About two and a half miles from Tiryns, on a small peninsula which juts out into the sea, there is now a thriving little town of 6000 inhabitants, called Nauplia. According to Pausanias its original inhabitants came from Egypt, and its name would lead one to suppose that they were known as seafaring people. In historic times they were driven out by the Argives and took refuge in Mothone, which was granted to them by the Spartans. Nauplia then became the general harbour for the people of Argolis. Its military importance was recognised in later times by the Byzantines, the Venetians, and the Turks, who have successively left their mark upon its fortifications. The capture of Nauplia from the Turks in 1822 was a great encouragement to the insurgent Greeks. It became the capital of the country under the first Greek government, and was also the scene of the assassination of its first president, Capodistrias. It was at Nauplia that Otho made his entry into Greece in 1833 as the sovereign-elect, and it was among the soldiers of its garrison that the revolt began which compelled him to resign his crown, about thirty years later. The modern name of the city, Napoli de Romania (Naples of Greece), betokens the beauty of its situation. There are few more pleasing views in Greece than is seen in fine weather from the top of the rocky hill which rises in the neighbourhood to a height of 700 feet, and which is supposed to owe its name (Palamidi) to the heroic Palamedes, son of Nauplius, who is credited in the _Iliad_ with being the author of so many inventions. To the north-east of Nauplia lies one of the most attractive spots in the Argolid, namely Epidaurus. The town of that name was close to the coast, opposite to Ægina, which was once tributary to it. But the ruins of the greatest interest are some five miles inland, in the precinct sacred to Asclepios, the god of healing, who was said to have been born in this neighbourhood as the child of Apollo and a nymph, and to have been suckled by a goat on Mount Titthion. Epidaurus thus became the headquarters of the healing art for all the votaries of Asclepios, both in Greece and Asia Minor. The sacred precinct or _Hieron_ was of great extent. Besides the temple, it contained almost everything that could be desired in a health resort, such as a music-hall, a theatre (which is still in a wonderful state of preservation and is the finest in Greece), a hospital and baths, a gymnasium and a race-course. Part of the sanctuary was set apart for the patients seeking the aid of the god, who was generally supposed to communicate with them in their sleep. There were many votive offerings and inscriptions telling of wonderful cures, and when we take into account the influence of religious faith in such a case, and the salutary air of a fine hill-country, we can [Illustration: NAUPLIA AND TIRYNS FROM THE ROAD TO ARGOS