School talk kit
School talk: the castle on the hill
Everything you need for a school talk or project about the castle on the Pontinos: a step-by-step plan, facts, photos and slides.
How to put your school talk together
Start with a question
Ask your class: "Would you want to walk up a hill every day to get to work?" That's how you start talking about the priest in the castle.
Say where the castle is
The castle is on Mount Pontinos, near the village of Myloi in Greece, by the sea between Argos and Nafplio. Show it on a map!
Tell about the castle
The outer wall with towers, the hexagonal wall with the big tower, and the cisterns for rainwater.
Tell about the priest and the mystery
The priest who had to say Mass every day, and the little church whose name nobody knows.
End with a quiz
Ask your class two or three questions. Who knows the answer?
Facts for your school talk
- Mount Pontinos is right behind the village of Myloi. From the top you can see the sea, the plain of Argos and the town of Nafplio.
- Almost two thousand years ago, the writer Pausanias saw the remains of a temple for Athena at the top.
- In the Middle Ages a castle was built, with an outer wall full of towers and, at the top, a hexagonal wall with a big tower.
- Rainwater was stored in cisterns, in case enemies surrounded the castle.
- In 1347 the lord Gautier de Brienne decided that a priest had to live in the castle and say Mass every day.
- In the castle are the remains of a small church. Nobody knows what it was called.
- In 1388 the area was sold to Venice. Later the castle was never rebuilt and it became a ruin.
- At the top there is now the little white chapel of Profitis Ilias.
Photos for your school talk
You may use these photos for your school talk or project at school. But do write where they come from: "Photo: Visit Myloi".
Ruined castle walls on Pontinos hill seen from above, with a small white chapel
View from Pontinos hill over a small chapel and the Argolid plain
The white chapel of Profitis Ilias on Pontinos hill, lit up at night
Wide aerial view of Myloi between Pontinos hill, the orchards of the plain and the sea
Quiz questions for your class
- Where did they store rainwater in the castle? (In cisterns.)
- What did the priest have to do every day? (Say Mass.)
- Do we know what the little church in the castle was called? (No, it's a mystery!)
Download the kit
The pdf contains a cheat sheet and slides that you can show on the interactive whiteboard.
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School talk kit · pdf
School talk: the castle on the hill
A cheat sheet and slides for the interactive whiteboard, ready to use.
Where does this information come from? Visit Myloi, pages about the castle on the Pontinos and about the churches of Myloi; Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.36; W. E. McLeod, 'Kiveri and Thermisi' (1962); Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolida.