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Cradle of Greece
  • Tim Lynette Wilkins
  • Tim Lynette Wilkins

Cradle of Greece

A 17-day adventure by Tim Lynette Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 10, 2026
    Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler

    Arrived Athens

    September 10 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Our flight was delayed but still got into Athens in good time and they dont seem to doing the EU new bio checks so passport control was really quick. Our hotel rooftop bar has good views .Early start tomorrow to the parthenon,.Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler
    First view of Parthenon from East entrance to Acropolis
    First view of Parthenon from East entrance to AcropolisGreek theatre of DionysiusStoa of EumenesRoman theatre on slope of acropolisCrowds trying to enter the Acropolis through the PropyleonParthenonTemple of Athena Nike built on Myceanian remainsPortico of the caryatids (copies)ErectheonPnyxView of acropolis from the PnyxStatue of an owl - a symbol of AthenaThe real caryatids in the museumHead of Alexander the Great

    Acropolis

    September 11 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Today has been exhausting but worth it. We started at 8.00 and walked to the Acropolis. The aim of the early start was to avoid the worst of the crowds but that didnt seem to work. I have been here 3 times before and never seen such congestion. At several narrow points there were queues and hordes of people. Nevertheless our achaeologist guide Rita managed to show us many parts we had missed before and explained its evolution from a Myceanian fortification in 13c BC through the Greek periods to the Roman. It is still so impressive- both the art/architecture and the technology.
    We then walked in blazing 34c heat and sun to the Pnyx - an open space on a small hill where democracy was invented.

    We had a well earned break for lunch at an old style taverna then conti ued at the New Acropolis Museum - a lovely space with some beautiful statues from archaic to classical. And of course, a whole floor dedicated to the Parthenon sculptures with plaster casts where the BM has the originals. We have come to believe that they should be returned either permanently or on loan as the new gallery would really do them justice.
    We only got back to the hotel at 16.45 - almost 9 hours on our feet!    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler
    "Mask of agamemnon". Mycenian 16th c bc - before Agamemnon
    "Mask of agamemnon". Mycenian 16th c bc - before AgamemnonOlympic stadiumTemple in the agoraView over the agoraAncient randomising machineModern copyChild's potty . 6th c bcBulls head Ryton. Mycenian but minoan style 16th c bcDagger inlayed with lion hunting scene. Mycenian.Cycladic jug. 2500 bcCycladic figure 2500 bcMusicians playing in the street outside the museum

    Athens stadium, agora and museum

    September 12 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Today involved less walking as the minibus took us between sights, but the 36c heat with no breeze made it gruelling. We started this morning with a quick visit to the stadium where the first modern Olympic games where held and where lots of the recent Athens Olympics were. It was built on the ruins of the stadium where the panathenaic games were held in 500bc. Then to the ancient agora, a huge open space (now) which was the centre of ancient life, full of statues, temples and administration buildings. One of the stoa of the agora was rebuilt and now houses a museum of the artifacts that were found there. Small but very nice. It also has a modern model of the machine used for randomising the selection of citizens for being used on juries and other public activities. Very clever.

    Then to the roman agora , very boring, and to the National Archaeological museum that houses things right from prehistory so ottoman times. It's like trying to take in the British museum in one go, so Rita just concentrated on a few things, then we have a whole day free at the end of the tour for us to go back and see it all again!

    Leaving Athens tomorrow to go to the pelponnese, via corinth.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler
    Tim at the Corinth canal
    Tim at the Corinth canalGreek temple of Apollo about 500BCThe Peirene fountain fed by natural springsThe platform where St Paul preached to the CorinthiansRemains of the Roman Road to the seaArchaic style sphinx from 575BCRoman glass bowlRoman mosaic in the museumVenetian fort on hill behind NafplionVenetian fort on an island off Nafplion

    Leaving Athens for the Peloponnese

    September 13 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    This morning we checked out of our hotel in Athens and drove for an hour and a half to Corinth, stopping at the canal on the way for a photo. Our main site today was ancient Corinth which, in honesty, is a bit of a messy site. Apparently there are 10 layers of habitation from prehistory to Frankish in the 12c AD. Most of what you can see now is Roman as the Greek town was flattened by the Romans in about 150BC and then a new Roman town built on it nearly a 100 years later. With the help of Rita we hunted out the main Greek bits which were sadly underwhelming. However the site museum has some lovely pieces from all the eras.
    After lunch we drove to Nafplion where we stay for the next 4 nights. Nafplio is mainly a Venetian town with a marble paved pedestrian centre, some remaining buildings and 2 forts.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler
    Walls of Tiryns
    Walls of TirynsBowl from Tiryns 2000 bcMycenian 13th c bcFrom tiryns 700 bcGlass jars 450 bcTiryns wallsCorbelled galleriesMacedonian bridge. Not bad still standing after 3000 years!Theatre at EpidaurusView across EpidaurusStadium for games held at EpidaurusBuilding where the sick were treated

    Tiryns and Epidavros

    September 14 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    We woke to a cloudy sky and during breakfast on the roof terrace the heavens opened and there was a downpour complete with rainbow. Despite some sunshine during the day it continued to threaten but not actually rain until dinner time when there was a persistent drizzle.
    We started at the Nafplion museum which is a grand three story venetian building of the 17 hundreds. It contains fine objects from all over the Argolid cities and from all eras from paleolithic tools from cave dwellings around 28000bc through to Roman period. One thing it demonstrated was the strong influence of the Minoans on the Myceanians.

