This settlement, which begins its history as early as two thousand BC, is one of the most ancient cities in Europe. At the same time, Argos can boast of the fact that throughout its five thousandth history it has always been inhabited and existed as a populated city. Today Argos is one of the landmarks of Greece and a place of constant visits to tourists from all over the world. The main interest for travelers, of course, is the historical part of the city, which has many interesting exhibits. The city itself can be attributed to a whole historical monument with many interesting houses, sculptures and other attractions. Argos is located just a few kilometers from the sea, which by itself attracts tourists with the opportunity to combine relaxation on the beach with interesting and informative excursions.

Myself city ​​of Argos is not numerous, and only twenty-five thousand people live in it. Ancient Argos, like most other ancient Greek cities, it was located on the hills, between which there was a comfortable valley. In Argos, the hills of Aspid and Larissa were such heights. Ancient Argos its history is closely connected with the mythological king Adrast, who glorified his city after the decline of Mycenae and Tirinth. The campaigns of King Adrastus against the city of Thebes became popular subjects in ancient Greek theaters and glorified Argos throughout Greece.

Ancient Argos was the center of Greek life and changing civilizations, which later moved to the territory of modern Greece. Due to the fact that it has always remained inhabited, it has preserved many architectural monuments in good condition.

The main asset of the ancient architecture is its theater, built in the fourth century BC. This unique building piece of art was completely hewn out of the rock and held over twenty thousand spectators. In subsequent years, the theater was rebuilt by the Romans, who conquered along with all of Greece. The Romans used the theater for gladiatorial fights.

His fortress is considered, which is located just five kilometers from the city on the Larissa hill. Tourists who come to see this fortress, first of all, pay attention to its location. Since the fortress is located on a hill near the Aegean Sea, an unforgettable view of the surrounding area opens from its top. A gorgeous view opens up due to the fact that the fortress is located at an altitude of three hundred meters above sea level. For the first time, the fortress was erected in the sixth century BC, but later it was rebuilt many times, and it was owned by different states - Byzantines, Greeks, Turks, Venetians, and others. Due to this, elements of different cultures and building ideas are present in the architecture of the fortress. The fortress is now free for tourists.

Also of note is the archaeological museum, which has many interesting ancient Greek, antique and later artifacts. The museum consists of several parts, built at different times, has in its collection a number of interesting sculptures, among which the sculpture of Hercules stands out, as well as many exhibits of ancient Greek weapons and clothing.

In addition to these interesting places in Argos, tourists will also be offered to visit its other attractions, such as the ancient market - the agora and the ancient courthouse, the ruins of Roman baths, and many other interesting places. On the opposite hill of Argos, there are the Mycenaean chamber tombs with the ancient sanctuary of Dirad a.

As you can see, a trip to the ancient Greek city of Argos will not only be exciting and interesting, but will also allow you to combine business with pleasure, that is, excursions with the opportunity to relax on the beaches of the wonderful Aegean Sea.

Ballet in Greece: how it was then and how it is today

And he keeps his way to the shining splendor of Athens (part 4)

In the morning, it turns out that the National Archaeological Museum is open from midday on Mondays. Therefore, I decide to go to Piraeus, which has long become just a district of Athens. From the city center by metro they take there for 0.7 euros and more and more on the surface. In Piraeus, the metro station looks like an ordinary suburban railway station (half of Finland). Leaving the station, guided by the Sun, I come to the port. Fishermen with fishing rods are sitting on the piers. A policeman leans out from a passing jeep up to his waist and says that it is impossible to shoot in the port for security reasons. “Okay,” I say and, having removed the pentaprism, I put the camera on the trunk on my stomach, which allows me to take pictures without being noticed by others. At one of the berths there is something like our river tram, adjusted for sailing on the sea.

Climate of Greece

The climate of Greece is particularly mild, with warm, humid winters and hot, slightly dry summers. The swimming season in Greece lasts more than five months - from mid-May to the velvet season at the end of October. When is the best time to travel Greece? Experienced travelers strongly recommend not to miss April and early May - at this time, nature takes on a special, charming and delicate beauty, the sun has not yet come into full force, and gives pleasant warmth, not summer heat.

