Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
during the Trojan War. Agamemnon and his brother Menelaus married Clytemnes-
tra and Helen respectively, both daughters of the King of Sparta.
According to legend, Paris, the son of the Trojan king, stole Helen away. This was
the catalyst for the Trojan War, as Agamemnon called on Greek princes to unite in a
war of revenge. Around this time Artemis, the goddess of hunting, also sought re-
venge from Agamemnon and stalled the departing warships with adverse winds. To
make peace with Artemis, Agamemnon was forced to sacrifice his daughter, Iphi-
genia. Artemis set the seas right again, and the Greek ships sailed for Troy, where a
10-year siege ensued. In the war's final year, Agamemnon had a jealous quarrel
with Achilles over the attentions of a captive female, which could have cost the
Greeks the war.
Finally, however, Agamemnon returned home victorious with his war spoils,
which included the Trojan princess Cassandra. His victory was short-lived; on his
return home he was murdered by his wife and her lover, Aegisthus. Years later
Agamemnon's daughter, Electra, and her brother, Orestes, avenged their father's
death by murdering Aegisthus and Clytemnestra.
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NafplioΝαύπλιο
POP 14,200
Nafplio, located 12km southeast of Argos on the Argolic Gulf, is one of Greece's pretti-
est and most romantic towns. It occupies a knockout location - on a small port beneath
the towering Palamidi fortress - and is graced with attractive narrow streets, elegant
Venetian houses, neoclassical mansions and interesting museums. Both overseas visitors
and weekending Athenians flock to this lively, upwardly mobile place. It's full of quay-
side cafes, posh boutiques and many comfortable hotels and guesthouses (but it does get
somewhat overcrowded in high season and holidays).
Nafplio was the first capital of Greece after Independence (between 1833 and 1834)
and has been a major port since the Bronze Age. So strategic was its position that it had
three fortresses - the massive principal fortress of Palamidi, the smaller Akronafplia and
the diminutive Bourtzi on an islet west of the old town.
With good bus connections and services, the town is an ideal base from which to ex-
plore many nearby ancient sites.
