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This was the site of the first labour of Herakles: the slaying of the Nemean lion. The lion’s skin was impenetrable, so Herakles strangled the beast, then skinned it and kept its pelt as a coat of armour. This is one of several legends connected with the founding of the Nemean Games, which formed part of the Panhellenic Games. The highlight of Nemea is walkingthrough the great stadium where the contests took place.

The museum, not yet completed, is being built over a late-Roman and early Byzantine settlement. The site is packed with houses and at least one fountain and reservoir, rare in the parched city. A walkway through the site and glass floors in the museum will allow visitors to see all angles of it, a fascinating juxtaposition to the earlier archaeological finds within the museum. (see New Acropolis Museum)

Millions have been drawn to the strange, joyous, bittersweet spirit of modern Greece as depicted in Kazantzakis’ most famous work, Zorba the Greek . Darker in mood is the Last Temptation of Christ and best of all is his audacious continuation of the fundamental Greek tale: The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel .

The first recorded games were staged on the plains of Olympia in 776 BC. Dedicated to Zeus, they lasted one day and featured running and wrestling. In 472 BC – with the addition of boxing, the pancration (another form of hand-to-hand combat), horse racing and the pentathlon (sprinting, long-jump, javelin, discus and wrestling) – the event was extended to five days and held every four years.

Under the Turks, cultural activities and art were stifled, but folk arts persisted, incorporating and transforming some aspects from the conqueror’s culture, including intricate silver jewellery and metalwork and colourful rugs, tapestries and embroideries.

The Ottoman Turks took Athens in 1458, and the city became a provincial backwater. After bombarding the Parthenon, the Venetians held the city briefly in 1687. Then, during the 18th century, English and French artists and writers visited Athens as part of the Grand Tour, signalling its reawakening but also walking off with many ancient artworks.

Dwarfed by the bulk of Mitropoli, tiny Panagia Gorgoepikoos (Mikri Mitropoli, “little Mitropoli”) actually far outshadows its vast neighbour in historic and artistic importance. It was built in the 12th century, on the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to goddess Eileithyia. Its walls are built entirely of Roman and Byzantine marble relics, sculpted with reliefs depicting the ancient calendar of feasts. (see Mitropoli)