About Crete. Historical development

The historical development of Crete has determined the geographical location of the island. Crete is located at the crossroads of three parts of the world - Europe, Asia and Africa. According to archaeological excavations, the first appearance of man on the island dates back to the Paleolithic period.

Pella - Macedonian capital

The sources do not contain the exact date of the transfer of the capital of Ancient Macedonia from Aegus to Pella, just as there is no name of the one who did it. However, most likely, this happened in the 5th century. BC e. during the reign of King Archelaus. The name of the new Macedonian capital is traditionally derived from the word πέλλα (Old Macedonian “stone”).

In this article we will tell you about what the Greek city is famous for. Argos. Geographically, this polis is revered not only in its own country, but also in Europe, as the oldest and constantly inhabited city: it is 5,000 years old. He was inferior in these qualities to the Bulgarian Plovdiv and the Italian Mantua.

Argos, a city in (pictured), is located on a huge peninsula Peloponnese... This statement is somewhat controversial, since this part of the land has been washed from all sides since 1893, and not from three, as is customary for peninsulas.

Why do tourists "slow down" at Corinth?

The fact is that a very long time ago the Peloponnese was connected to the mainland of Greece by the Corinth Isthmus, forty-two kilometers long. Which corresponded to the term "peninsula".

But for more than one and a half thousand years in the minds of the rulers of Ancient Hellas and Sparta () the thought was constantly spinning: how to shorten the path of passage from the Aegean Sea to the Ionian Sea and back? By modern standards, ships bypass the peninsula is 400 kilometers. And the isthmus at its narrowest point was only six kilometers wide.

The canal began to be dug under the Corinthian tyrant Periander, with many work stoppages from 700 BC until the opening in 1893. Whoever did not participate in its design and construction: Julius Caesar, Caligula, Nero, various companies of the Middle Ages. Until it was completed in 1893 by the Greek company of the banker and philanthropist Andreas Singra.

By the way, it was the priests of the temples of the town Corinth they were against digging the canal: the transport artery deprived them of extortions from the merchants. Indeed, even before the construction of the waterway parallel to it, first slaves, and then hired workers dragged small merchant ships from one sea to another.

The project was developed by the same Hungarian civil engineers Istvan Tyrr and Bela Gerster, according to whose drawings the Panama Canal was built. Their latest case looks very impressive. It is almost a hundred meters in height (from the bottom of the channel) canyon with sheer limestone walls and the length of the entire width of the isthmus. The depth of the water is about ten meters.

Doubts that Periander had that the difference in the water levels of the two seas would flood large areas were dispelled by the practical use of the canal. True, today its economic importance both for the peninsula and for the state has decreased, since huge ships, 25 meters wide, do not turn here. Large-tonnage, but fitting into the dimensions of the canal, sea transport goes along it, but not on diesel engines, but on the tug of a pilot ship. So that the vibrations of the water from the powerful propeller do not erode the walls of the canal.

Why did we stop at the story about Corinth Canal? Tourists travel to the Peloponnese peninsula to view the ancient artifacts of Sparta, Argos and other cities, as well as try to light a fire from the rays of the sun in Olympia. How do they do it every time for the start of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

But all excursions from Athens and autotourists stop in the town of Corinth and inspect the canal, the bridges across it, because all this came from antiquity and antiquity to our century. This channel is no worse than the ancient exotic.

History of Argos and attractions

So, you got behind the wheel of your car, turned on the GPS-navigator, set the final destination of your journey - the city of Argos. And on the way.

How to get from?

As indicated in the guide, the distance is about one hundred and thirty kilometers. That is, it takes about an hour and a half to drive along good European roads, except for the time spent on the Corinth Canal.

To the town of Corinth you will take the E94 motorway, after which you will take the E65. In the town of Stern, your GPS-navigator will signal a left turn, and here is Argos. You will still see it from afar, it will "appear" on a low-hilly plain, and the highest point - five kilometers from it - is the Larissa fortress.

