Big day today. We are climbing the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. Actually, climbing is not the correct term; stumbling is more precise.
The route up to the top is a combination of stairs, ramps and paths covered with loose rocks and boulders. The ancient Greeks did not have ADA.
The Parthenon was dedicated to Athena in the 5th century B.C. Nice building but it has been abused badly. Various conquerers have damaged or destroyed many parts. It was converted to a church by the Christians during the Byzantine period, then a mosque when the Ottomans took over. In the Morean War, a Venetian bomb landed on the Parthenon, which the Ottomans had used as a munitions dump, during the 1687 siege of the Acropolis. The resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon. There are several ongoing projects to restore the Parthenon and the surrounding buildings but it is going to take a while.
But my favorite building on the Acropolis hill is the Erechtheion temple with the caryatids. This caryatid is one of six elegant female figures who supported the roof of the south porch of the Erechtheion (figures who do the work of columns—carrying a roof—are called caryatids). The figure wears a garment pinned on the shoulders (this is a peplos—a kind of garment worn by women in ancient Greece).
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The route up to the top is a combination of stairs, ramps and paths covered with loose rocks and boulders. The ancient Greeks did not have ADA.
But my favorite building on the Acropolis hill is the Erechtheion temple with the caryatids. This caryatid is one of six elegant female figures who supported the roof of the south porch of the Erechtheion (figures who do the work of columns—carrying a roof—are called caryatids). The figure wears a garment pinned on the shoulders (this is a peplos—a kind of garment worn by women in ancient Greece).
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The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has a reproduction of the caryatids and I loved them as a kid. It was a thrill to see the originals. Well, not really the originals, they are in the Acropolis Museum to protect them (minus the one the Brits stole). The ones on the Acropolis are copies.
The original.
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Stumbling down the Acropolis we made our way to the Acropolis Museum where we took a tour with our local guide 'Mama Faye'. She's small but tough. You can ask any guide in Greece and they'll all say they love Mama Faye.
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Faye showed us what is left of the 'Elgin Marbles', the sculptured stones that lined the top of the Parthenon. They were stolen by Lord Elgin in the 1800's and are now in the British Museum. The Brits won't give them back because if they did the British Museum would be empty in two hours. Everyone would want their stuff back that was stolen by the Brits.
Time to head back to the hotel and rest our legs at the rooftop bar with this view.
Time to head back to the hotel and rest our legs at the rooftop bar with this view.
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