Greece: City of Athena
6-12 October
I have come to Greece for the Communicating Astronomy to the Public conference. This is a busy, four-day conference about how to effectively engage the public with astronomical events and science. Luckily, my talk is on the first day, forcing me to finish it before the conference even begins.
My 10-hour flight was made tolerable by my seat mate, Anthe. She was on her way to Rhodes, where she is building a house. We talked for much of the overnight flight.
I arrived in Athens at 11 AM, Saturday morning. My hotel, the Baby Grand, was just south of Omonias Square, the main square in Athens, which evokes memories of pre-Disney Times Square: busy by day with many tourists, equally busy by night with prostitution, drugs, and ne’er-do-wells.
I showered and began to work on my talk, but soon fell asleep. After napping I wrapped up my talk and, after sundown, went out to explore Athens, or as it is written here: Αθηνα. I walked toward the Acropolis and the historic neighborhood beneath the rock outcrop called the Plaka.
Stumbled onto Ermou Street, a bustling pedestrian street with shopping, street musicians, and plenty of tourists. In a tiny square sits the Church of Kapnikarea, one of the oldest churches in Athens, dating back to the 11th century.
The Church of Kapnikarea was built in the 11th century over an ancient (pagan) temple.
Soon I turned down a small street and caught my first glimpse of the Acropolis. Bathed in golden light, it was a marvelous sight.
The Acropolis seems to hover over the neighborhoods below.
Walking toward the light of the Acropolis, I found myself in the Plaka, the old part of town where the streets are narrow and the houses are small. (The word “old” is always an inadequate descriptor in Greece since records reach back thousands of years, but I believe this neighborhood dates to Turkish times.) I’m standing on ground where Socrates taught in the 5th century BC and St. Paul converted people to Christianity in 49 AD.
Typical taverna in the narrow alleyways of the Plaka.
After grabbing some dinner and strolling around the Plaka, I became disoriented. I spent the better part of an hour trying to match up the street signs to my maps. I was down by the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch. It was approaching midnight when I passed an older Englishman. Looking back into a car window’s reflection, I saw him stop and look at me. I turned to talk to him, but he didn’t quite know where we were on the map. He was able to tell me what direction was north and couldn’t understand why I didn’t just get in a taxi. Knowing what direction to head in, I finally figured out where I was located and walked up Stadiou Avenue to my hotel where I fell fast asleep.
Every town in Greece is filled with kiosks that sell news, candy, some food and drink, phone cards, cigarettes, and anything else they can cram into the tiny, fotomat-like booths. This is the Greek convenience store and, at times, acts as the town’s water cooler.
One of the Greek newsstands in Omonias Square. These kiosks are where the locals come to read and discuss the news, and where I buy my phonecards.
Later on Sunday, my friend, Ryan, and I went to the Acropolis and explored Athens.
The Acropolis from the old neighborhood called the Plaka.
It is cloudy and kind of warm today. On our way up to the Acropolis, we came across a sexy smart car. Of course, it goes without saying that smart cars are sexy, but this one left little to the imagination:
The sexy smart car, parked on a tiny street under the Acropolis.
The Acropolis is perhaps the most important ancient monument in the world. The name acropolis means high city and this particular high point has been inhabited since the sixth millennium BC. In 510 BC, the Delphic oracle declared the high rock outcrop be a sacred place. Temples were built, only to be destroyed by the invading Persians in 480 BC. Pericles (495-429 BC) began a massive rebuilding program culminating in the temples we see today. Well, what’s left of them. Wars, occupation, and outright stealing have reduced the temples to ruins. Perhaps the most devastating blow came when the Venetians bombed the Acropolis, which the Turks were using as an armory. An explosion in the Parthenon ignited a fire that burned for two days.
Today, the main buildings include the Parthenon:
The Parthenon from below the Acropolis. Parthenon means “virgin’s apartment,” and its purpose was to house the Temple of Athena. The statue of Athena was one of the wonders of the ancient world, but was taken to Constantinople in 426 AD and disappeared.
The Parthenon was built between 447 and 438 BC by Pericles, and sits on the highest point in the Acropolis. It once had a blue ceiling with gold stars. The ceiling and much of the structure was damaged when the Venetians bombed the occupying Turks in 1687.
The Propylaea, or entry gate:
The Acropolis from nearby Areopagus Rock. The Propylaea is seen in the foreground in this shot. It was once a grand entry to the sacred site. Today, it is still the main entrance, where visitors trace the steps of the ancients up the Panathenaic Way.
The Erechtheion:
The Caryatids on the Erechtheion, modeled after women from Karyai, are an unusual departure from Doric or Ionic columns. These are plaster casts; the originals are in the Acropolis Museum with the exception of one which was removed by Lord Elgin, with whom we are all familiar with by now.
