Hot up on the hill, and military funny walks

24.06.2015

I set off early (about 8am) to make the short climb to the summit of the Acropolis before it got too hot, and before the bus loads of people off cruise ships arrived to fill up the site. I got to the entry at 8.45 and was pleased to see it was already open. With a hat on my head and a bottle of water in hand I began the uphill trudge to get to the first pausing point. This was a partially reconstructed Theatre of Dionysus (Greek god of both wine and the stage) which was first built on the site in the 4th century BC. The old stone seating is impressive, and I have included a photo of the theatre site as seen from the top of the Acropolis. There were probably another four or five steepish slopes or sets of steps to climb before reaching the impressive gateway to the Acropolis, which is in the middle of extensive strengthening and restoration. Having passed through the gateway the extent of the site lies before you and it is clear that there are going to be many years yet of reconstruction before the site can be cleared of cranes and scaffolding. The largest and most amazing building has got to be the Parthenon. The scale of the buildings is gigantic, with pillars so high and massive, that it overwhelms you when you get close to them. It is easy to see why it has been called one of the treasures of the ancient world. The rest of the site has several projects taking place and a smaller but more complete Erechtheum Temple which has its porch balcony held up by replacement caryatids ( the originals have been transferred to the Museum). The views of the city from one of the highest places in Athens are truly beautiful and spectacular and worth the climb to get there. It was good as I was leaving to see the queues of hundreds of people starting to form and I was glad I got there early enough. Once I had got back to the metro station I decided to check out a site called the Temple of Zeus, and so I made a short trip to the area it was in and got lost. Luck has it that I got lost in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier and found myself there in time to see the changing of the guard ceremony. A couple of hundred people were pushing and shoving to get a good view of this so my photos barely capture what went on, but it gives a taste of what was involved. After that little bit of excitement I did manage to find the Temple of Zeus, but after seeing the Parthenon it was so underwhelming that I didn't bother to include photos. All that was there was a total ruin with a few pillars sticking up in the air. I'm going to check out the ancient Agora site tomorrow then I think I will be totally over classical Greek architecture......

Theatre of Dyonysus seating plan