Thursday, May
16
Our ship docked
in the port of Piraeus a bit late, closer to 7:00 this morning than 6:00, but
after a brief ride on the Metro to a stop near our apartment, we were still
able to check in about 8:00. We got our
first view of the Acropolis after we left the Metro station, and it was a “Wow!”
moment; I’m sure we’ll be back to see (and photograph) it illuminated after
dark…
Our apartment
is on a very quiet one-block-long street in the Thissio neighborhood; it’s
spacious, and even has a covered patio.
There’s a market around the corner, so we picked up a few things and had
breakfast on the patio before heading out for the day.
We’re a block
from a broad pedestrian walk that passes the Ancient Agora and leads to the
Acropolis, which we reached before 10:00.
I’m not sure when we’ve encountered crowds like those we saw lining up
to mount the Acropolis this morning; every tour bus and school group in the
country must have been there! As we all
funneled through the entry, up the hill, and mounted the grand entrance staircase
to the Propylaea, the monumental entrance gate, we had some serious misgivings
about whether we’d be able to experience anything more than the jostling crowds
around us. Once we (and the flood of
humanity surrounding us) made it through the Doric-colonnaded passageways
and entrance halls of the Propylaea, there was plenty of room atop the seven acre
site for all of us.
Beyond the ceremonial
entry looms the Parthenon, built in just ten years in the 5th
century BC. It served both religious and
civic functions, a temple dedicated to Athena, and the city treasury. It is the largest Doric temple in Greece, and
even in ruins, it is jaw-dropping. The
most significant damage to the Parthenon occurred in 1687 when it was hit by a
Venetian mortar shell aimed at the stores of Ottoman gunpowder stored inside. The current restoration efforts began about
35 years ago (Remember, it was originally built in ten years!) and have a long
way to go, as much of the original structure has been carted off to museums and
unknown destinations all over the world.
The number and size of the columns, what remains of the pediments and
friezes, and the seemingly impossible architectural, engineering, and
logistical feats involved in its conception and construction are almost too
much to comprehend; it simply overwhelms.
In the shadow
of the Parthenon is yet another temple honoring Athena, the Erectheion, with
the famous Porch of the Caryatids, with the graceful statues of female figures
that serve as its pillars.
A large Greek
flag flies above the Acropolis at an observation point overlooking the
sprawling city of Athens. The flag and
its position hold an important place in Greek history. When the Nazis entered Athens in 1941, they
ordered that the flag flying there be removed.
A guard took it down, wrapped it around himself, and jumped to his
death. Not long after, two teenagers
climbed the wall, removed the Nazi flag, and raised the Greek flag; there is a
plaque honoring their act of resistance at the base of the observation point.
During our
visit to the Acropolis, we listened to Rick Steves’ audiotour of the site on
our MP3 players. It contained LOTS of
information and added a great deal to our understanding of what we were
seeing. There’s far too much about the history
of the site, dating back to the Mycenaeans presence here in 1400 BC to write
about, but it was a peak experience for us (not just in altitude!) and, I
presume, for the thousands of others who joined us there this morning.
This afternoon,
we continued along the pedestrian boulevard at the foot of the Acropolis into
central Athens, stopping along the way to see two of the remnants of the Roman
Emperor Hadrian’s vision for a new Athens in the 2nd century
AD. He built a monumental arch to mark his
completion of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, begun 700 years earlier. The largest temple in mainland Greece, it had
104 Corinthian 56-foot-high columns (only 15 remain), and was 360 feet long. A couple of people doing restoration work
near the columns helped to illustrate its enormous scale.
We headed to
Syntagma Square, facing the Parliament Building and the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier. The simple tomb is protected by
members of the Evzone Guards, dressed in their traditional kilts, caps with
long side tassels, and pom pom shoes.
The changing of the guard ceremony features lots of exaggerated slow
motion high kicks, complete with sound effects of the slapping and dragging of
their metal-studded shoes on the marble pavement.
After the
ceremony, we followed most of Rick Steves’ audiotour of the city center, with
stops at large and small pedestrian shopping streets, Orthodox churches, the
Roman Forum, adjacent Tower of the Winds and nearby Hadrian’s Library, and a
wander through the narrow lanes of Anafiotika.
This enclave, settled by natives of the island of Anafi, is like a tiny
village built right under the walls of the Acropolis. Its bougainvillea-draped whitewashed houses
with blue doors give it an island feel and some of the lanes are so narrow that
Tom’s backpack could barely pass through.
We were about
walked out by the time we reached the busy Monastiraki Square and flea market,
so we headed toward our apartment, with a stop at the supermarket to pick up something
for happy hour and dinner. We’d planned
to go out to eat tonight, but were just too tired to do anything but kick off
our shoes, chill and stop, so that’s what we did.
Until about 10:00,
when we made ourselves go out to see the illuminated Acropolis… Needless to say, we’re glad we did. On this mild, clear night, it was a sight to
behold – unforgettable!
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