The northern room of the Erechtheion is faced with six beautiful Ionic columns. This was the sanctuary of the Acropolis.
Ionic column of the Erechtheion. Work began on the Erechtheion in 421 BC, after the Peloponnesian Wars.
At the eastern end of the Acropolis is an observation point, built for military purposes no doubt, that serves as a pedestal for the large Greek flag that proudly waves.
The observation point on the east side of the Acropolis.
Below the vertical walls on the south side of the Acropolis are two theaters.
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus was built by a Roman named Herodes Atticus in AD 161. It was excavated in the 1850s and restored in the 1950s.
The Theater of Dionysos was the first stone theater and served as a prototype for ancient theaters throughout Greece. It accommodated 17,000 people when it was completed in the 4th century BC and held competitions in Greek Tragedy, Comedy, and Satyr play which were judged by the audience.
The view from the Acropolis shows the sprawl of Athens and the surrounding cities. Athens has around 5 million people in a city of low-rise buildings.
Athens north from the Acropolis. Rooftop restaurants in the Plaka are directly below, while beyond them the city seems endless.
The Temple of Olympian Zeus, as seen from the Acropolis, is the largest temple in Greece. It took 700 years to build and was completed by Hadrian in 131 AD. Fifteen, 50-foot columns remain of the 104 that originally stood here; the fallen column was blown over by a strong wind in 1852.
I’ll take this moment to mention that Greece is plagued with stray cats and dogs. They seem friendly and the dogs are tame, but they are everywhere. All of the roadkill I saw were dogs. I found this sign funny, as there are a dozen cats and dogs that roam the Acropolis freely.
No happy dogs allowed in the Acropolis, but strays are just fine.
Just outside the Acropolis entrance is this olive tree, complete with ripening olives.
I really soaked in the Acropolis on my second night in Athens. Ryan and I had just seen the site and been kicked out at closing time. After closing, many people find their way to a small rock outcrop to the northwest called Areopagus. Of course, there were about a dozen astronomers up there and we all began to talk as the sun set and lights transformed the Acropolis into an equally awe-inspiring masterpiece.
As we took picture after picture, adjusting shutter speeds and ISOs, I could smell people’s smoke, and not the legal kind that is ubiquitous in Greece, but that other kind. Soon after, this guy stood in front of my camera and would not move. His friend tried to pull him away, but was having little success. Rather than become annoyed, I embraced it. I Asked him to change his pose and took a couple of shots. He said he was from Afghanistan and we talked about that for a minute. After I showed him the photo, he was off.
It occurred to me later that this was the perfect time to use some of the whackier phrases in my Lonely Planet Greek phrasebook. They have a section on dating and partying that is a stitch to read. Phrases like (accent on the italicized syllable):
- I’m high
- Pronounced: i·me ma·stu·ro·me·nos
Written: Ειμαι μαστουρωμενος
Other fun lines include:
- Can I take you home?
- bo·ro na se pa·ro sto spi·ti
Μπορω να σε παρω στο σπιτι - Easy tiger!
- si·gha re gho·i
σιγα ρε γοη! - And, the ever popular: Do you want a massage?
- the·lis e·na ma·saz
Θελεις ενα μασαζ
I highly recommend the Lonely Planet phrasebooks, they are not only useful, but entertaining as well.
Later in the week, I returned to the Acropolis and toured the Ancient Agora with my friends Angie and Curtis. Agora translates to “marketplace” and was the center of activity in ancient Athens, where political, commercial, and social activity thrived. It was the city center.
As with all ancient sites, it has seen great phases of construction and destruction. It was first built in the 6th century BC, but destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. Pericles rebuilt it during Athens’ golden age, but it was again destroyed in 267 AD by a Gothic tribe from Scandinavia. The Turks built a town here, but it was dismantled after Greek independence in the 19th century.
The ancient agora from the Acropolis. The most complete structure in the agora is the Temple of Hephaestus.
The Temple of Hephaestus is the best preserved Doric temple in Greece. While it may not be lofty in dedication—it’s a temple to the god of forge and metalwork—it is a temple of modest proportions and it is pleasing to see an ancient structure in such good shape.
The Temple of Hephaestus was built in 449 BC. It is perhaps so well preserved because it was converted to the Church of Agios Georgios in 1300 AD, which remained until December 1834 when the last service was held in honor of the arrival of King Otto.
Athens was a good way to get my feet wet in Greece, but I was ready to see the countryside. The city is, like any city, noisy, filthy, and populated by people from all over the world. Athens does not provide me with the feeling that I am experiencing Greece, just as New York City cannot (and does not) represent America. So, I’m off to the airport to pick up a car to drive the roads of Greece, to see the small towns, and to talk with the natives (as best I can).
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