Our Uncharted Lives: Athens, Greece

After spending a wonderfully relaxing few days in Mykonos, we made our way back to the mainland to spend a couple of days in Athens. We were a bit tentative about our time in Athens for a couple of reasons:

The country had been undergoing a great deal of civil unrest due to a series of austerity measures stemming from their soveriegn debt crisis. Most of this centered in a very small part of Athens that we had no intention of visiting, but we had to change our travel plans to Mykonos in order to avoid potential delays. Ultimately we didn't expect to have any problems, but the situation stayed in the back of our minds.
We had heard simply terrible things about Athens from our friends who had visited previously. We were told specifically that Athens was dirty, unpleasant and unattractive, and that we should only stay long enough to visit the Acropolis and the two main museums: The Acropolis Museum and the Greek Museum of Archaeology. Then, we were told, it is in your best interest to get out of Athens.

We decided to only stay for two days in Athens, but our experience was fantastic and Chris felt like he could have stayed for significantly longer.

We spent our first day making our way over to and visiting the Acropolis. On the path we stumbled upon the Library of Hadrian.

Library of Hadrian

Making our way further up the hill we came across the Roman Agora, an area of private residence and governmental functions dating back to the 6th century BC.

The Roman Agora

Finally we began making our way up the hill of the Acropolis.

The Acropolis and its monuments, universal symbols of the classical spirit and culture, form the greatest achitectual and artistic contribution of Greek antiquity. The most famous of these buildings were erected in the second half of the 5th century BC when Athens, with victory over the Persians, and the establishment of the truest democracy the world has ever seen, was the leader of the other city states of the ancient world. With the cultural and artistic flowering that ensued, an outstanding group of artists, under the direction of the sculpter, Pheidias, applied the monumental plans of the politician Perikles and transformed the rocky hill into a unique monument of the human spirit and of art.

Approaching the hill

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a stone theatre along the hill on the way to the Acropolis. It was built in 161 AD by Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla. It was originally a steep-sloped amphitheater with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof, and was used as a venue for music concerts with a capacity of 5,000. Considering how old it is, it's very well perserved.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

The stage

What we can only assume were "box seats"

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Another one of the sites on the way up the hill is the Theatre of Dionysus, a major open-air theater and one of the earliest preserved in Athens and the world. It was used for festivals in honor of the god Dionysus, the god of wine and the patron of drama.

Theater of Dionysus

At the top of the hill are many stairs leading up to a large group of buildings which you must walk through and serves as the beginning of the Acropolis. These buildings are collectively known as the Propylaea. Built from 437 BC to 432 BC, these are the first known building with Doric and Ionic colonnades visible at the same time. It is also the first monumental building in the classical period to be more complex than a simple rectangle or cylinder. Entrance into the Acropolis was controlled by the Propylaea. Though it was not built as a fortified structure, it was important that people not ritually clean be denied access to the sanctuary. In addition, runaway slaves and other miscreants could not be permitted into the sanctuary where they could claim the protection of the gods. The state treasury was also kept on the Acropolis, making its security important.

Temple of Athena Nike standing out in front of the Propylaea

The entrance to the Propylaea

Entering through the Propylaea

Columns of the Propylaea

After walking through the Propylaea you notice to the left the Erecththeion, an ancient Greek temple notable for a design that is at once elegant and unusual.The temple as seen today was built between 421 BC and 407 BC, but it is believed to be a replacement for an older temple, since it is on the site of some of the most ancient and holy relics of the Athenians including the Palladion (a wooden effigy of Athena Polias, Protectress of the City) that fell from heaven according to myth, the tomb of Cecrops (the mythical king of Athens), the tomb of Erechtheus (the mythical demigod and ancestor of all Athenians), the marks of Poseidon's trident, and the salt water well that resulted from Poseidon's strike.

On the north side, there is a large porch with columns, and on the south, the famous Caryatid Porch, or "porch of the maidens," with six draped female figures (Caryatids) as supporting columns.

Erecththeion

Opposite from the Erecththeion stands the famous and incredible Parthenon. The Parthenon is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world.

The Parthenon has stood atop the Acropolis of Athens for nearly 2,500 years and was built to give thanks to Athena, the city's patron goddess, for the salvation of Athens and Greece in the Persian Wars. The building was officially called the Temple of Athena the Virgin; "Parthenon" comes from the Greek word parthenos, "virgin."

Throughout its long life, the Parthenon has functioned most importantly as a Greek temple, but has also been a treasury, a fortress, a church, and a mosque. Today, it is one of the most recognizable icons and popular tourist attractions in the world.

Parthenon

Reminded us of Manhattan's Central Park. A large tree-filled area in the middle of a large city.

Parthenon

Erecththeion

Erecththeion (north porch)

Temple of Athena Nike

Leaving through the Propylaea

Exiting the Propylaea

After coming down the hill we visited the Acropolis Museum which holds many of the artifacts found in the Acropolis and is situated over the ruins of the ancient city.

Ruins benieth the Acropolis Museum

Ruins benieth the Acropolis Musuem

On the way home we snapped this great picture of the Acropolis behind the Roman Agora in the nighttime.

The area around the Acropolis, called the Plaka, is full of beautiful restaurants and cafes that have musicians playing traditional Greek music. The food is fantastic and the atmosphere is serene. It sits right in the shadow of the Acropolis and is an amazing place to go for dinner after a day touring around the "ancient city".

The Acropolis at night from the roof of our hotel.

The next day we visited the Greek Archeaological Museum which holds some of the most notable historical items from antiquity.

Death Mask of Agamemnon (though it is not believed to have belonged to him)

Statue of Apollo found at the Theater of Dionysus

By now everyone knows the story of the Greek warriors who fought the Persians to the death at Thermopyles (the story is so great, Hollywood made it into the movie 300). The below picture shows the bronze and iron arrowheads and spearheads uncovered on the Kolonos Hill, where the last Spartans fell. Dating from the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC, the majority of the weaponry belongs to Asian origins.