Ancient Stuff in Athens

It is possible to see most of the Ancient Stuff around Athens in 1 day, but 2 days would be best.

The Acropolis

Most of the Ancient Stuff around Athens is clustered in one area—the Acropolis ("upper city") and surrounding land just below. The Acropolis is a giant limestone bench, perhaps 100m high, which dominates the landscape. Originally the site of more ancient temples, which have long since disappeared, the structures that stand on top of the Acropolis today are the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. All were constructed in the 5th century BC.

We entered the Acropolis area from the west side. Bags are not allowed, so we checked our backpacks at the booth. After passing through the gate, but before reaching the top, we stopped to look over the edge to the south/southwest. Here we were able to see down into the Theatre of Herod Atticus, built in 161 AD, and still used for theatre, ballet, and musical performances.

Continuing to the top, we first passed through a gateway of columns and buildings under scaffolding, called the Propylaea. On the other side, the three temples rose up into the sky even higher, and there were crowds of people around each one.

The Parthenon is dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of Athens. Greek mythology says that Athena was the daughter of the supreme god Zeus and Metis. While Metis was pregnant with Athena, a prediction was made that the next child after Athena would overthrow Zeus, so Zeus proceeded to swallow Metis (logical, yes, I know). Anyway, Athena was then born out of Zeus’s head, and became the Olympian goddess of war and wisdom, and crafts and domestic arts. Athena was a virgin.

Athena became the patron goddess of Athens after a battle with her uncle Poseidon (brother of Zeus). On top of the Acropolis, Poseidon drove his fork into the ground, causing salt water to flow, in an effort to show his worthiness to the people of Athens. Athena planted an olive tree, which was deemed the greater act, and she became the patron goddess. On the site of the "battle" between Athena and Poseidon is the Erechtheion. The eye-catcher on the Erechtheion is the porch of the Maidens of Caryatids.

The third temple on top of the Acropolis is the Temple of Athena Nike, built in honor of Athena’s victory over the Persians. Athena avoided war, but when forced to fight, was said to be nearly invincible.

Unfortunately, Athena wasn’t around during the 17th-century war between the Turks and the Venetians. If she was, maybe the Turks would not have used the Parthenon as a powder magazine, which exploded when hit by a Venetian bomb, destroying much of the temple and surroundings. The temples have been partially refurbished, but there is still plenty of scaffolding around to block the views.

Make sure to check out the small underground museum west of the Parthenon as well. Much is preserved in the museum, but most of the main statuary was either destroyed or stolen. The thief is alleged to be a British ambassador who took items that are now in the British Museum.

There is plenty more to see in a big circle around the base of the Acropolis. My friend and I started on the north/northwest side at Monastiraki because this is where our hostel was. Monastiraki is a commercial zone, with small shops and restaurants. The main attraction is the Sunday flea market, and this is also the place to find jewelry vendors.

From Monastiraki, we entered the Agora, a site that preserves the main living area of Athens communities from 6th century BC to 5th century AD. The main flashy structure is the Temple of Hephaestus. Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera, and is the god of "fire and crafts," or blacksmithing. Athena’s "close call" regarding her virginity was with Hephaestus. Poseidon had untruthfully told Hephaestus that Athena yearned for him, so when she visited, Hephaestus tried to rape her. She fought and he failed, but some of his sperm ended up on Athena’s thigh. She wiped it to the ground, accidentally impregnating Gaia (Earth goddess). Gaia rejected the baby, and Athena raised it as her own.

Less obvious but still intriguing inside the Agora are the ruins of bathhouses and ancient plumbing, administrative buildings, a jail, etc. There are only pieces remaining, but in using my imagination, I could almost see the people bustling about their business, with Athena looking down from above.

Directly to the west of the Acropolis is the Aerophagus, which is a small hill that was the site of the ancient criminal justice court. Nothing remains on the hill itself, but we climbed to the top anyway, and had some nice views before heading to the nearby entrance of the Acropolis (see separate journal entry). This would likely be a nice spot for sunset.

To the southwest of the Acropolis is Filopappou Hill. The hill attracted me mostly because it is covered in trees. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to venture into the green space, or to see the other highlights of the hill, such as the Filopappos (Roman senator) monument, the church of Ayios Dhimitrios, or the Hill of the Pnyx (was a meeting place for democratic assembly).

On the south side is the front view of the Theatre of Herod Atticus, which we had looked down into from the Acropolis. That is the better view. A little farther along, on the southeast side, is the Theatre of Dionysus. According to Rick Steves guidebook, this is where "the masterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes were first performed." Built originally of timbers in 600 BC, it was upgraded to stone in 342 BC. At one point it was used for gladiator fights, and most recently, in 2003, I guess it hosted a Jethro Tull concert (huh!?!).

There is plenty to see on the east and northeast side of the Acropolis. If you have more than 1 day in Athens, this area might be best tackled on a new day.

Hadrians Arch is a couple blocks east from the Acropolis, across a busy street, and is the starting point for a number of interesting sites. Next to the arch to the east, The Temple of the Olympian Zeus is impressive for a number of reasons. This was the largest temple built in Athens, and rightfully so, as Zeus is considered the supreme god of the Olympians, ruler of the universe, all-knowing and all-powerful… you get the picture. There are 16 standing columns, all that remain of the original 104. One bit of information that I read said it was likely ruined by an earthquake. Ironic, as Zeus was considered the god of earthquakes as well.

Because the columns stand in a wide-open flat area, the size of them seems more overwhelming than the ones I had seen on the temple remains of the Acropolis and Agora. I was able to walk up quite close to them as well, and there were only a handful of people there compared to the masses at the Acropolis. Also very cool was the two columns that were tipped over, allowing me to see exactly how they were made. I guess one of them blew down in 1852. Other large pieces of columns were scattered around the site for close examination.

Northeast of the entrance to the Temple of the Olympian Zeus is the Zappion gardens, the National Gardens, Pariliament building, Tourist Office, Syndagma Square, and numerous smaller museums. Just a block northeast of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, on Vasil Olgas, we found the tram stop to the coastal beaches and to Pireas, where the island ferries depart. This whole area could take up oodles of time. We didn’t have it, so we skipped it. I would have loved to have more time to explore.

Getting back closer to the Acropolis, on the northeast side, is the neighborhood called Plaka. The guidebooks that I looked at before my Athens trip all described Plaka as having "character"—whatever that means. It was a cute little area with narrow stone streets, interesting architecture, pedestrian friendly, flowers, and outdoor cafes. But it was also obviously a tourist zone, rather than an area for locals, but pleasant nonetheless. This is a great area to get a decadent sample of Baklava, a pastry dripping with local honey, said to be the sweetest in the world.

There is a single ticket to get into Agora, Acropolis, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Theatre of Dionysos, and Kerameikos. The price is 12 euro (6 for non-EU students and free for EU students).