Month: January 2019

Tuesday, January 1

Happy New Year!  We stayed in yesterday and today because it was cold and rainy.  There were some fireworks over the Acropolis last night.  We were able to see them from the shelter of our balcony.  It was a lovely sight.

Today we cut into our New Year’s cake.  Since there were only two of us we weren’t able to cut/eat the entire thing and neither of us found the good-luck coin.  We’ll keep you posted.

(Traditional Greek New Year’s Cake)

Distance walked: 0.3 miles

Wednesday, January 2

We walked over to see some of the grand buildings near Syntagma Square.  First we visited the National Library.  It’s a beautiful Neo-classical building with two sweeping staircases.  The library was closed because part of the collection is being transferred to another building.  Still, we could see inside.  We saw large bookcases and graceful Ionian columns.  It looked very inviting.  There were griffins all along the staircases and they seemed very friendly…

(Griffin Giving Deborah his Paw)

Next we walked over to the main building of the University of Athens.  It is also in the Neo-classical style with a border decorated with a colorful fresco.  The doors were locked, probably because of the school holiday.

The next building over is the famous Academy of Athens.  The idea for the academy hearkens back to Plato.  It was established in 1926 and is the highest research establishment in the country.  The building is absolutely gorgeous.  The front resembles a classic temple, complete with pediment filled with sculptures, built with Ionian style columns.  Flanking the building are two tall columns with sculptures of Athena and Apollo and in front are statues of Socrates and Plato.  The pediment is painted and the columns are trimmed in gold.  It’s a grand sight and shouldn’t be missed.  For fun, try to count all of the owls, a metaphor for wisdom and the symbol of Athena, on the building and the statues.

Finally we reached the Numismatic Museum.  This museum is contained in the former home of the famous archeologist Heinrich Schliemann – the person who found and excavated Troy.  The collection began with donations from Schliemann’s wife sometime after his death.  Subsequently other collectors have donated to the museum.  Entry was €5.00 / $5.75 per person.  Credit cards were accepted.

The exterior has a definite Neo-classical character but the interior was designed after the Roman Palazzo.  There are graceful Ionian columns in the entry way and the walls are all painted with familiar themes.  Every aspect of the interior was custom designed, with Schliemann’s input, including the furniture and the fireplaces.

The collection begins on the ground floor with cases of coins that Schliemann collected.  They are mainly from Greek antiquity with an emphasis on Philip and Alexander (the Great) of Macedonia.  There are several pieces of information that make looking at coins fun…

1. The person/object depicted.
2. The date the coin was minted.
3. The country it was minted for.
4. The place where it was found.

Most coins were only identified by the place in which they were found.  For our money that’s the least interesting detail.  That trend was pretty consistent throughout all of the collections in the museum.

There were thousands of coins and they were in absolutely fantastic condition.  Gold, silver and bronze were well represented but the most interesting ones to us were the gold.  Gold is rather soft and can scratch easily but it is also very resistant to all types of aging and weather and can show incredibly well.  The images on the coins are an excellent way to learn how these ancients looked and dressed.

(Alexander the Great in his Lifetime, Reverse an Owl)

Upstairs there were two huge collections from private donors.  These coins were also in incredible condition.  The collections ranged from antiquity to the 1800s and had coins of various sizes and denominations and, in some cases, a full series in every denomination.

Another section had exhibits of various coins through the ages and how they were valued.  There were nice charts showing the coin’s purchasing power and how many would be required to purchase a horse, a house, groceries, etc.  They had charts like these for antiquity, Roman times, Byzantine times and others.

Finally, the museum wrapped up with a series of medals and special issues.  Most of these began in the 1800s.  One of our favorites was a depiction of Sir Francis Drake.  It was quite unusual…

(Sir Francis Drake, issued 2000)

All in all it was a fantastic collection.  Rarely do you get to see coins of these vintages in such excellent condition.  This museum is a must for anyone with any interest in this subject.

For lunch we ate at one of the many, local souvlaki places.  We’ve eaten in several and they’ve all had excellent food.  This one was no different.  Deborah ordered a pita containing several small seasoned beef patties and I got something similar but with pork.  Yum!