    Then to the city of Tiryns, a Mycenian city 1700bc to 1100bc with spectular defensive walls up to 10 metres high, and generally 6 metres thick but in places over 17 metres thick. The technology of the massive blocks used in the walls with spacers to allow for earthquake and the corbelled vaulting in the galleries was very impressive!
    On the way to Epidaurus we stopped to see a Myceanian bridge which used the same corbelling.
    Epidaurus, though occupied earlier, is mainly a classical Greek site from 600bc to Roman. It's main fame nowadays is the large well preserved Greek theatre, with superb acoustics, still used for performances each summer. But in ancient times is was known as a centre of healing with the cult of Asklepios. The sick were given soporific drinks to make them dream and on waking were either cured or the dream was interpreted to discover how to treat them. This could include surgery or being licked by snakes or dogs! The museum has some rather alarming surgical instruments. The site is enormous and we needed Rita to make sense of all the remains.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler
    Midea cyclopian walls
    Midea cyclopian wallsView of fertile plains from MideaTholos tomb at Dendra (missing its roof)Chamber tomb at DendraInside a chamber tombThree levels of temples at Argive HeraionWater source and fountainCarving of 2 birds4c Temple in the middle level

    Midea, Dendra and Argive Heraion

    September 15 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    This morning we visited three sites, none of which were exciting but each had some interest. All morning there was heavy low cloud sometimes dropping as light drizzle. The first site, Midea, is another Myceanian acropolis with Cyclopean walls but not much survives inside.
    The second site Dendra is the cemetery the rulers on Midea. It has one tholos (beehive shaped stone structure) told and several chamber tombs. All of these were un-robbed and provided incredibly rich grave goods that we have seen in the National and Nafplion museums. These date from the 16th to 13th centuries bc.
    The third site was not a settlement site but a sanctuary dedicated to Hera through all periods from Myceanian through to Roman. The site today contains the remains of 3 temples dating from 7c bc, 4c bc and 2c bc from highest to lowest on a hillside visible from most surrounding settlements.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler
    Lion gate entrance to Mycenae
    Lion gate entrance to MycenaeCyclopian wallsGrave circle A with shaft tombsPalace areaEntrance to 'secret passage' 100 steps down to a cisternEntrance to tholos called 'treasury of Atreus' by SchleimannInside tholosEntrance to tholos called 'tomb of Klytimnestra'Inside tholosVotive figures in museumFresco from palace very similar to MinoanCarved ivory head 2500 bc

    Mycenae

    September 15 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We have been to Mycenae before 25 years ago when it was pouring with rain making the steep stone ramps so slippy we could hardly get past the lion gate. So on our return today it started raining just as we arrived! Thankfully it was just an annoying drizzle and didn't prevent us from seeing the whole site. As with other Myceanian sites it has cyclopian walls and a palace area at the highest point. Unusually, it has burials within the walls and tholos tombs close by. All the tholos tombs were robbed in antiquity but some of the shaft tombs were intact and had fabulous grave goods including the "Mask of Agamemnon". No-one knows if Agamemnon actually existed. Mycenae undoubtedly had rulers and Greeks in the 6c bc thought Agamemnon was one but there is no evidence. If he did exist and took part in a war with Troy, it would have been 100 years after the mask was buried.
    Despite the weather we really enjoyed the visit to the site and the small museum there.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler
    Sanctuary of Athena Alia 2th c bc
    Sanctuary of Athena Alia 2th c bcPediment sculpture 350 bcBronze fish 600 bcSarcophagus fragment showing Achilles dragging the body of Hector around TroyTheatre masks in Sparta museumMosaic of masksSupposed statue of AgamemnonMoulds for measuring liquids with plugs in the bottomDisappointing theatre in Sparta13c AD church in MistrasFresco in churchRestored palace in Mystras

    Tegea, Sparta and Mystras

    September 16 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Mostly a dull day, not only in that it drizzled rain most of the morning, but also with long drives and not very exciting sites.

    Firstly to the 4th and 2nd century BC Sanctuary of Athena Alea at Tegea, along with its museum. The museum is modern and has some nice stuff from the sanctuaries and surrounding area. The sanctuary itself is quite small consisting of the remains of an older temple from the 4th century BC, destroyed by an earthquake, and remains of the newer one 2nd century BC. The site is quite marshy and overgrown, and it was locked but we got the key from the museum. (OK this was quite interesting!)

