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Cultural 18Mixed 3
Greece has 21 World Heritage Sites (18 cultural, 3 mixed), the 16th most in the world (tied with Ashmore and Cartier Is.). Hover over or tap a dot to see its name; click a name in the list to show it on the map. Listed by year of inscription.
- Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae This temple of Apollo the healer and sun god stands on a remote height in the Arcadian mountains of the Peloponnese and was built around the middle of the 5th century BC. It has the oldest Corinthian capital yet found and combines Archaic and Doric features with some daring architectural innovations.
- Archaeological Site of Delphi Delphi lies on the slopes of Mount Parnassus in central Greece. It was the pan-Hellenic sanctuary where the oracle of Apollo spoke and the site of the omphalos, the 'navel of the world'. From the 6th century BC it was the religious centre of the ancient Greek world and a symbol of its unity, set within an impressive landscape.
- Acropolis, Athens The Acropolis stands on a rock above central Athens. Its monuments, including the Parthenon, Erechtheion, Temple of Athena Nike and Propylaea, were mostly built in the second half of the 5th century BC, when Athens was a democracy after its victory over the Persians. They are regarded as the greatest architectural and artistic complex of classical Greece.
- Mount Athos Mount Athos, on the easternmost peninsula of Chalkidiki in northern Greece, has been an Orthodox spiritual centre since 1054 and has had an autonomous status since Byzantine times. About 20 monasteries are still inhabited, access is restricted to men, and their layout and art have influenced the Orthodox world widely.
- Meteora Meteora, at the edge of the Thessalian plain in central Greece, is a group of sandstone pillars on which monks settled from the 11th century. Twenty-four monasteries were built during the revival of the hermit tradition in the 15th century, and the surviving ones hold 16th-century frescoes that mark a key stage in post-Byzantine painting.
- Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessalonika Thessaloniki, a port city in northern Greece, was one of the first bases for the spread of Christianity. Its churches, built between the 4th and 15th centuries in Greek-cross and three-nave basilica plans, preserve fine mosaics and show the development of Byzantine architecture and art.
- Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus The sanctuary of Asklepios, god of medicine, lies in a small valley in the north-eastern Peloponnese and developed from an earlier cult of Apollo, becoming the official cult of Epidaurus by the 6th century BC at the latest. The temple of Asklepios, the Tholos and the well-preserved theatre illustrate how healing and religion were combined in ancient Greece.
- Medieval City of Rhodes The medieval city of Rhodes is on the island of Rhodes in the south-eastern Aegean. The Order of St John held the city from 1309 to 1523 and turned it into a stronghold, building the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Great Hospital and the Street of the Knights. It is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe.
- Archaeological Site of Mystras Mystras, near Sparta in the southern Peloponnese, grew up around a fortress built in 1249 by William of Villehardouin and later became an important Byzantine city in the Morea. It was abandoned in 1832, leaving terraced medieval ruins of palaces, churches and monasteries on a hillside.
- Archaeological Site of Olympia Olympia lies in a valley in the western Peloponnese. It became a centre for the worship of Zeus from the 10th century BC and was the site of the ancient Olympic Games. The sanctuary, the Altis, has temples, a stadium and many masterpieces of ancient Greek art, and records the religious and athletic traditions of the Greek world.
- Delos Delos is a small island in the Cyclades where, according to Greek mythology, Apollo was born. The sanctuary of Apollo drew pilgrims from all over Greece and the island was also a prosperous trading port. The site preserves traces of successive Aegean civilisations from the 3rd millennium BC to the early Christian era.
- Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios These three monasteries lie at Daphni in Attica, Hosios Loukas in Phocis and on the island of Chios. Though far apart, they belong to the same 11th–12th century Byzantine type, with cross-in-square churches decorated with gold-ground mosaics, and are outstanding examples of Middle Byzantine art.
- Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos Samos is an Aegean island close to the coast of Asia Minor, inhabited since the 3rd millennium BC. The property includes Pythagoreion, an ancient fortified port with Greek and Roman remains and a notable tunnel aqueduct, and the Heraion, a great temple of Hera.
- Archaeological Site of Aigai (modern name Vergina) Aigai, the first capital of the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia, was identified in the 19th century near Vergina in northern Greece. The main remains are a monumental palace decorated with mosaics and painted stucco and a large burial ground with royal tombs, one of which is associated with Philip II.
- Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns Mycenae and Tiryns, in the Argolid in the Peloponnese, are the ruins of the two greatest cities of the Mycenaean civilisation, which dominated the eastern Mediterranean from the 15th to the 12th century BC. They are known for their cyclopean walls and the Lion Gate, and had a lasting influence on classical Greek art and literature.
- The Historic Centre (Chorá) with the Monastery of Saint-John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse on the Island of Pátmos Patmos is a small island in the Dodecanese, reputed to be where St John the Theologian wrote his Gospel and the Apocalypse. The monastery dedicated to him, founded in the late 10th century, and the Cave of the Apocalypse have drawn pilgrims for a thousand years, and the hilltop settlement of Chora keeps its medieval layout.
- Old Town of Corfu The Old Town of Corfu stands on the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea, at the entrance to the Adriatic, and has roots in the 8th century BC. Its three forts, designed by Venetian engineers, and its streets and buildings show the influence of Venetian, French and British periods.
- Archaeological Site of Philippi The ancient walled city of Philippi lies in north-eastern Greece on the Via Egnatia, the route linking Europe and Asia. Founded by Philip II of Macedon in 356 BC, it developed as a 'small Rome' under the Roman Empire and became an early centre of Christianity, with remains of a forum, theatre and early churches.
- Zagori Cultural Landscape Zagori, in north-west Greece, is a group of small stone villages, the Zagorochoria, on the western slopes of the northern Pindus range. The villages are organised around a central square with a plane tree and surrounded by sacred forests maintained by local people, with stone bridges and paths that show a long-lived adaptation to the mountain environment.
- Minoan Palatial Centres This serial property comprises six archaeological sites on Crete dating from about 1900 to 1100 BCE, including Knossos, Phaistos and Malia. They were the administrative, economic and religious centres of Minoan civilisation, a major prehistoric Mediterranean culture, and are notable for their architecture, urban planning and frescoes.
- The wider area of Mount Olympus Mount Olympus in northern Greece is the country's highest mountain, at 2,917 m. Its closeness to the sea and abrupt relief produce a remarkable diversity of terrain, climate and vegetation. The ancient Greeks placed the home of the Twelve Olympian gods here, and the mountain has a long place in literature and art.