Athens on Our Own

Tuesday, February 24

16C.  We could tell who the locals were because they were wearing big puffy coats and toques, and the tourists were in short sleeved shirts.

Today we explored Athens on our own.  Which meant we met a surprising number of our tour group at our late breakfast.  We all slept in!

Our total for today was about 20,000 steps and 15 kms of walking.

Nearby is the Church of Kapnikarea, an 11th century Byzantine church built around 1050 AD.  It was constructed over the ruins of an early Greek temple.  It was almost demolished in the 1830s to make way for a new street and the modernization of the city, but King Ludwig I of Bavaria insisted on preserving it.

We walked through the neighbourhood of Monastiraki ("Little Monastery"), which is one giant flea market of shops, oh my!  Anton bought himself a very interesting cap:

We meant to find the Ancient Agora of Athens, just past the Acropolis.  But we found the Roman Agora instead.  This was built to be the new commercial and political center by Julius Caesar and Augustus in the 1st century BC during the Roman occupation of Athens.  

The Roman Agora of Athens contains the Tower of the Winds, although The Tower of the Winds predates the Romans. 

It was built around 50 BC by Andronicus of Cyrrhus, and is considered to be the world's first meteorological station.  It is built of marble and is an octagonal shape about 12 meters high.  Each wall face is oriented to a compass point.  There was a weather vane in the shape of a triton (merman) on top of it.  

imagecredit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_the_Winds

Besides the weather, the tower also tracked time using sundials and a clepsydra.  A clepsydra was a water clock powered by a system of floats and weights.

imagecredit https://www.the-athenian.com/site/1974/10/01/the-tower-of-the-winds/

Also here is Hadrian's Library, built in 132 AD by Emperor Hadrian.  It was once a major center for learning with thousands of scrolls, some lecture halls, and a courtyard with a pool.  It was deceptive from this view, because when we saw it from the front a bit higher up, it was only a facade.

We accidentally found The Church of the Virgin Mary Pantanassa-Monastiraki.  Oops, Anton wasn't supposed to take pictures, so he gave them a little money.

We did find the Ancient Agora of Athens but didn't buy a ticket to go in.  After awhile, all the ancient ruins start to look the same!  The Ancient Agora of Athens served as the city's commercial and political center for nearly 900 years, from 600 BC to 267 AD.  It was decimated by the Persians in 480 BC but quickly rebuilt.  

The best preserved ruin here is the Temple of Hephaestus.  This was a place of worship for Hephaestus the god of blacksmiths, and Athena, the goddess of pottery and craftsmanship.  It stands almost entirely intact because it was converted into a Greek Orthodox church and used into the 19th century.  The roof is nearly complete and 34 of the columns are intact.

The other well preserved structure is the Stoa of Attalos.  Stoa means walkway.  It was built in the 2nd century BC as a gift from King Attalos II of Pergamon.  It was a commercial hub with 21 shops on each of its 2 floors.  It was destroyed in 267 AD but rebuilt in the 1950s with funding by John D. Rockefeller Jr. 

We walked through the Plaka District, known as the "Neighbourhood of the Gods".  It is the oldest district of Athens and is a maze of narrow cobblestone streets, cafes, and shops, and ruins.  Mostly shops LOL.

This is Hadrian's Arch, 18 meters tall.  It was erected in 131-132 AD as a gateway to welcome Emperor Hadrian's visit.

Also nearby is the Temple of Olympian Zeus.  It was started in the 6th century BC and finished by Emperor Hadrian in 131 AD.  It was one of the largest temples of Greece, measuring 96 X 40 meters.  Fifteen of the original 104 columns remain.

Here is what it likely looked like compared to what it looks like now:

imagecredit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Olympian_Zeus,_Athens

imagecredit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Olympian_Zeus,_Athens

We found the Panathenaic Stadium, built in the 4th century BC.  It is the home of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.  The Olympic flame torch relay still begins here to this day.  The stadium is made entirely of white marble.

We didn't pay the €12.00 to go into the stadium, although we kind of wanted to.  It was open air.  They had a "WC" that Frankie wanted to use.  There was a turnstile and you couldn't pass without inserting one and a half euros.   After we left the stadium, we turned the corner and found a free street one.

We walked back to our hotel via the National Garden, with 38 acres.  This is a free public garden and it is a peaceful escape from the busy city center.  The little walk back actually turned into a 3 hour explore because we enjoyed the Garden so much.  There was a small zoo, ponds with fish, flower gardens, and a pond full of turtles.

There were wild parrots everywhere.  This one was helping himself to some fresh oranges:

We found the white colour of this Oriental Plane Tree very striking against the blue sky:

Anton made a new friend.  Greece seems to be full of stray cats.  The people here treat them kindly.  On both of our last 2 days of touring, our guides brought along bags of cat kibble to feed the stray cats.

