A few weeks ago we were in Athens, and what is THE thing to do there? See the ancient sites! By far the most famous site of the ancient city is the Acropolis, basically the high point of the city. In ancient times when the city was attacked, the population would flee there for safety. However, the most acclaimed and popular thing on the Acropolis is not an ancient shelter, it is the Parthenon, an ancient temple to Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, hence the name of the city. We hired a guide to take us on a tour of the Acropolis, in addition to the museum which houses the artifacts found there.
Since the museum was the site where we met our guide, it made the most sense to start there. The first things we saw were five tiny models of the Acropolis at different periods in time. We saw it when the walls were just starting to be built, around 600 years before Christ. Then we saw the Acropolis with the first temples and grand entrance, called the Propelia, almost finished. The third model showed how it might have been when the Persians sacked ancient Athens, in 480 B.C. The fourth showed it in the golden age, resplendent with temples and treasures and the Parthenon completed, around the 5th century B.C. The fifth model showed the Acropolis in a very different state. It showed it how people in the 19th century saw it, a crumbling ruin of what it once was, with only a hint of the former splendor. After appreciating the models our guide showed us a collection of ancient pottery, and described their purposes depending on the shape of the vessel and the painted design. Next we moved up to the statues, of which there were many. The reason there were so many was that statues were a popular offering for the goddess. So many were collected over the 1000 plus years that the Parthenon was a pagan place of worship. We also saw statues from the pediments (triangular toppers) of smaller temples. The final stop was my favorite in the museum, the exhibition of the art on the Parthenon. All of the statues still on the Parthenon are plaster replicas, the real versions are either in the Acropolis museum or the British museum. The art from the Parthenon that Greece still has is amazing! It depicts five separate themes. The art that was on the inner walls of the great temple depicted a procession to the Parthenon only done on special occasions, while the outer carvings show four famous battles.
Once we were finished in the Museum, it was time to head up to the Acropolis itself. The walk was pretty short, but we got some great views of the buildings that were built around the bottom of the Acropolis, such as the Greek theater and the sanctuary of Dionysus. Once we got to the ticket office, the walk was much steeper, and I was very glad it hadn’t rained recently, or I would have called the path slip central. Despite that, we still saw people in pretty high heels walking up and around the Acropolis. The first big building we encountered was the Propylaia, the great entrance. A large amount of the original structure still remains, so it was easy to tell about what it would have looked like when it was built. In my opinion the most interesting thing about the Propylaia was that it had columns from two different ancient architectural styles, Doric and Ionic. The thing that made it interesting to me was that the styles were popular in two different time periods, making it unusual that a building would have both. It had both because the construction was halted for a few years, and when building resumed a new design was the “in” look.
Finally we were through the gate and inside the Acropolis proper. Of course, the first thing that grabbed my attention was the Parthenon. It is huge, around 45 feet tall! However, after the initial awe I started to appreciate the other, still standing, buildings around this colossal centerpiece. The second mostly standing building in view from just inside the entrance is called the Erechtheum. That is the building famous for the columns shaped like women, although like most of the art, the originals are either in the British museum or the Acropolis museum, so the ones on the building are plaster replicas. Despite this, all of the art that the Greek government has made copies of to put back on the buildings, still looks beautiful, and quite impressive. We wander around the Parthenon for a while, looking at it from all sides. Unfortunately, much of the Parthenon was damaged during a siege by the Venetians during Ottoman occupation. A cannonball aimed at the mosque that had been built inside the temple hit a gunpowder store, resulting in extensive damage. Luckily the Parthenon survived to modern times when it was repaired to ensure it would stay standing as a monument to ancient genius.
The Acropolis is one of the most visited sites in Europe, and with good reason. It is a testament to the ingenuity of the Ancient Greek mind and a temple, pardon the pun, to Greece’s long and storied past. Visiting the Acropolis was an awesome experience, and one I hope to have again. The historical significance of the site is incredible, and visually it’s just as impressive. Greece is a wonderful country, and the fact that it was somewhat closed down, for the low tourist season, just makes me want to go back even more!
