The Acropolis of Athens
What would a visit to Athens, Greece be without going to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon?
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The Acropolis is the one historical site
you can't miss. You can take a tour or wander up
there yourself but during the
summer, whatever you do, unless it
is overcast, go early or late in
the day. It can get very hot up
there and gasping for breath can
take way from your ability to
marvel at the greatest of all
archaeological
sites. Getting to the Acropolis is easy
and more pleasant than ever because the large avenues which border
the south and west of the site (Apostolou Pavlou in Thission and
Dionissiou Areopagitou in Makrianni) have been turned into giant
pedestrian streets with cafes and restaurants and the walk is quite
pleasant. From the Plaka and Monastiraki side it has always been
a car-less, enjoyable walk and all you have to do is walk uphill
from wherever you are and when you get to the top and there are
woods instead of buildings, and steps, take a right.
After
climbing the steps you are at the
entrance, or the Propylaea, which
was completed in 432 just before the outbreak of
the Peloponnesian wars. The main
architect was Mnesicles, a
colleague of Phidias. To your left
is the Pinacotheca and a
Hellenistic pedestal and on the
right the tiny temple to Nike
Athena or the Athena of Victory
which commemorates the Athenians
victory over the Persians.
This small temple stands on a platform
that overlooks the islands of Saronic Gulf and used to house
a statue of Athena. It was dismantled by the Turks in 1686 so they
could use the platform for a large cannon. It was rebuilt between
1836 and 1842 and again taken apart and rebuilt in 1936 when it
was discovered that the platform was crumbing. If
you looking from the propylaea
towards Pireaus on a clear day you
can see ships waiting outside the
port of Pireaus, the islands and
the mountains of the Peloponessos
beyond.
The
Parthenon and other main
buildings on the Acropolis
were built by Pericles in the
fifth century BC as a monument
to the cultural and political
achievements of the
inhabitants of Athens. The
term
acropolis
means
upper city and many of the
city states of ancient Greece
are built around an acropolis
where the inhabitants can go
as a place of refuge in times
of invasion. It's for this
reason that the most sacred
buildings are usually on the
acropolis. It's the safest
most secure place in town. As
little as 150 years ago there
were still dwellings on the
Acropolis of Athens. Those
of you who have read Aristophanes will recall that in Lysistrata
the women have Athens barricaded themselves in the fortress in protest,
being tired of their men going to war against Sparta. Depriving
them of sex, cooking and care it was a terrific strategy that might
even work today. Regardless, the play opened the door to the subject
of sexual frustration in comedy and without it we might not have
Woody Allen. Nowdays there are still protests which occasionally take
place by site employees closing the Acropolis to tourists,
some of whom have waited a lifetime to come to Greece. Thankfully
these are rare and of short duration.
The best time to go up there
is the late winter or spring when even this
stone mountain is not immune
to the proliferation of grass
and wildflowers which seem to
burst from every crack. Even in
December, January and February the Acropolis can be surprisingly
green. Even
having seen a thousand photographs
one is still not prepared for the
immensity of the Parthenon. The
building was designed by the
architects Kallikrates and Iktinos
as the home of the giant statue of
Athena. It took 15 years to build
and was completed in 438 BC and is
probably the most recognizable
structure in the world next to the
golden arches of McDonalds. From a
temple it became a church, a
mosque and finally as a storage
facility for Turkish gunpowder. In
1687 the Venetians bombarded it
from below. A cannon ball hit the
gun powder and blew it up.
The
Erecthion sits on the most
sacred site of the Acropolis
where Poseidon and Athena had
their contest over who would
be the Patron of the city.
Poseidon thrust his trident
into the rock and a spring
burst forth, while Athena
touched the ground with a
spear and an olive tree grew.
Athena was declared the victor
and the great city of Athens
was named for her while
Poseidon was given a small
village in Syros after it was
discovered he had merely
ruptured a water main. (not
really).The building itself
contains the porch of the
maidens or Caryatids which are
now copies, four of which have
been placed in the Acropolis
museum, hopefully to be
reunited with a fifth taken
from the Acropolis by Lord
Elgin and put in the British
Museum more than a century
ago. 
A
question in my mind is why not
rebuild the Parthenon to it's
former glory? It is not as if the
destruction of it is sacred
history that must be preserved, in
fact the 300 years since the
explosion is a relatively short
time-span in the history of the
building. Much of the Parthenon
has been taken apart and put back
together with pieces being
replaced or clamped to
remedy the wear and tear of
centuries, in particular the last
20 or so years of air pollution.
As it stands now, though it is a
tribute to the glorious past and
the achievement of the Ancient
Athenians it is also at the same
time a reminder that whatever is
good in man is eventually overcome
by ignorance, war and a hunger for
domination. I say rebuild the
entire Acropolis as an inspiration
that whatever is wrong with the
world can be righted. (Until some
idiot blows it up again). 
