Photos

In the southwest of Mt. Erymanthos one of the -many- legendary mountains of the Peloponnese* almost on the border between the prefectures of Achaia, Ileia and Arcadia is the Plateau of Foloi. The plateau itself takes its name from Folos, the king of the Centaurs and alleged friend of Hercules**. At an average altitude of ~600m it hosts a unique forest of broadleaved oaks (Quercus frainetto). While the climate of the area is relatively dry the forest itself preserves humidity in the area in the dry summer months.

The place has a rich flora and fauna, however the most impressive is the forest itself. At spots dense, in other parts less, forming groves and natural orchards. The presense of the trees is really magic and makes the visitor wonder if in the next turn the dryads will come out to sing and dance...

So... to begin I would like to introduce you to ...ladies and gentlemen: the LIGHT of the place. And just to give a small glimpse of the magic of the nature I chose a small, abstract frame through the leaves of this unique oak!

(Unfortunately this photo is taken around noon. Even though we set off to go there relatively early in the morning I can't help wondering how everything would be at dawn...)

*According to ancient greek legend, in Erymanthos resided Artemis, later (in Roman times) worshipped as Diana. Additionally, this is where Hercules slew the erymanthean boar, a boar that was the scourge of the area. The mountain got its name from Erymanthos, the son of Lycaon, the king of Arcadia . To make the legend more salty, Venus stroke Erymanthos blind when he saw her taking a bath with Adonis and Apollo killed Adonis for revenge (after having been transformed to a boar -apparently the place was thriving with them!)

**According to legend -again- the Centaurs had hunted the Lapiths who fortified in the area. The Centaurs had won and conquered the area. Hercules arrived there during his famous 12 Labors to slay the erymanthean boar (see above) and was hosted by Folos their king. Folos served Hercules with the finest food but when Hercules asked for wine to drink, Folos hesitated because the wine belongs to all the centaurs. Nevertheless, Hercules convinced him claiming that Dionysos (the god of grapes, wine and ecstasy) had left it there for that specific occasion. Thus they opened the storage jar to drink, but the other centaurs smelled the wine and came mad at Hercules. This was followed by an epic battle where Hercules killed many centaurs and hunted the rest . When he returned to the area he found his friend, Folos, who had tried to take the poisonned arrows he had used out of the corpses of his people dead due to an accidental sting by one of the arrows. Hercules buried his friend there, hence the name of the Plateau.