Athenian Acropolis-The Parthenon and more

Not to be missed on a trip to Greece is a visit to the Athens Acropolis where the Parthenon, one of the major antiquities of the world, resides. There are many other Acropolises across the country and all of them are worth a visit, but the Athens Acropolis is the top.

 

Perched on a mesa in the middle of today's Athens, the Acropolis(fortified city on top of a mountain) hosts the ruins of a number of buildings dating from ancient times.

The Herodotus Atticus Theater with Athens in the background

The Propylea(Leading to the Entrance)

Going through the entrance

Erehtheon

Karyates at the Erehtheon

 Column Fragment

Flying the Greek Flag

View of the entrance from the top 

 Lyon at the entrance

The Entrance to the Propylea

At the Acropolis Metro Stop

 The City under the City-Entrance of Acropolis Museum

 

The recently built Acropolis museum is a marvelous place to start a visit. Situated at the foot of the mesa, a few steps from the Acropolis Metro Station stop it has breathtaking views of the Parthenon from it's windows and café. Preserving the ruins of ancient Athens, unearthed while excavating the foundations, it lets the visitor experience the ancient city even before stepping inside. Under glass walkways at the entrance, the visitor sees the remains of the ancient dwellings and buildings as they were found.

Clandestine photo at the museum of a three headed dragon

 Karyatis

There are five statues and each one has differently sculpted hair

The fifth one is being restored 

 He(or she??) met us at the entrance of the Acropolis

Lovely view from the café of the Museum

The museum holds a lot of the statues and decorations of the Parthenon and the other buildings that have been placed indoors for preservation. The videos and mock-ups of the acropolis as it progressed through time are immensely informative. Even a "native" such as myself benefited from the information.

Many of the original statues that decorated the Parthenon and Acropolis were taken by Lord Elgin and now reside in the British Museum. The Greeks have been asking for their return to no avail. There is a new campaign for their return called "I'm Greek and I want to go home."

The Parthenon is a temple constructed by the Athenians in honor of their patron goddess, Athena. Myth has it that Poseidon and Athena had a contest to win the place of city god. Poseidon struck the earth with his trident and a spring emerged. When the Athenians tried to drink it, though, they discovered it was salt water. Athena gave the Athenians the olive tree. They could eat the olives, light their lanterns with the oil, cook with it and use the olive tree wood to build houses and boats. Her gift won and she became the patron deity of the Athenians.

The contest for the city of Athens was later carved into the stone relief on the rear pediment in the Temple of Athena on the Acropolis with both of our heroes appearing in the center of the composition with the goddess holding her olive tree and Poseidon his trident.

Visiting the Acropolis is always special for me. I have been many times throughout my life but every time I go I feel the presence of the ancients around me and gasp at the greatness of their accomplishments. Their spirit lives on.

Enjoy!

Maria