Transport in Athens has improved amazingly since the 2004 Athens Olympics.  There is a good bus network, metro, suburban railway and trains and the fares are very reasonable.

A few years ago, when we were going to the islands, we caught the metro from Monastiraki to Piraeus and the route was a very limited north south schedule.  Monastiraki itself was a huge mess with gapping holes in the ground as the metro construction was in progress.  This has now been completed and apart from the swish stations, the network is vastly expanded.  There’s now a line that goes all the way to their El Venizelos International Airport.  So if you’re coming in from the airport and intending to get to the islands, it’s as simple as catching Metro Line 3 and then changing for Line 1 at Monastiraki.  This takes you to the port of Piraeus where you can choose whichever shipping line you wish to travel with — very usually it’s the one that’s departing first!

The metro and tram map shows you how to get to the various places of interest.  It’s really great when you return to a place and find that the transport has improved, making travelling easier for the tourist.  Well done Athens!

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

The world over, people are familiar with the Olympic Games and every four years many spend a few weeks glued to television sets, watching their favourite sports and willing their home team to win. It’s therefore imperative on any visit to Athens, that we visit the Kallimarmaro Stadium, also known as the Panathinaiko Stadium for this is where the modern games began.

This giant marble structure is located downtown, just south of the National Garden. The first time we saw it was before the 2004 Athens Games. We were lucky to have been able to go into the Stadium and climbed up to the top to test the hard marble seat. We wondered how comfortable it would be sitting on the hard surface for long stretches of time and were subsequently assured that cushions are placed on the steps.

The stadium occupies the very site of the original Panathenaic Stadium built by Lykourgos in 330 BC and was reconstructed for gladiatorial contests during Hadrian’s time. The reconstruction into white marble was done by the very wealthy Roman Herodes Atticus for the Panathenaic Games in AD 144. After many years of neglect, the marble was quarried and used for building works – what sacrilege! Luckily, in 1895 a very generous benefactor gave 4 million drachmas for its restoration in time for the first modern Olympic Games on 5th April 1896. The current structure is a replica of the one built by Herodes Atticus. Everything else is history ….

Of course the Greeks have built newer and more high tech stadiums for various sports for the 2004 games and the Kallimarmaro is now frequently used to host the homecoming of victorious Greek atheletes.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

As mentioned in our earlier blog on shopping streets, Ermou Street was converted into a pedestrian mall in 2000 and this street is now lined with higher quality shops on both sides. From Syntagma Square if you walk one block down Ermou and then head down south at Voulis, this will take you to the Plaka District.

The Plaka is situated on the north eastern slope of the Acropolis. It is the historic old town and was centre of night life in the 19th century. Here, the cobbled walkways and narrow streets will lead you to taverns, lots of tourist shops and ancient sights like the Agios Nikolaos Ragavas which is an 11th century Byzantine chapel. Above one of its doorway is a beautiful mosaic piece depicting the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ. When the low afternoon sun hits the gold mosaic, it’s really eyecatching.

It’s great to stroll around here in the evening as the place is alive with tourists and locals dining out or shopping. We stayed in the Plaka during one of our earlier visits and it was great having the hive of activity at our doorsteps.

For dinner, we like the area near the fringe of the Acropolis where you can find many tavernas and restaurants. On a warm evening, it’s magic dining al fresco, especially with the ancient Acropolis in the background.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

Syntagma Square is the main square in Athens and is a good starting place to do your own walking tour. It is also referred to as Constitution Square and around here you’ll find the banks, airline offices, shopping centres and malls, restaurants and hotels. I needed to go to the American Express exchange office and we remembered it as being somewhere off the main square. I often rely on Tony to remember locations as I have what you could described as a certain lack of sense of direction, however after looking around a bit, it was obvious that they had moved. A hotel staff very kindly informed us that they had moved to Akadimias Street. Apart from that little bit of distraction, there are a number of places of interest around Syntagma Square.

The Parliament House is on the square and in front of this is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is guarded by two special guards called evzones and each hour on the hour, there is the changing of the guards ceremony which is a much photographed event. The guards in their traditional skirted uniforms and pom-pom shoes look very smart, but I don’t envy them in their full attire in the midday sun. Apparently there are some 400 pleats in the skirt, and I can’t imagine myself wearing one of those. I have this thing about pleated skirts and believe that you have to be pencil thin to look good in them! Anyway, the ceremony was impressive and I kept clicking away. You will see from our gallery the number of shots that were taken. At one stage Tony thought I’d be run over by them as they high kicked their way away from the tomb at the end of the changeover.

