After a pretty bad night’s sleep because of the noise from the street, we had a quick breakfast of yoghurt and banana and then Dave ordered a taxi to take us to the entrance for the Acropolis. As you would expect it was swarming with people. We got there at 9.30 and got free tickets as it is Sunday but the first available entry time was 12. We decided, however, to take a guided tour for 30€ each to clarify the different areas and what we were looking at. This proved a good decision as there was not a great deal of signage. It also meant that we could go in sooner with our guide without having to queue or to wait until midday.
We had a half hour to kill before our guided tour started, so we were directed to the rocky outcrop of Areopagus Hill from which Apostle Paul first preached the tenets of Christianity in 51 A.D. From there, we had a spectacular views across the city.
The yellow haze you can see is the Saharan dust that is carried in the air. We get this occasionally in the UK but I think they get it here very often.
Our guide Giota was Athenian born and bred and was really good. She was obviously used to speaking to a multinational audience, so her tour was really clear. She used an umbrella for us to spot her amongst the crowds and this proved very necessary given the sheer volume of people!!
She explained that Acropolis is a generic word in Greece, meaning at the top of the city. Many Greek cities have an Acropolis but the reason that everyone associates the word with Athens is due to the quality and notoriety of the buildings found on the Athenian Acropolis.
The most famous of these is the Parthenon meaning the temple of the virgin. This was a most important religious centre dedicated to Athens and also offered protection against an attack. It was built in the 5th century B.C. with marble ceilings to let the light through.
We walked past a Roman odeon theatre which formerly had a wooden roof. This one accommodates 5,000 people and is still used for open air concerts. Various famous opera singers and pop singers have performed there. It was created in the second century A.D. and has new marble seats sourced from a local quarry.
We then came to Propylaea which is the monumental gate to enter the acropolis. It was used to store paintings. They managed to make anti-seismic construction by connecting marble sections with a wooden nail. Nowadays during restoration titanium is used. A symbolic transition from the human to godly realm happened by entering in darkness and then seeing the Parthenon lit ahead.
The Parthenon was created according to the golden ratio of Pythagoras which stated that everything in nature respects the balance of that ratio. This makes it look like part of the environment. It also has no straight lines, with each pillar leaning slightly inwards like the base of a giant pyramid. The building and its environs have a very sad history, however, due to various events and occupations over the years. The first Christians stole the giant statue of Athena that stood before it and turned it into jewellery. Then the Turks occupied it for four centuries. The Venetians attacked in the 17th century and blew it up, igniting the gunpowder stored there by the Turks. Many parts of the Parthenon were blasted all over the slopes of the Acropolis. Restoration work continues to this day.
Furthermore Lord Elgin removed the statues in the 19th century and sold them to the British government. 85% are now in the British Museum and only 15% in the Acropolis museum. There are ongoing negotiations to return these items from the British Museum to the Acropolis Museum which Greeks consider their rightful place.
She then explained to us the tale of Poseidon and Athena’s fight for the right to name Athens. Each of them offered a gift to the city and the people then decided which to choose. Poseidon offered water (but this was salted sea water and therefore not good to drink) and Athena offered an olive tree full of fruits. Her gift was deemed the most useful for offering oxygen, shade, olives and their oil and wood for the winter and hence the city was named for her. The tree is reputed to be the first olive tree from which all others derived. The citizens decided the name and hence Athens was the birthplace of democracy. At one point citizens voted about everything every 9 days on average, so about 40 times a year. They were very proud of it and anyone who didn’t vote was called idiotus.
Athenians subsequently built a temple to the goddess Athena for her help in defeating the Persians on the island Salamis. Some pillars are wider and have been repaired for the stability of the building. The marble was taken from the same quarry that is still in use to this day. This Erechtheion temple is considered the birthplace of democracy as it marks the point where Athena and Poseidon had their argument. An olive tree has been planted where Athena planted the original sacred olive tree. The temple is unique in that the supporting pillars are replaced with statues of women.
On our way out Dave overheard a gentleman who was enquiring about tickets and gave him our tickets from earlier. This was perfect timing as it was 5 to 12 and meant he could immediately join the queue.
We then walked past the Agora and old churches and stopped for an iced tea and a beer in a lovely shady little alleyway – this was very welcome after the heat of the tour.
After that we walked a bit further, had an ice cream for lunch!! and joined a long queue for the Acropolis Museum. This was €15 each and contained artefacts found in and around the Acropolis which were beautifully displayed in a stunning building. There were many parts of this which could not be photographed, so there is just a small flavour of it included here! After a little while in the flat, we ventured out for a stroll and to get a drink. Our initial taxi driver had warned us that this was the student district, and we very much got that vibe as we walked through bars full of young people on the nearby streets. We decided to brave it and settled for a nice bar with colourful murals. Just as we settled happily into a beer and gin, there was a clatter and a clash, and Sue had managed to smash her gin glass all over the floor. (… and she claimed she wasn’t even touching it at the time!!! 😃) The waiter kindly gave her a replacement.
We went back to the flat to chill for a while before returning to the same restaurant as the day before. It was so convenient and we loved the food so much that it seemed like a good idea. This time we rang the changes (apart from sharing a fried courgette starter!!) and I had marinated chicken and chips while Dave chose pork belly and chips. As before, it was delicious! They are starting to recognise us!!
We got back to the flat and Dave watched the Wales Australia game, which he very much enjoyed (Sorry Marco). I had not had a siesta, so turned in for an early night.
Brilliant photos! Glad you had a lovely day x