Next was a quick stop at the National Museum of Archeology.  We had planned to go to the museum on Sunday and, since that was going to coincide with Epiphany, we wanted to insure that the museum would be open.  We had chosen that day because the public museums in Athens are free on the first Sunday of each month.  We were assured that the museum would be open as usual.

Our next stop was the Municipal Gallery.  This is a free museum that exhibits works from modern Greek artists.  To get there we had to walk down some streets and through some neighborhoods that were quite run-down.  Many of the shops were closed and it appeared that many of the apartment buildings were abandoned.  It was a stark contrast to the parts of the city we’d been frequenting.  We wondered if this had something to do with the country’s recent financial issues.

The Municipal Gallery was rather small but had a really nice selection of paintings, a few sculptures and several graphic works.  Most of the works were  not dated but the artists were mostly from an earlier part of the 20th century.  We spent less than an hour there was but was quite enjoyable.

(Portrait of a Girl by Yorgos Varlamos)

We decided that instead of dinner we would treat ourselves to another batch of lukumades at Lukumades.  Again, we got them filled with chestnut and covered in white chocolate.  We’re nothing if not consistent 😘.

Distance walked: 9.1 miles

Sunday, December 30

Our goal was to see some of the grand buildings near Constitution Square.  Fortunately for us that was near our favorite coffee shop so we stopped in to get some caffeine.  When we got there we saw some new and interesting cakes.  They were round and covered in frosting and said something in Greek to the effect of Happy New Year.  They looked delicious.  To our delight there were samples of these cakes sitting on the counter.

We each tried a piece and fell in love.  The owner said that these cakes were a Greek tradition.  On New Year’s day you’re supposed to share this cake with your family.  Cut the cake so that each person gets a slice and there’s nothing leftover.  One of the slices will contain a coin which will bring the recipient good luck.

We told the owner that we wanted one of the small round pastries to eat with our coffee and we would take one of the New Year’s cakes to go.  She picked out the small pastry and told us that we could have it at no cost.  As she was packing the New Year’s cake she threw in a chocolate frosted chocolate loaf cake for free, too.  Between the free waters and the two free cakes she practically paid us to have coffee that morning.

We expected the pastry to be something like a Whoopie Pie but it was completely different.  From bottom to top there was a piece of dense sponge cake that was soaked in honey syrup, a thick layer of pastry cream, another piece of sponge cake and it was all topped off with a thick chocolate glaze.  We have our eye on another interesting looking pastry for our next visit, too!

All sugared up we headed over to the National Historical Museum.  A tour guide had told us that entry was free.  When we got there we noticed that it was free only on Sundays but fortunately for us this was a Sunday.  From 1875 until 1932 the National Parliament met in this building.  Today it is a museum that focuses on the modern history of the city of Athens.  We had been told that the parliament chamber was definitely worth seeing but that the rest of the museum was not too interesting.  We were going to see for ourselves.

(The Parliament Chamber)

The exterior is in the neo-classical style.  The front porch is held up by a small colonnade consisting of graceful Ionic style columns.  The entrance foyer is a large space with high ceilings and even more columns and leads directly to the old parliament chamber.   The chamber has a curved shape.  On the ground level there are rows of seats for the members and above there are several spectator galleries.  The walls are decorated with typical classical motifs and accented with gold.  It’s a lovely room.

The rest of the surprisingly large building contained a series of grand rooms that contained exhibits from the recent past.  A great deal of space was devoted to the wars with the Ottoman Turks.  On display were numerous paintings of generals on both sides as well as weapons and other artifacts.  The last several rooms on that subject were all about the new government.  There were copies of the constitution and other important documents.  The last section was an Ethnographic type of display highlighting traditional costumes from the 18th and 19th centuries.

We spent about an hour going through the museum.  We thought that the exhibits were full of interesting information and loved the artifacts that were on display.  We were glad that we had gone.

Our next destination was the Temple of Zeus.  Our path took us through the National Garden towards Zappeio Hall, the administrative offices for the first modern Olympic games that is now used as a conference center.  We had seen it before but hadn’t had a chance to take any good pictures.

