ATHENS—ANCIENT SITES
We docked at Piraeus, a port and suburb of Athens, and were to be there all day and overnight until disembarkation the next morning. We had arranged for a private all day tour, Highlights of Athens, and Ellen and Bob joined us. Our driver was skillful, there was traffic, but nothing like in Jerusalem, and we were in the city in no time. There our guide, Eleni, and the Chief Penguin went off to buy our entry tickets while we three waited in the van in the parking lot. It was tightly packed with buses angling their way in and out almost scraping the side of the van. A veritable ballet as buses and our van backed and filled and danced around each other!
Eventually, they returned with the tickets (took about 25 minutes even in the special line for tour guides, mostly because of all the forms that the ticket seller had to complete by hand!); then we were off to the Acropolis. A native Athenian, Eleni studied journalism before spending three years studying and getting certified as a guide. She’s been doing this for five years and told us she had done back-to-back tours every day since April. She only does English language tours and just for Americans. In her opinion, we’re nice, easy guests, and we have a sense of humor. The last cruise ships arrive at Piraeus fairly soon and then things quiet down for a few months until spring.
Eleni was a superb guide! Filling us in on the background for each monument and temple (her “blah blah” as she called it), she delivered mini history lessons. But, equally important, I’d say, she gave us a real sense of the flavor of Greek society and culture.
Ascending to the Acropolis and the historic buildings on this citadel is an upward climb on slippery stones and steps and requires perseverance. The weather was lovely, but very very windy, and the site jam packed with people so we slowly inched along, winding around until we reached the top. The first impressive sight was the Herodeon Theater, built in the 5th century BCE, to hold approximately five thousand people (see header photo). It’s still in use today for theater performances. Lovely with tiered seats and looking toward a series of open arches.
Continuing up is the Temple of Athena Nike, built about 420 BC. It’s a small temple and delicately beautiful. From there you climb a bit more to reach the pinnacle and the piece de resistance, the Parthenon. This massive temple is simply stunning and it’s amazing to think that it has existed here for three thousand years. It’s hard to capture in words just how magnificent it is. Also of interest is the Erechtheum and the Porch of Caryitids.
After descending, we had an early lunch at a restaurant serving traditional Greek fare (moussaka, stuffed cabbage rolls and the like) and then proceeded on to the Agora, Athens’ ancient civic center with its lovely colonnade, and finally, to the Temple of Olympic Zeus.
Little of this temple remains, but one collapsed column lies in pieces along the ground in front. This fallen noble column is a striking sight against the few columns that still stand.
While riding between stops, we enjoyed seeing the architecture of Parliament (elegant with a restrained grandeur) and the beauty of both the Academy of Athens and the former public library. All in all, it was a grand adventure, and we felt we both gained in knowledge and perhaps worked off a few pounds!
Note: Text and all photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).
