Discovering Ancient Culture in the Peloponnese

With Patras, the largest town in the northern part of Achaia, museums are open to visitors, housing artefacts from different Greek periods. There are also theatre performances at the Apollon Theatre and sacred architecture and art at the Orthodox Church of St. Andrew, which was created in the 1970s. The city port through which public passenger traffic and trade with other countries takes place, called Greece's Gate to the West, is the most important commercial centre of the peninsula with international connections. Get to know the Peloponnese with our travel tips.

Life in the Peloponnese is closely connected to historical facts and the settlement of the peninsula from prehistoric times onwards. According to Greek mythology, the peninsula was named after King Pelops, who ruled the city of Pisa and founded the famous Olympic Games starting in the 8th century BC. The meaning of the name Peloponnese is a translation for an island or peninsula, where a highly developed pre-Greek Mycenaean culture has been known since the Bronze Age, living along the Peloponnese in Crete and Boeotia.

Later, during the Middle Ages and the rule of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires and then the Venetian Republic, the peninsula was called Morea and its inhabitants Moraitis. The former ancient cities of Argos, Corinth and Megalopolis, as well as the ancient city-state of Sparta, are known for their slave-owning and militaristic society, which plunged the members of the Military League and the inhabitants of the peninsula into major wars of the 5th century BC, such as the Greco-Persian and the 27-year-long Peloponnesian wars.

Mycenae, Epidaurus and Olympia

Mycenae is a Greek archaeological site where the Mycenaean culture was active between 1350 and 1200 BC, during the Late Bronze Age, with the people of the royal family of Atrides. The archaeological site of the citadel includes a number of remains, such as the lion gate, the Cyclopean wall and the royal tombs.

• The lion's gate is the entrance to the central part of the city citadel on the northwest side of the fortress.
• Cyclopean wall are Mycenaean citadel walls fortified with stone blocks without any binding.
• The royal tombs are known as the Treasury of Atreus and the Tomb of Clytemnestra.

Epidaurus is a small ancient town, next to which two modern towns, Palaia Epidaurus and Nea Epidaurus, have been built. The name of the city is derived from Greek mythology after the hero Epidaurus, the son of the god of light and the sun Apollo. The ancient city shows the Sanctuary of Asclepius and a typical ancient Greek Epidavrian theatre.

• The Sanctuary of Asclepius, or the sanctuary for the sick, dates back to the beginning of the 4th century BC.
• The Epidaurus Theatre, with a capacity of 14,000, hosted music and drama.

Olympia, a small ancient Greek city with an archaeological site preserving the remains of an ancient stadium, is known for the first Olympic Games, which were held every four years from the 8th century BC until the 4th century AD. Over 750 buildings and 70 temples have been discovered in the area.

• The Olympic Stadium brought together different athletics disciplines with representatives from the city states.
• The Temple of Zeus, built in the 5th century BC, was made in the classical Doric style.

A trip to the Greek Peninsula

The Peloponnese, with all its attractive destinations, tells the story of the past and of the ancestors of the Greeks who created high Greek culture. The entire peninsular region includes many historic towns, where archaeological remains of ancient Greek culture can be found. Mystra, Nafplio, Nemea and Sparta are just some of the names of ancient Greek towns and city states that explain life and customs on the peninsula, separated from west-central Greece by the Gulf of Corinth and a 6.4-kilometre-long canal.

The tourist attractions in Mistra, the former Byzantine capital, with its monasteries, churches and palaces, explain the medieval period from the 13th to the 15th centuries, while in Nafplio you can discover the Venetian citadel of the early 18th century, built on a 216-metre-high rock. Nemea recounts the ancient Greek past with a stadium next to the 6th century BC Temple of Zeus, and ancient Sparta with an acropolis and agora, and a religious and administrative centre dating back to the 8th century BC.

The modern southern Peloponnese region is divided into five districts: Arcadia, Argolis, Corinthia, Laconia, and Messenia. Its capital is Kalamata. This area is managed by the decentralised administration of Western Greece, which includes the Ionian Islands and is based in Patras, the largest city on the peninsula. You can travel around the peninsula sustainably with the central public intercity passenger transport, bus—KTEL, train or ferry, which takes you to some Greek islands, cities and out of the country to Italy.

The northern Peloponnesian districts of Achaea, Elid and the islands on the eastern side of the peninsula operate with the capital Patras, the third largest city in Greece. Patras is known for the largest carnival in Greece, the Patrino Karnavali, which has a 180-year tradition. This event has many activities and end with a ritual burning of the king on St. Nicholas Street.

What are some must-do activities?

To explore the Greek Peloponnese, we have prepared a variety of exciting tourist activities. These will help you learn about the historical facts and cultural diversity of the Greek culture.

Relive ancient Greek history with a special virtual reality device and audio guide in eight languages. The day tour includes visits to the Corinth Canal, Mycenae, the Epidavros Theatre and Nafplio. At the same time, book a self-guided tour of ancient Corinth, the city-state on the Corinth Canal, where you can discover 15 historical tourist sites via an audiovisual app, thirteen of which are presented with 3D models, panoramic presentations and demonstration videos. From Heraklion, Crete's largest city, sail to the uninhabited island of Dia and try your hand at paddle-boarding and snorkelling. You will learn all about the history of the island and its legend, which tells the story of how the island was created.

Explore the island of Crete with the palace of Knossos, archaeological remains from the Bronze Age and the mysterious Minoan culture and its political system. You can see restored wall paintings, the Throne Room of King Minos and a palace dating from 2000 BC. A cruise in Crete from the port of Kissamos to the lagoon of Balos and the island of Gramvousa is a relaxing tour where you can enjoy the view of the turquoise sea and the golden sandy shore. You'll see stunning cliffs and rocks, old shipwrecks and the 16th-century Venetian palace of Gramvousa. From Corfu, you can also continue to the islands of Paxos, Antipaxos and the sea caves, and take time to relax on Paxos in the port town of Gaios. The full-day tour offers relaxation on beautiful beaches, where you can choose between lounging on the hot sand or enjoying one of the water activities.

How can I learn Greek?

Conquering the Greek peninsula and Greek culture while travelling in Greece becomes much easier with an understanding of the modern Greek language, which took shape after the collapse of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. As a beginner, you can help yourself learn modern Greek with the basic phrases and a glossary of words for communication compiled in the book edition—Greek Phrasebook & Dictionary. The book edition, alongside the 3,500-word dictionary, is a great tool for all travellers, Greek language experts and beginners alike. The topics give travellers all the important information they need for their trip. This makes learning the language while exploring the Peloponnese fun and interesting.

To get an insight into the experience of a traveller who has already been to Greece and the Peloponnese peninsula, and to find out how she experienced the trip and what she saw, we suggest you read her travelogue Greece in Autumn.

Did you know?

• Greece is best known as the birthplace of the Olympic Games, democracy, and Western philosophy.
• The other official name for the European country of Greece is the Hellenic Republic.
• The Greek language developed with the arrival of Indo-European settlers in 2000 BC, leading to various dialect groups in the 1st millennium BC.
• The capital of the Peloponnese, located in the heart of the peninsula, is called Tripoli.
• The Peloponnesian Wars of the 5th century BC, with the victory of the city-state of Sparta over Athens, shifted military power from Athens to Sparta.
• Greek mythology is a collection of stories about Greek gods, heroes and rituals of classical antiquity and the ancient Greeks.
• The three most important ancient Greek philosophers of the 5th and 4th centuries BC are Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.