Hundreds of locals and visitors enjoyed the August full moon from the medieval Fortress of Palamidi by Nafplio, in West Peloponnese.
The characteristic feature of August full moon is its orange color.
The baroque fortress of Palamidi is nestled on the crest of a 216-metre high hill. There are 913 steps in the winding stair from the town of Nafplio to the fortress. However, to reach the top of the fortress there are over one thousand. Locals in the town of Nafplion will say there are 999 steps to the top of the castle.
According to the legend, “the thousandth step was destroyed by the horse” of the hero of the Greek Revolution against the Ottoman, Theodoros Kolokotronis.
The fortress commands an impressive view over the Argolic Gulf, the city of Náfplio and the surrounding country.
The hill of Palamidic takes its name from Palamedes (Palamidis), the son of Nauplius and Clymene.
He joined the Greeks in the expedition against Troy and found a violent death by his compatriots as he was considered a traitor.
Although he is a major character in some accounts of the Trojan War, Palamedes is not mentioned in Homer’s Iliad, though.
Apart from being a great fortress, Palamidi was also the site of a dismal prison. In 1833, during the time of the regency, when King Otto was still a minor,Kolokotronis, was imprisoned here on the supposed charge of high treason.
The Miltiadis bastion, one of the largest, was converted into a prison for serious criminals in around 1840, and it remained in operation until around 1926.
More pictures and info in argolikeseidiseis, and municipalityofnafplio.
