Athens (Part 2)

After a great evening catching up with Neil and Simon we arranged to meet up on the morning of 26 August to ‘see the sights’. Nicky and I had last visited Athens in 2000 and we very much wanted to revisit the Parthenon and the new Archaeological Museum.

Odeon of Herodes

As we climbed up to the main entrance for the acropolis we passed the impressive Odeon of Herodes built in AD161. It was restored between 1950 and 1961 and is used today for drama music and dance performances. It is only open during these performances but we were still able to get excellent views down into the theatre.

Views over Athens from the Propylaia

The Propylaia is the main entrance to the Acropolis built 437-432 BC. From its steps there is a grand view back over the city. But the real magic begins as you turn and climb up to the columns of the building.

Propylaia

Looking up you can see the remains of the central hall of the Propylaia and two wings on either side. The ceiling of the central hall was painted with gold stars on a dark blue background and the imposing building would certainly have added to the splendour of making your way onto the Acropolis. It is pretty impresive today even as a ruin and set the scene for what was to come.

Views across Athens

Once through the Propylaia we were on the summit of the Acropolis and able to enjoy spectacular views out across Athens. Looking down closely we could see just how many ancient ruins there are scattered across the city in amongst the new development.

The Erechtheion

We turned our attention back to the sights on the Acropolis and saw the 6 statues of the Erechtheion on the northern side of the summit. The Parthenon, because of its size, is the most impressive building on the Acropolis but the Erechtheion was the sanctuary built on the most sacred part of the Acropolis. The myth is that Athena won the honour of being the city’s patron after a battle with Poseidon. Olympus had proclaimed that the city would be named after the god who produced the most valuable legacy for mortals. During the competition Athena produced an olive tree (symbol of peace and prosperity) on the site of the Erchtheion whilst Poseidon struck the Acropolis with his trident and a salt water spring and a horse sprang forth symbolising the qualities of strength and fortitude. The gods judged that Athena’s gift would better serve the citizens of Athens. The Erchtheion covered these sacred spots and also the tombs of the Athenian kings Kekrops and Erechtheus. The six statues of maidens that now support the Erechtheion’s south porch are plaster casts. One was removed by Lord Elgin and is now in the British Museum in London. The remaining 5 we saw later in the day at the archaeological museum.

Around this area are the foundations for the 9m high statue of Athena Promachos (champion). The statue of Athena wearing a helmet and carrying a spear symbolised the invincibility of Athens against the Persians. In AD 426 the statue was taken to Constantinople by Emperor Theodosius. By 1204 it had lost its spear and so the hand appeared to be gesturing. This led the inhabitants of Constantinople to believe that the statue had beckoned the Crusaders to the city so they smashed it to pieces.

The main reason for climbing up to the Acropolis is, of course, to see the Parthenon. Dedicated to Athena it is the largest Doric temple ever completed in Greece and, unusually, was built completely in marble except for the roof, which was made of wood. It took 15 years to build and was completed in 438BC. To achieve perfect form, the foundations were slightly concave and the columns slightly convex creating the optical illusion that both look straight.

The frieze depicting the Panathenaic procession which surrounded the temple was damaged in an explosion in 1687 or defaced later by the Christians. Most of what was left was removed by Lord Elgin to the British Museum to prevent further damage as he feared they would be used as construction materials. We later saw some of the marbles, as well as copies of Lord Elgin’s Parthenon Marbles, in the archaeological museum.

In antiquity the Parthenon housed a gold plated statue of Athena, 12m high, on its pedestal. The hands, face and feet were made of ivory and the eyes were fashioned from jewels. It was considered to have been one of the wonders of the ancient world. It too was taken to Constantinople in AD 426 from where it disappeared.

Accompanied by Neil and Simon we had a rare opportunity to get a photograph of the two of us, so what better background for it than the Parthenon?

The Temple of Rome and Augsta

Just to the east of the Parthenon are the foundations of a small round building, the Temple of Rome and Augusta. It was the only Roman temple on the site and dates from 19-17 BC.

Leaving through the Propylaia

We left the summit by the same route we came up, via the Propylaia. It certainly was busy and we commented that we hadn’t seen so many tourists in one place all year. Walking through the archway of the Propylaia we saw up to our left the Temple of Athena Nike which, for some reason, we hadn’t really spotted on the way in. The temple had been dismantled piece by piece in 2003, taken away to be carefully restored, and has now been rebuilt on site.

Temple of Athena Nike

Theatre of Dionysos

Once we were down off the high ground we walked along the southern side of the Acropolis and looked at the Theatre of Dionysos.

The entrance to the Athens Archaeological Museum

For the final part of our tourist day in Athens we visited the archaeological museum. This was excellent and included representations of all of the Parthenon Marbles (all 160 metres of them) as well as lots of other fabulous carvings and sculptures. Being typically British, we followed the rules and didn’t take any pictures inside thus complying with the notices everywhere. However, I suspect we will feature in the background of several hundred photographs taken by other visitors whilst we were there.

When the museum was built and the foundations dug, the builders came across the ruins of part of ancient Athens. The museum has been built over the top of these ruins but raised up on stilts so that at the entrance there is a grand view down onto them. The ruins are still being worked on but eventually there will be walkways around them so that you can get even closer.

The Acropolis and the museum were fantastic places to visit. Visiting the Acropolis first had worked out very well for us in that it gave the context for what we saw later in the museum and also because we were there in the cooler part of the day for clambering up the hill. Clearly there are a few more sites in Athens worth visiting but we had seen the 2 main tourist locations that we had wanted to and Neil had arranged for us to join him later on in the afternoon for a helicopter flight (see Athens Part 1). It was an extremely memorable day all round.

Athens