Bay of Tolon
The bay of Tolon (part of the Argolic Gulf) was first written about by Homer, as was Asini in the Iliad, named as one of the cities whose fleet took part in the Trojan War. In the centuries to come the bay of Tolo gave refuge to battle ships at various times and then during the Byzantine period was revived as an auxiliary port to Nafplio.
Following the Fourth Crusade and the break-up of the Byzantine Empire (1204 AD), along with the rest of the Peloponnese, the area came under Frankish rule until 1389 AD, when it was then taken over by the Venetians, and in 1540 AD to the Ottomans. In the 1680s, during the Morean War, the alliance between the Venetians, the Germans, and the Polish against the Ottoman Empire, the chief of the allied forces, Vice-admiral Francesco Morosini was ordered to capture the capital of the Peloponnese, Nafplio at that time, and the bay of Tolon was chosen as a place suitable as a base of operations for his expedition as it was the safest place in the region, while the shore was used for the army to camp. After the success of his expedition and until 1715 AD, when the area was again occupied by the Turks, Tolon was used as a secondary naval station for the Venetian fleet.
A monument of this time is the small church named Zoodochos Pigi, built in 1688, and the ruins of the fortress on the island of Daskaleio in the bay of Tolo.n Fortifications, ruins of houses and reservoirs can also be found on Romvi island. Following the Greek Revolution, a number of ethnic-Greek refugees from Crete were resettled in Tolon.
After the establishment of the independent Kingdom of Greece, in 1834, by Royal Decree, a city was founded at the Port of Tolon and named Minoa after Minos the legendary king of Crete. After the liberation of Crete the remaining refugees in the area formed a fishing village which eventually became known as Tolon in 1916.
Asine
Asine (/ˈæsɪniː/; Ancient Greek: Ἀσίνη) was an ancient Greek city of ancient Argolis, located on the coast. It is mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad as one of the places subject to Diomedes, king of Argos. It is said to have been founded by the Dryopes, who originally dwelt on Mount Parnassus. In one of the early wars (740 BCE) between the Lacedaemonians and the Argives, the Asinaeans joined the former when they invaded the Argive territory under their king Nicander; but as soon as the Lacedaemonians returned home, the Argives laid siege to Asine and razed it to the ground, sparing only the temple of the Pythaëus Apollo. The Asinaeans escaped by sea; and the Lacedaemonians gave to them, after the end of the First Messenian War, a portion of the Messenian territory, where they built a new town (also named Asine). Nearly ten centuries after the destruction of the city its ruins were visited by Pausanias, who found the temple of Apollo still standing.
Excavations made from 1922 by Swedish archaeologists led by Axel W. Persson (and involving the then Crown Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden) found the acropolis of ancient Asine surrounded by a Cyclopean wall (much modified in the Hellenistic era) and a Mycenaean era necropolis with many Mycenaean chamber tombs containing skeletal remains and grave goods.
Excavations have continued since the 1920s almost continuously under the Swedish Institute at Athens. The site was last used as a fortified position by Italian troops during the second world war when machine gun nests were built. Some foxholes are still visible.
The cache
To visit the site you have to pay a small entrance fee (3,00 euro – children and students free). It’s worth wile. When I visited the site I counted 7 persons. 4 of them were working there, including the local priest in a long black robe and ditto beard. Compared to the other (bigger) highlights this was a oasis of rest. And there was a nice sea breeze.
I’m quite sure you can enter the area from the sea, but why should you. Pay the entrance fee and enjoy the site (officially).
The cache is located at the outer southside of the rock. Take care when searching this cache, because the ancient cisterns and caves are not marked in this area beyond waypoint * You could easily fall down and heart yourself real badly (or worse, die). From the cache (and on your way to the cache) you have a marvellous view of the bay of Tolon.
Waypoint 04 is a foxhole from WW2. Is you look up the mountain, you can see the place of the cache (behind a big stone and camouflaged with dead wood. Be careful with the container, since it is made of glass – sorry no plastic for sale in the shops). Put the cache back the way you found it, or better, if it was not hidden correctly.
Happy caching!
Marrakej