Description: I honestly think that if Greeks were allowed, they’d build apartment buildings on the Acropolis, and probably right on top of the Parthenon. Perhaps that’s the downfall for a country that can’t spit without hitting a ruin, but when viewing Hadrian’s Arch and Zues’s Temple across a busy road and through some telephone wires, you’ll probably feel a little less about the site than you normally would.
You can see the site from atop the
Acropolis, and perhaps you think it’s not worth the walk to get there, using the ticket you bought for the Acropolis instead of paying an extra 2 euro to get in. Well, I’m here to say that you might want to rethink that. If you have one day in Athens, I think you could survive without seeing these ruins, but if you’ve got the time, this is a good way to spend an hour.
Zeus really knew how to appreciate a column. Originally, there were over a hundred of these Corinthian columns, but now there are only 15. But one of the most fascinating parts of the site is the column that was blown over in the 1800s. It really gives a good look into the building of a column, and it looks like the column bits were placed there like some crackers on a snack tray. The site also gives you an alternate view of the Acropolis, rather than the grassy knoll view, it shows you the wall that made it a strategic military point.
Nearby is Hadrian’s Arch which was built as a gate into the city of Athens by the Romans. It’s kind of neat to walk under it, and to get a view of the Acropolis through it, but all of the cars running in front of it and the wires hanging above it make IT a secondary photo op.
So it’s not a major site to see, but worth a short walk from the Acropoli metro station.
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