Elias Papadopoulos
Tour Guide in Nafplion
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Introduction If you are interested in guided tours that do not simply focus on dates and names but on the specific social, political and economical conditions under which human civilizations are born as well as on the importance of geography and climate, then you are in the right place. My guided tours take place in Nafplio, Argolis and the wider area of Peloponnese, a place where various civilizations thrived throughout the centuries. All of them-the Mycenaeans, the Ancient Greeks (of geometrical, archaic, classical and Hellenistic times), the Romans, the Byzantines, the Venetians and the Ottoman Turks-contributed to the historical value the place has today. Join me in guided tours of Nafplio, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Tiryns, Argos, ancient Corinth, Nemea, Olympia, Mystras and other sites of unique archaeological interest. Join me in my guided tour of Athens - Acropolis, Museum of Acropolis and ancient Agora. Besides the places of historical interest, however, our area has a lot to offer to the visitor who would like to experience our modern-day culture. Take part in my guided tours and taste our traditional cuisine and local wines. Listen to Greek music, swim in the crystal-clear waters of our beaches and explore the countyside of Argolis on foot or by bicycle. I promise you an unforgettable experience of our country’s past and present! My guided tours can optionally be combined with interactive theatrical game. Your Guide |
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Tours |
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Nafplio, Old City - Palamidi Castle Touring the old city of Nafplio is a fascinating experience; you will be walking through traditional buildings and monuments of the past that seem as if they are ready to speak and tell their story. And this story you will be listening to from your guide’s mouth! The strategic location of Nafplio both as a powerful fort and a safe harbour defined its luck from the 13th century B.C. till the foundation of the Modern Hellenic state in the 19th century. After the early period of the Frankish rule, Nafplio became the “apple of discord” between the Venetians and the Turks who continually fought for its occupation. Reminders of their conflicts are the buildings and the castles they left behind. |
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Mycenae The tour begins from the vaulted tomb, known as «Treasury of Atreus», one of the most impressive works of Mycenaean burial architecture. To continue with, we will head towards the main archaeological area and the Lion Gate, the impressive entrance of the acropolis in order to admire its famous relief and to talk about the cyclopean masonry. Next stop Grave Circle A, which was excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876. Such was the variety of the findings that Schliemann believed he had found Agamemnon’s tomb, mistaken as we know today. At this point we have a panoramic view of the Argolic plain and we shall talk about the strategic location on which Mycenae was built. |
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Ancient Nemea Nemea was one of the four Pan-Hellenic athletic centres of antiquity. Although ancient Greeks never founded a uniform nation state, they were well-aware of their common religious, cultural and linguistic bonds. They would organise athletic and/or musical games, where only Greeks could participate, to honour their gods every four or two years, as in the case of Nemea. The Olympic Games were held in Olympia, the Pythian Games in Delphi, the Isthmian Games at the canal of Corinth and the Nemean Games in Nemea, where Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon and Zeus were worshipped respectively. |
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Epidaurus Epidaurus is famous for its theatre and for its natural environment of special beauty. How many nevertheless know that it was one of the most famous healing centres of the ancient world and that the theatre used to be part of the therapy in the structure of a holistic and mental model confrontation in order to treat health problems? During the tour at the Sanctuary of Asclepius we will have the chance to talk about Medicine in ancient Greece and the transition from the healing through god’s power to science therapy. We will also talk about the social and political conditions that allowed the evolution of the theatre from the primitive religion type to the form it took during the Classical period |
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Tiryns Mycenae may allure the attention of massive tourism industry but the walls of Tiryns, built between 1.400 and 1.200 BC are more than impressive and its megaron ( palace ) is ideal for the comprehension of the structure of the Mycenaean palace. These are some of the reasons that urged UNESCO to inscribe it in its world heritage list. During our tour we are going to seek the true meaning of the Mycenaean civilization, its essential political, economical and social features, the reasons for its blooming and its decadence. We will talk about the myths and to what extent they are attested by the archaeological findings. Last but not least we will focus on the Argolic plain and how it contributed to the growth of human civilization. |
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Ancient Corinth Ancient Corinth was one of the most prosperous Greek city-states due to its fertile plane, its strategic location- at the intersection of the Peloponnese and the rest of Greece- its ports that could ensure easy access to the seaways of the eastern and western Mediterranean Sea and its intensive craft production. The Corinthians also created the Diolkos, a paved portage road which ran across the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow strip of land that connects the Peloponnese with the rest of Greece. The Diolkos was used to transfer ships from the Saronic to the Corinthian gulf without having to circumnavigate the Peloponnese. It was an expensive service that would be paid to the Corinthians but navigation became faster and safer. |
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Born in Thessaloniki in 1974, I grew up in Nafplio where I spent my childhood and teenage years. After graduating from high school, I settled in Komotini, Thrace to study Law at university. It was there that I had the amazing opportunity to experience the multicultural Thrace, a prefecture in the north-eastern borders of Greece. After having spent a few years in Athens practicing Law, I made the decision to leave the hustle and bustle of the capital and move back to my hometown, Nafplio, where I started my own business as a lawyer. At the same time, I decided to follow academic studies in a field that has been of keen interest and true love to me since I was a child i.e. that of History- at the University of Kalamata, South Peloponnesus and at Panteion University of Athens. Blessed with the luck to be living in one of the most beautiful Greek cities, I was often given the chance to offer «guided tours» to friends that would visit Nafplio on holidays. It was the great pleasure deriving from this experience that urged me to transform what was the work of an amateur into my profession. Nafplio, Argolis and the wider area of Peloponnesus are full of archaeological sites and places of cultural interest. Each one of them provides us with the opportunity to talk about different historical periods -from prehistoric antiquity to the present -and about the relationships of continuity and discontinuity among the successive civilizations that thrived in this land. My personal viewpoint focuses on the historical context in which human civilizations are born, on the social conditions rather than on dates, on the way of living of common people instead of the victories of generals and emperors and places great importance in geography and climate. |
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