    On to Sparta which we were quite excited to see, being one of the main cities of ancient Greece and combatants of the Trojan war, and home to king Menaleus and his queen Helen ( of Sparta and then Troy). Sadly there is almost nothing to see there now. We trudged in the rain to see the huge amphitheatre but it is now only a few rows of stone seats with the rest just earth banking, and in any case it's roman! Even the museum was dull and old-fashioned.

    On to the 14th and 15th (AD) Byzantine city of Mystras . A nice basilica which was reused as a mosque by the ottomans, but which still has nice frescoes of the life of Mary. And a Byzantine palace which has been extensively "restored ".    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler
    Two storey house from 2600 BC
    Two storey house from 2600 BCStaircase in housePithoi in storage areaArgos theatre in hillsideTheatreNamea dis-robing roomEntry to the tunnel to the stadiumAncient graffiti in tunnelExit into the stadiumThe starting line for the racesTemple of ZeusView of acropolis from restaurant

    Last day of tour

    September 17 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    For our last day the sun has returned and we visited 3 sites. First was something quite different. At Lerna the visible remains are from 2600 BC. It is a large 2 storey house built of mud brick that was burnt in a fire baking and preserving the mud bricks. The ground floor was for storage, probably for a community, and the upper floor thought to be for residential. It is not known who the people were that occupied it, nor the successive waves of people that came after them.
    We then visited Argos, from which the whole Argolid area is named but, like Sparta, very little remains are visible. There is an impressive large theatre cut into the rock of the hillside and a Roman bath house built by Hadrian, which was closed.
    The final site was beautiful and peaceful with few visitors - Namea. It was not a settlement but the site of one of the Panhellenic games held every 2 years. A well preserved stadium complete with tunnel from the dis-robing room (they raced naked) and a picturesce temple. They now run revival games every 4 years that anyone can take part in (wearing white tunics!).
    After a sumptuous lunch at a restaurant run by a winery (Namea is famous for its wine) we headed back to Athens and had a generous farewell dinner at a lovely rooftop restaurant. (Bad scheduling). A really good tour with an excellent archaeologist.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler
    Orthodox church opposite hotel
    Orthodox church opposite hotelReed decorated pottery from Thera (Santorini)Early bronze age vaseGold jewellery found at TroyCycladic figurine 2500BCMore figurinesGrave goods from Paros 3000BCVases from Akrotiri on SantoriniRoom frescoes from Santorini

    Last day in Athens

    September 18 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    The tour broke up last night everyone getting their transport to the airport this morning. Not us though, we checked out of the hotel and got a taxi across the city to another hotel near to the archaeological museum. So in case we hadn't had enough of museums we did another afternoon in the archaeological museum seeing the things we didnt get to see on the tour. As usually seems to happen some of the rooms we wanted to see were closed, but it was worth another visit. One good thing about the new hotel - in addition to providing bottles of water, we each were given a 180 cc bottle of red wine. So this evening in the sun on our balcony ....

    Tomorrow we catch the ferry for the journey to Paros and a few days peace and relaxation at Stella's. I haven't been taken by Athens, although the archaeological stuff is interesting, the modern city is frantic, noisy and rather thread-bare, a bit dirty and with graffiti everywhere.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler

    Back to Stella's

    September 19 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    Easy journey today, taxi to the port of Rafina, lunch in the sun, big comfortable ferry from rafina to andros, tinos, mykonos and paros and a taxi to Stella's and a big welcome hug!

    Drinks by the pool and a Stella dinner, fantastic!Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler

    Last day at Stella's

    September 24 in Greece ⋅ 🌬 21 °C

    We have done very little in the last few days - just a walk north to the headland and to the harbour in the other direction. We had intended to go down to the beach but the sea has been too rough to swim and the waves left very little of the beach dry. Two days were partial cloud and it rained one evening so the electricity went off for an hour, thankfully not before they had cooked our dinner. So it's been lazing on our terrace or around the pool, swimming and of course, eating. We have tried most things on the menu and they are as delicious as usual but the main courses are more limited than before. Stella is not cooking herself anymore except for the cooking classes she runs most days. Just waiting for the taxi to take us to Parikia for our last 2 days.Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsCradle of GreeceTraveler
    Sunset in Parikia
    Sunset in ParikiaThe type of Seajet catamaran we came on

    Last 2 days

    September 25 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Our hotel in Parikia has been unexpectedly delightful. It's right in the centre but the soundproofing is excellent. The rooms are compact but have everything you need and, even more unusual, just where you want them. It has a shaded courtyard that is very pretty and peaceful. They also include an excellent breakfast!
    Today we repeated visits to the museum and the Orthodox church, dating originally from the 6c, reputedly funded by Helena, mother of Constantine. The museum has had some updating since we were last here in 2021 and there is a whole room devoted to finds from Despotiko - the uninhabited island off Antiparos that we were lucky enough to visit on our last trip.
    We had a delicious dinner on the sea front watching the sunset.
    Return to reality tomorrow with a flight back via Athens.    Read more

    Trip end
    September 26, 2026