Athena, City of the Goddess

This blog has been quiet for the last week or so because I've been away on an adventure to Greece, to Athens, city of Athena, ancient protector of the city and goddess of wisdom. For some odd reason I've never been to Greece despite my fascination as a youngster with the myths of the ancient world, a fascination that's been sparked into life again.

There's a lot to say about Athens and the land around the city and it won't happen in one single long blog entry. I took 980 photos in just over a week and that's a lot, even for me, so this is a pictorial introduction to get you in the mood.

The centrepiece of Athens is the Acropolis, the rock plateau that rises up in the centre of the city and, if Athens wasn't so hilly, it would be seen from all parts of the city. On the top is the Parthenon, the great temple to Athena, which is undergoing some more renovation at the moment so parts were covered in scaffolding but that hardly detracts from its grandeur and magnificence, one of the most influential buildings ever constructed. We visited twice, once in the morning and we were surrounded by the massed ranks of American tourists from the cruise ships (it seemed like there were thousands of them) and again late in the afternoon so had the privilege of being there as the sun began to turn orange and set and turn the stone to all shades of pink and orange. It's a glorious sight.


At the foot of the Acropolis is Plaka, the old town of Athens, and the Agora, the remains of the ancient city with it's temples and ruins, the prime example of which is the temple to Hephaestus that was preserved by being turned into a church until early in the 19th Century. The temple is beautiful and surrounded by trees of a hundred shades of green. Most people walk past the front but go round the back for some perfect views and a much quieter time. It's easy to spend hours wandering round the ancient Agora, under the beating sun and the bright light that robs the world of colour other than green.


One of the glories of Athens is the National Archaeological Museum that houses so much of the historical wealth in terms of art of the ancient city. Magnificent statues that I've seen in books since I was about 9 or 10 and there they were before me. The magnificent iron statue of Zeus or Poseidon (the jury is out on who it is), statues of athlete's and gods, of emperors and their lovers, of Aphrodite fighting off a randy Pan with her slipper, it's all there. And, if you're talking ancient Greece, then you're also talking pottery and there is a whole series of galleries full of ancient vases, some whole but many made whole again from fragments. We saw most of the museum in about 4.5 hours but it would be easy to go back for another visit to see everything we just glanced at and walked on. It's very tiring on the feet. y'know.


Athens is close enough to some other ancient sites to make them do-able in a day trip and we paid homage to both the ancient city of Mycenae built on its hilltop and to the Oracle at Delphi. Mycenae is west of Athens, over the Corinthian Canal into the Peloponnese peninsula and out into the wilds of the rocky countryside, hill country with sparse vegetation other than olive trees that thrive in the parched environment. The countryside is beautiful in its desolate wilderness as the hills recede into blueness. All that's left of the ancient city are the outlines of walls as you trudge upwards in the scorching sun to the top of the city. In the time of Troy, Agamemnon ruled Mycenae, with his wife, Clytemnestra. Today, random solitary trees grow in what was once their palace.


Also in the area is Epidaurus where, along with temples to healing gods was the great theatre of Epidaurus where the art of theatre as we understand it today was slowly born over the years.

North West of Athens in the mountains is Delphi, perched on the side of Mount Parnassos, where the Oracle wove tales of what might - or might not - be in the future. It all depended on the interpretation of her chemically enhanced utterings. Being high in the mountains, we drove through a ski resort (Arachova) to get there (it never occurred to me that there would be ski resorts in Greece). The great Temple of Apollo that housed the Oracle is in ruins but retains it's feeling of the mysterious as people glance over it, wondering what really happened those millennia ago. It was abandoned in the Fourth Century AD as Christianity took hold but its remoteness has helped keep the basic lay-out intact until it was rediscovered 100 or so years ago.

Ancient wonders are a joy to behold, even in a ruined state, but happiness is much simpler and, for me, was brought on by The Happiness Train. The Train is bright red and pulls four carriages around the base of the Acropolis on a journey of about 50 minutes. It's the best thing since Daedalus invented wings for Icarus and I loved it. I saw it a few times wending it's way through the narrow streets of Plaka but couldn't work out where it started until Chris noticed it parked at the back of Syntagma Square in the centre of town. So on I jumped and was covered in a big ole smiley face - it's a great way to explore the base of the Acropolis and the only downside was that I couldn't ring the bell that warned tourists we were coming through. Wherever it went it brought smiles to faces and cameras out of pockets and bags - it's an excellent idea and, obviously, everyone who wasn't on the train was incredibly jealous of those of us graced individuals who were being transported around the Acropolis by the will of the gods.

Don't worry faithful readers, more to follow about Athens...