ATHENS

While I have been to my native Greece many times, included below are remembrances of Kathleen and myself on a trip in 1997.  With each return, we religiously walk from OMONIA SQUARE where we stay, through the Plaka and up the Acropolis.  Join us on our small adventure.

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THE  PARTHENON

View of the Acropolis (hill) and other remains of antiquity featuring the  "Jewel of Greece", the Parthenon, centered at the highest point.

The PARTHENON resting high on the top of the Acropolis represents the most fascinating classical construction of Greek art.  The temple in honor of Anthena Parthenos and commemorating the  supremacy of Athenian power, is 69.54m long, 30.87m wide, surrounded by 46 DORIC columns.  The mastery of their advanced building techniques even  neutralizing the normal earth curvature effect  one sees when looking down a long surface or tall columns from their base by including a reverse curve to their stone placement .

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The  ODEUM

The Odeum is located at the foot of the Acropolis near the theater of Dionysus (to follow).  It was built about 160BC during Roman occupation in memory of the wife  of the son of Tiberius Claudius. It was meant for concerts and recitations by poets and philosophers. The facade is three stories of arches.  In order to arrange the series of 32 steps, all in Pentelic marble, which were to accommodate over 5,000 spectators, a part of the rock of the Acropolis was dug to a depth of 72 meters.

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The  Erechtheum

The Erechtheum , built by Filokles, lies to the North of the Parthenon and was completely destroyed during the Second Persian War.  The present building is composed of a central temple in Ionic style measuring 20.3 X 11.21m bordered by six columns 6.8m high through which one enters the cella of Athena Polias and the two protruding structures. Opposite the middle structure to the left of the  columns is located the little loggia of the Caryatids which represents six girls covered by a Doric  peplum, with baskets on their heads on which the trabeation rests.

Porch of Maidens, Erechtheum
Named for Erechtheus, a mythical Athenian hero, the Erechtheum was built in the late 5th century bc on the Athenian Acropolis. The small porch on the temple’s south end, known as the Porch of the Maidens, features six caryatids holding up an Ionic entablature. The elaborate ornaments of this building contrast dramatically with the Doric formality of the nearby Parthenon

 

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ATHENA  NIKE

ATHENA NIKE legend has it emerged from Zeus' brain, fresh, youthful and completely armed.  This was dedicated to God Athena (given many names according to their wishes at the time, i.e. Athena Nike which means Victorious) after the victory of Salamis.  The building is pure ionic style and constructed between 430 and 425 B.C.  It measures 8.27 X 5.44m with four columns 4.06m high in front and back. High up under the architrave is a magnificent frieze in relief around the four sides of the building represent ting scenes of war between the Greeks and Persians at Plataea as well as  assemblies of God Zeus.

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THE  THEATRE  OF  DIONYSUS  AND  THE  OLIMPIEION

THE THEATRE OF DIONYSUS

THE THEATRE OF DIONYSUS  possess the classic semicircular form of all Greek theatres. Lying at the foot of the Acropolis, it could hold up to 15,000 people and was divided into three parts with three sets of staircases having 64 steps.

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THE  OLIMPIEION

THE TEMPLE TO OLIMPIEION ZEUS was remains one of the most beautiful works of Greek art begun in 560 B.C.  It represents an example of Corinthian architecture with the front having three series of eight columns constituting the propylaeum, with twenty columns on each side, while the back possessed three series of eight columns.  The 104 columns which supported the capitals and the architrave were of pure Pentelic marble and were 17.25m high.  It is the major temple dedicated to the Olympian Zeus.

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OMONIA SQUARE

This is the most populated and multicolored square in Athens surrounded by cafes, stores, hotels and the biggest underground railway station in Athens.

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THE PLAKA

PLAKA is the most  nocturnal district of  Athens and it is situated at the foot of the Acropolis on the spot where in the year 3000B.C .there were caverns that were dug in the rock.  The area is intertwined with with very  narrow roads, alive with renowned Greek taverns, bars, night-clubs and  cabarets.

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THE PIRAEUS

THE PIRAEUS rises at 9km from Athens and is a multicolored, animated suburb with four hundred thousand inhabitants.  Its commercial and folkloristic aspect is given to  it by the port which extends along the sides of the small peninsula of Munychia.

...........and now join us on a cruise through the Greek Isles and Asia Minor for some of the most beautiful sites imaginable.  The islands are listed in the side and bottom menus.

COME BACK SOON