Methana - Anyone want to climb an active volcano?

To cleanse my palate after Troezen, we did a small detour, both locationally and contextually, to Methana, to climb an active volcano.  No magma, and the volcano hasn't erupted since around 1700, but there are regular seismic events (about once a week), and the roads in the area are papered with signs about falling rocks and the sides of the roads are layered with rock netting and/or catch nets.

Now, getting to the starting point of the 500m mostly vertical hike was its own event of exciting turns through several kilometers of steep mountain passes of allegedly two-lane roads which abutted to shear cliffs and no guard rails!  But eventually, we found the path.

As a side note, we still don't know much Greek, and for some unknown reason, Google maps was now giving me locations in GERMAN (Kaldera???).  We know vulcanology is the study of volcanos, based on the Latin Vulcan, the God of Fire and the Forge, as Hephaistos is the God of Fire and the Forge, whose forge was under Mount Etna and therefore the cause of those volcanic eruptions.  I jokingly quipped to Randall that hephaistology would be too much of a mouthful.

As we approached the sign, Randall had me read the Greek.

Iphaisteio (the H is silent) IS apparently the word for volcano.

Before we started, Randall read some account that this path was only for experienced hikers, and that footing at the end was tricky.  Eh.  Off we went with a bottle of water each, looking for the markers.

All I can say is that the view became more beautiful with each ascent and turn.

Then we saw the finish, rather clearly marked for the idiots:

But first we had to negotiate these, with that ever-so-helpful marker showing the non-existent path:

And then I could look into the vent.

Alas, the way down was the same as the way up, and it was only then that I realized how precarious the path was at times.

Yes, that bit of brown between the rocks and adjacent to the cliff is our path.  I barely noticed the hazard on the way up, but on the way down, all I could think was "don't slip".