After a large breakfast of omelets and toast, we entered the Agora and made our way to the most intact temple left in Greece: the Hephaiston.
Above: Hephaiston, as seen from the Acropolis
This temple was impressively preserved, owing primarily to its slightly shrouded location among tall trees and shrubs, and the fact that it was converted into a Christian church a few centuries ago (saving it from wanton destruction or outright vandalism).
We left the Hephaiston perhaps a bit sooner than we would've liked, because there was an overzealous guard with a whistle who did not want anyone even breathing on the rope barrier surrounding the temple. You would've thought the rope & stanchion were faberge by the way that guy tweeted and hollered.
Above: I secretly touched the rope at least twice while whistle-boy wasn't looking. Yeah, I'm a rebel.
From there, we meandered through the Agora ruins towards the rebuilt Stoa of Attalus, stopping only briefly to remark upon a couple ruined columns and a trench identified as "The Great Drain."
Above: Great Indeed.
The Stoa was a long, narrow structure with impressive wooden beams and ceiling planks. It once housed both market stalls and rooms for discourse and debate, but it's since been transformed into a minor museum containing potsherds, burial urns--and a slightly disturbing toddler's tomb--and small religious relics.
We departed the Agora heading east, through the thick of Monastiraki. We arrived at our next destination, Hadrian's Library, which had a mostly-intact facade, but was otherwise piled rocks. It would have been impressive to see in its original state, though--especially if you're a bibliophile like me.
Not Pictured: An ancient library.
Our stay at Hadrian's Library was brief; we shortly moved on to the Roman Agora, where the lovely Tower of the Winds stood. It was octagonal in shape, with the uppermost block of each carved into the shape of the eight personified winds(North, South, East, etc.). There was not much else to see at this site either, save for some mosaic tile work. Perhaps archaeologists would enjoy this site more.
All that wandering left us thirsty like yesterday, so we stopped on the outskirts of Plaka for beer before crossing a busy street to see Hadrian's Arch and the huge Temple of Zeus. Unfortunately, we were about 15 minutes too late; the park site had closed for the day. We could still gaze on the huge columns from the gate, however. This was the largest temple of ancient Athens, though with precious few of its original columns still standing--and one collapsed like dominoes near the standing ones.
We pressed onward several blocks, reaching Panatheneiko Stadium. This was the home to the first modern Olympic games of 1896, and still hosts the finish line for the annual Athens Marathon. The original stadium was all marble and held 50,000 spectators, though it's tough to guess how many could fit today(especially in the McDonald's Era).
In lieu of a stadium, enjoy this naked discus thrower.
Access to the stadium was sealed off because the Special Olympics held their opening ceremony here the night before, but we could still get an idea of the stadium's look, and it was cool to see the Olympic Torch lit above the stadium.
We turned back toward Plaka, electing to detour through the southern tip of Zappeion Gardens, which is a peaceful park area south of Parliament in the city's center. We walked into the Zappeion building--mostly because we didn't know what took place inside--and we saw an open-roofed courtyard. Apparently some important document-signings took place in these halls.
We walked on to the nearest metro stop, bought more sweets from Konstantinidis on our walk home, then we spent some time packing for our respective early flights (the Hales at 8:30, us at 10:20). We then cleaned and dressed ourselves for our last night's entertainment: a philharmonic performance in the ancient theater of Herodes Atticus, aka "The Odeon."
Dinner had to be fast before the performance, so we bought take-away gyros with fries and beer in Plaka, then ate on some rich person's doorstep along the Grand Promenade near the Odeon.
The night's music was provided by the "La Scala" philharmonic, playing a tribute to composer Gustav Mahler as part of the 2011 Athens & Epidaurus Festival. The performance began with a mesmerizing violin concerto by soloist Joshua Bell, who was cheered into an encore afterward. Bell prefaced his encore by saying, "Here's a little piece, a gift from America." He then proceeded to play the most sophisticated version of Yankee Doodle Dandy we'd ever heard.
After the intermission, the full symphony joined up onstage for a four-movement piece by Mahler. Overall, it was quite an impressive performance, and a great endcap to our time with the Hales. It was only a shame that we were all exhausted after our whirlwind tour of Athens, and we were all more than ready to get to bed. We walked home and summoned the strength to eat sweets and toast our complimentary wine together before saying our goodnights, which sadly became our goodbyes.
Athens June 26 Album:
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| Athens: June 26, 2011 |
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Athens, Greece
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