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Published: April 18th 2016
Flying into Athens
David had a window seatWell it probably does but we aren't talking about the nightlife here. Rather, the reason that a lot of people come here – the (many marble) rocks. Some of the rocks here are in very good order and very well organised. Others are in a bit of a mess and, frankly, are showing the evidence of a couple of thousand years of misuse and abuse. Others are still under the ground. We didn't get to see those but who knows what will happen in the future.
Athens has always been high on the list of places we wanted to visit. Many, many years ago I studied Ancient History at school and university and have been keen since then to have a look at the places where some of the events and activities I studied took place. We had intended to come here during our marathon journey a few years ago but decided that we didn't have time on that trip to do justice to a country as important as Greece. We will be here a few weeks and, while that seemed like a reasonable time when it was allocated, we have had to prioritise.
There might not be a
Athens from Acropolis
White seems to be the colour of first choice for house paint. lot of point in us trying to provide a quick run through of the history of Greece since the late BCs to the early ADs as a context for our visit to Athens; so we will just assume that everyone who reads this has a fair idea of what went on here during that period. Suffice to say that ideas were developed and put into action that have had a dramatic impact on the development of the world since then. A walk around the old part of Athens provides the opportunity for a crash course in the birth of some of the ideas that many would agree have made the world a better place.
The basics of the plan for our visit to Greece were that we would spend a few days in Athens, have a look around and work out where we would go from there. There would need to be some sort of swing around, at least the Pelopennese and a trip to a couple of islands. Having a look at the northern part around Thermopylae and a run to Meteora were in the mix. There was also an an idea that maybe we could have a
Athens from Acropolis again
The first modern Olympics were held in the stadium to the left of the big section of trees. Temple of the Olympian Zeus in the centre foreground. look at some of the places that aren't that popular with the general run of tourists. Gradually, we agreed that, given we have 3 weeks rather than 3 months, it would be 4 days in Athens, a week driving mainly around the Pelopennese and then a holiday for the rest of the time on a couple of different islands, kicking back.
The hotel we picked in Athens was located about 4 minutes walk from Syntagma Square. All of the sites we wanted to visit were in the old part of the city so this was pretty handy. It wasn't the most upmarket place in town but it was quite comfortable with staff who were very friendly and helpful The size of the room after those we had experienced in England was... well, triple the size isn't an exaggeration.
Many of the flights from England seem to arrive in Athens in the middle of the night. For us, this isn't an ideal time to arrive in a new place so we picked an airline that had us there early in the evening. It was after dark when we arrived but all well lit and fine to walk the relatively
2nd Hand Stalls Ermou St
The flash shopping precinct is at the other end of Ermou St but this part is really interesting. Patricia is under the coloured cap in the centre foreground. short distance to the hotel. The only minor issue we had was in knowing where the bus from the airport was going.
We knew it would go to Syntagma Square but we had no idea how we would know when we got there. The bus had handy electronic signs but they were in Greek, written with the Greek script. This script is similar to, but not the same as, the script we had learnt for our trip to Russia many years ago. I was pretty sure that I had read somewhere that the bus finished at Syntagma Square. My confidence in that position was eroded a little by the sign on the front of the bus that said something very different. Finally, after about three quarters of the passengers had left the bus a sign came up to announce that something we both recognised as Syntagma came up as the last stop.
For anyone who is interested, the bus is the X95 and it goes to from the airport to Syntagma and then it goes back again, stopping along the way at various locations. This means that the names of the stops do not appear at once on
Off Ermou St
A side street with pretty light shades - the furniture section of Ermou St and its offshoots. the electronic screen – like the flight signs in airports – so you won't see the the later stops till a few of the earlier ones have passed. The bus to and from the airport takes about 45 minutes.
A strike delayed our arrival in Athens for a few days and, when we did arrive, the staff at the hotel, who had put our reservation back 3 days without charge, were surprised. Apparently, there had been a demonstration in the afternoon that had stopped traffic all around the centre of the city, as well as a bus strike, and they thought we might have trouble getting in. We did spot obvious signs of public unrest a few times as we walked around during the next four days but it wasn't our fight so we stayed well out of the way.