When we got there we were surprised to see that it was open.  We entered through the colonnade into a large round hall that led to a two-level round courtyard flanked by gracefully fluted Ionian columns.  It was absolutely unexpected and charming.  There was a Christmas tree near the entrance where many families were taking turns posing for pictures.  We took a good look around and then headed towards the temple.

(Zappeio Hall Courtyard)

We bought our tickets for the Temple of Zeus and when we tried to enter the guard questioned what we were carrying.  I was carrying a camera and a backpack bulging with two bottles of water, an extra lens, some shopping bags  and a pair of binoculars – but he didn’t care.  He was concerned about the bag that Deborah was carrying.  We told him it was just a cake.  He responded by telling us that we wouldn’t be permitted to take that into the park.  We looked at each other and thought, “you’ve got to be kidding!”.  The guard consulted with his colleagues and finally offered to hold the cake in the guardhouse while we toured the site.  We joked, “we want it back uneaten”.  He made no such promises.

The Temple of Zeus was actually part of a larger planned project called, “Hadrianopolis”.  The Roman Emperor Hadrian, well known as the builder of Hadrian’s Wall in the U.K., wanted to build a new neighborhood on the East side of the Acropolis.  The temple, completed in the 2nd century AD, was designed to be larger and grander than the Parthenon.  When completed it was the largest temple in Greece.  Most of the neighborhood was never built.

(The Temple of Zeus)

We started our exploration by walking around the perimeter of the site and found a number of excavations.  In its day the site had contained a Roman bath, monuments and a stoa.  Then we walked the site again – this time getting as close to the temple as possible.  We’d passed by the site many times but until then hadn’t fully appreciated the size and scope of the building.

In its cella the temple held a colossal statue of Zeus made from ivory and gold in the style of the statue of Athena that graced the Parthenon.  The statue was so large that it was said that only the colossus of Rhodes was larger.  No one knows what happened to that statue.

(The Temple of Zeus)

The temple fell into disuse after the barbarian invasions in the 3rd century AD and after the fall of the Roman Empire was used as a quarry for building materials in other parts of the city.  Still, after 2,000 years, countless wars and extensive pillaging, sixteen of the original 104 Corinthian style columns still stand.  In spite of that it is a magnificent sight and must be seen by anyone interested in the ancient world.

Distance walked: 6.5 miles

Saturday, December 29

Today we went back to the Acropolis.  How can you soak in the majesty of Greece with just one visit?  We had to go again, take our time and see what was behind every rock.  This time we came prepared with another of Rick Steve’s audio guides.

Near the top of the path, just before the turn to get to the ticket booths, there is an outcropping of rock where we noticed a large crowd of people had gathered.  This was Areopagus Hill, a.k.a. the Hill of Ares, a.k.a. the Hill of Mars.  It got its name because it was the place where the gods tried Ares for the murder of Poseidon’s son Halirrhothius.  According to legend Ares did kill him but the court acquitted him of the crime.  The hill is also well known because it was the place where, in the winter of 50 AD, Saint Paul gave his famous sermon.  There is a commemorative plaque with the entire text of his sermon mounted there.  In ancient times the hill was used as a court for trying homicides, religious matters and arson.  Olive trees were so revered that anyone convicted of damaging or destroying one was subject to death.

(The Hill of Ares)

Today the hill is a great location for panoramic views of the city and also a great place to see the Acropolis itself.  The Ancient Agora is directly below and we were able to get some great pictures of the Temple of Hephaestus and the Stoa of Attalos.  Trees prevented us from getting good pictures of the Roman Agora.

There is a rocky staircase from which you can climb to the top but because it is slippery and in poor condition the city has also installed a metal staircase.  The top is made up of uneven rocks that have been worn smooth over the years.  Between the slippery rocks and the multitude of tourists it is best to walk slowly and carefully.  It would be easy to loose your balance or slip over the edge where there is nothing protecting you from a significant drop.

After climbing down from the hill we found a huge line for tickets.  As we waited we noticed two machines in front of the post office on the opposite side of the road.  These were automated ticket dispensers.  Deborah stayed in line to keep our place and I went over to investigate.  Sure enough the machines were selling tickets to the Acropolis.  Within five minutes we had tickets in hand and we off to complete our climb to the top.

