Greek Christmas - Part VI Acropolis

Dear Family and Friends,

At last, here is the final post of our 2011 Greek Christmas vacation, including our visit to the Acropolis and Agora. Our apologies to those who are now tired of our vacation experiences. Nevertheless, we’re happy to have them recorded, even if it's only for our own future reference.



Acropolis Hill



The day after Christmas is a government holiday in Greece and all of the historical sites are closed. Joe had wanted to use this day to go the island of Hydra where the only means of transport are donkeys. When he set his alarm, he forgot to account for the time difference between Greek and French time and we woke up too late to catch our ferry. This was a serious blow to Joe’s plans for the day.

Saronic Gulf (Σαρωνικός κόλπος)

Instead, we ascended to the top of the highest point in Athens, Lycabettus Hill. After climbing the stairs of the Palamidi Fortress, this was an easy stretch of the legs for us and the kids. Here, we enjoyed an amazing view of the city of Athens, including Acropolis Hill. We also found a traditional Greek white-washed church that was built at the beginning of the 19th century.

Lycabettus (Λυκαβηττός) Hill

The next morning, we arrived at the Acropolis early in order to see as much as possible before our flight out. It turned out that this was the perfect time to visit – there were no crowds and the sunrise cast a golden hue on the Acropolis, the Propylae, and the Erechteion, the three main buildings on the site.

One of Many Paths to the Acropolis

Upon entering the gate, we walked up the stairs to the Propylae, the ancient entrance to the temple complex. We also passed the Temple of Athena Nike, a small and relatively-intact temple on the edge of the hill. Nike means "victory" in Greek. Athena was the goddess of both wisdom and war. It's no surprise then that the word oxymoron comes from the Greek ὀξύμωρον meaning "sharp dull".

Propylae (Προπύλαια) and Temple of Athena Nike

We then proceeded to the Erechteion, a large temple consisting of three sections, including the famous Porch of the Caryatids or Porch of the Maidens”. The roof of the porch is supported by six marble women in various poses as its columns.

Erechteion (Ἐρέχθειον)

Even though we knew in advance that the maidens at the Acropolis are copies, it was still a very impressive to see the way they were used in the architecture of the building. Of the original six, one was removed in the early 19^th century by Scottish Lord Elgin, one of the most infamous figures in the history of Greek archaeology, and is currently housed in the British Museum in London. Legend says that the remaining five could be heard crying for their lost sister for some time. Elgin attempted to remove a second, but like many of the things he touched, he destroyed it in the process. Fortunately, fragments of the sculpture have been reassembled and are housed in the Acropolis Museum along with the other four maidens.

Porch of the Caryatids

Finally, we spent some walking around the Parthenon, which is currently the subject of major restoration efforts to repair some of the damage caused by polution and a blast from a Venetion cannon during a battle with the Turks for control of the city in the late 17^th century. There are pallets of carefully marked stones, scaffolding, and cranes all around the grounds. There was also a cat lounging in the sun on some of the Parthenon stones. This time, it was Nathaniel who insisted that we stop and take a picture (middle bottom).

The Parthenon (Παρθενών)

Construction on the Parthenon began around 450 BC. The building consists of two groups of columns - the outer columns and an interior set of columns that framed the temple structure itself. Over the centuries, the Parthenon has served as a temple, fortress, gunpowder magazine, and Byzantine church.

The Parthenon (Παρθενών)

It takes a little imagination to picture what it must have looked like as a complete, painted temple as significant damage has been done by war and the removal of several friezes by Lord Elgin. Nevertheless, the Parthenon is still huge and impressive. Our pictures do not do justice to the size of the structure because the area immediately around the building is roped off.

The Parthenon (Παρθενών)

After our tour of the Acropolis, we started down the hill to the ancient Athens Agora, or marketplace. This site was excavated in the 1950s and new discoveries are still being made there today.

Resting near the Agora

The Agora is also home to the Temple of Hephaestus, the best preserved Greek temple in existence. Work began two years before the Parthenon, though it remains almost completely intact to this day. This is perhaps due to the fact that it served as a church from about the seventh century to the 19th century and was probably carefully maintained.

Temple of Hephaestus (Ναός Ηφαίστου)

For the last stop of our trip, we visited the reconstructed Stoa (or painted porch) of Attalos and location of the Museum of the Ancient Agora. It is also the location of the signing of the 2003 Treaty of Accession between the European Union and ten new Members, including Poland. The museum held an extensive collection of statues and objects found during the excavations of the Agora. More importantly, it had a number of everyday objects, like a child's commode, toys, and a water clock for timing speaches. The building also gave us a good idea of what the buildings of the Agora must have looked like thousands of years ago.

Stoa of Attalos (Στοά Αττάλου)

On our way out, we met a family that we had seen at several of the other sites we’d visited. They were surprised that kids as young as ours had the opportunity to visit so many important historical sites. This reminded us how fortunate we were to do and see so much as a family during our Christmas vacation in Greece. Hopefully, we will be able to return soon!

Αντίο,

Joe, Julie, Nicolas, Elyse, and Nathaniel