumphant from the Trojan War. Later, Electra and Orestes, Clytemnestra’s children, murdered their mother to avenge their father’s death. Among the many ancient amphitheatres of the Peloponnese, that of Epidavros is the most impressive and well preserved, with incredible acoustics. The amphitheatre - which was part of a sanctuary and healing temple dedicated to Asclepios, the God of Medicine - is still used for musical and theatre performances during the July and August weekends. In the Peloponnesos there is also Olympia, the well-preserved site of the eponymous ancient athletic games, a place that retains much of its old, moving atmosphere to this day.
Besides these well-known places, visited by endless groups of tourists all year round, there are other, equally impressive, but less frequented sites. In the region of Arcadia there are places of great beauty, equally charged with history, both classical and more recent. The most extraordinary monument of the area is the very well  preserved temple of Epicurean Apollo, at Vassae. Erected around 420 BC by Ictinus - the most esteemed architect of the classical era, who also designed the Parthenon -the monument is now covered with a huge tent made from synthetic material, to protect the fragile grayish columns. It is odd that a temple of such importance was built high on the mountains of Arcadia, at an altitude of nearly 1,200 meters, in one of the most desolate parts of the Peloponnese. After a long drive up the winding road, suddenly the gigantic high-tech tent that covers the monument comes into view, surprising the visitors who expected to see an ancient temple at its place. With fifteen Doric columns on each side, instead of the usual twelve, the long temple faces north, towards Delphi, the God Apollo’s most important shrine. Far from any village, surrounded by mountain peaks, with only the sound of singing birds or the pleasant noise of cicadas in the summer, Vassae must have been the ideal sanctuary for the worshippers of Apollo. Unfortunately, the protective covers that may preserve the stones for the future generations, do not let us appreciate the beauty of the temple in its surroundings.

The small but wonderful gorge of Lousios -a tributary of the river Alfios, west of Tripoli - is scattered with old stone-built bridges, picturesque villages and Byzantine monuments, of which the 12th century monastery of St John the Baptist (photo), built on the eastern side of the gorge, is the most important. The area played an important role during the 1821 War of Independence against the Ottomans. The village of Dimitsana (photo left), high on the slopes of the mountains, built during the Middle Ages on the site of the ancient city of Teutis, is an impressive village with tall stone houses. Besides the old library and the beautiful churches, there is also the only surviving gunpowder mill in Greece, which has been recently restored. Karytaina, the imposing village depicted on the back of the five-thousand-drachma bills, is the birthplace of Theodoros Kolokotronis, the most important hero of the War of Independence. Built in the 13th century as a Frankish castle, the village is almost a ghost town today. Yet, lately, many inhabitants who had emigrated at the beginning of the 20th century, seeking a better future abroad, have returned to the picturesque village, restoring the wonderful old stone-houses. Stemnitsa, built on a natural fortress, in a niche surrounded by rocks, has a very good folk museum. Here the visitor can get a glimpse of the old way of life, admiring interiors of the traditional homes, as well as the workshops of the village, which was famous for its bell-foundries. Andritsaina, built on an steep slope at the foothills of mount Lycaeus, is probably the most lively village of the area, and has an equally interesting folk museum exhibiting marvellous hand-woven materials, the old clothing of the area, as well as many interesting metal works from the local workshops.
Tripolis, the capital of Arcadia, is a thriving modern city, with all kinds of luxury shops, but also local character and some interesting old buildings. It has many modern hotels and restaurants, while the turn-of-the-century atmosphere is well preserved in the traditional old kafeneion (coffee shop) in the town square. North of Tripolis there is the ancient site of Mantinea. A small plain surrounded by mountains, Mantinea was the location of two of the most brutal battles of the Peloponnesian War, in 418 and 362 BC. In both battles the Spartans defeated the alliance of the Athenians. But modern Greeks - who often pass through the area on their winter weekend excursion around the Peloponnese - have completely forgotten those distant bloody events. They simply associate Mantinea with the wonderful eponymous white wine of the area. Made from moscho-filero, a Greek variety of grapes cultivated on the cool plateau of Mantinea, this very fragrant wine is best-enjoyed young, with seafood, but also with the many traditional vegetable dishes of the Peloponnese. You will also find Mantinea wine served as an aperitif, with meze, its light acidity and full bouquet providing the ideal prelude to a Greek meal.

PS. I would appreciate it if you linked my site with yours. Your site visitors may encounter a great read in ARCADIA, MY ARCADIA. This is a much-loved, gripping novel you may wish to recommend to travelers to GREECE.

Thank you. All my best. Nikos Kokonis  http://www.myarcadiabook.com/