European Weightlifting Championships 2003
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The rocky hill on which the Acropolis stands today was inhabited as early as the Neolithic times. Reduced to rubble by the Persians on the eve of the Battle of Salamis in 480 bc, it was rebuilt to sumptuous splendour by Pericles in the 5th Century bc. In addition to its most famous Parthenon, special mention must be made of two other surviving temples, of Athena Nike and the Erectheion, as well as the Propylaea, the entryway to the Acropolis.
Olympia is the birthplace and home of the ancient Olympic Games, established in the 13th Century bc and revived in the 19th Century ad. Olympia was also the site of a massive statue of Zeus, ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. At 260 kilometres from Loutraki, the ancient site, in an idyllic spot at the confluence of the Alpheus and Cladeus rivers, features the stadium and other ruins, as well as an excellent museum.
Founded, according to Homer’s 9th-Century Iliad and Odyssey, by Perseus, son of Danae and Zeus, Mycenae has been inhabited, according to historians, since Neolithic times. The surviving ruins of Agamemnon’s Palace (entered through the Lion Gates) is believed to date to the 14th Century bc. The archaeological site, some 60 kilometres from Loutraki, was excavated in the 1870s by German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann.
Epidaurus emerged in Ancient Greece as a sanctuary first to god Apollo and then to his son, Asclepius. Nowadays it is better known for its ancient theatre, one of the best-preserved archaeological marvels of Ancient Greece. The theatre, some 65 kilometres from Loutraki, is renowned for its acoustics and is still the site of performances of ancient drama during the annual Athens Festival, every July and August.
One of the greatest cities of Classical Greece, Corinth reached its peak in the 6th Century bc. Straddling the Isthmus, it had two ports, one each on the Aegean and Ionian Seas and excelled in commerce, before being destroyed in 146 bc by the Romans. Rebuilt in 44 bc by Julius Cesar, Corinth fell to new moral lows, despite Saint Paul’s fruitless attempts to bring its citizens back on the straight road in mid-1st Century ad.
Site of the most important Greek temple and the famous oracle of Apollo, Delphi (207 kilometres from Loutraki) is situated on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, with breathtaking views over the plain of Amphissa with its sea of olive trees and the Gulf of Corinth beyond. Delphi was considered by the ancient Greeks as the centre of the world, as marked by the Omphalos (navel), a stone now housed in the Delphi Archeological Museum.
Nauplion, 76 kilometres from Loutraki, was the first capital of the modern Greek state, from 1829 to 1834. The old town is a maze of narrow streets, flanked by Venetian and neoclassical buildings and shadowed by the fortress of Palamidi that towers above. Two other forts dominate Nauplion: The Acronauplia, on the waterfront, is the oldest of the three, dating as far back as the Bronze Age; the small island fortress of Bourtzi guards the entrance to the harbour.
Less than a 30-minute drive from Loutraki, Acrocorinth is the rocky outcrop that towers above ancient Corinth and used to serve as its acropolis. It has since been rebuilt and expanded during Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman periods, with traces of all these (including ancient Greek temples, Byzantine churches and Turkish mosques) still very much in evidence today. Visitors are rewarded for the hard climb to the top by exceptional views.
Just 16 kilometres north of Loutraki, lake Vouliagmeni (submerged, in Greek) is a peaceful gataway from the hustle and bustle of the cosmopolitan spa. Two kilometres long by one kilometre wide and with an estimated deapth of 40 metres, the lagoon was formed by the submersion of the land (hence the name). A 6-metre channel, cut in about 1880, now connects the lagoon with the sea. Various ancient settlemets have been excavated around the lake.
One kilometre beyond Lake Vouliagmeni lies the ancient sanctuary of Hera, the Heraion, founded in the early 8th Century bc. Two shrines to the goddess Hera were constructed, that of Hera Akraia (of the cape) and that of Hera Limenia (of the harbour). The sanctuary began to decline after Corinth was sacked by the Romans in 146 bc. The site was excavated in the early 1930s by the Athens British School of Archaeology.
Excavations to built a canal that would connect the Aegean and the Ionian Seas date as far back as the Roman age, with emperor Nero actually striking a first blow in ad 67. The project, however, was only completed in the 19th Century. Cut through solid rock, the canal is 23 metres wide and 6 kilometres long. Its opening in 1893 gave a new breath of life to the city of Athens, through its port of Piraeus. The canal is just a few minutes from Loutraki.
The 75cm-gauge Kalavryta Rack Railway begins its 22-kilometre ascent up the Vouraikos Gorge from the seaside village of Diakopton, 91 kilometres from Loutraki on the road to Patras. During its 70-minute ride the train gains almost 800 metres in altitude, crossing more than 20 bridges and running through 13. tunnels. The line was built in 1895 to give access to the village of Kalavryta to the sea.