Why the castle was named Palamidi?
The ancient writer Apollonius of Rhodes in his poem "Argonautica" describes how the sacred city of Nafplion was founded. In those days, our hero Nafplion handed over the sacred city to his son Palamedes, but Palamedes adopted from his father not only the city, but also the best qualities:
valor, knowledge, a ((sharp inquisitive mind)- here I don’t know may be to write just excellent mind? ) , charm, wisdom, strength...
As a child, Palamedes loved to study the map of the starry sky with his father and listen to his stories, so he began to show interest in science and art from an early age. Tradition says that it was Nafplio who discovered the constellation Ursa Major and passed on to his son knowledge about navigation routes, war tactics and the secret of floating lights - beacons that illuminate the path for ships.Growing up, Palamedes became famous as a healer, sage, astrologer, and even an alchemist. He was the inventor of: measures and weights, numbers in the use of coins, divided time, added 4 letters to the Greek alphabet and invented dice and many other useful things.. It is not for nothing that his name comes from the Greek word “Palami” - the palm is the tool of the creator, and it expresses mastery of knowledge through mastery. Under his rule, the city grew and flourished until the Trojan War.
The soldiers loved and respected him, but evil tongues accused Palamedes of treason. According to legend, Odysseus, who harbored a grudge against Palamedes for exposing his pretense of madness, decided to take revenge and came up with a diabolical plan:He planted a false letter and gold, accusing Palamedes of treason. Friends and comrades turned away from him, and their own soldiers brutally executed him, stoning him to death.
Nafplio, seeing injustice and betrayal, punished Odysseus by sinking his ships during one of his legendary journeys described in the Odyssey. This tragedy formed the basis of Aeschylus's drama Palamedes and Odysseus Enraged. Unfortunately, only fragments remained from these works, on the basis of which and later retellings, this legend was restored.The name Palameda has not sunk into oblivion. It is frozen in the name of the Palamidi fortress, towering above the city and reminiscent of the greatness and tragedy of this outstanding man.
The legend of Palamedes is a story of valor, wisdom and injustice. It teaches us that even the greatest minds can fall victim to envy and betrayal, but their deeds and legacy will live on for centuries.
