Greece · 13th century BC
The Palace of Nestor (Modern Greek: Ανάκτορο του Νέστορα) was an important centre in Mycenaean times and is traditionally identified with the palace of the Homeric king Nestor at "sandy Pylos", described in Homer's Odyssey and Iliad. The palace featured in the story of the Trojan War, as Homer tells us that Telemachus:
The archeological site is the best preserved Mycenaean Greek palace discovered. The palace is the primary structure within a larger Late Helladic era settlement, once probably surrounded by a fortified wall. The palace was a two-storey building with store rooms, workshops, baths, light wells, reception rooms and a sewage system.
The settlement had been long occupied, with most artifacts discovered dating from 1300 BC. The palace complex was destroyed by fire around 1250 BC.
In June 2016, the site reopened to the public after the roof was replaced by a modern structure with raised walkways for visitors.
Text adapted from “Palace of Nestor” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Palace of Nestor ranks #494 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #12 of the 134 mapped in Greece. Founded 1300 BC, it is older than 99% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 3 atlas entries founded in the 13th century BC. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 17,994 times in the last 60 days, more than 97% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Kalamata, 37 km away. It is one of the 34 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of the Peloponnese. See how Greece compares in the castle statistics.
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