Athena - the City of Philosophers and Dreamers

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A turbulent flight from Santorini finds us in Athens. The weather is mild and we have opted to take a taxi from the airport, in lieu of the metro.

We have been warned of the ongoing trouble with pickpockets & petty crime that continues to plague a number of the major cities of Europe. Four couples over the last few weeks, of different nationalities, have told their stories of misadventure at the hands of deviates that stalk the railways and bus stations of Athens and Rome.

Hotel Economy is our home for the next three nights, Dimitri and Yannis are very helpful in how to best spend our time in Athens for the next few days.

It is less than a ten minute walk from our hotel to the base of the Acropolis, a world heritage site and a truly amazing gem in a city of over 6 million people.

Inner Athens surprises us with the amount of graffiti that dominates the street scape of the city. We are also confronted with a seedier side that we have been sheltered from for the last couple of months. Whilst walking around our hotel, looking for something to eat, we were confronted with the sight of a (very well dressed) young woman being injected, in her ankle. Male and female prostitutes are freely marketing their wares. Not all that different from “Kings Cross” in Sydney only ”darker”.

For two days we observe the police, in mass, rounding up (what one would consider) illegals. The buses are filled and then move on. Athens at this time of year feels grey and somewhat suppressed, yet the food market we visit is vibrant and full of life, getting ready for Easter.

We spend the next couple of days sightseeing the Acropolis and Parthenon, which stand high over the city.

It is difficult to explain the awe that we experience walking the perimetre of this site. We have walked Uluru, which in its own right is amazing, but this is something else. The majestic splendor of how this "man made creation" defies time, is beyond words.

I would strongly suggest anyone visiting Athens do a day at The New Acropolis Museum first and then make their way to the Acropolis.

The New Museum is actually a work in progress and souldn't be missed.

History time;

Athens is reputed to have maintained its name and continued occupancy, one of the oldest in history, for around 7000 years.


(Its name is said to be derived from the Goddess Athena and the story goes that Athena and Poseidon contested for the naming rights. Each god was asked to provide a gift, for the city. It is claimed that Poseidon struck the Earth with his trident and produced a spring, symbolising naval power. Athena, on the other hand, was reported to have produced the olive tree, symbolising peace and prosperity. I guess Athena won.)


It was the home of the great philosophers Plato, Aristotle and Socrates.

Three nights and two days in Athens is enough for us. We experience live traditional music in a taverna and a different side of Greece. The people we speak too shrug their shoulders, at the graffiti, to them its art. (Go figure). We were walking through the main flee market and came upon a store that only sold spray paint cans and left little to the imagination what they are used for

All in all, we enjoyed our time here and I think Michelle would have been disappointed if we had missed it, but I probably wouldn’t rush back.

We are now to make our way to Patras, by bus and then an overnight ferry to Corfu (for Easter). The scenery on the way is spectacular;

we are looking forward to the next part of our adventure.

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Photos

Caryatids
Located on the eastern balcony of the Erechtheion. This is a replica, the original is in the New Museum

The Temple of Hephaestos "Thission"
located on the western side of the Ancient Agora

The Odeion of Herodes Atticus
Today, the 5,000 seat theatre is a venue for concerts of the Athens Festival