It seems strange that we were in Athens for five days before we went to the Acropolis. A combination of excessive crowds from cruise ships, Paul's cold, and too many other things to see and do has kept us away. We found the perfect combination yesterday - Paul's cold seemed to be better, to ensure we were up early we set the alarm (which we had to buy because I had left the travel alarm clock at home) for 6:30 (ARGH) and we arrived at the Acropolis to start the climb up at 8 am.
Happily we beat most of the crowds.
We paid our 12 euro entrance fee (also good for a number ofother sites over a 4 day period) and continued up onto the sacred rock of the Athenians. The walking wasn't the easiest - it was steep and the marble (which Greeks use the way we Canadians use wood) has been worn to a slippery state by thousands of years of human traffic. There is an elevator for those with mobility issues on the north side of the Acropolis.
Athen's ancient Acropolis dominates the view in Athens - being visible from nearly everywhere (well, everywhere EXCEPT our apartment balcony which would have made life perfect. SIGH). It still holds the power, beauty, and in fact, the very promise of what it once was. It's location on top of a solid rock hill with sheer cliffs on all sides adds to the dramatic effect. At night it is artfully lit - a gorgeous site to behold.
The Acropolis is both heartbreaking and awe inspiring. It epitomizes man's destructive tendencies and disregard for the past, but also shows what great things men and civilizations are capable of. It is a reminder that some of the most stunning achievements in human civilization have been crafted without computers, steel, and modern science.
The Acropolis saw numerous 'building booms' during ancient times. In fact, the 'Old Parthenon' was still under construction when the invading Persians sacked the city in 480 BC. The building was burnt and looted along with everything else on the rock. Not long afterward the Persians were defeated by the Athenians against great odds at the battle of Salimas.
Once the Persian crisis had subsided Athens found itself flush with cash - the remaining Greek city states wanted to be aligned with the winning side so money poured into Athens. Flush with cash, the Athenians embarked on what must have seemed like an improbable building boom for the time, the results of which still stand 2500 years later . . . in spite of humankind's best efforts to tear it down.
Many of the unfinished, and now destroyed, temple's architectural pieces (still unflutted column drums, triglyphs, metopes, etc.) were incorporated into the newly reinforced northern wall of the Acropolis, where they can still be seen today. The devastated site was cleared of debris. Statuary, cult objects, religious offerings and unuseable architectural pieces were buried ceremoniously in several deeply dug pits on the hill serving conveniently as a fill for the plateau created around the classic Parthenon. And the greatest architects, engineers, and artists of the day toiled to make the greatest temple structure of the time - a structure that was suitable for the super power of the day.
When you enter the Acropolis you first walk through the propylaea, a columned entryway. This part of the complex is nicely preserved, although sheathed in scaffolding today. It wouldn't do to have just any gate so when it was designed it was intended to ensure that those passing through it had a proper sense that something truly amazing lay on the other side . . . and it did.
Once through the Propylaea, the Parthenon towers above you, still imposing even if it is a little worse for wear. The Parthenon is an excellent example of Doric architecture and it's sheer size is mind-blowing for ever the most experienced traveler. When it was built the architects incorporated all sorts of optical illusions to ensure that the building looked perfect. For example, the columns were curved inwards to give an optical illusion of them all being perfectly straight.
The Parthenon (along with most of the buildings on the Acropolis) is under renovation. It has been since 1983. We smiled when an older worker walked past and wondered if he had started his career here . . . The building appears to be being taken apart, the earlier efforts to repair it are being corrected (they did more harm than good), the ravages of years of pollution are being corrected, and if all goes according to plan the building will stand to impress for another 2500 years. Paul joked that they might be finished the restoration by then.
The wall you see when you first enter the gates was actually the back of the Parthenon, the main entrance faced east. Walking there we saw the famous flag pole which can be seen from much of downtown Athens. It was here where a Greek soldier, ordered to take down the Greek flag when the city fell to the Nazis, wrapped himself in the flag and jumped to his death on the rocks below rather than surrender it to the Germans. This is also where two youths scaled the walls one night during the occupation and once again raised the Greek flagged - inspiring a strong resistance movement amongst the Greeks.
The views from this end of the Acropolis were stunning!
After being awed by the Parthenon, we visited the Erechtheion. The Erechtheion is a gorgeous bundle of Ionic architecture built on the part of the Acropolis that was considered to be the most sacred by the ancient Greeks. It is said that this was the spot where Poseidon and Athena battled for control over the city of Athens: Poseidon struck the ground with his trident causing sea water to flow forth and that Athena produced an olive tree.
You can still see the gash in the ground that was said to be caused by Poseidon's trident (while lightning is a more likely culprit so the scientists tell us) and Athena's olive tree still grows (once again science tells us that this must be a replacement). Athena's life-giving olive tree was deemed to be more useful to the burgeoning city than the well of salt water so she was given control over the city.
The building's strange name comes from Erichthonius, a mythical King of Athens.The temple was built to house the cults of Athena, Poseidon and Erichthonius; which means they all had to play nicely and couldn't go around smiting each other - unusual for the Greek gods! On one side of this temple are 6 larger-than-life maidens who also double as columns called the Caryatids. Each of these beautiful maidens is sculpted in a manner different from the rest and engineered in such a way that their slenderest part, the neck, is capable of supporting the massive weight of the porch roof whilst remaining graceful and feminine.
The Caryatids seen here are reproductions. The five columns still in Greece (the sixth being taken to Britain by Lord Elgin and displayed in the British Museum) were removed in the 1970s to protect them from the pollution which was eating away at the marble. They are now displayed in the new Acropolis museum.
The other main temple on the Acropolis, the temple of Athena Nike (Nike meaning victory) has been taken apart to restore it after earlier restoration attempts caused more damage than good. We enjoyed watching some of the restoration efforts - as modern day stone workers attempted to recreate pieces in marble that their fore bearers created more than 2500 years ago with rudimentary tools.
By now we had been on the Acropolis for close to 2 hours. When we arrived there were workers, about 40 tourists, cats, and dogs on the rock. By now the tourists had increased to 1000s! They were being lead about by guides speaking a multitude of languages. It was time to climb back down into the city and continue our appreciation of Athens . . .
