Archaeological Site of Mycenae and Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Archaeological Site of Mycenae

   The Lion Gate is the thing everyone remembers. Two stone lionesses, facing each other across a central column, stand over the entrance to the citadel, carved some three and a half thousand years ago in the Bronze Age, and the walls beside the gate are built of boulders so huge that later Greeks thought only the Cyclopes could have lifted them. Inside is a royal burial ground, the Grave Circles, where in 1876 the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann found gold masks and weapons, and declared that he had looked upon the face of Agamemnon. The mask is older than Agamemnon would have been, but the name stuck.

   Read the complete Archaeological Site of Mycenae write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Archaeological Site of Mycenae is where the day begins. Next is Archaeological Site of Tiryns.

2. 2. Archaeological Site of Tiryns

   Homer called it Tiryns of the great walls, and when you stand next to them you see that he was not exaggerating. The citadel rises from a low limestone ridge in the Argolid plain, and its walls are built of blocks so enormous that later Greeks decided only the Cyclopes, one-eyed giants, could have lifted them. The name stuck: Cyclopean masonry. Tiryns was one of the great centres of the Mycenaean world in the late Bronze Age, linked in legend to Heracles, who was said to have served its king, and its galleries are the best part. These long corridors are roofed with corbelled stone vaults, their walls polished smooth over the centuries by sheep sheltering from the weather.

   Read the complete Archaeological Site of Tiryns write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Archaeological Site of Tiryns comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus.

3. 3. Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus

   Drop a coin in the centre of the orchestra at Epidaurus and people sitting in the top row, fifty-odd rows above, will hear it. The theatre of the sanctuary of Asklepios, built in the fourth century BC, is famous for its acoustics and its almost perfect state of preservation, and it still hosts performances of ancient drama during the summer festival. But the theatre was only part of the sanctuary. Epidaurus was the most famous healing centre of the ancient Greek world, where the sick came to sleep in the sacred buildings and hope that the god Asklepios would visit them in a dream with a cure.

   Read the complete Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 49 km into the recorded legs you reach Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus. Next is back through Archaeological Site of Tiryns.

4. 4. back through Archaeological Site of Tiryns

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Archaeological Site of Tiryns write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Archaeological Site of Tiryns, late in the day. Next is Archaeological Site of Mycenae.

5. 5. Archaeological Site of Mycenae

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Archaeological Site of Mycenae write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Archaeological Site of Mycenae. That is the ride.