Athens again

Athens is a city of 4.5 million people, the capital of Greece since the 1821 rebellion against the Ottomans. We took the standard half-day tour, starting at the 1896 Olympic Stadium built on the site of the classical Athens stadium.

Then on to the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier in front of the Parliament Building. The honor guard is chosen from each year's new recruits (1 year of service is mandatory for all males). Those selected must be 6'1" and weigh about 196 lbs - the perfect Greek male.

Next was the Temple of the Olympian Zeus. Here the original (475 BC) Doric columns were recut to be Corinthian columns in 131 AD. Originally this temple had 2 rows of 20 columns, but most fell in an earthquake in 560 AD.

And then we climbed to the Acropolis. Mary made it to the top, even though her knee has been painful. The acropolis (extreme city) was built at the peak of Greek power in the 5th century BC, when it was Athens was the head of the 212 city-states in the Delion league. We walked through the Propylaea, the monumental entrance to the Acropolis. At the top stood the Parthenon built over the course of 42 years completed in 432 BC. It is over 240 feet long and actually would have looked too long if seen from the old city, since the hill it is built on is only 5 feet higher. So it is positioned to be seen from the sea which is 580 feet below the Acropolis. The building looks straight but it is all curves - 4 inches taller in the center than the ends, and columns that lean inward to better survive earthquakes. It actually stood through the centuries until a gun powder explosion in 1690 during the Ottoman-Venetian wars. The Parthenon was originally built to thank Athena for victory over the Persians. But it isn't clear that it was ever dedicated as a temple, instead it served as a treasury.

The other smaller building is the Erechtheum built in 407 BC over what had been the palace of the king. It was built next to an Olive tree that legend says was given by Athena, a gift of light, light from olive oil.

The group at the Acropolis of Athens

We walked into the Plaka neighborhood, where Steven was trying to find a restaurant recommended by Frommer. We finally gave up and ate at a Greek family restaurant, Sholarhio. What luck! This was the best Greek meal we had. For 5 people, we could choose 12 dishes from a selection of 18 plus ouzo, wine, and dessert, all for 12 Euro a person. It was a great place to celebrate Mary's 57th birthday.

Everyone did a little shopping on our last day. Mark Kolhour and I did a dash through the Roman Aggora and the Temple of Hephaestus, the best preserved temple in Greece from 460 BC. We managed both of these in 45 minutes before the 5:00 PM closing time.

Temple of Hephaestus at sunset

A long day, we headed back to the hotel for showers, packing and some drinks before our short night - our flight is at 6:20 AM, wake up time at 3:00 AM.

All in all, it was a good trip. While we were disappointed with the cruise line itself and some its crazy itinerary - I wouldn't have missed Ephesus, Rhodes, and Santorini. The highlight was the days spent in Greece, extra time to explore Athens and the 4 day road trip to Olympia and Delphi. And, of course, it's always fun to do this with friends.