The history of Argos is inextricably linked with the Peloponnese and the Mycenaean civilization.

The most ancient settlements of the peninsula and cities were founded by the Achaeans, they were replaced by the Dorians.

The latter founded warlike states on the peninsula; the strongest was Sparta, which agitated the tribes and peoples around. Both the Athenians and Argos. Although both Sparta and Argos lived the same tribes - the Dorians. But there were ambitious authorities in Sparta, they wanted to rule everywhere. It doesn't matter who lives there.

From the fourth century BC, the peninsula was ruled by the Romans, Byzantines and Venetians. Middle Ages were also restless. The Turks were the most annoying. The peninsula became Greek only in 1820 after the revolution.

Argos is located in the center of an almost desolate valley in Greece, on the tops of several low hills. Since there are no other hills here, as in other territories of the Peloponnese, fortifications were erected on the hills of Aspid and Larissa.

In the Peloponnese, cities with ancient glory, but some have lost it (the same Olympia, Sparta), others are abandoned - Tiryns. Therefore, the role of the center of the Argolids passed to Argos, a city in Greece, where the antica is located on a hill.

He was on the move towards civilization over three large time periods. The heyday came at the time of the dominance of geometry. Mainly in pictorial subjects - in architecture, pottery: cubes, triangles and other ornaments of geometry, Euclidean or non-Euclidean, it does not matter.

The kings ruled in the polis. Their rule comes from a descendant Hercules... There were so many kings that one list of dynasties contains a dozen surnames, and in each of them there are many noble names. Moreover, long-livers by the time of reign - from forty to fifty years. Sparta lost its power in 371 BC. e. Therefore, Argos terminated the agreement with the Peloponnesian Union and became on a par with Athens.

There are sanctuaries in the cities of Greece. The Hera specimen in Argos belongs to antiquity. It's kind of like an inauguration hall. In Hera, Agamemnon was elected commander of the campaign to. After the fire, Hera was rebuilt, but it is similar to the solemn ceremonial ensembles of those times.

Larissa

This is the name of the daughter (stress on the first syllable) of one king fortress in Argos, the oldest in the world. The remains are visible on the hill of the same name at an altitude of almost three hundred meters above sea level.

Today the fortress is not guarded and has lost its former beauty, but not tourists. Lovers of antiquity literally crawl on their knees both along the massive walls and in the courtyard, often arguing with each other: is it antiquity or the Middle Ages?

The fortress has many underground passages, fortunately closed with bars. Otherwise, archaeologists would have to be called in to search for the missing members of the excursion. Artifacts from the fortress and other territories of Argos are kept in the city museum.

Argos on the map

Argos (Greek) is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese.

Story

The mythological history of the city is closely connected with King Adrast and his campaigns against Thebes, which became one of the favorite subjects of the ancient Greek tragedians. "Seven Against Thebes" the failed campaign of seven heroes against Thebes, in which all the heroes died, except for Adrastus. The Epigones' campaign is a successful campaign of the children of the fallen heroes. One of the central characters in Homer's Iliad is Diomedes, grandson of Adrastus, king of Argos, dependent on Agamemnon, king of Mycenae.

Like the entire Peloponnese, Argos was captured by the Dorians, while Argos was probably the first center for strengthening Dorian power in the Peloponnese. The indigenous population of the region lived in the state of perieks. The royal power in Argos is descended from Temen, a descendant of Hercules. Of the rulers of Argos, the figure of Fidon stands out, who probably ruled in the VIII-VII centuries. BC e. He led an active offensive policy, subduing Argolis, the island of Aegina. After him, tyrants are known: Perillus and Arhin. Despite their common Dorian ancestry, Argos was Sparta's constant military rival.

In the III century. BC. the tyrants Arhin and Lafaes are known, then Aristippus I, his son Aristomachus I. Aristomachus I died in the course of a conspiracy in 241 BC. and power passed to his sons, first to Aristippus II, then to Aristomachus II. Aristippus II died in 235 BC. in the battle at Mycenae with Arat Sikion.

