Journey through Ancient Greece

Mainly Peloponnese

Saturday 24th May to Sunday 1st June 2008

The recent 'Mani & More' tour was very successful & I feel sure we will repeat it some time. For those of you who got the 'Byzantine bug' we have included a visit to the 11th century monastery of Ossios Loukas on our 'Mainly Peloponnese' visit next year, which, teachers & parents please note, takes place at half term.

The 8 night tour will start with 3 nights in Athens. The buildings of the Akropolis, including the Parthenon & the Erechtheion, the Ancient Agora & the National Archaeological Museum never fail to thrill & we will pay our first visit to the new Akropolis Museum which promises to be truly splendid. For those of you who have already been to Athens there is plenty more to explore including the ancient Kerameikos cemetery, the superb Benaki Museum & many fine churches.

On Tuesday we leave Athens & visit first the ancient site of Marathon where the Greeks defeated the mighty Persian army in 490 BC & will see the huge burial mound (see right),containing the remains of the 192 Greeks who fell in the battle. Our next stop will be Orchomenos to see the 'treasury' of Mynias, a C4th theatre & a Byzantine church built of column drums! From there we will go to the Monastery of Ossios Loukas, set in remote and beautiful mountains, it contains some of the most beautiful Byzantine mosaics in Greece.
We then spend one night in Delphi, and on Wednesday visit the site of the ancient oracle & sanctuary of Apollo, set in the magnificent Parnassos mountains. In the museum are the fabulous bronze charioteer & some really lovely archaic (C6th BC) friezes from the Treasury of Siphnos.

Part of the frieze from the Treasury of Siphnos in the museum at Delphi.

The theatre at Delphi.
We will spend the night in Olympia & on Thursday visit the wonderful & atmospheric site with the remains of the temple of Zeus, the archaic temple of Hera & the famous stadium. The superb museum contains some of the finest sculptures of the 5th century BC.
Much restoration work is going on here, including the Philipeion (memorial to Philip of Macedon) shown on the right.

Next we travel to Nauplion where we will spend 3 nights.

Nauplion is a lovely elegant Venetian port with no fewer than 3 castles, excellent museums, plenty of good restaurants, many churches, tempting shops & two beaches. It is an excellent base for visiting the many nearby archaeological sites. From there we will visit 14th century BC Mycenae, from where Agamemnon set off for Troy & where he was murdered by Klytemnestra, & Tyrins with its stunning Cyclopean walled galleries, even older than Mycenae. We will also go to the lovely sanctuary of Zeus & stadium at Nemea, where Herakles killed the lion & the magnificent 4th century BC theatre & Asklepion (healing sanctuary) at Epidauros. For those of you who haven't been before there will be the chance to visit Ancient Corinth while those of you who want can visit Ancient Sikyon where there is a fine theatre & gymnasium.

We return home on the Sunday midday flight or stay on in Nauplion (see below).

As usual we will be driven by Christos, our driver for many years, & although some of the journeys are long, the scenery is varied & the coach air conditioned & comfortable.

The cost is £695 per person, based on 2 sharing, (single room £800, triple room £650 pp, children up to 10 yrs old £515) including flights from Heathrow, 8 nights B&B en-suite accommodation & comprehensive information about the sites & their history.

It does not include entrance to sites & museums or lunch & dinner for which you should allow about £200.

For more information or to book contact:
Mary Kehoe 01934 832786 email: maryekehoe47@yahoo.co.uk or
Jane Maw Cornish 02920704314 email: rockhouse-penarth@supanet.com

This tour is now fully booked!

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View over the rooftops of Nauplion

Optional extension to the tour: As we are often told we need more time to explore Nauplion this year we plan to offer the option of a few extra days there. It is a great place to relax in, but if you yearn for more culture there are plenty more sites to visit or you could take a trip to the islands of Hydra, Spetsi and Paros.

For more information on staying in Nauplion contact Jane 02920 704313 or rockhouse-penarth@supanet.com

The theatre at Epidauros

The temple of zeus at Nemea

The Tholos at Delphi