DESTINACIJA / DESTINATION
Nikako ne treba zaobići Mikenu, arheološko nalazište koje se nalazi na oko 90 kilometara jugozapadno od Atine You certainly shouldn’t overlook Mycenae, an archaeological
site located around 90 kilometres southwest of Athens
ON THE PELOPONNESE Gods, heroes and heavenly beaches Situated in close proximity to the Greek capital, the Peloponnese peninsula offers you the chance to check out the remains of ancient Sparta and the famous Battle of Thermopylae, harking back to the first Olympic Games, Mycenae and Epidaurus, as well as beautiful beaches for total enjoyment T he Peloponnese region, a peninsula located in the southernmost part of mainland Greece, is not dubbed the cradle of civilisation with- out reason – it has preserved memories of numerous famous philosophers, statesmen, battles and myths. Just visiting Epidaurus, located in the Saronic Gulf just 60 kilometres from Athens, will prove to be a revelation even for the “old” souls who headed there in search of sites that hosted performanc- es of famous tragedies about Prometheus, Antigone or
Iphigenia, as well as those whose wonders fascinate the modern world. This city’s famous theatre has remained an unrivalled architectural treasure to this day, given that – despite it being able to accommodate 12,000 guests – even someone sitting in the back row could hear a pin drop on the stage, due to no small measure of seeming- ly otherworldly acoustics. You certainly shouldn’t overlook Mycenae, an archae- ological site located around 90 kilometres southwest of Athens, after which the entire second millennium BC is named the Mycenaean Age. Its lavish fortifications are built of such large blocks of stone that this style of con- struction has been called cycloptic, because of the belief that only those one-eyed mythical giants could have lift- ed them. One of the monumental palaces located within the walls was home – according to The Iliad – to King Ag- amemnon, one of the main heroes of Homer’s epic. Mean- while, here you will also find proof of the existence of the beautiful Helen, whose betrayal led to the outbreak of the Trojan War, in the town of Sparta in the Laconia region. One must-see destination is, of course, Olympia, the ancient Greek sanctuary located in the district of Elis, site of the first Olympic Games – an event that was so signifi- cant that the Greeks calculated the beginning of time pre- cisely from then, 776 BC. The flame of the Olympic torch is still ignited here today, using the sun and mirrors, be- fore being carried around the world. Seekers of key spots from Greek history and mythol-
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