Last day in Athens

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I awoke this morning to the sound of pouring rain out my window. A little extra sleep can’t hurt. Around 9:00 it subsided so after a small breakfast I set out on a short run in Athens.

Athens is a very hilly city. After my run I’m convinced there isn’t a single naturally flat square meter in all of Athens. I was constantly trekking uphill, then down, then up some more. Of course I expected to go uphill on my ascent up Philopappou Hill. But even getting there held a lot of undulation. At least the terrain will help on some of the hills in NYC next weekend during the marathon.

I made it to the top of the hill, taking in all the surroundings, especially the acropolis above.

The way down proved tricky as it began to rain again, making the rocks I had to run over very slick. I was just waiting to slip, twist an ankle then have all the training be for naught. I didn’t so the worst thing that happened was I returned to the hostel dripping wet.

My touring started at Hadrian’s Library and continued at the Roman Agora nearby. Both were built in Roman times (1st century AD) when the Roman Empire occupied Greece.

Next I went to the much larger and much older (6th century BC) Ancient Greek Agora. The agora served as a meeting place for people for daily religious, political, judicial, social and commercial activity.

The most impressive buildings on the site are the Stoa of Attalos and the Temple of Hephaestus. The Stoa of Attalos was a covered walkway with shops and offices. It was also used for public gatherings. The building was reconstructed in the 1950s. While it is not an original, the reconstructed version painted a much clearer picture of Greek architecture than small portions of unrecognizable remains that were seen in many other areas.

The Temple of Hephaestus was dedicated to Hephaestus, the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. The temple is the most well preserved Greek temple and was built in the 5th century BC. This was one of the more impressive sights since the original structure was so well intact; much more so than the more notable Parthenon.

I also saw the Odeon (theater) and Roman gymnasium, located at the center of the large site. These were less impressive as it took a great sense of imagination to envision how they once looked.

On my way out of the Agora, it started to rain. I had my umbrella with me so I felt confident that I wouldn’t have a problem. That is, until it started to downpour. It began to rain so hard that I took refuge with an older man under some trees. My umbrella was useless.

It continued to rain as hard as imaginable for the next 15 minutes, getting harder and harder. The Greeks had built drainage channels along the side of the road we were on but they were no match for the flooding that started to occur.

It started to slow down so I made my way back to the Stoa of Attolos. After hopping around (and necessarily in) some puddles I made it under the Stoa’s cover as the hard rain resumed. There were many people who must not have had umbrellas, their clothes much wetter than mine. Some of the men had their shirts off, ringing out the water in puddles.

I found a seat and decided to wait it out. After a few minutes, Michelle, who I had met yesterday, showed up. She was stranded as well and would soon have to brave the elements to pick up her bags and make her flight later today. We talked for a bit longer until the hard rain finally subsided for good.

After my touring I decided to have one more go at the kebabs. This time I tried the two I hadn’t eaten yet - lamb and pork. The lamb was lacking but the pork (which I got from Sabbas) was excellent, with a good mix of spices tickling the palate. Sabbas is definitely the best place to go in the stretch of cafes near Monastiriki for kebabs.

Still wet from the rain, I went back to the hostel to dry off. Along the way I passed more of these street merchants that sell these ridiculous gel balls that they throw against a board on the ground. The balls splat and reform their shape, all the while the seller looks on amazed, arms open as if to say tah-dah as the magician performs his craft. I had seen these all over the place and not a single one was being purchased.

After an hour or so of drying, I went back out to finish my touring at the nearby Temple of Olympian Zeus. The temple, dedicated to Zeus, was built beginning in the 6th century BC and was finally completed in the 2nd century AD. Its life was short lived as upon the fall of the Roman Empire it became a major source of building materials. Today, only a small section of the once massive structure remains.

As one of the oldest civilized cities in the world, Athens is a tourism hotspot. Its few remains are flaunted as must see before you die. But simply seeing the Parthenon, agoras and temples is a bit lackluster. Even appreciating that these were built thousands of years ago, many before the time of Christ, by a very advanced civilization still leaves something to be desired. While I was impressed with what I saw, I would have preferred a bit more history and culture to go with it, especially some mythological stories, which were surprisingly missing.

My touring at an end, I went out for a quick dinner. I found a taberna nearby and dined on tzatziki (a yogurt sauce with cucumber) and bread, a Greek salad and some dark chocolate gelato for dessert.

After dinner, I went to meet one of my roommates, Matt, at the hostel’s bar to watch some soccer and football. When I arrived, the English Premier League soccer game between West Hamilton and Arsenal (two London teams) was more than halfway through. Arsenal was up 2-0 but West Ham turned it on, making the game finish in a 2-2 tie.

By the time the soccer game was over, the NFL game from London featuring the Patriots and Buccaneers was well into the second quarter. The Patriots were up by a few touchdowns and the game never became all that exciting.

Matt is an Aussie from Perth (on the west coast) and, like many foreigners, was somewhat unfamiliar with the intricacies of American football. As we watched, I tutored him through some of the details.

Towards the end of the game, two college students from the states joined us. Both named Alex, one was from Baltimore and the other from West Chester County near NYC.

After the Patriots game, we moved to a table with some other Aussies and a Canadian guy from Edmonton. There was a crazy Aussie girl nicknamed “V”, short for some obscure name that begins with the same letter, who was relentless in her persecution of Australians from Perth. She was really annoying and, I’m pretty sure, hammered.

Just before midnight, things began to wrap up as the bar was closing and the bartender was taking people to a karaoke night. I bid farewell to my new acquaintances and headed off to bed. I have to be up at 6:00 tomorrow to head to the airport. I’m off to Oxford to visit Dave.

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Photos

Ancient Greek Agora
The Greek Agora, or meeting place, was much larger than the nearby Roman Agora.

Stoa of Attalos
The stoa has been reconstructed to show what it looked like in its original form. Stoae were covered walkways, typically used by the public.

Temple of Hephaestus
The temple is dedicated to Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths, craftsmen, fire and volcanoes. It is the most well preserved temple in ancient Greece.

Column
Columns of many of the structures were pieced together like this one.

Flood waters
The Greeks had built channels along the sides of their roads to allow for drainage. They didn't build them deep enough for the storm we had today.

Lamb kebab
Good but not as good as the pork and beef versions from Sabbas.