Pouqueville: about thirty houses at the foot of Pontinos

c. 1815 Proven

The French consul and traveller François Pouqueville arrived after sunset and, once someone had fetched the key, spent the night in the khan on bare planks, plagued by mosquitoes. 'Lerna or Milos', he wrote, consisted of about thirty houses backing onto Mount Pontinos. On the road to Argos he saw a walled park with a delightful orchard and a house belonging to a Turk from the area; the lake was full of gulls, kingfishers and cormorants, and the people said its water gave fever.

Note: Pouqueville's visit is usually dated around 1815; his account was printed in 1826–27.

Where

The old khan (inn), Myloi (the village), Pontinos hill and castle, Lake and marsh of Lerna

Who

François Pouqueville

Threads

Travellers, Village life

Certainty

Proven confirmed by primary sources

Sources

• F.-C.-H.-L. Pouqueville, Voyage de la Grèce, 2nd ed., vol. V, Paris 1827, book XIV, ch. VI («Route de Tripolitza à Lerne»), pp. c. 279–285 Open (opens in a new tab)

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