Toddling off for our first morning of exploration we found signs pointing towards the Acropolis and dutifully followed them, at times trying to marry up what those signs were telling us with what appeared on the map we had been given. It quickly became clear to us that Athens has a lively, probably young, public art movement. Some
The Temple of Olympiean Zeus
What's left of a temple that took 600 years to build and was once the largest in Athens. It had over 100 of these columns (minus the two which were sent by Sulla to Rome to go on the Temple of Jupiter there). of the said young people obviously ran out of walls to paint a while back and moved to signs, not just tourist signs but those were the ones we were mainly interested in reading. They also turned a few around, probably while swinging on them or perhaps just to enjoy the consternation of those attempting to follow them. (I have a vague memory of doing something similar many, many years ago in another place.) We didn't end up at the Acropolis but at a large enclosed area containing very substantial old rock structures so decided to have a look.
There are people who love their job and people who hate their job. There are others who simply don't care very much. We aren't sure which category the staff at the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Gate that morning fitted into but chances are it wasn't the first option. On offer was a ticket for 30 euros that would get us into this and another half dozen sites, including the Acropolis. We asked for a map that would show us how to get to these sites and were told that any map of the city would show them. The maps
What happens when you don't pick it up
Apparently this column fell over in a 19th century storm and was left as is, we had collected were more interested in advertising than in providing a method to navigate and they all showed some of the sites, but not consistently in the same locations. A nice, accurate map that actually provided the addresses of the sites would have been useful.
One of the best places to get stuck into the detail of ancient Greece is the new Acropolis Museum. There may still be an old one around but we didn't see that. The new one is very flash and modern and provides a well presented introduction to the role that the Acropolis has played and the various vicissitudes that have been visited upon the place. It really has copped a hiding over the years. Everyone who passed by seems to have had a go at it.
The Romans were first through and they were relatively respectful, just adding some additional features and perhaps trying to reinvent it as one of their places. The Christians were more destructive, vandalising many of the objects (a mixture of acting against what they considered to be idolatory and getting rid of the dirty bits) and turning the Parthenon into one of their places – a church.
What's down here?
Why look at the old rocks in the background when there are wildflowers to be snapped. The Turks built a mosque there and also came up with a devious plan of using the Parthenon as a magazine for explosives. The British were having none of that and lobbed a bomb into it, causing major damage. This was adding insult to injury after Elgin made off with the best of the marble statues. The British are still kindly looking after the 'Elgin Marbles' though it must be getting close to time for those statues to return to their home on the Acropolis.
The Greeks, with quite a bit of help from the rest of Europe it seems, are currently engaged in the rebuilding of the Parthenon. The actual building work required is substantial but you can see how it should be possible to get it done with enough application and funds. The truly difficult task will be putting all of the bits that are buried or missing completely back into their original order. The amount of research and analysis required is monumental, and what has been done so far is impressive.
As for the Parthenon it is for the Ancient Agora, Roman Agora and, even more so, for the Kerameikon. Work is obviously underway, excavations
Acropolis above, Hadrian's Gate...
behind the trees and traffic in between are being made but it must surely be a very slow and detailed process. I did develop some sympathy for the Athenians about the heritage issues they face. These sorts of issues cause a great deal of angst in a lot of cities, even in Australia where none of the cities are much over 200 years old. Imagine when there is pressure to remove the house that generations of your family have lived in over hundreds of years because there is a temple, building or major work of art underneath. The Kerameikon covers an area on both sides of the Metro line and some of the pieces were unearthed during the excavations.
All of these places are worth a visit. You need to be prepared to walk – driving would be painful – but it is possible to get around them all fairly easily, if you have a good map. If you have a rubbish map it is not all bad. You do get to see things you mightn't have planned on and you get to explore a city that is well worth exploring.
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Alex Brown
non-member comment
On the Road Again
Pat & David Welcome back to the First World!! Enjoying the blogs; especially the family research in Ireland. Do say hello if you have spare time in London before heading home. Though you are a year late for the excellent 'Australia' exhibition at the British Museum. The most memorable exhibit for me was a shield - carried by a native at Botany Bay - in 1770ish, when Cook and his crew stepped ashore. According to the diaries, local man performed something akin to a haka. And the Marine Captain shouted the order... I counted four bullet holes. To the victor, the spoils. Alex