Guess who Athens was named for?

My continuing coverage on our trip to Greece and Turkey begins with the arrival in Athens, Greece where we were picked up by our guide, Kosta, from Homeric tours. As we passed through the ancient narrow streets that were lined with orange trees and tiny cars, we caught glimpses of the Athens Acropolis. The parking was limited so there were many cars parked up on the streets and sidewalks.

Very tired from the overnight flight, the three of us barely fit into the tiny elevator of the Athenian Callirhoe, and went up to our rooms. The beds were rock hard but the staff of this hotel were top-notch. Very helpful and nice to us during our entire stay. It was in a very good location, close to the major attractions and some metro stops and restaurants. Kosta directed us to where the locals eat and we had a nice meal before hiking through the streets where we helped the local economy.

Walking the Streets of Athens

The streets didn’t match up with the maps but the shopkeepers were very helpful giving us directions and then inviting us into their shops. We were making our way up to the Plaka area. We bought our obligatory tourist stuff and gave some coins to some kids on the street who were playing bouzoukis (a Greek guitar) and accordions, attempting to make their daily quota for their adult lords. It was hot and I for one was very weary after traveling so we headed back and had a lovely dinner at the restaurant hotel.

One of my thoughts walking the ancient streets was how much human history lies beneath the concrete sidewalks we were stomping on. For now we have many wonders to explore and more are excavated each year.

One thing I notice when we travel is the general character and décor of the living spaces in these big cities. In some countries you’ll see satellite dishes or water tanks on the roofs. Here in Athens I would describe the apartments that are home to six million residents as having a drab type of architecture with lots of green foliage spilling off their balconies—most having awnings. Their roofs hosted solar panels that also dotted the landscape. None of the buildings were very tall because there was a law to keep the view of the Acropolis open to the surrounding region.

The Acropolis

My parents were here 15 years ago and also 50 years ago as a young couple. My brother was a third wheel of sorts on that first trip, but not quite out of the cocoon at that point. We have photos of my parents in 1965 at the Acropolis. They enjoyed seeing the ruins again as we hiked up the tall local hill to the top.

In each of the ancient Greek cities, there was an acropolis. Most people know the one in Athens as the only one but there are many throughout the country. The Acropolis contains several ancient structures including the entryway or Propylaea. A monument to Agrippa still stands as part of the Propylaea. Also on the hill top is the Parthenon, which is the main structure, and the Erechtheum which was a temple to Athena and Poseidon. The Acropolis was the center of the civilized society and where the ancient nobles lived. The little people lived below in the low lands.

As we walked among the ruins I was amused at some of the wardrobes of the tourists, including one woman with blue high heels. This was not exactly an easy place to walk around—uneven rocks everywhere.

A couple of historical side notes…

The story of the Parthenon involved a rivalry among two of the ancient Greek gods, Athena and Poseidon. Looking for a patron for the city, the King asked the two to participate in a contest. Each offered a gift to the people—Poseidon created a spring but it turned out to have salty water, which didn’t do anything for the people there. Athena on the other hand gave them an olive tree, providing sustenance and oil to light there lamps. So Athena won, hence the name Athens.

The Parthenon was blown up when the Turks, who were occupying Athens, kept their arsenal there. The Athenians were fighting back and bombarded the arsenal, taking the ancient ruin with it. It has a lot of scaffolding so they are working to repair it.

In the early 1800s, the British Earl of Elgin obtained permission from the Sultan (who ruled Greece at the time) to take whatever he wanted from the Parthenon and so the ancient Frieze that decorated the outside of the Parthenon went piece by piece to England where it was sold to the British museum.

Day two will continue in the next post with a tour of the Olympic Stadium and more!