Our cruise ended in Piraeus, Greece (the nearest port city to Athens) and after slowly making our way off the ship, including a long delay while the cruise issued a cash refund because of the cancelled port of Kusadasi (further evidence of cruise ship inefficiencies since they claimed they were unable to issue the refund to the credit card), we boarded a bus to make the trip to Athens. Mimi and Mormor had one day to play tourist in Athens before flying to Norway the following morning. We were going to have two days before making the same flight a day later. Consequently, we wanted to make sure we saw all the highlights of this city that served as the cradle of democracy in the short time we had. Fortunately, our apartment we rented and Mimi and Mormor's hotel were in a prime location, literally across the street from the Acropolis complex with all the must-see sites within walking distance.
I was a huge fan of all the ancient ruins and architecture and was thrilled to cross this city off my bucket list. If I ever made it back, I would make time to explore other sites that were too far to do in the short time we had, like Delphi.
As we started our walk, we came to Hadrian's Arch built around 131 AD. This arch honored the Roman emperor Hadrian who was a big fan of Athens and provided the city with many things the Athenians wanted. It was traditionally believed to be along the dividing line of old Athens and a newly developed Roman section of Athens, though scholars now have different interpretations. The arch is the best preserved ruin in this complex that also houses the Temple of the Olympian Zeus (which now is just several columns).
We made our way to the Acropolis complex. It was a hot day so while we were waiting to buy our tickets, Tanja took Derek to sit on a curb in the shade underneath some trees. A local news crew was doing a story talking to tourists about their experiences, how they were dealing with the heat, and other topics. Derek was uncharacteristically shy during the interview; had he known that he would have potentially been on TV, perhaps he would have been more exuberant. The day after we left Athens, we saw in the news that people were fainting in lines within the Acropolis, so the authorities were closing down the site during the heat of the day. I'm very glad we were able to go and get in, even if it was hot and uncomfortable.
Once we got in the Acropolis we saw all kinds of old ruins in this center of the ancient city. Tanja and Mormor at the top of the Odeon Amphitheater (completed 161 AD, and remodeled in 1950). The site is still used for performances today.
The Panatheanic Way here was the ancient Athenian Main Street leading through the Agora where we are standing up to the Acropolis hill where the Parthenon stands in the distance. During the summer Panathenaic Festival, this was the ancient Athens parade route and the procession would go up to the temples on the hill where they would make sacrifices to their patron goddess. Every four years on what they designated as Athena's birthday, they would make a tapestry dress called a peplos to adorn the giant statue of Athena that used to reside in the Parthenon.
The Theater of Dionysus was first built in the 6th century B.C. and at its peak in the 4th century B.C. had a capacity of around 25,000. It sits at the base of the Acropolis hill.
Here's Karina above the Odeon Amphitheater as we were walking up the hill.
Entering through the gates on the boardwalk to prevent even more erosion from the massive number of visitors.
Once at the top, the hill is a large flat plateau devoid of most plant life but with a staggering history of temple ruins.
The Parthenon is the most well known Greek temple and has been the symbol of Athens since it was constructed and dedicated to the patron goddess of Athens, Athena, in the 5th century B.C. Ordered by the Greek general and politician Pericles as the Delian League (centered on Delos) was becoming the Athenian Empire, the Parthenon and the other temples on the Acropolis are built of marble. The Parthenon has a storied history; in addition to being the premier temple to Athena, it also has served as the Treasury of the Delian League, been converted to a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary (6th century AD), and a Muslim mosque after the Ottomans conquered (15th century AD). Later, the Venetians and the Ottomans went to war. In 1687, the Ottomans were using the Parthenon as munitions storage during a siege, and a Venetian mortar struck the Parthenon and exploded the ordinance stored there. The resulting explosion blew off the roof and caused much of the damage that gives the surviving Parthenon ruins the look it has today.
The Porch of the Maidens (also known as the Caryatid Porch) on the Erechtheion temple. The roof of the porch rests on the heads of six sculptured women (the ones there now are replicas as the originals have been moved to the Acropolis Museum with the exception of one that was "harvested" by the British and moved to the British Museum). The Erechtheion is a temple over the site of a mythological contest between Athena and Poseidon over which of them would be the patron of Athens. The two each gave the city a gift. Poseidon's gift was a saltwater spring that he supposedly created by stabbing the earth with his trident - the mark of his trident is supposedly inside the temple where the spring presumably came up. Athena's gift was a sacred olive tree; an olive tree now stands outside the temple in commemoration. Ultimately, Athena's gift was judged more desirable and she became the patron of the city that bears her name.
Mimi and Lydia in front of the Parthenon. Architecturally, the building is famous for the optical illusions the Greeks employed to convey beauty, balance, and strength. To prevent the illusion of sagging that would come with a flat floor in a building this size, the Parthenon base is actually a long slight arch so the middle is a few inches higher than the edges. The columns also tilt very slightly inward to counteract the sagging illusion. The corner columns are a little bit thicker than the interior columns to make it look they are the same size (if they were actually the same size, due to being on the edge and against the blue sky, they would appear to be narrower than interior columns that were against the marble). All this meant that for a building that appears to be full of right angles, there are actually very few. Consequently, each block of marble was individually cut for its precise location. That level of craftsmanship alone is inspiring; to think the ancient Athenians built it in a little less than ten years (though all the sculptures that used to be part of it took longer) is remarkable.