The city was one of the cult centers of worship of the goddess Hera. The sanctuary of Hera - Gereyon was located not far from Argos, on a mountain terrace. The first temple, probably built in the 8th century. BC e., was one of the first Greek temples built according to the peripter scheme. The temple kept lists of priestesses of the goddess, which the Greek historians Gellanicus and Thucydides used as a starting point for chronology.

Personalities

• Jarvis, George, a famous American philhellene, died in the city in 1828 and is buried along with other participants in the Greek Liberation War of 1821-1829. and phylellines in the church of St. John

Geography

The city is located in the center of a fertile valley on the tops of the hills of Aspid and Larissa, on which there were two citadels. The city was located near the ancient cities of Mycenae and Tiryns, which are known from the poems of Homer as the kingdom of Agamemnon, but were already destroyed in the historical era, their role as the center of Argolis passed to Argos.

Argos (Greek Άργος) is a city in Greece, in the Peloponnese. The third most ancient city in Europe (after Plovdiv and Mantua).

The city is located in the center of the driest valley in Greece, on the tops of the hills of Aspid (Prophet Elijah) and Larissa, on which there were two citadels. The city was located near the ancient cities of Mycenae and Tiryns, which are known from the poems of Homer as the kingdom of Agamemnon, but in the historical era were already abandoned, their role as the center of Argolis passed to Argos.

Story

The founding of the city dates back to 2000 BC. e.

The main periods of the heyday of Argos are considered the Late Middle Helladic, Early Mycenaean, and the Geometric period.

The mythological history of the city is closely connected with King Adrast and his campaigns against Thebes, which became one of the favorite subjects of the ancient Greek tragedians. "Seven Against Thebes" - a failed campaign of heroes, in which everyone died, except for Adrastus. The Epigones' campaign is a successful campaign of the children of the fallen heroes. One of the central characters in Homer's Iliad is Diomedes, grandson of Adrastus, king of Argos, dependent on Agamemnon, king of Mycenae.

Like the entire Peloponnese, Argos was captured by the Dorians, while Argos was probably the first center for strengthening Dorian power in the Peloponnese. The indigenous population of the region lived in the state of perieks. The royal power in Argos is descended from Temen, a descendant of Hercules. Of the rulers of Argos, the figure of Fidon stands out, who probably ruled in the VIII-VII centuries. BC e. He led an active offensive policy, subduing Argolis, the island of Aegina. After him, tyrants are known: Perillus and Arhin. Despite their common Dorian ancestry, Argos was Sparta's constant military rival.

After the defeat of the Spartans at Leuctra in 371 BC. e. Argos withdrew from the Peloponnesian Union and entered into a treaty with Athens, and the following year, a massive massacre of the oligarchs, known as Argos wandering, took place in the city.

In the III century. BC e. the tyrants Arhin and Lafaes are known, then Aristippus I, his son Aristomachus I. Aristomachus I died in the course of a conspiracy in 241 BC. e. and power passed to his sons, first to Aristippus II, then to Aristomachus II. Aristippus II died in 235 BC. e. in the battle at Mycenae with Arat Sikion.

sights

• Fortress Acropolis on Larissa Hill.
• Prophet Elijah Hill
• Amphitheater, the largest theater in BC e.
• Agora
• Archaeological Museum
• Sanctuary of Hera. The city was one of the cult centers of worship of the goddess Hera. The sanctuary of Hera - Gereyon was located not far from Argos, on a mountain terrace. The first temple, probably built in the 8th century. BC e., was one of the first Greek temples built according to the peripter scheme. The temple kept lists of priestesses of the goddess, which the Greek historians Gellanicus and Thucydides used as a starting point for chronology.
• Sanctuary of Apollo and Athena

Argos was founded 5,000 years ago being one of the oldest cities in Greece

and, in general, all over Europe, with a rich history and archaeological sites, without changing its location since its inception.

Argos is located on the road axle Mycenae - Nafplio - Epidaurus, 135 km from Athens, being connected with them by roads and railways.

