Make no mistake. Athens and Sparta were rivals back in the day. Anyway! I've just returned chez moi from a rad trip to Europe split between four cities: Paris, Athens, Venice, and Florence. This post, as denoted in the title, is intended for the second of those. No, people were not wearing togas. It was actually quite hot and cotton summer vestments were the overwhelming preference for streetwear. I suffered sunburn on the first day when we headed up the Acropolis. There was a lot of restoration/reconstruction going on. The Acropolis has seen a lot and the Parthenon itself has suffered tremendous damage through the ages, passing through the hands of multiple religious denominations and falling prey to centuries of looters and neglect. It's a pity that much of its magnificent craftsmanship and rich history has been irretrievably lost, but also incredibly impressive that archaeologists have been able to piece together so much of its story and even what stood in the Parthenon's place before it was constructed. There was plenty to be learned at the Acropolis Museum nearby. The Parthenon was built as a temple to Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom (and actually a lot of other things, as I found out) and patron deity of the city. As the founding myth goes, Athena gifted the city an olive tree, which beat out Poseidon's saltwater spring in what must've been the world's most intense bidding war. And thus, the city's name. That's not to say that there aren't temples to other gods in the area, however. Have some pictures for proof: We also visited the ancient Roman Agora with its reconstructed stoa. Despite the 100-degree day, it was quite cool once we'd stepped under the roof of the stoa. There was also a variety of artifacts on display within the interior rooms--even some ancient passports. Imagine showing a piece of stamped clay to Border Control at the airport! Anyway, onto the Plaka district--it's a historic neighborhood in central Athens built on top of the ancient city (definitely not as old and crumble-tumble as the ruins up there, but it's got that charming old-town feel). There were plenty of shops and very inviting tavernas--where, much to my mom's delight, I made up for my decade-long deficit of vegetables by eating my weight in Greek salad. The streets of the Plaka are appropriately crowded with tourists through the late morning and afternoon, and liven up even more as dinnertime approaches. While I'm on the topic of historic areas put to modern use, we also visited Piraeus--the port has been one of the most important Mediterranean seaports since the days of Ancient Greece. Today, it's a bustling commercial district with an abundance of excellent seafood restaurants in the Mikrolimano area. My brother's a runner and was excited to visit the Panathenaic Stadium to get some cool shots for his upcoming running documentary. So we tried three times during our stay. The first time, they were setting up for a concert and the stage was blocking most the angles he wanted to take. The second time was actually on the day of the concert (oops). And third time's the charm. We were the first visitors that morning and workers had already begun deconstructing the stage. The Panathenaic Stadium is the only one in the world built entirely out of marble. It hosted the first revival of the modern Olympic Games in 1894 and most recently, Athens 2004. Didjaknow: The Olympic Torch is first lit up by the concentrated rays of the sun during a ceremony at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, the site of the Ancient Olympics. Then, before it goes to the host city, it's part of a ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium. The whole flame concept is a nod to the mythology of Prometheus, the Greek Titan who stole fire from the Olympian gods to give to the shivering humans down below. He paid dearly for his deed--Zeus flew into a rage and had him chained to a mountain where an eagle would zip down and tear out his immortal liver every day. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment. Anyway, that's all for Athens! Have a grainy photo of the Acropolis during sundown: Cheers!
Clem
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