Walking tour of Athens - Day One

The Acropolis

Our hotel boasted a view of the Acropolis, which was pretty good from our rooms but genuinely outstanding from the rooftop breakfast room. It was a backstreet location, but the area seemed good and was an excellent base for our walking tour of Athens.

Let's be honest—you are unlikely to visit Athens and not want to visit the Acropolis. A geek point—many Greek cities have an Acropolis, so its correct name is the Acropolis of Athens (it is usually the Parthenon that people mean). The word Acropolis comes from 'high point/ place' and city. It is the highest point in the city. Historically, this would be an excellent defensive location for storing valuables and a good place to honour your gods so they understood they were being honoured.

Although the giant statue of Athena by Phidias is long gone, its existence is well documented as a huge bronze and ivory statue. It was a central part of celebrations and a landmark for approaching shipping. There is a theory that Constantine took it to Constantinople, but this is entirely unproven.

On the walk up, in addition to treading the ancient paths, there is the ancient theatre of Herodes. Actually, this is a modern addition dating only to Roman times around 160CE.

Wander the top, take in the Cyclopean blocks beneath the temple of Nike, and pop in to view where Athena gifted her Olive tree to the city to win the city's patronage. Marvel at the Erechtheion, with the flat-headed women (caryatids) holding up the roof. Sadly, these are replicas. The originals are in the museum as the acid rain was eating them away.

Try to appreciate the majesty of the Parthenon, mainly by the courtesy of Pericles. Imagine the frieze running around the top and the effect such a structure might have on somebody visiting from out of town in 5^th Century BCE. Another point worth remembering is that most plain white statues would have been painted in bright colours, rendering them more lifelike.

Hopefully, gaze down on the 'Ancient Agora', especially the temple of Hephaestus, my heaven on earth, which will be visited another day.

We went from the top of the Acropolis to the Acropolis Museum. It is busy, but there are some fabulous finds on display, and they have used the spaces they reserve for when the marbles are returned.

Perhaps now is an excellent time to take a break, eat, drink, and sleep before wandering out again to see the changing of the guard outside the Presidential Mansion and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is easy to mock the process, but remember that these are hand-picked elite troops. They pleat and iron those skirts, and those pom-pom shoes weigh two and a half pounds each.