Switching from old church things and Byzantine icons mode to straight-up old (Pagan?) things mode for the remainder of the trip: today, we ventured up to the Parthenon, whose ruins are over 2000 years old. Today the weather was absolutely perfect all day, with small clouds chugging across the sky, warm sun, and a slightly cool breeze that meant we didn’t overheat. Aw yeah. This is what we’re here for.
The Parthenon sits in the Acropolis, at the tippy top of one of the hills in Athens, just over 15 minutes on foot to our lodgings. There are apparently records of this particular hill being inhabited going back millenia. Currently, the Acropolis home to many old important sites, and the ones that are still there arose during the rule of Pericles in the 4th century BC. All of the remaining buildings are really old, yellowed marble, in various processes of being restored.
Normally, the place is crawling with tourists, especially as the tour buses start to roll in for mid-morning. Today, it is going to be extra-packed, since you can get in for free thanks to Ohi Day. Ohi Day is celebrated the 28th of October, and commemorates the anniversary of the Greek leader saying No to Benito Mussolini’s demand that Greece allow Italian troops to inhabit Greece, plunging Greece headlong into WWII. There have been parades all over the country, and today there were lots of people selling balloons and Greek flags in the streets.
We beat the main rush, though it was already starting to crowd up, and headed up, up, up the hill to the Acropolis. We wound through marble columns of the Propylea. The columns are mind-bogglingly large, stretching overhead to impossibly high heights. Somehow, the are still here, and tourist hordes wind through them daily, just as the ancient Greeks intended.
From there, we saw the Temple of Athena Nike and then of course, the Parthenon itself.
And since the Acropolis is at the top of a hill, you get to look out over the entire city, too.
After a quick brunch (I discovered the wonder that is a greek omelet, which is just a bunch of feta and tomatoes and oregano which may or may not include olives), we explored the thing that looked like a big bowling green from the top of the Acropolis: the Temple of Olympian Zeus (which is also free today). All that remains is columns standing, and one even looks gently and neatly knocked down. To enter, you pass through Hadrian’s arch, which is impressive all in its own right.
Nearby is a national garden, which takes you up and through to the tomb of the unknown soldier. The tomb is guarded by two men who are in formal Greek military wear. They had to keep foolish tourists who brought children that kept climbing all over the stairs in front of the soldiers at bay, which was no easy task.
If you head west from the tomb, you wind through a lot of small shops, fancy shops, and little restaurants, and eventually end up in an open-air flea market. I’d like to point out that at this point in our walk, Justin kicked a pigeon that was unfortunate enough to choose to fly up and between his legs. It flew off and seemed fine, but its pride was surely damaged.
Kicked pigeons aside, the flea market sells everything from gelato to souvenirs to trinkets from someone’s house. It was bustling on our Sunday afternoon walk.
We completed our acropolis circuit by cutting through a park that had a rock to climb and gaze upon the Acropolis (we did not do this) and it also had Socrates Prison. Nobody knows if it was a bath house or a prison that held Socrates. I guess if Socrates hated baths, it could have been both. In WWII, they hid a lot of the artifacts from the parthenon in here and walled it up so the Nazis wouldn’t steal them all. Good job, prison bath treasure cave, whatever you were.
We had the best post-dinner intentions of going to do some more stuff this evening, but after an exceptionally tasty meal at Meni Meni, we were done for the day. It was probably one of the most amazing meals I’ve had while traveling, and it was only just over 20 euros per person! So cheap. So good.
We are slowly winding down to the Crete portion of our trip. Tomorrow, Delphi, and then Tuesday, it’s off to Crete!