Home » Greece » Athens - The Acropolis

April 2000

Athens - The Acropolis

David Aaronson
2005-09-24 21:57:15

Displayed times (last time: )

The Acropolis ("high-city") of Athens contains quite a bit more than just the Parthenon. There were an assortment of buildings atop the plateau at one time and several more scattered around the slopes. The Theater of Dionysus (1,2) is one of the oldest theaters in Greece and very little remains of it today. Nearby is the Odeion of Herod Atticus - the theater shown here. This is set at the base of the Acropolis and is one of the first things you'll see after you enter the main gates. One other thing you can see just outside the main gates is the world's most expensive snack bar. Seriously, we paid the equivalent of $3 for a small Fanta. On the other hand, there are a lot of steps to get up there and we were thirsty, so there wasn't much choice in the matter.

The theater, you may notice, is restored and is apparently used for special occassions. Notice also the line of tour buses beyond it. We were told from several sources that the best time to visit the Acropolis is early in the morning in the early Spring or late Autumn. Well, here we are in early Spring first thing in the morning. We aren't complaining though because we saw pictures of the high season and it was just a mass of humanity up there. It's just not the sort of place you can expect to have a quiet moment with the Greek deity of your choice. (Those are later in the trip.) Wandering amongst the tour groups is interesting though because you can hear clips of the narration in pretty much every known language.

This is the west face of the Parthenon with the scaffolding clearly visible inside (3). The Parthenon has had quite the history over the years. Originally a Greek temple to Athena (the patron of Athens), in the 5th century AD it became a church eventually part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Later it spent a couple centuries as a Muslim Mosque. It was damaged in several earthquakes over the centuries but the worst damage was done in the ...

Pages: [1] 2 3