Since I have an affinity for taking pictures of foreign flags when traveling, I wandered over to the edge of the Acropolis where this large Greek flag flies. There's an unverified story that in April 1941 when the Nazis invaded Greece that they ordered the Greek soldier guarding this flag to take it down. The soldier calmly did so, wrapped himself in the flag, and jumped over the side of the Acropolis to his death. A month later, two teenage boys scaled the Acropolis wall, took down the Nazi flag, and raised the Greek flag in one of the first well known examples of Nazi resistance. The prominent perch on the Acropolis allows Greeks all over Athens to see this flag and think of their hard fought independence from many different eras of occupation. The hill in the distance on the left is Lycabettus Hill, the tallest point in Athens.
We carefully made our way down from the Acropolis hill - the marble steps were worn and somewhat slippery - and over to tour the adjacent ancient Agora. The word "Agora" means "gathering place" and this is where Athenians shopped, socialized, debated, and politicked. It's mostly ruins now, but I loved wandering the area where Socrates and Plato taught in ancient times to where Paul preached in New Testament times. Karina stayed glued to her Kindle while taking a break in the shade next to these flowers in the Agora.
The Temple of Hephaestus in the Agora is one of the best preserved temples in Greece. It was started in 450 B.C. slightly before construction began on the Parthenon, but wasn't finished until later as the Greeks were concentrating their building efforts on the Acropolis and other projects were paused. Sometime around the 7th century AD, this temple was converted into a Christian church dedicated to Saint George. During Ottoman rule/occupation, the Turks kept the church open but only allowed services there once per year on St. George's Day. Likely due to the continued use, the temple is particularly well-preserved.
Looking through the Temple of Hephaestus. Hephaestus was the Greek god of metal working and craftsmanship. In ancient times, judging by the number of metal working shops and pottery shops in the vicinity of this temple, it was likely an active place for blacksmiths and other artisans to spend time.
Looking out over Athens through someone's cactus garden.
We finally found Derek a souvenir store with something that he wanted (after looking for souvenirs throughout the whole vacation). He wound up choosing a new dinosaur stuffed animal to go with his other dinosaurs. This time, he got a stegosaurus and was thrilled that he had a new toy to play with. I'm not sure what a stegosaurus has to do with Athens, but if he's happy with it, so am I. The store we found it in had all kinds of pop culture features, including this replica of the Transformer Bumblebee.
We made our way through modern Athens's version of the Agora and visited the Central Market including the meat market where rows of butchers were selling meat of all kinds, including severed pig's heads.
In the Psiri neighborhood, there is a huge cafe/bakery called Little Kook that goes way overboard with its decorations. When we were in Athens, it was decorated in a Alice in Wonderland motif. We didn't go inside as it looked pretty expensive, but it was fun to take a picture of the craziness from outside.
We finished by walking to the Panathenaic Olympic Stadium. The first stadium was built here in the 4th century B.C. to host the Panathenaic Games (early version of the Olympics). It was rebuilt by the Romans in the 2nd century AD using the same marble as was used in the Parthenon giving it a gleaming white glow. In 1896 in preparation for the first modern Olympics, it was restored to the Roman condition and was used again in 2004 as the finish line for the marathon for the Olympics when they returned to their birthplace in Athens. I had wanted to go inside and run around the track like an Olympic athlete with the kids, but it was too hot and we were able to get a good view from the outside looking in.
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That afternoon, we visited the Acropolis Museum, conveniently located right across the street from our rental at the base of the Acropolis, and consistently rated as one of the best museums in the world. The museum opened to the public at its current site in 2009, though an earlier version had been open on the summit of the hill. The museum houses many original surviving sculptures and other artifacts that adorned the Acropolis. It also serves as a diplomatic magnet to attempt and repatriate Acropolis artifacts that had been taken away from Greece by other countries, empires, and foreign aristocracy over the centuries. This sculpture was part of the pediment of the Hekatompedon temple (no longer standing) and depicts a lion killing a calf. The lion has both male (the mane) and female (the teats) features, likely indicating the sculptors knew little about lion anatomy with no lions in Greece in the 6th century B.C.
I liked this detailed Lego model of the Acropolis as it was in ancient times they had on display.
The Acropolis Museum is built atop Roman ruins and visitors can go beneath the museum to explore them. I was surprised at all the money that people threw into the ruins (like you see with coins tossed into fountains). I don't know who has that kind of money to throw around, but I was very tempted to figure out some kind of grabber claw to reach down and pluck some cash like 50 euro bills I saw down there.
That evening, we explored our rooftop deck and it was then that we fully grasped and appreciated how fantastic the location of our rental was. We took several photos of the Acropolis as the sun was setting and as the Parthenon and Acropolis hill were being lit up to glow ethereally over the city.
Tanja and the kids then played with her phone's camera in the low light as the kids took turns racing across the deck to create blurry ghosts in this ancient city.
I was thrilled with our stay in Athens and so happy I could cross it off my travel bucket list. The only downside was the heat, but that is to be expected when traveling there in the middle of the summer.
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