The Ancient Argolid21st Oct 2025

An archaeological treasure house

This is a relaxed exploration of the lives and landscapes of Greeks, gods, and heroes, in the place where archaeology meets myths, as we explore the Argolid, in the eastern Peloponnese.

We explore the sites at the heart of the Greeks’ most ancient and cherished myths, which record the change from the old to the new gods. Here Heracles, the ancient Greeks’ greatest hero, carried out the first of his legendary labours for his arch-enemy King Eurystheus of Tiryns. This is where Theseus grew up and fought his first foes on his journey to claim his birth right as Athenian king. Nemea was the site of Heracles’ first labour and has been famed for its wine since Homer’s day. It is currently one of Greece’s premium wine producing regions, and here we sample the latest results of a 3000-year-old craft. The trip concludes with a sea voyage to Athens, the city of Theseus who ruled from the Acropolis and unified Attica with the institutions that gave birth to democracy.

Athens forms an appropriate ending to this story. A visit to the National Museum allows us to see some of the artefacts which once furnished and graced the sites we have visited or belonged to the heroes of the past who once waked those hills of the Argolid.