Argolis

Argolida Regional Unit Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Αργολίδος (Αργολίδα)
Basic data
State :	Greece
Region :	Peloponnese
Area :	2,154 km²
Residents :	97,044 (2011)
Population density :	45.1 inhabitants / km²
NUTS 3 code no. :	-
Structure:	4 municipalities
Website:	www.argolida.gr

The Argolis ( Greek Αργολίδα Argolida , older also Argolis Αργολίς ( f. Sg. )) Is a landscape on the Greek peninsula of Peloponnese . The territory of the city of Argos had this name already in ancient times . The ancient Argolis was one of the most important centers of the Mycenaean culture , whose archaeological sites (especially Mycenae and Tiryns ), together with Epidaurus, are among the main Greek attractions of the Argolis. After the Greek Revolution , the Argolis housed the city of Nafplio from 1829 to 1834, the Greek capital; later Nauplia was the administrative seat of the prefecture of Argolis for a long time. Since 2011, the Argolis forms a regional district (gr. Periferiaki Enotita ) of the Peloponnese region, which sends nine members to the regional council, but has no political significance beyond that.

geography

The Argolis is also called the thumb of the Peloponnesian hand. It lies between the Saronic Gulf and the Argolic Gulf in the northeast of the Peloponnese. Its core consists of the alluvial land of the Inachos River , which is of great agricultural importance due to the cultivation of grain, olives, wine and citrus fruits. With it, the Argolis is one of the most fertile areas of the Peloponnese. This plain is framed by mountains that delimit the Argolis to the west of Arcadia and north of Corinthia . In the east extends the also mountainous Argolic peninsula, to which the old landscape Epidauria belongs on the east coast and in the south the landscape and municipality Ermionida , which are also part of the regional district. The Argolic islands of Spetses and Hydra as well as the Trizinia landscape are now part of the Attica region .

structure

The prefecture district Argolis is divided into the municipalities Argos-Mycenae , Epidavros , Ermionida and Nafplio .

history

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In the Argolis, Lerna, is one of the oldest settlements on the Greek mainland, which was inhabited as early as the Neolithic and was particularly important during the Early Helladic (3rd millennium BC). Argos is considered to be the oldest continuously populated city in Europe. In the late Bronze Age large residences arose in Mycenae , Midea and Tiryns , of which Mycenae and Tyrins were strongly fortified in the second half of the 13th century. In Berbati there were production facilities in which mainly painted Mycenaean clay pots were made, which were traded to many regions of the Mediterranean. In ancient times, the Argolida was also famous for its horse breeding : In the 8th century BC, Homer called it "nourishing horses" in his epics.

traffic

The Argolis is connected to the Greek motorway network by the A 7 , which crosses the north-west of the district. The national roads 7 and 70 are also important arteries for car traffic . The only major port is that of the city of Nafplio. The nearest airports, which are also used internationally, are Kalamata Airport (approx. 125 km away) and the airport of the capital, Athens, approx. 170 km away.

tourism

The major tourist destinations of the Argolida include three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, namely the excavations of Mycenae , Tiryns and Epidauros as well as Lerna and the Heraion of Argos . A classic seaside resort is Tolo on the Argolic Gulf, and the former fishing villages of Ermioni and Palea Epidavros are also visited .

literature

• Gustav Hirschfeld , Friedrich Cauer : Argolis 1 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 1, Stuttgart 1895, Col. 728-743.

Web links

Commons : Argolis  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• http://www.argolis.de/
• Area information on the Argolic Gulf on SkipperGuide.de
• discover Argolis ( Memento from May 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)
2. ↑ Penelope A. Mountjoy , Mycenaean Pottery. An introduction , 2nd edition 2001, p. 137 f.