Athens: Walking tour of the Parthenon and Museum

After a hastily bolted breakfast at the hotel, we met Chrysa, our tour guide, in the hotel lobby at 8:00 a.m.  She explained that, yes, we were walking all the way up to the Parthenon.  I’m sure we looked skeptical!

We walked just a block or so to the Parliament Building, where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is.  The guards in traditional uniforms are for the unknown soldier, not Parliament. The guards change every hour on the hour.  We’ll try to see that happen tomorrow.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier below Parliament Building 

Next we saw Hadrian’s Arch, a Roman who paid homage to Greek heritage. 

Entrance for climbing up to the Parthenon

Poppies!

The climb wasn’t too arduous for us, though there was one steep slope where we had to pause to catch our breath.  The surface is very uneven, with some slippery marble and mostly gravel and larger pebbles. We were extra careful! 

As we approached the theater, we saw Menander (c. 342-290 BC), a playwright known for Greek New Comedy.

The Greek theatre originally held 70,000 people! It has been only partially restored.

Greek theater at the Acropolis 

Another view of the theater

Built for musical performances, the Odeon of Herodes is still used today for special concerts.

Another view of the Odeon, with the city below 

We finally made it up to the Parthenon!

It looks like we had it all to ourselves!

Then we walked over to the temple of Athena. 

Athena’s olive tree, symbolic of her victory over Poseidon 

A better view of the women supporting part of Athena’s Temple

This is the front of the Parthenon, facing east

Here are views of the stadium built for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and the theater from the Parthenon:

Then we made our way down the hill to the Parthenon Museum.

The museum is built over city ruins, with glass floors so you can see the remains. You can see wells and piping for ancient bathrooms!

Inside the museum are many artifacts found in the area surrounding the Parthenon, including this well-preserved face originally mounted at a hospital in thanks for healing.

We had to include Athena’s owl for our Rice folks!

Our guide explained that most of the figures we saw were originally brightly colored.  You can see a bit of color on this figure.

We also learned more about the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum, essentially stolen from the Parthenon and a 200 year old dispute about ownership. The museum here displays what was stolen in white plaster to differentiate it from the original remains.

Note the intricate hairstyles!

Maidens from the front, with a place saved for one in the British Museum 

There’s also a Lego display of the Acropolis!

Needless to say, we were pretty tired when our tour ended about 12:30, but proud of ourselves for climbing to the top! Tomorrow we plan to explore the Botanical Garden near our hotel.  That’s all for now!