Historic Athens

S. and I woke up this morning bright and early in time to grab breakfast from our hotel’s cafe and get in some valuable internet time. After showering and getting ready, we headed down to the Acropolis. Athens isn’t in it’s best state right now if you haven’t heard. There was a demonstration taking place down the street in Omonia Square and a strike was going on today. Public transportation (all public transportation) was a no-go, so our only option was to pick places we could see on foot. We took a twenty minute walk down to the historic part of the city to take in the main sights.

Before we even got to the main sites, the views were stunning. The elevated location allows for some seriously great photos of the houses and architecture below. Further on, we entered the main gate and had access to the main sites: the Parthenon, the Roman Agora, and the temples. The entry fee is €12 to access 6 different sites but when I asked for a student discount and flashed my student ID card, I was informed that students get in for free! You know how much I love all things free, so this was just awesome. Not paying for it makes the views that much more amazing.

Our first glimpse was of the Temple of Athena Nike. Apparently the temple that has survived was built around 420 BC and, as such, has seen an incredible amount of history. No matter how many times you see pictures of the massive columns towering over the city, nothing prepares you for seeing them up close. Incredible.

After crossing through the columns into the main area of the Acropolis, the Parthenon stood, surrounding by the millions of tourists that make a pilgrimage to Athens in the summer months. The Parthenon is, of course, a temple to the goddess Athena (the goddess for whom Athens is named after). Construction began in 447 BC and lasted for about 15 years.

The Parthenon is probably the most famous in terms of Greek architecture, but I actually found some of the other buildings to be more domineering and incredible. I actually found the Erectheion, which stood nearby, to be more beautiful, albeit a bit more disheveled and broken down. The construction on this bad boy was finished around 405 BC, making it just a touch older than me.

There’s something about this temple that I find rather… Herculean. One of the reasons I’ve always been so drawn to Athens (in terms of wanting to visit) is because of my dad’s intrigue with Greek mythology. In turn, I became enthralled and found the history of Greece (and the mythology therein) rather fascinating. Now that I’m able to actually visit these sites, it’s pretty surreal. After checking out the temples, we headed downhill to the Ancient Agora.

A number of buildings were added to the agora by the second century apparently. Things like the Altar of Zeus Agoraios, the Temple of Ares and other religious sites. We wandered around for a bit before hitting up the museum and making our way out to lunch. We hung out for about an hour in the shade while we noshed on lunch with glimpses of the Acropolis in the background.

The area was gorgeous. Reason enough to visit Athens, in my opinion. To be honest, though, I have been very unimpressed with Athens as a city. Greece was #1 on my ‘to visit’ list before moving to Europe and, perhaps because of my high expectations, it has failed to fulfill thus far. The historical part that we saw today was incredible, but realistically that was all that we found ourselves wanting to see. The city itself is dirty; graffiti covers the walls throughout the city (e.g. a pretty piece of art that says ‘F*ck the cops’ outside of our hotel) and the buildings are a bit decrepit. We had set aside two days to explore Athens and have found ourselves wanted to escape already.

We’re planning on hitting up the Saronic Islands tomorrow and then visiting the Cyclades for the following two days/one night (despite our already-paid for room in Athens).  Greece has always been such a must-see for me that I can’t let it fail! S. and I are both at the point where we think the islands may make up for the shortcomings of Athens. The idyllic version of Greece that comes to mind when you think of Grecian vacations is more than likely the sun-drenched beaches of Santorini, the blue-capped houses and the tanned and toned locals that dot Mykonos. We’re hoping that the next few days will enlighten us!

Here’s to hoping!

Love from Athens,