Lerna + Nemea

As you might already know, Greece is full of ancient legends. Sometimes they explain great events of history ... ana example can be found here:

Lerna is a place where a palace from the Early Helladic Period, the so-called "House of Tiles", stands. Also, there have been settlements since Neolithic times (see below).

More importantly, there were some wild fountains in this place which were eventually drained. The story of Hercules battling the sea snake Hydra probably reflects this victory of architectural reason and civilisation over unrestrained nature and wilderness.

Close to Lerna, Nemea is another mythical site: According to legend, Heracles killed the Nemean Lion here as the first of his twelve tasks. There is a stadium which was used for the holy Nemean Games (second only to the Olympic Games) ... we entered it through this tunnel and then did a foot race against other young visitors. I came in second.

Running barefoot on this dry track was hard, but rewarding ... also, the view really makes up for it! And the feeling of victory was also great (the first-placed was just a bit faster than me).

There is also a Temple to Zeus (as almost everywhere in Greece, I feel). It's built in an unusually mixed style. Not in the photo is the washing-house for the athletes.

Also, a small museum awaited us ...

Photo gallery