September 12 - Athens

September 12  - Athens

Another early morning!  We arrived in Piraeus, the port for Athens at 4:45 AM.  Thankfully we got to sleep a little later.  By 7:30 we were off and on our way.  First stop was the Acropolis Museum completed in 2009 and very close to the foot of the Acropolis.  Many of the marble sculptures (known as the Elgin Marbles) have wound up in the British Museum in London.  Greece built the Acropolis Museum hoping to convince other countries that had some of their antiquities to return them to a suitable repository.  There is some disagreement about how the marbles wound up in London.  On the one hand the Greeks believe them to have been stolen.  On the other hand in the British Museum there is on display a copy of the letter from the Ottoman Sultan who controlled Greece at the time giving permission to take the marbles.  It’s difficult to know who’s right.

In any event the Acropolis Museum is a state of the art and magnificent place with many artifacts found on the Acropolis.  There are a number of to scale replicas which give you the idea of what was originally there.  It also is built atop ruins of the ancient city.  To preserve those the museum was constructed on pilings above the ruins and one can look down through glass floors at them.  They are being excavated and studied today ( we saw some archaeologists working).

Ruins beneath the Acropolis Museum

The new Acropolis Museum as seen from the Acropolis - a stunning contrast between ancient and modern

Our next stop was the Acropolis and Parthenon.  What a difference 2 months make! When I visited with Katie in July the temperature was 108°.  Today it was closer to 85°.   We began our ascent with our guide Maria stopping along the way to give us information about the place.  The Acropolis was originally a fortress to which women, children and old people could retreat when the city was under attack.  It rises some 500 feet above the city with a commanding view of the surrounding area.  Even today there are no high-rise buildings to block the view of the sea from the Acropolis.

The Parthenon  is a temple honoring the goddess Athena who is the patron of Athens. In mythology Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Athena, the goddess of wisdom, competed for the naming rights to the city.  Poseidon struck his triton down and a fountain of water sprang forth.  Athena produced an olive branch from which she said olive trees would grow.  The Greeks chose Athena and olives.  (As an aside today some 500 varieties of olives grow in the country.)  Anyway, the Parthenon’s construction to honor her was begun in 447 BC and completed in 439 BC, although decoration continued to 432 BC.  The building is immense with a base of nearly 230 feet and width of more than 100 ft.  Interestingly, though it appears otherwise, there are no straight lines in the building.  The base and columns all have some curvature that is only visible from a few points at the corners.  Were the columns to be extended upwards they would form a massive pyramid.  It is truly remarkable to think of the construction of such an edifice in such a short time period.

Al by the Parthenon

The theater at the foot of the Acropolis - concerts are held there to this day

During the control of the Ottoman Empire at one point the Parthenon was used as an ammunition storage facility.  While at war with the Ottomans, the Venetians bombarded the place and caused a massive explosion destroying much of the building.  Today restoration is going on but it will soon be over.  In order to maintain some historic integrity, no more than 10% will be replaced.

On the north side of the Acropolis is the Erectheion, which was a  temple honoring Athena.  This temple is notable for its Porch of the Caryatids or the Porch of the Maidens.  It has six female figures instead of traditional columns supporting the weight of the porch roof.  Between the Erectheion and the Parthenon are remnants of the older or pre- Parthenon which was destroyed by the Persians around 480 BC when they sacked the city and essentially razed everything on the Acropolis.  According to our guide, the Athenians decided to leave the ruined stones there as a reminder of their defeat.

The Erectheion with the Porch of the Caryatids. In the foreground are the remaining stones of the pre-Parthenon structure

After our visit to the Acropolis it was time for lunch and we had a very interesting one.  We went to an old restaurant that serves food cooked in the manner and using the ingredients of the ancient Greeks.  There were no forks on the table, only spoons and knives.  We had several small plates with dishes  made with a variety of cheese and vegetables.  The main dish was a grilled chicken with barley and mashed peas.  Almost everything was seasoned with lemon juice, dill and parsley.  While we ate a young woman dressed in various Greek gowns performed some dances.  We have no clue how authentic they were, but the setting and the food helped to make it seem as if they were.

The old restaurant at which we had lunch

The Greek dancer who entertained us at lunch

Our last stop was a visit to the Plaka, the old city.  It’s an area filled with little shops selling all sorts of souvenirs and lots of little cafes and restaurants.  Our visit was short because a demonstration was going on in downtown Athens and the driver had to divert around it. As we made our way back to the ship we saw some buses loading up the protestors who had evidently finished for the day.

It was a nice visit and we saw some things that everyone should try to see and learned something about Greek history.  We probably won’t climb the Acropolis again though.

Next we get to have a day at sea.  Our feet will welcome that!