Athens - High City

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“Are you of the opinion that Acropolis has been too costly to build?”



Anonymous YES.



“Very well, then you shall not bear the costs, I shall. And my name shall be carved into its foundation”



The words were allegedly those of Pericles, addressing the Athenians in response to accusations of having drained the states’ finances expanding the city upwards. Did he actually utter those words? Some quotes live forever, most are distorted. Chinese whispers through a couple of millennia can have that effect. Not impossible though the great statesman said something to that effect. Either way, Pericles pushed for the Acropolis project, and still today we see the remnants of the magnificent city in the sky.



The hotel manager assures us it’s a 10 minute walk to the entrance of Acropolis. Already from the beginning we’re skeptical to the validity of this information. Maybe if you know the shortest route, sprint, and don’t look back to admire the view, then…no, still not true. About 45 minutes later, including several dead end streets, some wrong direction streets, some uphill trekking, a Kodak moment stop, we’re at the entrance. It’s still quite early, and the queues are still manageable.



Up the path, herded like cattle, go with the flow. Past that amphitheater, through that temple, overtake a few slow tourists, and we’re at the plateau hosting what is not any old historic landmark, but the historic landmark.



The Parthenon. It’s…a building site. Those cranes look awfully modern, don’t they…Little effort is made to hide the construction equipment and create a single angle from which you could see and photograph the monument in all its glory. But I guess I shouldn’t complain. Apparently it was a fellow Swede – Königsmarck, an officer hired by the Venetians back in the 1600s – who gave the order to bombard Acropolis with cannon balls. Seemingly they did the trick. It didn't help that Parthenon at the time was used for storing explosives.





It’s intriguing to think about what might have been going on here back in the heydays. While my own ancestors were still living in caves, a sophisticated civilization dined, debated, prayed, philosophized, drank, and did whatever the ancient Greek did best, at this very spot. Not in caves. In spectacular man-made buildings, still standing. Fascinating.



The view isn’t too shabby, either. The massive city spreading out in all directions below us. Mountains over there. The blue sea over there. Maybe Socrates stood right over there many years ago. Right there, where the Italian tourist looking rather pathetic holding up his iPad taking pictures is standing. Time changes. Or maybe it doesn’t. Means of communication change. People change. Would have been a topic of debate for the old school philosophers.



Back at the hotel. Roof terrace. A glass of ouzo. Perfect view overlooking (more cranes, but still…) a lit-up Parthenon. Scoring hard-to-beat-scenic-view bragging points here. Regretting not figuring out that night time mode on my digital camera. Not regretting choosing Athens.

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