Athens: Ancient sites

In between lounging on Greece's great beaches, we also took in some of its notable archaeological sites.

We began our trip in Athens. During our two full days there we visited the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, and the Athens Acropolis and its nearby sites, including the Greek (and later, Roman) agora, or marketplace. We also took in the Parliament building, Syndagma Square, and the nearby National Gardens.

The Archaelogical Museum houses many examples of ancient sculpture, metalwork, and pottery. This is a statue of either Poseidon, god of the sea, or Zeus, the thunder god (and ruler of the gods); some archaeologists believe the figure once held a trident, wielded by Poseidon, but others believe it once held a thunderbolt, hurled by Zeus. Who knows if they'll ever resolve it?

We spent a half day at the Acropolis, at which is located the Parthenon, a grand temple from classic times of the Greek goddess Athena, the namesake of the city. Apparently there was once within the temple a massive, 40 foot high statue of Athena that was the center of religious festivals. Too bad that's not still there to see (though there is a reproduction within the reproduced Parthenon in Nashville)!

Also on the Acropolis is the Erectheum, a temple dedicated to Greek hero Erechthonius. This temple is notable for its caryatids, which are sculptures of women that serve as pillars. The originals are located in the new Museum of the Acropolis (below), while the ones outside are replacement copies.

The top floor of the museum also houses arrays the sculpture that adorned the top of the Parthenon, but many of the works on display are copies; the originals are in the British Museum (we've seen them!). With the opening of this new museum the Greek government is urging the return of these antiquities to Greece, but the British authorities are resisting!

We visited the agora in the afternoon, and it was quite hot. I was particularly moved by the ancient Church of the Apostles, which dates from 1000 AD.

Probably the most famous bit of the agora is the temple of Hephaestus, the Greek god of metal working. It is the best preserved ancient Greek temple, dating from about 450 BC (the same time as the Parthenon). Over the centuries it was also a Greek Orthodox Church (from the 7th century until the mid-1800's), and then a museum until 1934, when it obtained "ancient monument" status.

After the hot excursion, we decided dessert and chilled coffee was in order. Colin enjoyed himself the most, I think!