Before reaching the summit our guides directed us to a theater that is off to the right.  It was the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.  Built in 161 AD it was a hillside theater built by a wealthy Athenian named Herodes Atticus.  He built it in memory of his wife.  The stadium has a capacity of 5,000 and originally had a roof made of Lebanon Cedar.  The stadium was destroyed during the Heruli invasion of 267 AD and was restored in the 1950s.  It is still used today.  Many famous people have performed there including Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti and Frank Sinatra.

Finally it was time to see the hilltop.  The name Acropolis roughly translates as the highest point in the city.  Athenians would normally visit the temples on the top of the hill just once a year in celebration of Athena’s birthday.    They would walk up a marble staircase and enter through a grand entrance called the Propylaea.  It likely resembled the facade of a temple with a colonnade and a triangular pediment.  Today some of the colonnade still stands but there is no sign of the roof or pediment.  Several additional wings had been planned but were never completed because of the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta in 431 BC.  The colonnade extends back around 50 feet and opens onto the rest of the hill.  The Propylaea survived mainly intact from antiquity until 1656 when it was severely damaged by a gunpowder explosion.

The hilltop contains several temples, all built as part of a single cohesive plan, within a span of 50 years – the so called Golden Age of Athens that lasted from 460 BC – 430 BC.  The project was led by Pericles, the leader of Athens, and Phidias, a sculptor and architect.

Upon exiting the Propylaea you would have come face to face with a 30 foot bronze sculpture of Athena Promachos (Athena the Warrior).  The goddess held a shield in one hand and in the other a lance that was tipped with gold.  It was said that ships approaching the harbor could see the light reflected from the lance.  Nothing of that sculpture remains today.

Behind you and to the right on the cliffside facing West, is a small temple dedicated to Athena Nike (Athena the Victorious) that overlooks the city.  It’s only possible to see this temple from a distance.  Inside the temple was another statue of Athena who held the goddess Nike in her outstretched upturned hand.  It was said that she literally held victory in the palm of her hand.

(L: Propylaea, R: Temple of Athena Nike)

Rant: Americans pronounce the name of the goddess as Nie-key.  The Greeks pronounce it as Ni-Key.  You would think that in this case the Greeks would know best.  Why can’t we pronounce anything correctly?

When you turn back towards the East on your left you will see the Erechtheion, a temple dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon.  It’s most striking feature is the famous Porch of the Maidens.  The six beautifully depicted women are actually decorative support columns called caryatids used to hide a giant support beam.

The temple is said to be the place where Athena and Poseidon competed to be the protector of Athens.  Poseidon struck his trident into the ground and produced a flowing stream of water.  The water, however, was salt water and was not fit to drink.  Athena then struck the ground with her spear and a sacred olive tree sprouted. Athena was declared the winner of the contest.  Even today an olive tree grows on that spot, although the one that can be seen today was planted in the 20th century.  The Erechtheion housed one of the most holy Athenian relics called the Palladion.  It was a wooden effigy of Athena Polias (Athena, the goddess of the city) that had been created in the heavens and had fallen to the ground.

(The Erechtheion and Olive Tree)

In 1800 Lord Elgin removed one of the caryatids to decorate his Scottish Mansion.  He tried to remove a second but only managed to destroy it in the process.  The column he removed is now on display in the British Museum in London.  The columns you see today are replicas.  The original columns are now on display in the Acropolis Museum.  The building has survived until the present day as a church, a harem and a palace.  Many of the original details are now lost to history.

(The Caryatids)

Athens was invaded and the city was sacked by the Persians in 480 BC.  All of the buildings on the Acropolis were burned and destroyed.  After driving the Persians out Athens decided to rebuild the Acropolis.  The buildings seen today all date from this reconstruction.  Portions of the walls were rebuilt with materials from this previous generation of temples.  This was done as an homage.  The walls near the Erechtheion are a great place to spy a large number of embedded column drums; they can also be seen from many places to the North of the hill.

Of course the most famous temple on the hill is the Parthenon.  It too is dedicated to the goddess Athena.  It is considered one of the most important classical buildings in the world and is considered the epitome of the Doric style.  It’s not possible to add too many superlatives.

