1998 Mystery of History – Day 7

Friday – Athens & beyond - two tragic tourists Have-a-Chat

Awake early and enjoy a lovely breakfast – a combination of hot bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, continental pastries, toast and coffee. Everything that is low calorie! The day is warm and sunny with clear blue skies. We get ready for our first tour today – making sure we have our cameras, plenty of film and our bottles of water we are ready to attack Athens! Setting off in the bus that picks us up from the hotel about 8.40am, our guide is a lady by the name of Sophia Kokkinou.  She is very nice and a very informative guide and has for sale some of her books.  Well, being the typical tourist I get one on Greek Mythology.  It is a wonderful little book and I know that I will enjoy reading it.  We start off by driving past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that is just around the corner from us – so we will walk back to that one on our own time, and no doubt, take some photos.

Our first stop is the Panathenian Stadium, site of the first modern Olympics in 1896.  We get to wander around inside on the track and of course, I take lots of photos.  When it is time to get back on the bus it’s like a stampede of a group of out of control buffalos crossing the Serengeti as they make sure to get on the bus first so that no-one else takes their seat!  We were smart and put our jackets and some other crap on our seats.  Going past the Academy of Athens, the prison cell of Socrates and the Roman Temple of Olympian Zeus (which is also not far from our hotel and another one to visit on our own time) we head up to the Acropolis. We park the bus at the bottom of the hill and we have to walk up.

Before we go up however, we can walk over and get the ground view of the Odeum of Herodes Atticus. More Kodak moments - - will most probably have to buy some more film and we haven’t even got near Egypt!

HISTORY LESSON : The Odeum was a Roman addition to the Acropolis built around 167AD.

Not far away from here there is a little drinking fountain that has fresh spring water. Sophia tells us that the water is quite safe to drink - I am game (especially as I carry around my own Chemist supply) – it is wonderfully cold and very refreshing as the day is heating up. After a minute of two I am still alive and well after the first sip so we fill our water bottles!  We also get some really great shots of the Acropolis from below.  Time to begin our journey to the Acropolis and those wonderful temples.  I am just so excited. We enter through the Propylaea with the Temple of Athena Nike to our right. Ahead is the fabulous main temple of the Acropolis - the Parthenon – after looking at so many pictures and reading so many books I am actually standing right in front of it.

HISTORY LESSON : The Propylaea was designed by the architect Mnesikles and constructed in 437-432BC. It comprises a central building and two lateral wings. The Temple of Athena Nike was designed by Kallikrates and constructed circa 420BC.

Right in front of us is The Parthenon. 

HISTORY LESSON : The Parthenon was dedicated to Athena Parthenos the patron goddess of Athens. It was built between 447 and 438 BC and its sculptural decoration was completed in 432 BC. The construction was initiated by Perikles and supervised by Pheidias. The central part of the temple, called the cella, sheltered the famous chryselephantine cult statue of Athena made by Pheidias. On the east side above the main entrance is a scene showing the birth of Athena and on the west – the fight between Athena and Poseidon for the name of the city. Obviously Athena won – hence the name Athens.

A great part of the Parthenon was destroyed by a major explosion when it was used as a powder magazine by the Turks in 1687.

There is a lot of restoration work being done but the cranes do not detract from the building. The sky is so blue and I can imagine how it used to look. What a shame that the original façade on the top of the Parthenon (which is dedicated to the goddess Athena) is not there anymore. It was ‘taken for safe-keeping’ by Lord Elgin and is now cooped up in the British Museum. 

At the back and to the right of the Parthenon where the above picture is taken is the Erechtheion with the famous Porch of Maidens known as Caryatids.  Photo below.

HISTORY LESSON : The Erechtheion was built circa 420 BC. The main temple was divided into two sections dedicated to the worship of the two principal gods of Attica – Athena and Poseidon.  A relief frieze bearing a representation possibly of the birth of Erectheus decorated the exterior of the building.

I don’t have to keep telling you that I take lots of photos – that goes without saying. Kylie and I wander around up there for ages and we visit the Acropolis Museum where we, yes, take more photos including some of the original Caryatids (Maidens) from the Erechtheion.

ATHENS TRIVIA: You will most probably note that I mention Attica a few more times. Attica isn’t Greek for Athens. Attica is an area located in what is today southern Greece and covers about 3,800 square kilometres. In addition to Athens, it contains within its area the cities of Peiraeus, Eleusis, Megara, Laurium and Marathon, as well as a small part of the Peloponnese peninsula and the islands of Salamis, Aegina, Poros, Hydra, Spetses, Kythira and Antikythira.

HISTORY LESSON : The Theatre of Dionysus was a major amphitheatre in ancient Greece, built at the foot of the Acropolis. It is dedicated to Dionysus, the God of plays and wine and all good times.  He is my favourite God. The theatre could seat as many as 17,000 people, making it an ideal location for ancient Athens’ biggest theatrical celebration – the Dionysia. This was a large religious festival in honour of Dionysus, the central even of which was the performance of tragedies and comedies. It was the second most important festival after the Panathenaia.

It is then time to get back on the bus for the rest of the tour.  We go up to the Filopapou Monument that was erected as a monument to Gaius Julius Antiochus Philopappus, a benefactor of Athens. It is on a hill opposite the Acropolis with a splendid view over the entire basin of Attica  - - - - - and then it’s time to go back to the hotel.

After unloading our gear and freshening up a bit we decide to go back to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that is right out the front of Parliament House on Constitution Square.  We get to see the Changing of the Guard and I have my photo taken with them. They do this very intriguing march and have metal studs on their shoes and because of this you can hear them coming down the street.  We go to the Plaka where we buy some fresh rolls, meat and salad and wonderful, large greek olives and then high tail it back to the hotel to eat lunch in our room.

I have also bought some wonderful ‘proper’ Baclava. This is a filopastry sweet with lots of nuts and honey. Yum !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the afternoon – about 3:00pm we take our second tour – this time to Cape Sounion where we will see the Temple of Poseidon. We drive along the coastal road past some lovely beaches and we get a great view of the Saronic Gulf. When we get off the bus it is a bit windy and there is no sun but it is not cold. It is hard to realise that these temples are thousands of years old.

HISTORY LESSON : This is one of the most important sanctuaries in Attica. There are two temples – that of Poseidon (pictured) on the southern edge and about 500m to the NE the sanctuary of Athena. At the beginning of the 5^th century BC the Athenians initiated the construction of an imposing temple dedicated to Poseidon. The building was never completed as it was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. In the following decades an important building project was undertaken at both sanctuaries.

We are allowed to wander around for ages and take lots of photos of the Temple and the sea – before it is time to head back to Athens. We get back about 7:00pm so a quick freshen up and we decide to go out and have a look around at the night life. We discover a really quaint little jewellers where I buy a really nice gold ring for US50.00 and a dolphin pendant for US25.00. A real bargain.  Wander down into the Plaka making sure that we avoid ‘Miltons’ and we grab some McDonalds. Bit more looking around – lots of people - and then we head back to the hotel for a sound night’s sleep.

Highlight of the Day : Standing in front of The Parthenon.