Athens, Greece

Our trip to Athens came very close to being canceled. As of the day we left Italy, the Tourist department, the metro, the cab drivers, and anyone else involved in Tourism had announced a strike for the day we arrived. All the talk on the ship was whether or not we were going to make it to Athens. The night before, a few of the groups decided they might actually work and it was on.

The ship docked in Piraeus and we caught a cab to the Acropolis. I would have preferred the $2 metro but the metro workers did not get the memo about the canceled strike and it was closed all day. At the Acropolis we were able to find a guide to show us around and make some simple explanations. She seemed much more willing to talk about the Greek Government debt crisis. The day after we left, there were riots that killed 3 people, Later in the week, The communist party took over the Acropolis for a day. They sent all the workers home and let everyone in for free. I think we were very lucky to not have any issues while we were there.

First a little background, the Acropolis hill (acro – edge, polis – city), so called the “Sacred Rock” of Athens, was our first stop. The Parthenon and other main buildings on the Acropolis were built by Pericles in the fifth century BC as a monument to the cultural and political achievements of the inhabitants of Athens. The term acropolis means upper city and many of the city states of ancient Greece are built around an acropolis where the inhabitants can go as a place of refuge in times of invasion. It’s for this reason that the most sacred buildings are usually on the acropolis. It’s the safest most secure place in town.

The Propylaea are the monumental entrances to the sacred area dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of the city. Built by the architect Mnesicles with Pentelic marble, their design was impressive today. Columns were intentionally built at slight angles so they would appear straight from far away. To the south-west of the Propylaea, on a rampart protecting the main entrance to the Acropolis, is the Ionian temple of Nike.

The Theater is still in use today and still is respected as having the best acoustical properties of any venue in the world.

The views of the city are magnificent but the views of the acropolis are magnificent from anywhere in the city. This is the heart of the city and of Greece. Here the western world and western thinking was born.

Coming down from the acropolis, you come to the rock of Areopagos. This is where Saint Paul spoke to the people of Athens in AD 51 and the tablet embedded in the stone contains his words.

Next was the ancient Agora, It was the heart of ancient Athens, the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social activity, the religious and cultural center, and the seat of justice. The site was occupied without interruption in all periods of the city’s history. It was used as a residential and burial area as early as the Late Neolithic period (3000 B.C.). Early in the 6th century the Agora became a public area. After a series of repairs and remodeling, it reached its final rectangular form in the 2nd century B.C. and after the Slavic invasion in A.D. 580, It was gradually abandoned.

Our final stop was the Plaka, the oldest section of Athens. The streets are closed to automobile traffic. Here you find restaurants, jewelry shops, tourist shops, etc. We ended our day with shopping before a can ride back to the ship.