The temple, which stands 45 feet tall, has eight fluted Doric columns on the East/West sides and seventeen on the North/South sides.  There was a large pediment on the East and West sides; large portions of the original pediments have been removed and are on display at the British Museum in London; smaller portions can be seen in Paris, Rome, Vienna and Palermo and there are a few pieces on display in the Acropolis Museum.  The Greek government has been asking for all known pieces to be returned, so far with no success.

(The Parthenon, Eastern Exposure)

The interior of the temple had a double cella or inner sanctum.  The smaller cella was the only way to get to the larger cella where the statue of Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin) was kept.  The statue was about 40 feet tall and was made out of ivory and was covered in about 2,400 lbs. of pure gold.  It depicted the goddess holding a shield in one hand and the goddess Nike in the other.  In front of the statue was a reflecting pool whose purpose was to keep the humidity high enough so that the ivory would not crack.  The statue was said to have cost as much as the entire building.  The statue was taken to Constantinople in the 5th century AD where it was later destroyed.  Most likely it survived until the early 1200s.

(The Parthenon, Southern Exposure)

The building was damaged and repaired many times during its lifetime.  It was converted to a church in the 6th century and became an important site for pilgrimages.  It is likely that the Ottoman Turks converted it into a Mosque in the mid 1400s.

In spite of the damage to the Propylaea due to gunpowder explosion in 1656 the Turks used the Parthenon as a gunpowder magazine.  In 1687, during the Great Turkish War with the Venetians, a mortar hit the building and caused extensive damage.  The central part of the building was heavily damaged and many of the cella walls collapsed.  More than half of the frieze sculptures fell and the roof was completely destroyed.  Six columns on the South side fell.  The Parthenon, which had survived in virtually intact for 2,000 years, was now a ruin.

It’s a little sad to the see the building today.  This is one of the most famous buildings in all of history and there is scaffolding covering a large portion of the site.  Still, it’s easy to imagine how the building once looked; it’s a magnificent sight.  The EU is helping Greece fund restoration efforts but the task is simply to maintain the integrity of the building and preserve the existing structure.  There are no plans to restore it to its former glory.  One of the most pressing needs is the preservation of the marble itself.  Sadly, due to effects of air pollution, there has been more deterioration in the past 50 years then in the preceding 2,500 years.

There are a number of archeological sites on the North and South slopes of the hill and our ticket permitted us access to both.  From the top we wandered back past the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and made our way down the South Slop along the ancient path.  It was not surprising to see that there had once been quite a few temples, churches and markets there.  There was also the remnants of a bronze foundry where many of the Acropolis sculptures had been made.  Most of the sites were ruins with signs explaining what had once been there.

The most interesting site was the Theatre of Dionysus.  Dedicated to Dionysos, the god of plays, the theater was built into the hill and could seat up to 17,000 people.  Although theaters have been on this site since the 6th century BC this one dates from the 4th century BC.  It is said to be the birthplace of the Greek Tragedy.

After getting to the bottom of the hill we walked all the way back up to the top so we could get to the North Slope.  When we finally got to the entrance we found that the gate was locked.  We asked several of the park personnel about it but all we could find out was that it was closed.  There’s supposed to be some old caves there that were used as temples and churches.  We walked around the outside of the park and were able to see the interior.  It’s not likely that we missed much.

By now we were near Monastiraki Square.  We headed through the pedestrian walkway.  We intended to have falafels for lunch when we spied an interesting looking burger joint called Pax Burgers.  It’s a small, Greek chain touting a variety of burgers and fresh cut fries.  We had two cheese burgers and shared an order of fries.  It was just what the doctor ordered and satisfied all of our baser urges.  We’d definitely go back.

On our way to the grocery store we saw a bakery that had something that looked like a buche de noel made with Oreos.  We’d seen an extremely appealing Panettone made with Oreos a few days ago but were told that they were “finished” (they weren’t making any more this season).  This seemed like a good substitute.  When we got it home we found that it had Oreo crumbles on the outside but that the inside was something akin to frozen cool-whip.  It was a little disappointing.

Distance walked: 7.2 miles