Today it the largest city in the Argolis nome with a population of 24,239 inhabitants, which has a developed industry and large agricultural production, specializing in packaging and packaging of agricultural products.

Argos has many archaeological sites, including Ancient theater IV century BC... The amphitheater, with a capacity of 20,000 seats, is carved into the rock. In the same area there are Roman Baths, Ancient Odeon, Ancient Agora and Judgment (Critirio).

On the Larissa hill, west of the city, located medieval fortress and the historic church Blessed Virgin Mary of Katakekrimmeni or, as it is also called, Portocalusa standing on a hillside complements this idyllic landscape.

The church is called Katakekrimmeni ("hidden") in connection with the legend telling about the old icon of the Most Holy Theotokos hidden in a cave, next to a later built temple. But the second name "Portocalus" is directly related to the old custom, according to which the Argives "showered" with oranges the newlyweds who visited the monastery on the day of the celebration. Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos which took place November 21.

A little north of Argos is Aspid hill, with the prehistoric sanctuary of Dirad and with the Mycenaean chamber tombs.

Despite the huge number of ancient monuments, Argos is a modern lively city with a fast pace of life. Of particular interest are neoclassical buildings- such as the Municipal Palace, the Palace of Constantinopulio and the two-story mansion of the Greek diplomat, politician and Greek Prime Minister Charilaos Tricupi.

Today Argos is an important urban, economic and commercial center of Argolis. Here everyone can choose to their liking types of recreation and entertainment.

In the central square of the city there is a magnificent St. Peter's Church (Agiu Petru) laid down on July 17, 1859 in the presence of the first King Otto of Greece(the building is made in the style of a domed basilica).

In Argos, one can also visit the Plaza of the Court, in the back of which is the Magistrate's Court of the region.

For many years Argos has been the largest shopping center in the district, with numerous shops, restaurants and cafes located both in the central square and throughout the city.

One of the many traditions of the city is the street market (laiki agora).

One of the largest street bazaars in Greece takes place twice a week in Argos. Numerous stalls are stocked with local agricultural produce, clothing and household items. Thousands of people, regardless of age and income, come here to experience the "true face" of Argos.

Argos is considered the most ancient city in Europe, its history goes back over 5000 years. The Argos fortress, located just 5 km from the center of Argos, is considered one of the oldest in the world. It is sometimes called the Larissa fortress after the same name of the hill on which it is located. The hill itself got its name in honor of the daughter of Pelasgus, the founder of Argos. The Larissa Fortress is located at an altitude of 298 meters above sea level. The fortress offers a gorgeous view of the city and the Aegean Sea.

The very first fortress of Argos was founded in the 6th century BC. In the Middle Ages, a castle was built in the central part of the hill on ancient ruins. Convenient location, proximity to the sea and a beautiful fertile valley stretching at the foot of the hill have always attracted conquerors. Throughout its history, the fortress has repeatedly changed its owners, each of whom renovated it and completed the construction. At different times, the fortress was inhabited by Greeks, Byzantines, Crusaders, Venetians and Turks.

During the Byzantine period, the fortress was of great strategic importance. From the 13th century, the crusaders ruled here. In 1388, this territory came under the control of the Venetians until 1463, when the Turks seized power. Except for a short period of time from 1686 to 1715, when the fortress was under the control of the Venetian admiral Morosini, the Turks owned the fortress until 1822.

The fortress consists of an inner castle with its fortifications and an outer fortress with massive walls. These are mainly medieval fortifications with towers of various shapes, although some fragments of the walls belong to the antique period. Also on the territory of the fortress you can see the underground passages, which are now closed with bars. During archaeological excavations at the beginning of the 20th century, the Byzantine Church of the Virgin Mary, built by Bishop Nikita of Argos in the middle of the 12th century, was also discovered here. The centuries-old history and numerous owners turned the fortress into an interesting structure, in which many eras and cultures were closely intertwined.

Today the ruins of the fortress are not guarded and are free to visit. You can climb the top of the hill either on foot or by car.