It's All Greek to Me!

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Woolly says – Up early I stood tapping my paw impatiently waiting for the women to sort themselves out, I had a great plan for the day and it was imperative that we got moving quickly, so many places and so little time! Having finally got everyone out of the room instead of heading in the direction I had planned we turned in the opposite direction.....STOP I shouted but having raced to catch them up it appeared that breakfast was going to be the first port of call.....well they should have said!



It was only a brief stop but worthwhile and with tummies appeased Zoe and I happily followed our enthusiastic guide towards the Archaeological Museum.



Woolly says – the building was impressive so goodness knows how wonderful it would be inside, I scurried up the steps and as Jo paid for us all I set about deciding which area to visit first. Having decided that some Egyptian knowledge wouldn’t go a miss I trotted towards the collection only to be stopped in my tracks! Looking around I waited for Jo to catch me up before making any kind of fuss....”no dolls allowed in here” said the lady, Jo looked perplexed and explained that I wasn’t a doll, the insult of it! “no dogs allowed” WHAT, DO I LOOK LIKE A DOG!!!!!!



Apparently under no circumstances was our small friend going to be allowed in to the exhibition, we had no idea why, it’s not as if he’s going to steal anything as I do keep him on a tight rein when in public....well most of the time!



Woolly says – I was appalled I’d never been treated like this before, don’t the Greeks like me? Surely I hadn’t done anything wrong since my arrival last night...it was all Greek to me!





With his glaring face and what appeared to be steam coming our of his ears I tempted him into the bag with the promise that he could have his first snack early for a change and that we would be as quick as we could, he wasn’t happy but what could I do. We started in the first gallery and as ceramic after beautiful ceramic passed our eyes we passed through into the prehistoric collection, more and more pots presented themselves until they merged into one. Onto the vases and terracotta figurines and things started to become blurry with so many things to look at and so much information to read. Next came the Gold and silver collections with some incredible death masks and jewellery to admire, my small friend started kicking the bag and we hurried into the sculpture exhibition, there were thousands of incredible busts, statues and bodies to admire. Racing through the bronze collection the noise from my bag was becoming embarrassing and as we started into the last hall we compromised by taking pictures of the whole room and heading for the outside before the small furry one exploded!



Woolly says – it was like being released from a celland with no snacks left to take me through the day I knew I might have a battle later to convince my friends to buy me more. Trying to put the bad experience behind me I headed off to the next phase of my plan, the open top tour bus. Zoe had managed to find a 20%!d(MISSING)iscount ticket for the tour and I thought that using the bus would at least mean we didn’t get as lost as we had on our first day. Jumping onto the waiting transport I was delighted to be welcomed by the driver and as I hurried upstairs and plugged in my headphones I settled down for a half an hour tour of the city before our first stop. All seemed to be going well until we heard chanting and shouting, glancing down a side street I could see hundreds of people with placards, the bus trundled on and we seemed to be making good progress until I spotted another even larger group of people doing the same. The lovely commentary and Greek music stopped and the bus veered down a side road and we found ourselves on what appeared to be a ring road.



Unbeknown to us today was the start of a three day national strike!



Woolly says – You couldn’t write this if you tried, an hour passed as the bus sort a variety of routes to go, apartment block after apartment block sped past but not a national monument in sight! I looked woefully at Jo who looked woefully back, nothing to do but wait until we arrived at somewhere we wanted to see. Two hours later and I finally saw a sign for the Acropolis Museum, “Off, Off” I screamed and for once the females obeyed. At last we could start the tour of the Ancient Sites. I sped towards the ticket desk only to find a queue longer than a football pitch!



It didn’t appear to be our day and to save him waiting in the long line of people I suggested that he go and find an eatery and we would meet him there.



