Athens, Greece part 1

     The next stop on our trip was Athens, Greece.  Because of weather and being the month of February, we opted to spend our time in Athens and not try to get to the Greek islands.

     Athens is an amazing place.  You couldn’t walk more than a couple of blocks without encountering ruins, either Greek or Roman.  Our hotel was in the Plaka district which is very close to the Acropolis (“high city”) and many of the major ancient sites.  We could easily walk to where we wanted to go.  The hotel we stayed in had a rooftop lounge where, at night, you had an incredible view of the Acropolis. It was lit up and looked like a painting.

Click on each photo to enlarge it.

The Acropolis at night from our hotel roof lounge

     We kept track of the weather during our trip and planned our outings accordingly --museums during rain, outdoor sights when the weather was good.  Luckily in Athens we only had one rainy morning and it was over early.

     Of course, the Acropolis is the principal attraction in Athens.  As high as it looks in the photograph, it wasn’t a bad walk to the top from the other side.  Walking is the only means of transportation up the hill at this time of year. They have an elevator for handicapped that operates during the summer.

     The entrance to the Acropolis is the Propylae, designed as a “grand gate” to put  ancient visitors in awe before ever seeing the Parthenon.   Beside it is the Temple of Athena Nike. Once inside the entrance, the Parthenon is in front of you and to your right is the Temple of the Erechtheion.  Legend says this was the spot where Athena and Poseidon fought for naming rights to the city.  Athena won by stabbing a rock with her spear, causing an olive tree to sprout near the Porch of the Caryatids on the south side.  Also called the Porch of the Maidens, it consisted of six beautiful maidens which formed the columns on that side of the temple.  In ancient times the 30 foot tall statue of Athena Promachos stood in the Erechtheion.

The Propylae

The Temple of the Erechtheion

Porch of the Caryatids (Porch of the Maidens)

     The Parthenon is the largest structure on the Acropolis. It was a temple dedicated to the maiden goddess Athena and considered the finest temple in the ancient world.  Due to deterioration and the stupidity of man, much of it has disappeared over the ages.  In 1687 the Ottoman Turks used the Parthenon to store ammunition which was ignited during a Venetian bombardment.  In 1806 while still under Ottoman Turk rule, Thomas Bruce, the 7^th Earl of Elgin purchased many of the surviving sculptures from the Ottomans and in 1816 sold them to the British Museum where they are still on display today.  Since 1983 the Greek government has been trying to have them returned but with no success.

The Parthenon

The Theater of Dionysus

     After visiting the Acropolis, we walked down to Mars Hill which is where the Apostle Paul preached to the Greeks as told in the Book of Acts.

Apostle Dale preaching, which she often does, at her husband! 

         Due to slow internet and bandwidth, I am having to divide this blog into more than one blog.  Once all blogs are posted, you will see the last one first and the first one last, unless I can figure out a way to switch the order of all my blogs..