Growing up in the 20th Century, it was impossible to fully grasp civilizations that dominated long before we started numbering centuries. Sure, we were taught about Persians, Romans and Greeks in school, but those names were learned for memorization, while still remaining mostly abstract. By today’s standards it seems inconceivable that whole cities — not countries — fought against each other; that warriors could arrive inside a huge wooden horse and actually fool somebody, or that mythical Gods fought equally mythical monsters. But here we were in Greece, where many of these ideas took root. Perhaps now we might gain an inkling as to what may, or may not, have happened thousands of years ago.
The Acropolis –
Athens is dominated by the Acropolis, the ancient citadel perched above the city. Massive temples were erected on this uplifted land mass by humans paying homage to Greek Gods, in particular the Goddess Athena, daughter of the most powerful Greek God, Zeus. Remnants of 3 of the 4 temples on the Acropolis remain today. Today, only the remnants of three of the four temples on the Acropolis remain. The Parthenon is the most intact, while the Erechtheion, renowned for its porch of Caryatids, has a unique beauty. The sheer magnitude of these architectural marvels cannot be adequately described.
Radiating out from the Acropolis (which means high city) are some of the world’s earliest theaters and marketplaces (agoras). In contrast, directly across from the Acropolis, is the Acropolis Museum, where we had a personal tour, in hopes of learning more about this shrine.
The initial revelation was that the Greeks continue to unearth previously concealed ruins. Furthermore, Greek law mandates that these remnants be displayed rather than concealed. If they are covered, the covering may not obscure the diggings. Upon entering the Acropolis Museum, for example, we traversed an expansive glass ramp, providing an unobstructed view of additional archaeological excavations beneath.
We started with the museum so that we could better understand what we were witnessing once we climbed the Acropolis. It was our first day in Athens and there was a lot to learn….
ACROPOLIS PHOTO GALLERY
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The City
Athens is a sprawling capital, dwarfed in almost every way by the Acropolis. There are no skyscrapers, and even Athens’ famous roof-top restaurants (we ate in two of them) have views of the Acropolis, which is dramatically lit at night. . One-third of the Greek population lives in its metropolitan area which has a thriving night life.
Thankfully, we chose not to drive in Athens proper; the narrow streets are a tight maze and a number of the streets did not show up on our mapping apps. There is a metro and bus service, but the central historic area is readily walkable. We took a “City Streets and Local Food” walking tour that exposed us to some wonderful street food, and a mix of neighborhoods and architectural eras. We also stopped at the Hellenic Parliament, watched a changing of the guards, visited the national gardens, the National Library and the Academy of Athens. We smelled our way through a central market, with its raw fish and meat offerings, and toured an underground holding cell used by the Nazis during World War II, which was unerving .
