Top Ancient Sites in Greece

Having studied Classics at school I do find myself veering towards ancient classical sites on my holidays whether that be Pompeii in Naples, Italy, Volubilis in Meknes, Morocco or Hadrian’s wall in Northumberland, England. 
The following are my top ancient sites in Greece:
The Acropolis – Athens
Olympia – Peloponnese
Nemea – Pelponnese
Delphi – Central Greece
Palace of Knossos – Crete
Delos – Cyclades

The Acropolis – Athens

One of the most recognised ancient sites in the world is still standing after thousands of years. Even though the crowds can be a little off putting just remember that there aren’t as many people there as there would have been during religious festivals in antiquity, the reason it was built. See opening times and current prices for admission to the Acropolis. 

Buildings at the Acropolis
The Parthenon is the largest temple on the Acropolis It was originally dedicated to the goddess of the city, Athena, later converted to a church and then a mosque. It was built between 447 and 438 BCE at the height of the Classical period. Original home to what some refer to as the "Elgin Marbles", now in the British Museum, London. Even though you may have seen the Parthenon at the Acropolis many times in photos, on travel shows and on postcards, nothing can prepare you for the sheer wonderment you feel when you see it up close and personal. The marble is outstanding with colours mixing from honey to deep red to bold white.
The Temple of Athena Nike
This was the first temple on the Acropolis to be built in the Ionic style and is quite small. It is one of the few examples of an amphiprostyle temple in all of Greece. Amphiprostyle means that a building has free columns in porticoes either at both ends or at both sides of a structure. What makes the Temple of Athena Nike truly unique is the unit by which it was planned, which is the Egyptian foot of 300 mm.
The Erectheion
This building was built for the dedicated worship of the two principal gods of Attica, Athena and Poseidon-Erechtheus.
The Propylea
This is the ancient monument gateway to the Acropolis.

Read a review of the new Acropolis museum

Olympia – Peloponnese

Olympia is where the Olympic Games began.  The games were part of a religious event to celebrate the father of the Gods, Zeus. Athletic contests were one way to honour the Gods, so it made sense to hold a recurring event at an important religious temple, Olympia. Olympia was situated in a valley in Elis, in western Peloponnisos (Peloponnesus), through which runs the Alpheus River. It was not a town, but only a sanctuary with buildings associated with games and the worship of the gods. Outside the Altis, to the east, were the Stadium and the Hippodrome, where the contests took place. To the west were the Palaestra (wrestling school) and the Gymnasium where all competitors were obliged to train for at least one month. Only free Greeks could enter and all participants were male and competed in the nude.

In the Ancient Olympia Museum you will see many treasures including Dedication by Miltiades, as the inscription informs us "Miltiades dedicates to Zeus". It is the same helmet worn by the Athenian general in the battle of Marathon, where he defeated the Persians, and thus offered it to Zeus as a sign of gratitude. 
Nemea – Pelponnese

This beautiful ancient site has been carefully restored including the stadium, an impressive museum, practical picnic tables with views of the romantic Doric temple. There are three original long standing columns as well as several newly restored and re-erected ones. The archeological work at Nemea isn’t over so you may see archeologists at work lovingly reconstructing and re-erecting more columns from the north façade in their restoration plan.                   

Delphi – Central Greece
The site of Delphi is located in lower central Greece, on multiple plateaux/terraces nestled into the slope of Mount Parnassus, and includes the Sanctuary of Apollo, the site of the ancient Oracle. Over one thousand years Greeks made their pilgrimage here to seek divine directions in matters of war, worship, love or for any other matter requiring prophecy. Even Alexander the Great came here before his conquest. The pilgrims would offer their sacrifice and wait as the Pythian priestess would chant her prophecies. A priest would then interpret and relay her chants back to the pilgrim. he earliest reference to the Oracle is in Homer, whereas ancient stories say how on the side of Mount Parnassus there was a cleft where goats suddenly began crying and leaping about. When the goatherds approached, they experienced the same; man and animal acting as if possessed. Some reported visions, others foretold the future; some apparently disappeared into the cleft, overcome by the fumes, losing sense of this reality and suffering the fatal consequences. The oracle was known as the Pythia, pytho, means “to rot”, a reference to the decay of the snake’s body that Apollo killed there.
Did you know? In the film 300 the flowing effect of the Oracle dancing scene was accomplished by filming the actress under water. There are many ruins of temples, treasuries and other buildings on the site of Delphi. The most important temple on this site is the Temple of Apollo where the oracular chasm or cave entrance was supposed to be found, though none can be seen. Only the foundations and a few columns of this temple can still be seen. There is also a small museum on the site with some interesting finds. The temple of Apollo was said to have the famous motto of Delphi inscribed “Know thyself”.         

Palace of Knossos – Crete

With the well known story of the Minator the though of the Palace of Knossos conjures up images of weaving mazes on various levels, long corridors and stairs; an ancient version of the Labyrinth in the 1986 film The Labyrinth. What I hadn’t anticipated was the beautiful frescoed walls. As with many tourist sites it can be packed at peak hours but you can still feel the draw of the labyrinth. King Minos ruled over the richest and most powerful of Minoan cities. It is said that his beautiful daughter Ariadne helped the young and gallant Theseus to kill the monstrous Minotaur in the labyrinth under the palace and then escape.

Delos – Cyclades

This tiny island is a mere 2 miles (3.2km) from the shore of Mykonos. It was considered by the ancient Greeks to be both the geographical and spiritual centre of the Cyclades, many considering it to be the holiest sanctuary in all of Greece. The extensive remains leave you in no doubt of the island’s former splendour. From the islands highest point, Mount Kinthos, you can see many of the Cyclades and on a very clear day you can see the entire archipelago. Even though the island is small the allotted three hours by excursion boats from Mykonos or Tinos are hardly sufficient to explore this excitingly rich archeological treasure.

                                          Read four things you didn’t know about Greece

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