Still more ruins!

When we planned this vacation, we billed it as a "learning vacation". Our visit to Athens was no exception to the rule. As interesting as it's been, I'm pretty sure we're close to having our fill of touring ruins! John did a great job planning our tours, and this one proved to be just as good as the others. We met Danny and Athena bright and early to meet our driver, Dimitris, who narrated our tour through the city. With his knowledge of the city streets, he got us to the Acropolis before the masses engulfed the place. For that we were more than grateful!

The Acropolis, which means "high city", was a sight to behold. Ancient Greeks rebuilt the Acropolis in the 400s B.C., after it had been destroyed by the Persian invasion. This amazing example of Greek architecture was a four building temple in honor of Athena, the protector of Athens. While the other structures (Erechtheion, Propylaea, and the Temple of Athena Nike) were beautiful, the main event here was the Parthenon. The structure is enormous, but the architectural tricks used in these ancient times is the real show stopper. Slight bends and curves were built into the marble steps and columns so that it would appear to be level, while also being functional, draining rain water. Without these tricks, the Parthenon would appear to sag, but instead it is unwavering and perfectly balanced (or so it appears to the naked eye). Not only was this a place of worship (housing gigantic statues, including one of Athena), but it also served as the city's naturally, well-protected treasury. Restoration on all of the temples is ongoing, and we were lucky enough to finally see people working on some ruins!

After the neck breaking walk around the Parthenon we ventured to the other temples. None were nearly as overwhelming, but were interesting in their own rite. The Erechtheion holds its own stories and character. One of the porch's columns are actually carved into ladies, or Caryatids. Beside the porch is an olive tree. Although a replacement, it represents the tree Athena planted here during her battle with Poseidon. The Temple of Athena Nike was tiny compared to the others, but the history behind it is better than the rest (in my opinion). This was the first structure atop the Acropolis to use intricately carved Ionic columns. The temple was mostly used for worshiping Athena (hence the name). Athenians believed the protector of their city ensured their victory (nike) and the temple housed a grand statue of the goddess. At one point, Athenians broke the wings off the statue so that Athena couldn't leave Athens, and so would have no choice but to stay and protect their city. This changed the name of the temple to the Temple of Wingless Athena.

Although these sights were impressive, I truly believe the beauty of the Acropolis lies in the platform with the Greek flag proudly hoisted. The stripes in the flag represent the nine syllables in the phrase "Freedom or Death" in Greek. This was certainly taken seriously during WW II. During the Nazi invasion in 1941, an evzone (elite Greek soldier) was ordered to remove the flag. Without hesitation he took it down and proceeded to wrap himself in it. In a final act of Greek pride (and Nazi defiance) he jumped to his death. This flag can been viewed from almost anywhere in Athens. Due to modern building codes, one must apply for a special permit to build a tall building. The building code's sole purpose for existence is so that everyone in the city can view the Acropolis. The flag is a lot of things, but perhaps this one is most importantly a reminder of Greek sacrifice for indepencence.

We had a little time left before we met up with Demitrius, so we took the time to climb Areopagus (also known as Mars Hill). Paul is known to have preached to the Athenians here. Of course there were plenty of tourists getting photos of themselves preaching to whomever pretended to listen. Aside from the tourists, it was quite the view and moving to think that I was standing on the same hill from which Paul preached. You can see tourists behind John playing Paul. We made the short decent down the hill and met up with the rest of our group. As impressive as the Acropolis is, it's almost unbelievalbe that it only takes up seven acres.


From the Acropolis, Dimitris took us to the top of Lykavittos Hill for a quick photo op. We got some pictures and hopped back in the car in search of the Roman Agora. We got there, spent about 20 mintues, and were on our way to another Agora. There isn't a whole lot to say about the Roman Agora. It was a small marketplace and there's a pretty tower which depicts the eight winds. Now, to the Ancient Agora.

The Ancient Agora began as an open marketplace, but evolved through time under the rule of various emperors. Our first visit was to the Stoa of Attalos, which was a shopping mall in its hayday. It is a reconstruction and houses a museum. The museum displays a collection of artifacts from the Agora going all the way back to the 3200s B.C. Some of the artifacts prove this truly is where democracy was born. There is a voting machine which chose the city council (lottery style, similar to our jury duty system). Also included in this section are many ostrakan, votes cast on shards of pottery to ostricize tyrrants and corrupt leaders. There were some fairly famous names on some of those precious pieces of pottery: Themistocles and Aristides. As we stolled through time we even saw something to reminded us of the FTG family: ancient BBQ pits and grills.

The next notable ruin was the Temple of Hephaistos. It was built during the golden age of architecture and is one of the best preserved temples in Greece. The temple was named for the Blacksmith God, and two bronze statues were placed in the center of it: one of Hephaistos and one of the infamous Athena. Through time the temple served as a place of pagan worship, Christian worship, and recently, a Greek icon. Departure from the temple took us to the Statue of Hadrian. Now headless, this statue is of the Roman emperor, Hadrian (who ruled in 120). This picture is of his breast plate and depicts Romulus and Remus with the she-wolf who raised them. Of course, above them is Athena. Although Hadrian was not an Athenian, he marveled at their culture and was grateful for all he learned from them. He poured plenty of money into the city, and so many things were named after him, including an entire neighborhood.

Finally, time for lunch! Dimitris promised us authentic Greek food and he did not disappoint. When we arrived at the restaurant we were happy (but not necessarily surprised) to see other tour groups from our ship. After a short lesson with Fontaine, I felt pretty confident in what to order. Nick and Fontaine ordered plenty, and shared what they had. The meatballs were good, but the artichokes were out of this world! After a quick stop at the bakery beside the restaurant we were on the road again, this time to the National Archaeological Museum. It's a top notch museum and took us chronologically through time. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to get through the entire thing. One thing of particular interest was the special exhibit: The Antikythera Shipwreck. The famous shipwreck (thought to have wrecked between 60-50 B.C.) was recovered in 1900, 1901, and 1976. Considering the wreckage was submerged underwater for almost two millenia, the artifacts (sculptures, a piece of the hull, pottery, and much more) are unbelievably well preserved. Most interesting is this sculpture of a boy. As you can see, half of his body was preserved burried in the sand, while the other half deteriorated in the sea.

Next on the agenda was watching the Changing of the Guard. How very cool! The changing we watched took place in front of the Parliament building and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. These young soldiers change every hour and their cadence and intricacy of the change is remarkable. The evzone guards sport a skirt with 400 pleats (representing the 400 years they were under Turkish rule) and a red cap (representing bloodshed) with a long black tassel (representing the tears shed for those lost). Much like the Vatican guards, these stonefaced men stand guard through all hours of the day, and remain focused even when photocrazed tourists stand tight up against them to have their pictures taken. We topped off the excursion with what else? Shopping! A quick trip to the Plaka secured my much coveted postcard and a bronze statue of Athena the goddess for Athena the Aussie.


Although exhausted from the day of touring, there was still plenty of fun to be had on the ship! After a quick dinner we met Danny, Athena, Nick, and Fontaine for Happy Hour and Guess that Tune (Motown). We did fairly well, but didn't come close to the perfect score of the table next to us. More drinks at the Molecular Bar (talk about some well thought out recipes) promised an interesting evening for all. We soon found ourselves poolside with Nick and Fontaine, along with our favorite Cruise Director staff member, Dustin. Greek dancing ensued, which soon turned into a mix of oldies and contemporary. Needless to say, after the long day, we slept well.