Leave Athens heading southwest for a 2 day tour in the greek countryside. See Salamis island, connected with the naval battle of the 5th c.b.C., as you drive towards the famous Corinth Canal. The Canal brings together the Aegean and the Ionian Seas of Greece. Make a brief stop and start your tour in thePeloponnese Peninsula, cradle of the local civilization. Epidaurus, an ancient medical center of the healing God Asclepius, is known for its stone theater with perfect acoustics, still used today after 2400 years. From there onto Mycenae, city of Agamemnon the leader of the Greeks in the war of Troy. Visit the 3500 years old citadel with its huge Cyclopean Walls and Grave Circle A, where 19 kilograms of gold accompanied the dead royalties. The great beehive style Treasury of Atreus is a unique monument not to be missed. Then, cross the Peloponnese from East to West enjoying views of original greek countryside with its mountains and villages. Arrive in Olympia for dinner and overnight. The following morning visit the site and museum of the Original ancient greek Olympics, which started here in 776 b.C. Learn about the Games, about the shrine of Zeus with the temple that hosted one of the wonders of the world: the Golden Ivory Statue of Olympic Zeus. Run in the first ever stadium in the history of the world! The Echo stoa, the temple of Hera and the altar where today once every 4 years the Olympic Torch is lit, are only some of the monuments that whisper the past. In the museum of Olympia marvel the sculpture from the pediments of the Temple of Zeus, the Nike of Peonius, the bronze helmet of Miltiadesand of course the 2400 years old Hermes of Praxiteles, with his classical beauty. Return to Athens via Patras, along the Ionian and the Aegean Sea.