Epidauros Liméra

Of the ancient town of Epidauros Limera still remain impressive ruins of its city walls (in polygonal technique) from the 5th or 4th century BC. The city’s acropolis was located around the rocky plateau in the north of the city, with its own wall. The city has spread around this. During the Peloponnesian Wars, Epidauros Limera was a staunch ally of Sparta. In ancient times, as an explanation for the addition of Limera, a connection was sought with the Greek word limos (hunger), leading to an interpretation as the “hungry / poor” Epidauros, or with limen (harbor). The inhabitants simply used the name Epidaurians for themselves. Incidentally, the nearby Mycenaean tombs point to a considerably older settlement than is suggested by Pausanias’ account of a colony of Epidauros.








Photos above from left to right. the bay of Epidauros Limera (where the pebbles show all kinds of colors, as already observed by Pausanias), the rock plateau on which the acropolis lies, and remains of the city walls on the east side of the city (also below); bottom right (to be enlarged) the course of the north-eastern wall is clearly visible. Map taken from Papachatzis.