At last, our Parthenon day had arrived. We began it with breakfast at a café outside the Acropolis metro stop, then up we climbed to the ticket window. We bought a ticket booklet giving us access to six sites, almost all of which we planned on viewing over the next two days.
Climbing up the steps to the main entrance facing west, we passed by the Buelé Gate and through the Propylea, viewing the small temple to Athena Nike(Victory, that is, not shoes) before reaching level ground.
Above: Just Do It.
The first thing many of us noticed was how much scaffolding and renovation work there was masking the Parthenon and other ruins. It obviously detracted from the antique beauty of the site, but the ruins were still impressive to gawk at.
Above: The crane dates to after the Peloponnesian War, I believe.
Nevertheless, we spent easily over an hour looking at the ancient marble ruins of the Parthenon and Erectheion, with its famous Caryatid columns. The Acropolis also offered great panoramic views of Athens, allowing us a view all the way to Piraeus and the Aegean.
When we'd seen our fill, we descended the hill to enter the Theater of Dionysos. It was still in a process of excavation and renovation, but with some minor imagination you could visualize how lovely the marble amphitheater must have looked in its prime when playwrights like Euripides and Sophocles were staging their comedies and tragedies on the stage.
From the theater, we were just across the promenade from the New Acropolis Museum. The entrance to the museum included plexiglass floors and an open area to gaze on the remains of ancient Greece discovered during building of the museum. It afforded patrons the realization that they trod upon history with nearly every footstep in Athens.
Unfortunately, due to the misbehavior and disrespect of former tourists, we were not allowed to photograph anything in the museum. It was a shame, because the exhibits were impressive. On the second floor you could approach within an arm's reach of the original Caryatids...well, five of them, at least. The sixth sister is in the London Museum, infamously "extracted for safekeeping" along with much of the marbles and frieze of the Parthenon by Lord Elgin a couple centuries ago. England has yet to return what, I believe, rightfully belongs in Athens.
Pictured: Lord Smuggling-Another-Culture-in-My-Pantyhose, himself
The uppermost floor of the museum was entirely devoted to the Parthenon, with the floor plan designed to walk you around the perimeter of the marble metopes, frieze, and pediments just as they once sat on the real Parthenon (which you could easily see from the floor-to-ceiling windows. The central area of the floor included a miniature reproduction of the Parthenon before warfare, vandalism, and theft took their toll, as well as a small auditorium playing a short video about how the original looked. The video included a narration of the various atrocities inflicted on the ancient structure, carefully alluding to the theft by the Brits (you can never trust those limey imperialists!).
After our day of culture we needed some beer, so we took a short break in Plaka before heading home for showers and a haircut(for me, given by the skillful and trustworthy Wayne Hale in minimal lighting).
When ready, we walked back toward the Acropolis for dinner at a place called Diogenes, which was right next to the monument of Lysicrates. This was a monument where the year's best playwright of ancient Greece was awarded for his efforts on the dramatic stage.
After dinner, we took the metro home and crashed, footsore, after our day's endeavors.
Acropolis Day (June 25) Album:
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| Athens: June 25, 2011 |
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Athens, Greece
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