The Long Walls of Athens, constructed in the mid 5th century BC, connected the city-state of Athens with its port city of Piraeus. They were begun in 461 BC under Themistocles after his victory at Salamis, possibly by Cimon, and completed under Pericles in 457 BC, with the aim of making Athens an impregnable city and preventing its being cut off from its harbor and from the rest of the world when beseiged by land. This ensured that Athens would never be cut off from supplies as long as it controlled the sea. The two well-fortified Long Walls were 1 "stade" (160 meters) apart, 6000 meters long and 20 meters high. There were three harbors at the port of Piraeus at the time, for grain ships, merchant ships and warships, and ensured that Athens could receive supplies during the Peloponnesian Wars.

The Long Walls were destroyed by the Spartans in 404 BC after Athens was defeated in the First Peloponnesian War and surrendered to Sparta. Conon rebuilt them in 393 BC during the Corinthian War, but they were destroyed again by the Roman general Sulla in 86 BC.The two Long Walls, 40 "stadia" (7 kilometers) in length, ran parallel to each other, with a narrow passage between them.There are three walls in all, with a third wall running from Athens to the Bay of Phalerum (Neo Faliro, today).

Substantial sections of the southern wall have been recently uncovered at Neo Faliro and adjacent Moschato, during ongoing upgrade works on the ISAP train line.

The Tempi valley in Central Greece, nestled between the Mt Olympos and Mt Kissavos, was known to travelers in antiquity who wanted to reach Athens from the north via a shortcut through the Tempi pass in order to avoid the mountain ranges. Because of its strategic position Tempi has been the site of several battles. In 480 BC when the King of Persia, Xerxes with 10,000 warriors launched the third campaign to conquer Greece he puzzled on how to pass through the Olympus and Kissavos mountains more quickly and easily in order to take the Greek army by surprise .Xerxes ordered his warriors to create a path in the Tempi valley. This very path was later upgraded by the Romans and the Byzantines. Visitors to Tempi valley may take the latter path and follow the tracks of the ancient troops, as the path is preserved and stays in place as a reminder of the history of a great era.

The Vale of Tempi was a sacred place and the ancient Greeks worshipped Apollo there. Laurels used for the wreaths of the winners of the Pythian Games were collected from the laurel trees that grew in the Valley.

An Exotic Vacation the Family will Love

We're diving in an area called Muri Muri, just north of Bora Bora, and almost as soon as we get in the water, our dive master, Benoit Gratas, introduces us to a hawksbill sea turtle -- like Crush, a character in Pixar's"Finding Nemo" -- and shows us how to feed him a piece of sea sponge by hand 70 feet under water.

On the Bathy's divers boat we meet honeymooners from Atlanta, Georgia, as well as Stephanie Caron, 21, and Clayton Caron, 15, whose dad had brought them back to a place he'd loved 30 years ago. The Carons are as excited about the underwater world as we are. Brazilian Carlos Stevenson is celebrating his 10th anniversary with his wife and 5-year-old son. Stevenson said they decided to bring young William because they love seeing his excitement. "Every day is a party for him."

Who says kids and romance don't go together? Even in a place as famous for honeymoons as Bora Bora, families rule, especially as Air Tahiti Nui continues to offer kids free deals on flights. There are also great hotel deals. The St. Regis Resort Bora Bora, for example, has an expansive kids' club. And we had an awesome family trip sailing on a catamaran for a week with
Tahiti Yacht Charters.

Eight tombs dating to the Hellenist Period were partially revealed recently in the region of Gonous, Larissa Prefecture, after flooding caused by heavy rainfall swept away a rural dirt road. The Archaeological Service subsequently conducted an excavation, which brought to light the tombs which, according to initial assessment, date back to between the end of the 4th century BC and the beginning of the 3rd century BC.

From Zingiberis to Ginger Beer or Ale

In the beginning of the 19th century, the Britons of Corfu cooled their hot afternoons drinking ginger beer or "gingibira" in Greek, a beverage, which - despite its name - had nothing to do with beer and alcohol.  Lemon juice and dried ginger roots are the basic substances of this spicy, refreshing drink with  a peppery taste.

Archaeologist from the University of Haifa, who are conducting excavations in the city of Tel Kabri, found Minoan style frescoes, similar to those discovered in the Aegean islands of Crete and Santorini dating back to the 17th century BC. These are the first such frescoes to be discovered in Israel. According to scientists' estimations, the wall paintings in the Canaanite palace in Kabri are a conscious decision by the city's rulers who wanted to adopt the Mediterranean culture rather than the Syrian and Mesopotamian art styles adopted by other cities in Canaan. In an earlier excavation, another fresco similar to those of Santorini was unearthed, but the new discoveries established the fact that the first fresco was not a coincidence but that the ancient city of Tel Kabri not only had developed commercial relations with the Aegean and Minoan world but wanted to come close to and be associated culturally with these civilizations…..