A EIDE ACROSS THE PELOPONNESE. 205 



these great blocks had been brought hither, and poised 

 one upon the other with such perfect nicety that the 

 wall which they compose has lasted now probably for 

 nearly three thousand years, and seems likely to last 

 as long as the world itself. 



The name of Tiryns is linked with that of Perseus, 

 and of Hercules, who is often called the " hero of 

 Tiryns," and who slew the Hydra in the Lernsean 

 marshes hard by. Men of Tiryns took part long 

 afterwards in the battle of Plataea ; and it was then 

 destroyed, like its neighbour MycenaB, and probably 

 about the same time, by jealous Argos. 



Returning to the carriage, we drove rapidly on to 

 Nauplia, passing, as we neared the town, through a 

 grand avenue of white poplars, the tree sacred to 

 Hercules, and by gardens sweet with the perfume of 

 orange-blossom. It was about eight o'clock when we 

 entered the big gate of the town, and rattled along 

 under the shadow of the citadel rock into the square 

 around which the hotels are built. 



Nauplia was, with the single exception of Athens, 

 the most modern-looking town we saw in Greece. 

 The streets are wide, the houses high and roomy, and 

 the whole place gives one the idea of a town which 

 has seen better days. This indeed is the case. It 

 has, from its position, always been a flourishing sea- 

 port, and after the Greeks had won their independ- 

 ence from Turkish rule, it was, under its then name 

 of Napoli di Eoumania (relic of Venetian occupation), 



