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Published: July 16th 2022
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And so begins the long journey home…our last day on the islands before we headed to Athens. Unfortunately the weather gods didn’t quite get the memo that we would like the cooling breezes to continue.
Our day started with a quick morning tea and coffee before we offloaded our bags. A bit of retail therapy and some strolling in the town (and ice cream) before a long lazy gyros lunch and a randomly illogical bus trip to the airport. There began a Masterclass in chaos and inefficiency before we were loaded onto the plane and headed for Athens. Some excellent cookies mildly softened the blow.
Easy transfer to our apartment, right in the middle of retail paradise before we dumped our things and headed to the authentically named Zorbas for dinner.
A nice relaxed start to the day before we handed the reins to Geoff (not a control freak at all, see) to manage the day. First stop, in the stifling heat, was 200m down the road where we were forced to replenish with cool drinks and coffee. Next stop, the Roman Agora where we saw the wind tower, which was an important astrological/weather and clock tower and
the first meteorological station.
Next stop, under sufferance, was the Ancient Agora, the centre of the ancient city. The temple of Haphaestus is particularly well preserved, apparently because it was relatively minor in importance and those who came after were more focused on looting the temples on the Acropolis.
Lunch was a popular choice for the next stop and Beeb consumed her body weight in Greek “cheeseburgers” (meatballs). Back to the air conditioned apartment for a cool down before a stroll around the shops. Some more cooling before we headed out to our Acropolis tour.
First major stop was the theatre of Dionysus, the god of wine, and obviously a popular choice. We heard about the three tragedies and one comedy the playwrights were allowed to produce and how they used the plays as an opportunity to educate society about rights and wrongs. Particularly true for Oedepus Rex.
The slow climb up the southern side was made longer by the search for shade. We stopped at the temple of
Asklepios, the god of medicine. He was believed to be “too efficient” (clearly did not work for Olympic Airways) at healing people. There were three things they
believed helped in improving quality of life - reduce stress, improve diet and go to the theatre to appreciate how much better your life is than those depicted in the tragedies.
Next shade location conveniently coincided with the theatre of Herodes Atticus who built it as a monument to his wife, even though he murdered her. Also heard about Socrates and his antics in the Ancient Agora with his students Plato and Aristotle, before he killed himself by drinking hemlock, apparently found to be anti-democracy, but allegedly just wanting those allowed to vote to be required some form of education. Can’t say I disagree.
While the temperature was dropping and the wind was picking up, our attention spans were waning as we finally reached the top. Through the temple of Athena Nike, associated with the Peleponnesan Wars.
Walking through the huge columns to enter the top of the Acropolis, with the Parthenon rising in front of you really is one of those spine-tingling moments, even if the guide is “talking so much” and you’re “so hot and so tired”. I’m sure they’ll thank me when they’re 35.
Information overload set in and we managed a few
photos at the top before the sweat and foot stench became overwhelming and we retreated to the cool of our apartment. One last meatball feast for Beeb, at the foot of the rocky hill, before we head home, hopefully to a full complement of pets!
What a journey it’s been! For Geoff and I, it’s thoroughly whet our appetites for a trip back to get more into the history and understand the Greek and Roman influences on engineering (yes, you read that right!), public health and sanitation, and modern societal organisation. For the girls it’s been a mix of history and cultural differences that we’ve subjected them to, some of which has hopefully rubbed off, and some amazing beach and swimming days. Everyone is looking forward to being home, but not quite sure how we’ll manage the 25 degree temperature change!
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