In the south-western extremity of the Peloponnese is the region of Messenia, a fertile, self-sufficient region which was inhabited very early. In the 13th century BC, during the Mycenean period,

Pylos was the capital of Messenia. In the Iliad, the elderly king of sandy Pylos, Nestor, is respected by all the other kings who participate in the Trojan War and acts as an adviser.

Pylos was the second most powerful Mycenean kingdom after Mycenae and the excavations of the royal palace were completed in 1966 on a hill called Epano Eglianos 17km north of the modern town of Pylos in the bay of Navarino, which is another name for Pylos.

The palace of Nestor at Pylos is the most complete Mycenean palace yet discovered. It follows the typical design of the Mycenean palaces. You can see the circular hearth in the centre of the throne room, the wine stores, the service rooms, the queen’s quarters and the bathroom. It is obvious that it was built by a ruler of great wealth and political power and that was Nestor according to the Greek tradition and the Homeric epics.

You can visit the Museum in Chora, 3 km away, to see ceramic pots and frescoes from the palace.

At the north end of Navarino Bay there is an excellent beach, Voidokoilia, where Telemachus, Odysseus’s son disembarked when he went to Pylos to ask Nestor if he there was any news of his father.