Across from Syntagma is the Grande Bretagne Hotel. This grand and luxurious hotel was established in 1862 and its guests usually include foreign dignataries and the more upmarket travellers.

Behind the Parliament House is the National Gardens, but we didn’t go in there this time. Instead we walked down El. Venizelou Street, along which there are some magnificent and grand neoclassical buildings like the Academy of Arts, University and National Library. The university students are very fortunately to have their university smack in the middle of town and surrounded by other historic institutions. At the end of Venizelou Street is Omonia Square and if you turn around and head southwards, you’ll be walking in the direction of Monastiraki.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

The Agora was one of the most important places of the ancient city of Athens. Apart from being the market place where people came to trade all kinds of goods, it was also a focal point for the city’s civic affairs. People also came here to discuss business, politics, current affairs or to socialize.

The Agora of course went through several tranformations during the various occupations. It was developed into a center of the Athenian government in the 6th century BC by Peisistratus. He also built a new drainage system, beautiful fountains and the Agora’s first temple to honour the Olympian Gods. When Cimon took over, he added trees and a series of new buildings to the Agora. By the 5th century BC, other temples had been built to honor Zeus, Apollo and Hephaestus.

By the 2nd century BC, the Agora had developed into an impressive rectangular layout, however this was then damaged by the Persians. During Roman and Byzanine times, the ancient Agora was turned back into a residential area. Over time, the significance of the Agora faded away. Today, you can wander around the site and visualize what this place was like during ancient times.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

On the southern slope of the Acropolis lie two ancient theatres. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a spectacular Roman theatre and the smaller of the two. Herodes Atticus built the Odeon in 161 AD in honour of his wife Regilla. She passed away a year earlier. The odeon seats approximately 5,000 people and was used as a theater during the ancient Athens period for various plays and music concerts. Today, it is still being used as a theatre and each year the Festival of Athens is held here.

On the southern cliff face of the Acropolis is the larger Theatre of Dionysos. It was the first temple built of stone and famous playrights like Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes all had their plays performed here.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

The Erecththeion is an ancient Greek temple which can be found on the north side of the Acropolis. By contrast to the Parthenon, this temple is much smaller in size but its attraction is the beauty of the structure. Set against the bright blue skies of Athens, the sight of the Caryatids elegantly holding up the roof of the porch is stunning. It is one of my favourite buildings on the site.

The Erechtheion was built to accommodate the religious rituals that the old temple housed. The design is complex as the temple sits on a slope and it also had to take into consideration the need to preserve several adjacent sacred precincts, some of these being the tomb of Cecrops, the tomb of Erechtheus and the marks of Poseidon’s trident and the salt water well that resulted from Poseidon’s strike.

It was believed that within the foundations lived the sacred snake of the temple, which represented the spirit of Cecrops. Cecrops’ well-being was thought essential for the safety of the city. The snake was fed honey-cakes by the priestesses of Athena Polias, who were by custom the women of the ancient family of the Eteoboutadae. Occasionally, the snake would refuse to eat the cakes and this was believed to be a bad omen.

The main structure consists of four compartments, the largest of which is the east cella, with an Ionic portico on its eastern end. On the north side, there is a large porch with columns, whereas the more interesting eastern porch is the one with the famous Caryatids, its key feature. As mentioned above, the six draped female figures hold up the roof of the porch. The Caryatids that we see today are replicas casts. Five of them were replaced in 1979 to preserve them from further erosion due to the corrosive effect of pollutants. Four of the five were stored in the old Acropolis Museum with the fifth being restored. The sixth is in the U.K., having been acquired by Lord Elgin in order to decorate his Scottish mansion. He later sold it to the British Museum along with the pedimental and frieze sculpture from the Parthenon. Local legend had it that at night the remaining five Caryatids could be heard wailing for their lost sister.

Now that the new Acropolis Museum is ready, engineers have moved the Caryatids into its new home and the Museum is expected to be open to the public this year. It would be amazing to see the originals of these elegant statues.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

The contruction of the Parthenon in 447 BC was championed by Perikles who masterminded an extensive building program to express the glory of ancient Athens. The intended purpose of the Parthenon was to house the Statue of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Patron Goddess of Athens. Unfortunately, no trace of Athena’s statue remains today. There is however a smaller Roman copy that can be seen in the National Achaeological Museum.