My
favorite spot is at the flag where
Athens stretches out endlessly
below. You can see the Plaka
beneath you, the ruins of the giant
Temple of
Olympian Zeus and the Olympic
stadium nestled in a pine covered
hill, an island of green in a sea
of concrete. To the left of the
stadium is the Zappion building and the National Gardens. To the
right of the stadium you can see another large patch of green which
is the First Cemetery. The Acropolis is a great place to get your
bearings and get an understanding of the layout of the city. In
fact the more you know Athens the more interesting it is to come
up here and see familiar landmarks. 
If you stand by the flag and look
to your left you will see Mount
Lycabettos rising from the
neighborhood of
Kolonaki
, with
the Hilton and the Athens Tower at
Ambelokipi in the distance. The
large green area is the National
gardens. The Acropolis is a great
place to get your bearings in
Athens. You can see as far as
Kifissia on a clear day.
The
plaque by the flag commemorates Manolis
Glezos and Apostolis Santas, the two eighteen
year-old heroes who
tore down the Nazi flag flying
from the Acropolis on the night
of May 30th, 1941.
It is of particular interest
because these names are known
not only by Greeks, but by
many Europeans, because this
act of courage and
resistance to Nazi oppression
was an inspiration to all
subjected people. Later through reading
the book
Athens:The City by John
Tomkinson I found out that
Glezos, who became a member of
the Greek resistance, was
condemned to death for treason
in 1948 and imprisoned for
being a communist. He was later
elected a member of the Panhellenic Socialist Party (PASOK).
Below
the Acropolis is the theater
of Herod Atticus built by the
Romans in 161 AD and
still used today for classical
concerts, ballet, performances
of high cultural value and
Yanni. Further on is the
Theater of Dionysious the
first stone theater and home
to Sophocles, Aeschylus,
Euripides and Aristophanes. It
was rebuilt around 342 BC by
Lykourgos and then enlarged by
the Romans to be used for
gladiator fights. In July of 2003
I saw Jethro Tull here. It was the first rock concert held in the
ancient theater and though perhaps some people hope it was the
last I would be happy to see more. How about Deep Purple
with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing Jon Lord's
Concerto for Group and Orchestra? Maybe Procul Harum? Emerson,
Lake and Palmer? The Stooges? Where's Leonard Cohen when you really
need him? 
Below
the Acropolis is the rock of
Areopagos or what we called in
high school 'Blow Hill'.
(Don't ask). The steps are
very slippery so be careful as
you climb them, but once you
do you won't want to come down
(unless it is 100 degrees).
You have a great view of the
Agora, the Plaka, Monastiraki,
Omonia and much of Athens.
Great place to watch the
sunset. Or come up at night
with a bottle of wine and your
true love, and watch the
lights of the city. This is
where Saint Paul spoke to the
people of Athens in AD 51 and
the tablet imbedded in
the stone contains his
words. There is a cleft in the
rock at the bottom of the hill
that is a shrine to the
Furies. Afterwards,
continue back around the Acropolis
and down the hill into the
Ancient Agora below. Part of it is
free and you can go through it to
get back to Adrianou Street, or
you can pay the entrance fee and
walk the streets of ancient
Athens. If you decide to hang out
awhile in the ancient Agora take a
look at the rebuilt Stoa of
Attalos, now a museum which
features many of the every day
items found in the area.
The
small temple known as the Thission
was built in 449 BC and is
virtually intact. Supposedly named
for Theseus because his exploits
were shown on the frieze, it is
now believed that it was actually
a temple to Hephaestos and Athena.
Unfortunately they realized their
mistake too late and the entire
neighborhood is called Thission.
The temple was used as a Church,
dedicated to Saint George, known
as Saint George the Lazy
because it was only open one day
of the year. The neighborhood of Thission
is full of cafes, bars and restaurants and like other areas around
the Acropolis has been made pedestrian friendly, it's streets turned
into walkways and landscaped with trees and flowers.
You may notice at the entrance to
the Acropolis and the paths
leading up to it the licensed
guides who for around 50 Euros or
so, will give you a tour so that
you may leave the area more
informed then when you got here.
One of the most well-known was Teresa Mitsopoulou,
an Archaeologist and writer of
some renown. Several of her books
are considered controversial by
her fellow archaeologists because
they seem to prove a link between
Chinese and Ancient Greek culture
that if correct could change much
of what we believe about the past. Theresa
has gotten older now and cannot climb the ancient hill as quickly
and as easily as she once
used to. But she has been described by one travel agent as "... to the Parthenon, what an old monk
is to a monastery. If one has the
time and patience to sit with her much can be gained. She has been a licensed
Acropolis Guide since 1954, in my view a contemporary priestess".