Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Terrace of the Lions

Discover Terrace of the Lions in Mikonos, Greece: Replicas of Apollo's leonine stone guard cats still line a sacred row in Greece.

Labyrinthos Caves

Discover Labyrinthos Caves in Moires, Greece: Cretean quarry suggests real-life site for ancient Greek myth of the man-eating Minotaur in his labyrinth.

Kastania Cave

Discover Kastania Cave in Kato Kastania, Greece: This remarkable cave was discovered after a shepherd watched bees enter and exit through a small fissure.

Dikteon Cave

Discover Dikteon Cave in Psichro, Greece: According to myth, Zeus himself was hidden in this cave to escape being eaten by his dad.

The Temple of Dionysos

Discover The Temple of Dionysos in Mikonos, Greece: Giant marble phalluses on the sacred island of antiquity.

Prehistoric Town of Akrotiri

Discover Prehistoric Town of Akrotiri in Santorini, Greece: A Bronze age settlement on the Greek island of Santorini might have been the inspiration for Plato's Atlantis.

Knossos

Discover Knossos in Heraklion, Greece: A minotaur, a labyrinth, and a dubious restoration pull in visitors from around the world.

Mycenae

Discover Mycenae in Argolis, Greece: This legendary city has been a tourist attraction for centuries.

Tourlitis Lighthouse

Discover Tourlitis Lighthouse in Andros, Greece: Perched on a spindly rock spire in a Greek archipelago, this lighthouse would make a perfect wizard's tower.

The Athenian Agora

Discover The Athenian Agora in Athens, Greece: This ancient Greek place of assembly and marketplace is being revealed layer by layer below the modern Athens cityscape.

Navagio Beach

Discover Navagio Beach in Zakinthos, Greece: Hidden in a secluded Greek cove is a pristine beach marred only by the rusting smuggler's hulk stranded on its shores.

Antikythera Mechanism

Discover Antikythera Mechanism in Athens, Greece: A 2,000-year-old computer demonstrates remarkable engineering and astronomical precision.

Sami

Discover Sami in Greece: A spectacular cave and a beguiling lake.

Meteora

Discover Meteora in Kalabaka, Greece: Monasteries on rock pillars, once accessible only by frayed ropes.

The Oracle of Delphi

Discover The Oracle of Delphi in Greece: The hallucinogenic center of the ancient world.

‘Shift’ by Richard Serra

Discover 'Shift' by Richard Serra in King City, Ontario: A unique piece by one of the most famous sculptors of the 20th century is rotting away in a small Ontario town.

Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum

Discover Youngtown Rock and Roll Museum in Lindsay, Ontario: Named in tribute to Canadian singer and songwriter Neil Young.

L’ Extra-Terrasse

Discover L' Extra-Terrasse in Saint-Simon, Québec: For a brief moment, the world was given a flicker of the future of fast food, thanks to a visionary inventor.

Edwardstown Anglican Church

Discover Edwardstown Anglican Church in Saint-Chrysostome, Québec: With the chapel itself being left to moulder, the cemetery of this abandoned church might be the freshest part.

Menu

i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 ii
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. 474 iii
To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. 499 iv
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. 633 ix
To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. 135 v
To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. 167 vi
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 viii
To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 96 x
To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. 166

PP ToS