Ancient Ermioni

Ancient Ermioni, in the Peloponnese: Ancient Ermioni had developed a lot from the Ancient till the Roman times. In fact, few ruins that have been excavated in Bisti, a green peninsula next to the modern town, have shown the development of Ermioni in ancient times. Similar ruins have been found at the yard of the primary school, in the church of Taxiarches, in the location of Agios Andreas and elsewhere.

All these excavations show a town with military importance and trade activities. The findings are today hosted in the Archaeological Museum of Nafplion, the capital of Argolida prefecture, and in the National Archeological Museum in Athens. Ancient Ermioni was even mentioned by Homer as a town that sent ships to the Troyan War. For many centuries, it was under the governance of Argos, till the 7th century B.C. when Argos was defeated by the Spartans and Ermioni became an ally of Sparta.

In the Persian Wars that took place in the 6th century B.C. Ermioni participated with 3 ships in the Sea Battle of Salamis and 300 soldiers in the Battle of Plataea. Apart from military force, Ermioni also had a rich culture in antiquity as many lyric poets and musicians descended from the region.