Monday May 23rd to Thursday May 26th
Athens

A section of the Acropolis. It was fascinating to us how it’s been standing for 24 centuries and yet, much of it looked like it could easily topple over.

Maddie and I having dinner at St. George Hotel’s rooftop lounge the night before, with the Acropolis before us in the background.

The original columns at the Acropolis had a metal bar inside to hold them together. After they were bombed in 1687, destroying much of the Parthenon, they tried to replicate it by pouring iron inside the columns. The iron rusted and started ruining the marble. They took them apart (20+ years on scaffolding) and reconstructed them using ancient methods.

The Temple of Nike.

The world’s first theatre and first actor, Thespis, the Theatre of Dionysus is located on the south slope of the Acropolis. Built around the 6th Century BC, it was the stage for plays by Sophocles, Aristophanes and Euripides.

Daughter of Zeus, Athena Promachos statue, around 500 BC.

A handle made of hands for carrying a pot from 520 BC. No one can say the Ancient Greeks didn’t have a sense of humor.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a stone Roman theatre, also located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis. Completed in 161 AD, it’s still active today with live musical and dance performances. Below it is sunset in Athens from Lycabettus Hill.


Zeus helping us pack. Below, his name-sake, the Temple of Zeus.


Happy to have finally made the 500 foot hike to the top of the Acropolis.