"The Acropolis of Athens and its monuments are universal symbols of the classical spirit and civilization and form the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed by Greek Antiquity to the world." UNESCO And there you have it; why I was willing to see Athens with no Greek island in sight.
Weather? Beautiful! Mostly. It got a bit windy and cloudy, but for the most part, there was enough sun to shuck our jackets.
This would be the Theatre of Dionysis.
The Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus is a major open-air theatre and one of the earliest preserved in Athens, dating back to fourth century BC but had many other later remodelings. It could seat 17,000 people during its heyday; and if you think about it, that would have been during a time when 17,000 people were a pretty high percentage of the population. According to the Wiki page, there are some people who believe it was actually built by Dionysus. As he was meant to be a god, and thus one assumes a fictional character of sorts, that bit of data does call into question the validity of the page. So, we'll just move on and not think too much more on that "17,000 people" thing.
As you continue climbing to reach to the top, you pass a second theater, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.
"It was built in 161 AD by the Athenian magnate Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla. It was originally a steep-sloped amphitheater with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof made of expensive, cedar of Lebanon timber. It was used as a venue for music concerts with a capacity of 5,000 and it lasted intact until it was destroyed and turned into a ruin by the Heruli in 267 AD." Wiki
It was restored in the 1950s (so, 1700 years after it was destroyed?), and has been main venue of the Athens Festival, which runs from May through October each year, featuring a variety of acclaimed Greek as well as International performances. As it is older by the country I come from by a fair few years, I find it rather nice that it is "still" in use, although, "still" is a bit of a misnomer, as one assumes it wasn't useful for much more than re-purposing marble in the years it lay in ruins.
Dogs are fairly common blog fodder when reading about travels to Athens. Turns out, they are mostly strays, which shocked me, coming from the "stray-free" countries of Western Europe. Old dude was clearly enjoying the sun.
Next up, we have the original Propylaea; the word has come to mean "gate building." It is refered to as "the original" in part because it's is often copied; both the Brandenburg Gate of Berlin and the Propylaea in Munich were inspired by the Acropolis version.
There were people wandering about, but it wasn't anything you would call 'crowded.' Apparently, during the summer season, particularly as it gets quite hot in Athens during the mid-day, the mornings are the 'best' time to see the Acropolis, although, if you are going to be shoulder to shoulder with masses of humanity, it's hard to really define best.
This was best, in my opinion, as it wasn't raining and it wasn't crowded.
Plus, it was actually free. We are not exactly clear why it was free, as the usual cost to enter the Acropolis is 12€ for adults, 6€ for children. It seemed to be the Greek equivilent of Fasching (Fat Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday, whatever you call it), with children and the occasional adults running around in costume, but, we remain unclear. We are clear that we saved 36€, though, and that's always a treat.
And that's enough antiquity for today. Tomorrow, I'll finish up with the Parthenon and the Erechtheion.
Tomorrow: Did you miss that last sentence? Look again, it's right there, promise!
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