Page 77 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Greek Islands

Did You Know?
Áï Górdis took its
name from the church 13 The blue waters
of Agios Gordios, Kávos and sandy beach at
which is set Áï GÓrdis, near Kávos
on the beach. Αχίλλειον
⌂ 46 km (28 miles) SE of best visited early in the day
Corfu town
before the crowds arrive. For
the entrance, and sample this Once notorious for its party a taste of genuine island life,
local distiller’s many products, scene, the resort of Kávos is the nearby town of Lefkími
which include a number of not quite as wild as it used to has a workaday feel and
Corfiot wines, ouzo and the be, though it is still dominated impressive churches. The real
speciality kumquat liqueur. by a young British crowd gems at the bottom of Corfu
The lush green gardens looking for a good time. The near Lefkími are the beaches
below the palace are terraced long beach of packed sand is of Arkoudílas and Áï Górdis.
on a slope that drops 150 m
(490 ft) to the coast road. The
views along the rugged coast THE LEGEND OF
both north and south are ACHILLES
spectacular. In the grounds Shortly after his birth,
the walls are draped with legendary Achilles was
colourful bougainvillea and immersed in the River Styx
a profusion of palm trees. by his mother, which made
The gardens are also dotted him invul nerable, aside
with numerous statues, espe­ from his heel where she had
cially of Achilles. A bronze of held him. Achilles’ destiny
the Dying Achilles, by the lay at Troy, where Helen, the
German sculptor Ernst Herter, wife of King Menelaos of
is rather moving. The statue is Sparta, had eloped with Paris.
thought to have appealed to Menelaos and his allies laid
the unhappy empress after siege to the city. A powerful
the death of her son. Another warrior, Achilles killed the
impressive statue of Achilles is Trojan hero Hector, but did not
the mas sive 15­m­ (49­ft­) live to see Troy
high cast­iron figure, com mis­ fall, as he was
sioned by the Kaiser. It has the struck in the Statue of
head of a Gorgon depicted on heel by an arrow mythological
its shield and is said to protect from Paris’s bow. warrior Achilles
the gardens.
77

076-077_EW_Greek_Islands.indd 77 27/11/2018 16:05