Woolly says – tickets in paw and stomachs satisfied I strode into the grounds of the Acropolis. This sacred rock was once a place of worship to Athena the city’s patron goddess. In the 5^th century BC the site became adorned with monumental buildings that still stand today. First up was the restored Dionysus Theatre, originally a wooden structure it had led the way for ancient drama and tragedies to be performed, it wasn’t the biggest amphitheatre I had seen on my travels but it was rather lovely all the same. Having taken the relevant pictures I trotted on in front and up the steps leading past where the brass foundries for the city would have once be sited, not much to see any longer and maybe a bit of weeding would help. Next came the relics from the Temple of Asclepos, a sanctuary to the God and his daughter, the columns and settles were good but I knew there was more ahead. Climbing higher we rounded a corner to an awe-inspiring view over The Odeon of Heoodes Atticus, built between 160 and 169 AD it was incredible and although restoration work had obviously taken place it gave a unique sight into how it would have looked in its time.....amazing.



The Odeon was definitely worth the hike as was the view over the city, as we looked above our heads the ultimate destination was within touching distance.





Woolly says – another climb but worth every step taken as we stood facing the Propylaia and the Shrine of Athena, words failed us as we stood with the hundreds of other tourists craning our necks to take in the huge columns above us, this was worth the long morning and the many stairs that had to be climbed. With Jo and Zoe snapping away I could almost feel my toga around me as I climbed the last few steps to be confronted with the most well known building in Athens, the Parthenon. The former temple on the Athenian people it was dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power but It wasn’t completed until 438 BC although decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. It was a shame to see so much scaffolding hiding the wondrous columns but having raced round to the side it was easy to see how impressive it must really be. Renovation work started in 2010 and from the information boards provided it was either done or the building would collapse so I had to content myself with what was there, it was easy to do.



Places like this really are the once in a lifetime experience and even in it’s current condition it certainly took your breath away.



Woolly says – I had plenty of breath left! With the views admired we photographed the remains of the Temple of Rome and Augustus before swiftly moving towards the Erechtheion a Temple dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon and possibly the most complete building of all. Built between 421 and 406 BC, Its architect may have been Mnesicles, and it derived its name from a shrine dedicated to the legendary Greek hero Erichthonius. Jo had already taken the photo’s but I needed to have one more of me to mark this incredible sight, it was not to be as one of the security men rushed over just as I got into full pose and told us that ‘pictures with dogs were not allowed’ !!!!!! Why do they think I’m a dog, do I pant?, wag my tail? NOOOOOOO, very much Greek to me! It was spectacular however and I could only wish that I could have seen it in it’s original state! As we set off down the step pathways again I couldn’t stop myself from glancing back time after time at the wonders that we had seen.



Suggesting that he looked where he was going before he fell over a short downhill stroll took us straight into the Ancient Agora.





Woolly says – I love Athens! How many wonderful places can one city hold! The Agora was the centre of what was the Athenian democracy and would have held court to the most important political functions, I was walking where Socrates would once have gone...be still my beating heart! With civil buildings, wonderful drains and a pretty church the site was huge. Passing the bath house I explained to Zoe how the heating system would have worked before taking the short incline to the Temple of Hephaistos, the best persevered temple in the Greek world today. It was stunning with it’s huge columns and its decorations of Hercules’ battles with the underworld were still so well defined. Our last building was in sight and as we made our way into the Stoa of Attalos, I quickly lost count of the number of columns that were holding the structure up, although restored it gave us a real feel of how Roman social life would have been as the place where everyone would have met and talked as they walked in the cool shady inside. With paws and feet aching and Jo looking like she needed a lie down in a dark room I suggested a sit and relax as we continued to take in the brilliance of the Acropolis and Agora over ice cold drinks before I started telling them of my plans for tomorrow!

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

The glories of Greece
After all our travels Greece remains one of my favorite countries. Amazing ruins, fascinating history, beautiful islands and all those olives!

[traveltalesofawoollymammoth]

Ours to
Couldn't agree more, there is such variety and history to see. Having spent some of my uni years doing a lot of the islands and having covered further ones with a smaller Zoe this is the first time we have made it to Athens.....so much to see and do :)