The Parthenon is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece. The architectural refinements of the Parthenon were legendary as the building gives the illusion of perfection. Every aspect of the Parthenon was built on a 9:4 ratio, making it completely symmetrical. The architects of the Parthenon appear to be excellent scholars of visual illusion. They designed the columns that appear at the corners of the temple to be about 6 cm larger in diameter than all the other columns and the space around them smaller than the rest of the columns by about 25 cm. The reason for this slight adaptation of the corner columns is due to the fact that they are set against the bright sky, which would make them appear a little thinner and a little further apart than the columns set against the darker background of the building wall. The increase in size and decrease of space thus compensates for the illusion that the bright background would normally cause. A bulge in the middle of each column (referred to as Entasis) is to make them appear straight. Other optical refinements include the slightly higher base in the middle than at the edges and the columns also lean slightly inwards.

Over the years, the building has also served as a Christian church, was converted into a mosque in 1456 when Athens fell to the Ottomans and even an arsenal during the Turkish occupation. During the Venetian siege of the Acropolis in 1687, the Parthenon was bombarded with cannon-fire and the ensuing explosion which demolished much of the structure.

In 1975, the Greek government began a concerted effort to restore the Parthenon and other Acropolis structures, later receiving support from the European Union. A modern enemy of the Parthenon is the corrosion of its marble by acid rain and car pollutants which have already caused irreparable damage to some sculptures and threatens the remaining sculptures and the temple itself. I’m sure the masses of tourists that visit the site everyday contributes to the pollutants. Over the past 30-odd years the Acropolis has been under various stages of restoration as can be seen from the scaffolding in this photo.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

The Acropolis is the star attraction of Greece and is very much on the itinerary of every visitor to Athens.  It contains four ancient buildings with most of the artifacts from the temples being housed in the Acropolis museum.

On the Acropolis are the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and Propylaea and on the south slope are the Dionysus Theatre, one of the oldest theatres built in the 4th century BC and the very beautiful Odeon of Herodes Atticus which was built by the Roman ruler Herodes Atticus in the 2nd century AD.  The Dionysus hosted plays like Euripides, Aristophanes, Sophocles and Aeschylus.  The Herodes Atticus amphitheatre seats 5,000 spectators and nowadays is used to host the Athens Festival during summer.

The fame of the Acropolis may cause it to be the victim of its own popularity.  On this visit, there were three cruise liner loads of visitors and the long queues and jostling by some made the visit quite unpleasant.  Sadly too, these appear to be the budget cruises and many of the passengers were keen to rush up to the site, pose for photos at every building… and that appeared to the extent of their interest.  One of our fellow travellers had been there some 50 years ago and he was most disappointed at this experience.  He recalled from his earlier visits  how he was able to wander around and enjoy the serenity of the place and soak in its history.  Peter would most certainly not return again.  Would Perikles have been pleased to see that the building work that he had envisioned to represent the political and cultural achievements of Greece is now flooded by mass tourism?

On the south porch of the Erechtheion is the Porch of the Caryatids.  Statues of women were used to support the roof,  in place of columns.   This is one of my favourite sights.  The originals of the statues have been replaced by casts and four of the originals can be seen in the Acropolis Museum.  The Propylaia was built in 437 BC to form a new entrance to the Acropolis and then there’s the Temple of Athena Nike, the Parthenon and the two theatres, all star attractions. 

In spite of the crowds, a visit to the Acropolis is a must and maybe next time the gods will be kind to us and spare us from cruise liners.

Helen   

Travel Signposts Blog

Athens is noted for its flea markets and at Monastiraki, you’ll find a huge one.  Dealers set out their wares very early on Sunday mornings along Adrianou and nearby streets and you’ll find all kinds of bric-a-brac here. 

The commercial tourist shops and antique sellers of Pandrosou and Ifaistou streets refer to themselves as the Monastiraki Flea Market.  The shops open everyday however the weekend mornings are best times to visit.  In front of the Monastiraki station there are stalls selling fruit and food as well.  I always enjoy walking around market places as it gives you an idea of what’s in supply and the types of food that people buy.   There is a Central Market each Friday at Xenokratous in Kolonaki, however this was out of the way for us, so we didn’t get there.

As in many European cities, you’ll als find these African vendors selling their fake designer goods.  The police frequently come around to chase them away, but one wonders how these guys manage to bring their goods into the country and why they’re allowed in the first place as the goods breach copyright laws.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog