There is a lot to see in the Peloponnese and the town of Corinth, or Korinthos, makes a good base. Ancient Corinth
is just a short ride away, but surprisingly, it is Roman, not Greek. The Romans destroyed it in 146 BC and
Julius Caesar rebuilt it 100 years later.
Judging from the size of the stoa, the Temple of Apollo, and the
number of marble statues, Ancient Corinth was a very prosperous town, indeed. And decadent, if you believe your Bible. This is where Paul, never the shy one when it came to reprimanding sinners, addressed the Corinthians.
Roman sculptors learned to carve from
their Greek predecessors then took the art to new levels. But it was the mosaics, not the statues
that most impressed us. They were
the Oriental carpets of the day.
The detail is amazing and the work involved was enormous – all for
something that would be walked on.
It was quite a ride through the mountains to Epidaurus, which was
Greek. Not much remains of this
ancient health resort except the huge theater, but a reconstruction project is
under way.
Ancient Mycenae lies in the opposite direction, about 60 km from
Corinth. This is the area where
Schliemann discovered many of the artifacts that we saw in the National
Archeological Museum. We always
enjoy seeing the actual sites where the artifacts were discovered, if only to
get a sense of place. A wrong turn
or three provided us with the bonus of seeing Zapfoli, said to be the most
beautiful town in the Peloponnese. I
thought it looked a lot nicer from the heights of the Venetian built Fortress
Palamidi than it did from the traffic clogged streets.
