Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
by the Romans, looks oddly narrow from the road, but climb up to the top and it feels
immense. Estimated to have held 20,000 spectators - six thousand more than
Epidaurus - it is matched on the Greek mainland only by the theatres at Megalopolis
and Dodóna. Alongside are the remains of an
odeion
and
Roman baths
.
Above the site looms the ancient
acropolis
, on a conical hill capped by the largely
Frankish
medieval castle
of Lárissa (same hours; free),
built on sixth-century BC
foundations and later augmented by the Venetians and Turks. Massively walled, cisterned
and guttered, the sprawling ruins offer wonderful views - the reward for a long, steep
haul up, either on indistinct trails beyond the theatre, or a very roundabout road.
2
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
ÁRGOS
By bus
You may need to change buses in Árgos since some
connections are better than those in Náfplio. There are local
bus stops and a ticket kiosk on Kalléryi, at the southeast
corner of the market square near the Dhikastikó Katástima
building, for Mykínes and Nemea. Just around the corner,
on Kapodhistría, is a KTEL office for buses back towards
Athens, and for Trípoli, Spárti and south towards Leonídhio.
Destinations
Athens (6 daily; 2hr); Leonídhio (3 daily
Mon-Fri, 2 daily Sat & Sun; 2hr 15min); Mykínes (Mycenae,
3 daily; 30min); Náfplio (every 30min; 30min); Nemea (2
weekly; 1hr); Spárti (8 daily; 3hr); Tiryns (every 30min;
15min); Trípoli (4 daily Mon-Fri, 3 daily Sat & Sun; 1hr).
By taxi
Taxis leave from Fidhónos towards the ancient ruins.
Tiryns (Tírynthos)
Daily 8.30am-3pm • €3 • The site lies just east of the main Árgos-Náfplio road, and half-hourly local buses stop for passengers outside
In Mycenaean times the impressive fortress of
Tiryns
stood by the sea, commanding the
coastal approaches to Árgos and Mycenae. The Aegean shore gradually receded, leaving
it stranded on a low hillock, surrounded by citrus groves, and today next to a modern
prison. It's not the most enchanting of settings, which in part explains why this highly
accessible, substantial site is undeservedly neglected and relatively empty of visitors.
After the crowds at Mycenae, however, the opportunity to wander about Homer's
“wall-girt Tiryns” in near-solitude is worth taking.
The site
he
entrance
to the site is on the far side of the fortress from the road, from where you
can explore a restricted number of passages, staircases and the parts of the palace. The
walls, 750m long and up to 7m thick, formed of huge Cyclopean stones, dominate the
site; the Roman guidebook writer Pausanias found them “more amazing than the
Pyramids” - a claim that seems a little exaggerated today. Despite this, the
sophistication and defensive function of the citadel are evident as soon as you climb the
entrance ramp
. Wide enough to allow access to chariots, the ramp is angled to leave the
right-hand, unshielded side of any invading force exposed for the entire ascent. The
gateways
, too, constitute a formidable barrier; the outer one would have been similar
in design to Mycenae's Lion Gate.
Of the
palace
itself, only the limestone foundations survive, but the fact that they
occupy a level site gives you a clearer idea of its structure than at hilly, boulder-strewn
Mycenae. The walls would have been of sun-dried brick, stucco-covered and decorated
with frescoes, fragments of which are now in the Náfplio museum. From the forecourt
one enters a spacious
colonnaded court
with a round sacrificial altar in the middle. A
typically Mycenaean double porch leads directly ahead to the
megaron
(great hall),
where the base of a throne was found - it's now in the National Archeological Museum
in Athens. Some time in the sixth century BC part of the palace became the site of a
temple to Hera
, a structure whose column bases now pepper the ground.
Royal
apartments
lead off on either side; the women's quarters are thought to have been to the
right, while to the left is the bathroom, its floor - a huge, single flat stone - still intact.
A tower further of to the left of the megaron gives access to a
secret staircase
, as at
Mycenae, which winds down to an inconspicuous
postern gate
. The walled-in
lower