Back in the area of our hotel, we stopped for a cup of tea.  Frankie's tea was called Gunpowder China.  It was very strong green tea.  The waiter asked if he should make it less strong in the future.  It seems they mostly serve coffee, not tea.  The outdoor flower boxes are all full of blooming cyclamen.  In a month or so, they will chuck them and plant something else.

We found motorcycle alley:

All the cars here have scrape marks on the fenders and bumpers because parking is so tight.  This guy might have some fun when he tries to leave:

We met Robin and Pierre at 5:30 and went to a restaurant named Athinaikon for dinner.  After the waitress made about a dozen trips to the chef to make sure the food was okay for them, Robin and Frankie ordered drunken chicken for supper.  She was the most cheerful waitress ever.  The restaurants always bring a free dessert "on the house".  Since Robyn and Frankie couldn't eat it, they received a free shot of very potent liqueur instead.

Delphi

 February 23

Today was a longer driving day, as our tour took us from Athens to Delphi.  The locals pronounce it Del-fee.  It was 185 km but took us 2 and a half hours each way.  This was the most inland that we will be going.

imagecredit https://santorinidave.com/athens-delphi-meteora

Driving through the busy ski town of Arachova was a tight squeeze for our giant bus:

Delphi was considered the "center of the world", so this is where the Oracle of Delphi resided.  She was known as the Pythia, named after the serpent Python which Apollo slew at Delphi.  The Oracle, or Phythia, lived in and around the Temple of Apollo, set in the splendor of Mt. Parnassus.

The title of Phythia was held by many women over the years.  She was chosen because of her blameless character and was usually over the age of 50.  Rulers would consult with her before starting wars or founding colonies.

To make a prophecy, the oracle sat on a tripod and entered a trance by inhaling vapours that rose from a fissure in the earth.  It was believed that she was possessed by Apollo during this time.  She would then utter her message from Apollo in unintelligible words which the male priests helpfully interpreted.

imagecredit https://www.meisterdrucke.uk/fine-art-prints/Heinrich-Leutemann/1466819/The-Oracle-at-Delphi.html

Here are 2 of her more famous prophecies:

She told King Croesus that if he crossed the river, he would destroy a great empire.  He did cross, and it turned out his own empire was destroyed.

imagecredit https://www.storynory.com/7-king-croesus-and-the-oracle-of-delphi/

She proclaimed that there was no man wiser than Socrates.  This led to him realizing that he was wise because he knew nothing.

imagecredit https://quotefancy.com/quote/908472/Socrates-The-Delphic-Oracle-said-that-I-was-the-wisest-of-all-the-Greeks-It-is-because-I

The Oracle of Delphi was the most powerful oracle of the ancient Greek world and provided guidance from approximately 800 BC to 380 AD.  The rise of Christianity proved to be the Oracle's decline.

Modern scientists have found that the Temple of Apollo sits on two major fault lines.  The friction from tectonic activity likely led to the release of gases such as ethylene which can cause hallucinations and euphoria if inhaled.

The Temple of Apollo:

We were glad we had our guide Stadi (short for a Greek name with 50 or so syllables ha ha) because otherwise we would have just been looking at a pile of ruins and not know anything about it.  She was excellent at explaining the difference between Greek and Roman architecture and statues, and even between time periods.

We spent time at the Archaeological Museum of Delphi, one of Greece's most important museums. It has 14 galleries that represent 1000 years of history.  Some exhibits here:

This relief is only 5 cm thick and full of detail.  Amazing that the relief is 2500 years old!

The Kouroi of Delphi, 6th century BC, likely representing the brothers Kleobis and Biton.  We are only including their top halves in order to keep this blog family friendly.  Early Greek statues from the 6th and 7th centuries BC used to have smiles and rigid, stocky postures.

The Charioteer of Delphi from the 5th century BC.  These statues had more natural movement in their posture, and lost their smiles because of the Persian War.  The Greek statues can stand on their own and most of the Roman ones need a support.

Some of his missing parts:

The Sphinx of Naxos from the 6th century BC.  It is over 7 feet tall and once topped a 41 foot column.

The Omphalos was the original marble stone that marked Delphi as the "navel of the world":

imagecredit https://www.worldhistory.org/image/414/omphalos-of-delphi/

We stopped in the mountain town of Arachova for lunch.  Of course, the restaurant was called The Navel.

Another snooze on the bus ride back, and then we got back we had to go find the correct gelato place!  Robin and Pierre joined us, and Frankie and Robin were so amazed to receive gluten free cones with their gluten free gelato!

Mycenae and Epidaurus

 Sunday, February 22

12C today.  We saw our Canadian friends Robin and Pierre at breakfast and were happy to learn that they are on the same bus as us for the next few days.  Pierre and Anton have started to call Frankie and Robin sisters because they have so much in common.  One of which is that they are both gluten free!  

This morning we started our pre-tour with Viking.  Everyone had to meet in the lobby at 7:30 am.  We had 2 tour guides, Andreas and Stati. Not sure if that one is spelled correctly!

