Choose one of the many restaurants and taverns on the beach and enjoy the light summers breeze.

Vravrona's Museum

In tranquil countryside outside of Athens lies the temple complex of Vravrona, sometimes called, romantically, 'The Parthenon of the Bear Maidens', a sacred site of the huntress-goddess Artemis.

Skipped by most visitors - and most tour operators - solely because it is a bit out of the way, this temple is rarely crowded and stands by a delightful museum filled with images of the children who once studied at the temple - Artemis' 'little bears' or arktoi who danced for their goddess in

sacred processions, making up for the death of one of her pet bears. The tyrant Peisistratos, hailing from Brauron, made the worship of Artemis the official faith of Athens during his ascendency.

Even before Artemis, the sacred spring in the center of the grounds was revered. The temple was finally abandoned after wildness itself reclaimed it - the local river Erasimos massively flooded the grounds, and the surrounding area is still moist, if not actually swampy.

The out-of-the-way location has protected the spirit of this temple, and the views from its grounds are uninterrupted by anything modern - even the museum is discreetly hidden, approachable by a gated path from the temple (unfortunately, often locked) or by the curving road leading from the small parking lot.

Legend has it that Iphigeneia, the daughter of Agamemnon, came here as a priestess of Artemis, bringing with her a wooden statue of the goddess which was enshrined here for many years. While other stories claim that her father physically sacrificed her to Artemis in order that his ships could sail to Troy, local legend insists that she was 'sacrificed' to a life in the temple and lived here until she died, A broken, roofless cave is said to be the remains of her tomb, and a small temple dedicated to her worship also stood here.

Though temples and clergy of Artemis were entirely female, served by women vowed to chastity, boy children were allowed to study at this temple, and their statues stand in the museum along with their female classmates. Possibly boy-girl twins were permitted in acknowledgement of the

relationship between Artemis and her own twin brother, Apollo, or Iphigeneia and her own brother, Orestes, who are credited with founding the site in some tales.

There is also a prehistoric acropolis near the site, just recently excavated, and a tiny Byzantine chapel provides an oasis of cool darkness amid scarcely-seen icons painted on the walls.