One of the most beautiful and romantic cities in Greece, Nafplio speaks of its history and of those who have passed through; the Byzantines, the Franks, the Venetians, the Ottomans, conquerors and benefactors all. The old section of the city extending out into the Argolid Gulf is a mix of towering ramparts, colourful houses, and narrow cobbled streets with stone stairs that lead to the hilltop fortresses of Acronafplia and Palamidi, where the views sweep down to the harbourside and out across the bay to the mountains of Arcadia.
Nafplio is a city born from myth as it was founded by Nafplios, the son of Poseidon and Amymone. Nafplios married Klymeni and had three children; Nafsimedon, Oiakos, and Palamedes, a wise son and inventor of mathematics and writing for whom Nafplios built a castle.
Long-living in the shadow of illustrious neighbours, the area was inhabited in the Neolithic era, but while the Mycenaeans were building a great empire around 1400 BC, little was written about Nafplio. It fell off the radar in the Classical era when nearby Argos rose to prominence and they destroyed Nafplio for siding with Sparta in the Second Messinian War.
