Argos: the City Upon the Hill (A rather large hill my calf muscles would have you know)

I am terribly sorry that I neglected to update the blog yesterday! I passed out after a long day at the beach.:)  Due to the fact that I write the blog one day removed, I am technically two days behind, so let’s get cracking.

Argos: the city upon a hill. This picture doesn't do it justice.

On Sunday, we went to the ancient city of Argos—a true city upon a hill. Perched formidably upon a mount, it overlooks the surrounding valleys that it controls as well as the Argive Herion that was the center to worship Hera: the patron goddess of Argos (it is featured in the previous blog post). We started in the museum which housed many of the items that were found in the remains of the site; however, as the archeologists who excavated the site were French, most of the museum signs were also in French and thereby unreadable for the most part. Correction: we did not actually hike to the city and temple—it was about an hours hike, we instead hiked to the agora, which was the heart of the city back in the day—it was a large open space in which the people of the city to participate in many different activities. I was amazed at the structures that were still so remarkably preserved: an ancient theater, Roman baths, and a nymphaeum (a very fancy water fountain donated by a wealthy member of society in order prove the donor’s worth) among others.

After exploring these ruins, about half our group decided to return to Nafplio for some shopping and beachcombing. The rest of us had yet to be tuckered out by the hiking and decided we were going back for seconds. We hiked to a small collection of ruins about halfway up the mountain in which we found the remains of a Mycenaean cemetery, temples to Apollo and Athena, and some impressive cisterns. I leisurely sunned myself while sitting on a Corinthian capital (the top part of a marble pillar) while the rest of the group serenaded Professor Hutton and I with a rousing rendition of “I Can Go The Distance”—the main song of the Disney Hercules movie. After a bit more exploration of the site, we decided to call it a day and headed back to Nafplio on the bus. Later that night, we ate gyros at “our spot” which serves the best gyros in town!

A large piece of pottery showing the Odyssey scene in which the giant Polyphemus has his eye put out.

Clay nodules from Lerna. They denote the contents of storage crates with symbols pressed into the soft clay which is then allowed to dry.

A lovely stature of Heracles (Hercules in Roman mythology). 

Roman murals--shockingly detailed and large.

The large stone face of presumably a god.

The theater of Argos. Absolutely amazing!!!

A Roman bathhouse!

What is left of the nymphaeum.

My lunch--sooo good. Veggies stuffed with rice and herbs with a tangy olive oil sauce with a side of potatoes.

Random Greek facts of the day:

• All Greeks--men and women--must serve time in the military. Even if they move out of the country, they are still expected to serve their time.
• Toplessness is NOT frowned upon here. I have been scarred for life multiple times already.
• The internet here is very, very slow and patchy.
• One of the strangest things here to see is men doubled up on scooters. It makes sense and is wise economically, but I can help but smirk every time I see it. I also have half a mind to jump on one with a cute Greek boy when it is at a stand still and catch a ride around Nafplio (don't worry Mom, I am too much of a coward to do so. My professor even dared me to, but, alas I couldn't bring myself to do it.).
• One of the ice cream brands here is called Scandal. However, it is not as sinfully delicious as one is led to believe. Perhaps THAT is the scandal. Hmm . . .
• Little stands on the street are called peripteros and sell anything and everything. It is at one of these establishment that I purchased my heavenly ice cream sandwich and also tried the Greek beverage of Loux soda--absolutely delicious. It comes in lemonade (it tastes like a Sonic limeade), orange, cherry, cola, club, orange mandarin lemon.