Athens
Benjamin Disraeli said, “Never apologize and never explain,” but I don’t know how many friends he had nor how often he blogged. At any rate we are apologizing for the delay in the last stops of our trip. It was Athens, Naples, Rome, just like that and then in Rome we decided another day at the Vatican Museum was a must and then we were just plain tired and then we were home and then I came down with the flu. So, we’re late, we’re sorry.
Athens
I am not sure why Celebrity called our stop “Athens” since we were in Piraeus, the largest harbor near Athens, not Athens itself. Piraeus is about 7 miles from Athens and it is actually and pretty nice community with gorgeous water views.
Solstice, our ship, at dock in background
Athens is the Capital of Greece and its recorded history goes back at least 3,000 years. According to legend, the goddess Athena gave the city an olive tree as a token of her protection of the city and the god Dionysus gave the vine tree. Athens was named for Athena. Athens was the birthplace of Socrates, Pericles, Sophocles and other philosophers, writers and politicians of the ancient world. It is often called “the cradle of civilization” because of its cultural and political impact on Europe during the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. (the Golden Age). The Roman Empire took control of Greece in the 2nd century and it stayed that way until Rom fell to the Byzantine Empire in 476 A.D. Then came the dark ages, 500 years of misery, which must have been pretty awful for a country that produced Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle, Euripides and Aeschylus. The Turks ruled Greece until the 19th Century, when there was an 8-year war of independence and in 1834; Athens was proclaimed the capital of the new, independent Greece.
The one reason I can think of to go to Athens (unless you are here to change planes to go to Santorini, Mykonos, Crete or Rhodes) is to see the Acropolis, which is exactly what we did. We started our tour with a stop at the Panathinaikon Stadium where the first modern day Olympics took place in 1896. It is built entirely of marble, and I don’t believe any other stadium in the world can boast that. After more than 100 years, the Athenians were thrilled to hold the Summer Olympics here in 2004.
Show stadium pic here
From there, we moved (very slowly because the traffic in Athens is unbelievable) to the Acropolis, which people often think of as being one place, when really it features many monuments. The day we chose to visit, so did approximately 5 million other people from all over the world. I don’t know if it was really 5 million but it felt that way, in the heat, when we were waiting outside the acropolis because the gate was closed, because there were too many people already in there! Our local tour guide found us a little shade, which we needed, it was really hot. In addition it gave her a chance to greet her sisters and her cousins, all of whom are also local tour guides.
The Acropolis
When we finally were admitted we started the long climb into the Acropolis (I think it is about 150 steps up and you are climbing from approximately sea level to about 490 ft. Lest anyone thing that the number of steps is the big thing, let me tell you that the steps are marble and very slippery even in dry weather. In addition, when you get higher, you are climbing on the ancient steps, uneven, marble, and very high in between steps. Our guide says they often close the Acropolis when it is raining because the steps are treacherous.
The Acropolis is a World Heritage Site and consists today of the remains of four ancient buildings: the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and the Propylaea.
Parthenon
The Parthenon was built by Pericles in the fifth century B.C. as a monument to the achievements of the people of Athens. It was home to a giant statue of Athena and took 9 years to build. It is probably one of the most recognized structures in the world. The restoration work there has been going on for 30 years and they want it to be perfect so it may go on a lot longer than that.
The Erecthion sits on the most sacred site of the Acropolis. According to legend, Poseidon and Athena Nike (this is her battle persona) fought over who would be the patron of Athens at this site.
Erecthion
Athena was the victor. This building contains the porch of the maidens or Caryatids, which are now copies as the originals have been put in the Acropolis museum. The fifth maiden was carried off to England by Lord Elgin…who knows if she’ll ever come home.
There is an amazing view of the city from up here, even through the smog that all big cities now have.
Athens taken from Acropolis
There is a small temple, called the Thission, built in 449 B.C., below the summit of the Acropolis. It is believed it was a temple to Athena. In later years it was used as a church, dedicated to St. George.
Also below the Acropolis is the theater of Herod Atticus, built by the Romans in 161 A.D. and still used today for classical concerts.
We got off the bus in the center of Athens, near the government buildings, so that we could walk into the Plaka, one of the oldest areas of the city, narrow cobblestone streets, old houses, taverns and shopping. We had a great Gyros and a Greek beer here before going off to do a little shopping for worry beads. Loved this statue in front of a church in the Plaka and the information contained at the bottom.
Eastern Orthodox Priest - see his quote about how priests are to be executed below! And his support for the jews.
We’re off to Naples tonight!
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