This morning we took a bus ride around old town Athens. We stopped at the old Olympic Stadium (the Panathinaiko stadium) for pictures. It was rebuilt for the 1896 revival of the Olympic Games and was used for archery and the end of the marathon at the 2004 Olympics. It has a very narrow oval track and marble seats.
Panathinaiko stadium |
Panathinaiko stadium
|
Panathinaiko stadium
|
Panathinaiko stadium - Marble slabs commemorating Olympic history, such as the sites of the modern Olympic competitions (two left slabs) |
Tower of the Winds
|
Plaka District |
We passed the statue of Harry Truman and the unique glass statue of a runner.
|
Glass statue of a runner
|
We then visited the Acropolis. It was originally built in the 10th c. BC as a palace and fortification. It was destroyed several times including by the Persians during their war in 480 BC. The word acropolis means a citadel or fortified part of an ancient Greek city, typically built on a hill. As such, you encounter many cities and towns that have an acropolis. The most famous, of course, is the acropolis at Athens which seems to dominate the entire city, even though there are other hills which are higher. As you will be able to tell from the number of photographs that I took (and the ones shown are only a small percentage of the total [I hear you breathe a sigh of relief]), I was really impressed. It is awe inspiring to walk around a monument like this and to look up from nearly wherever you are in the city and see it dominating the skyline. (A reminder, for more pictures and information, put the names in Google.)
Acropolis viewed from different locations in Athens
|
Acropolis as seen from the park containing the Temple of Olympian Zeus
|
Acropolis from the Philopappos Hill |
Acropolis seen from a street above the Plaka District
|
Acropolis from across the Ancient Agora
|
Acropolis at night as seen from the roof of our hotel |
The Propyla, Temple of Athena Nike, the Parthenon, and the Erechtheion are the remaining structures on the Acropolis and are all in various states of reconstruction. The Odeum of Herodes Atticus has been restored, and the Theater of Dionysus is partially restored.
|
|
As we walked toward the entrance gate to the Acropolis, we looked down into the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a theater that was built in 2 AD with 6,000 seats. It has been restored beautifully and is now used for concerts and plays and only seats 5,000 - larger bottoms in today’s population than 2,000 years ago.
|
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
|
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
|
Odeon of Herodes Atticus |
The Propylaia (or Propyla) or entrance to the Acropolis |
The Propyla and the Temple of Athena Nike (with scaffolding).
|
The Propylaia |
The Propylaia
|
Temple of Athena Nike |
Temple of Athena Nike
|
The Parthenon |
The Parthenon - west side
|
The Parthenon was built in 449 to 438 BC and took only nine years to complete. It gives the illusion of straight lines. The columns curve in slightly and their bases follow the curvature of the earth. It is under reconstruction again in order to replace the iron reinforcing rods that have oxidized and broken away with titanium rods holding the stones and columns together. The entrance to the temple has Doric columns outside and ionic ones inside. The Parthenon is built entirely of marble with eight columns across and 17 along its length. It is symmetric on either side of the 9th column. They rolled the round column slabs from the marble quarry some distance away and controlled the downhill speed with horses and moved the rectangular ones in between wooden wheels.
|
|
The Parthenon - west facade
|
The Parthenon - south side |
The Parthenon - south facade |
The Parthenon - east side
|
The Parthenon - east facade
|
The Parthenon - east facade |
The Parthenon - columns
|
The Parthenon - Ionic capital |
Also on the Acropolis is the Temple of the Erechtheion with four female statues instead of columns on one side.
|
|
Temple of the Erechtheion - south and west sides |
Temple of the Erechtheion - west side
|
Temple of the Erechtheion - statues of Caryatids on south side |
Temple of the Erechtheion - statue of one Caryatid
|
Temple of the Erechtheion - north side
|
Temple of the Erechtheion - east side |
Shiny, VERY slippery marble on which you walk |
Not everyone is enchanted with the Acropolis!
|
Guardian of the Acropolis - this is one of lots |
Before leaving the Acropolis we climbed the rock, Mars Hill, where St. Paul gave a speech to the Athenians. Photo is the rock from above.
|
The views of the city from the Acropolis are stunning. A few of these views follow. Several of the places shown were visited later.
|
|
New Acropolis Museum |
Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus
|
Observatory (left) and the Church of Saint Marina on the Hill of the Nymphs. |
Chapel of St. George on top of Mount Lycabettus
|
We also walked along the south wall at the base of the Acropolis
|
Doing maintenance work on the east wall
|
|
|
Theater of Dionysos - marble seating |
Theater of Dionysos - seats with the owner's name inscribed
|
Theater of Dionysos below the south wall of the Acropolis |
Stoa of Eumenes along the south wall
|
More jigsaw puzzles for the restorers |
More jigsaw puzzles for the restorers
|
Church of Agios Dimitrios Loubardiaris near the entrance to the Acropolis |
Bells at the Church of Agios Dimitrios Loubardiaris
|
We walked to lunch in a restaurant area of many small tavernas. We ate outside and it was quite pleasant - lunch was not. We had gyros as the main course and the meat was some kind of mysterious sliced sausage. Most of us did not eat it. Nor did we eat the yogurt and honey dessert.
We took our bus to the Benaki Museum. This is a wonderful museum, but no pictures allowed. It has a very nicely laid out collection of all things Greek. We looked at more relics - figurines, pottery, statues - and then got into jewelry, traditional dress, fancy embroidered clothes, and two elaborate rooms from a mansion. I also enjoyed seeing the old-time “flutes” and stringed instruments and old farm implements.
We bused back to the hotel for two hours of lectures by professor Steven Diamant on the golden age of Athens - basically from 500 BC to 425 BC. This includes the wars with Persia and the Peloponnese and the building of the Parthenon. He was a very good lecturer and kept us all awake and interested.
We had a half hour of “free time” and then rode in our bus down to the port at Piraeus for a fish dinner. Those who could ate anchovy mashed potato, sautéed calamari, steamed mussels, and perch fillet. I ate salad and chicken. We all enjoyed the chocolate mousse dessert.
| Return to Top | Return to Greece Itinerary | Return to Trips Page | Return to Dreamcatcher Home Page |