Athens 101: Acropolis

Athens : Traffic, complete chaos, graffiti and garbage everywhere.... And only my 2nd day of rain since Aug 26th. All in all, I can't complain!  As my airport bus trudges its way through the choked streets of Greece's capital, I make small talk with a retired high school math teacher who insists on telling me all about his city and points out landmarks as we go by them. So far, people are pretty friendly here. A good start.

I check into Athens Backpackers and realize it's a 3-minute walk to the entrance of the Acropolis, a 2-minute walk to some Roman ruins, 8 minutes to the 'Ancient Downtown' area.... It's so well-located, it's almost ludicrous! 

So I head out to the Acropolis, since it's RIGHT THERE.  It had just stopped raining, so I almost had it to myself.  I did find the Parthenon difficult to photograph with my 'little' camera; it just doesn't have a sufficiently wide lens. But here are my fave pics:

BAM, there she is -- what a beauty! The Parthenon's not bad-looking, either. haha  just kidding

This is a view of the back of the Parthenon.

Again, the back end of the Parthenon. 

  

The Parthenon, seen from the front, with the side columns broken off.

 

This bit is in much better shape.

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE PARTHENON (building) / ACROPOLIS (hill)

• Although people had been living on the Acropolis since caveman days, the Delphi Oracle declared in 510 BC that it should be the province of the gods, so everyone got shipped out.
• Athens is named after the Greek goddess Athena, but it could just as easily have been named after the god Poseidon. The gods of Olympus supposedly proclaimed that the burgeoning city should be named after the god who could provide the most valuable legacy for its mortals. Poseidon (god of the sea) struck the hill with his trident and a fresh water spring emerged. Athena (goddess of wisdom, among other things) produced an olive tree in the same area. The gods judged that Athena's gift would better serve the masses, producing olive oil, wood and nourishment. She thus became the patron saint of the city that would forever bear her name.
• It took only 11 years to build the Parthenon (447 BC to 438 BC).
• The Parthenon was built as a treasury -- the Ancient Greeks never used it as a temple and very few people were ever allowed in. Then in the 5th century, it was a Christian church; in the 1460s, the Turks added a minaret and it became a mosque. Later, they stored their gun powder in there. Big mistake: Turkey's enemies, the Venetians, took aim at the gunpowder barrels in 1687 and the explosion caused most of the damage that we see today. The decorative statues in, on and around the Acropolis were then defaced by invading Christians later on.
• The Parthenon had 46 outer columns and 23 inner columns. All were made of marble.
• The crowning glory of the Acropolis was a giant statue of Athena, measuring at least a dozen meters in height, which would have been visible from everywhere in Athens.

Here's artist Leo von Klenze's rendition of what the Acropolis looked like in its heyday. This version is very well-accepted by Greek archaeologists.

Here are some other buildings on the Acropolis:

The Temple of Erechtheion/Athena (right) and the attached Temple of Poseidon (left). This part of the Acropolis was held most sacred; this was where the fresh water spring and olive tree were produced by Poseidon and Athena. Surely the most photographed tree in all of Greece, it helps to remember that this little tree (the smaller, darker one partially hidden by rock) is not the 'real' one produced by Athena (it's mythology!!) Unlike the Parthenon, this temple was used by the public for sanctuary and for worship. 

The front porch of the Erechtheion was 'guarded' by 6 beautiful and desirable virgins, called the Caryatids. Their untainted beauty may have helped attendance at temple.

The entrance to the Acropolis, called the Propylaia. 

The Propylaia's ceiling was painted blue with gold stars.

The building on the right is the Pinakothiki, and was originally the left wing of the entrance building. It housed paintings and statues and was also later used by the Turks as a munitions warehouse. A lightning storm in the 13th century ignited the gun powder barrels and destruction ensued.

The tiny Temple of Athena Nike (Nike = victory), symbolizing Athens' defeat of the Persians. Built in 425 BC. 

On the South slope of the Acropolis, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Still very popular for summer concerts, it seats 5,000 and was built in 161 AD. Unfortunately, there were no performances going on while I was in town.

 The Theater of Dionysus, built in 342 BC. Only about 20 limestone rows remain of the original 64 rows. Women were confined to the back, and the front row's 67 marble thrones were reserved for priests and politicians.

Great view of the Philopappos Monument. This monument was built in honor of a powerful Roman aristocrat who was well-liked in Athens. His grief-stricken sister ordered the monument built in 119 AD.

Not a bad view of Athens. The temple seen towards the bottom is the Temple of Hephaestus, which I'll get to in my next blog. 

That was my first day in Athens-- five more to go!  Thanks for reading!  xx