Today we were exploring part of the Peloponnese Peninsula.  It's shaped like a hand, and today we were in the thumb.  It was about a 2 and a half hour drive each way.

imagecredit https://www.britannica.com/place/Peloponnese

imagecredit https://xirokambi.com/southern-peloponnese-travel-guide/

We drove to the Corinth Canal, built in 1893 to connect the Peloponnese Peninsula with the Greek mainland.  Nero tried to build it in the 1st century but didn't get very far.  

The canal saves ships a 700 km journey around the Peloponnesian coast, and it services 11,000 ships per year.  It is 6.4 kms long, 24.6 m wide, and 8 m deep.  The walls rise 90 m above sea level, making it the world's deepest canal.  It takes 30-60 minutes to go through it.  We would have loved to have gone through it, but the tour bus doesn't float 😏

imagecredit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinth_Canal

Our tour guide noticed some guys with hoodies lurking around and warned us about pick-pockets.  He called the police and apparently they drove away in a very nice vehicle.

Next we visited the Sanctuary of Asklepios in Epidaurus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was the most famous healing center in the Greek and Roman world.  Asklepios, the son of Apollo, was the ancient Greek god of medicine, healing, and physicians.  His symbol was the serpent entwined around a staff,  a symbol which is still used today in modern medicine.

imagecredit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanctuary_of_Asclepius,_Epidaurus

The Sanctuary of Asklepios is most famous for its remarkably preserved amphitheater, constructed in the late 4th century BC.  It has 55 rows of seats and yes, we climbed all the way to the top.  It is considered the best preserved ancient theater in Greece.  The acoustics are so good here that locals still stage shows here.  The round part at the bottom is actually for the orchestra.  The rectangular part was the stage.

Next, we visited the archeological site of Mycenae (pronounced my-seen-ay).  This was the city where King Agamemnon ruled (he was the commander who led the Trojan War).  After he returned in victory from the Trojan War, he was killed by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus.  Perhaps she was a tad upset that Agamemnon had sacrificed their daughter in order to obtain favourable winds to reach Troy?  Clytemnestra was later murdered by her son Orestes to avenge the death of his father.

imagecredit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9nwYpjbsB8

The Tomb of Agamemnon was discovered when a goat accidentally fell into the hill.  The entryway has impossibly huge rocks.

Inside, it was completely circular.  When it was discovered, it was completely empty, so it must have been looted at some point.

The city of Mycenae dominated the eastern Mediterranean world from the 15th to the 12th century BC.  It was known for early Greek writing, advanced architecture and artistry, and a strong warrior culture.

We entered the city through the Lion Gate, built around 1250 BC using massive stones and the image of two lionesses.

The city walls are so impressive that ancient Greeks believed them to be constructed by Cyclops, mythical one-eyed giants.

imagecredit https://easydrawingguides.com/how-to-draw-the-cyclops-from-the-odyssey/

Mycenae was destroyed in about 1200-1100 BC, possibly from invading Dorians or from natural earthquakes.  There also seemed to be a lot of internal strife within the city.  The inner citadel was violently burned, but there is evidence that people continued to live in the outer city.

Mycenae was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.  Today the city continues to undergo extensive excavation and preservation to conserve its ruins.  Gosh, it looked like a long way to walk back to our bus!

Lunch was included in our tour, at a restaurant called the Agamemnon Palace, of course.  Big chunks of lamb, Greek salad, and honey drenched dessert for Anton.  Frankie and Robin received a bowl of fresh oranges instead, but they were the yummiest oranges, fresh from the tree in season.

The bus ride back was very quiet as everyone snoozed, including the tour guides.

When we got back around 4:30, the Syntagma Square across the street was packed with thousands of people.  Apparently we are here during the peak festival of Apokries, celebrated just before Lent.  People dress up in costumes, there are parades and much celebration.  

We went out for gelato since we were still stuffed from lunch, and all at once the square emptied out and all the people proceeded down Mitropoleos Street, which is a pedestrian street.  There were streamers and confetti everywhere, and guys with vacuum trucks cleaning up.

Our gelato was great, but according to Andreas we picked the wrong place, so we will just have to try again tomorrow ha ha.

We headed across the square to the Parliament building to watch the changing of the guard at the Grave of the Unknown Soldier.  This is right around the corner from our hotel.  The Changing of the Guard happens every hour.  These are working soldiers called Evzones (Presidential Guard).

There is a memorial here to the victims of Greece's deadliest rail disaster.  On February 28, 2023, a high speed collision occurred between a passenger train and a freight train, killing 57 people (many of them being young university students).  The station master misrouted the trains.  The combined speed of the crash was 240 km/hr.  The incident sparked protests of tens of thousands of people here at Syntagma Square (Andreas says over one million), with accusations of government cover up of illegal cargo due to the rapid cleanup and lack of transparency regarding the crash.  Every year there are mass protests on the anniversary of the crash, we are glad we will be gone by February 28!