The Seaside Resort of Tiros Arkadias

Tiros Arkadias is a seaside village built on the side of Mount Parnonas and combines the colors of the enchanting sea with the magnificence of a mountainside.

Tiros Arkadias is approximately 75 km from Tripoli Arkadias, 21 klm from the seaside resort of Astros and about 200 klm south of Athens Greece. The municipality of Tiros Arkadias consists of three hamlets, namely upper Tiros on the side of Mount Parnonas, Lower Tiros and the Aegean resort of Tiros.

The population of Tiros according to the 2001 panhellenic census is about 1,200 individuals and the primary activities of the township are fishing, general maritime activities and tourism. Tiros was also one of the major emigration centers where many Tirians abandoned the village to find better fortune (as many of their Peloponisian countrymen) in Canada, the United States and Australia. These immigrants return annually to their birthplace as tourists. Tiros Arkadias, which bears the name from the god Apollo Tiriti, is considered one of the oldest maritime communities of the Peloponnese. The shrine of Apollo rests on the Prophet Elias hill which is southwest of the municipality.

Archeological exchavactions (Professor Romeos) have resulted in artifacts that conclude that Tiros Arkadias was populated in prehellenic times and was the site of maritime commerce and general trade activity.This is also confirmed by Pausanias' Travels (Laconica) and the resultant artifacts are today found in the museums of Sparta and Tripoli, as well as The Louvre.

Albeit limited in size, Tiros has all the requirements of a modern resort town including an upgraded and modern infrastructure, full fledged tourist services, excellent night clubs and restaurants as well as a host of surrounding support facilities including transportation and communication networks.
Tiros is especially enchanting during Easter, as one of the traditions is to re-enact the burial of Christ (the Epitaphios) by the seaside road, while being escorted by fishing boats and trailers. The procession ends with the symbolic burning of Judas Iskariot, this done by setting a fishing boat on fire in the middle of the port. Children are then asked to throw candles in the sea to symbolize the salvation of all the souls of those mariners lost at sea.

There are also numerous excellent and notable beaches, aside from the Tiros beachfront, including the beach of Tigani (or frying pan) in the direction of Astros, and the Tsakos beach after Tigani right below the shrine of St. Christopher in the Astros-Tiros roadway.

To get to Tiros Arkadias from Athens one takes the highway to Tripoli. One then takes the exit before the Artemision tunnel and drives towards Argos. From Argos one continues to Astros, and Tiros lies right after Astros and before the popular resort of Leonidion. The whole trip is about three hours from central Athens.