Amongst the Ruins - A Winter Escape to Athens

Another holiday? Oh yeah!

 In our defence we'd intended to visit Athens last January but extreme weather and a Covid outbreak in the city put paid to our plans so, when we heard that budget airline, Jet2, were introducing direct flights to Athens from Birmingham in February 2023 we booked three return tickets the day they went on sale. So, instead of our usual Sunday outing to the clearance charity shop, we met up with Tony and flew to Greece instead.

Disembarking at Athens International Airport from our four hour flight, we headed to the nearest metro station and 40 minutes later arrived in the district of Plaka, our home for the next four nights. The accommodation, booked via Booking.com, was the top-rated Home and Poetry, an elegant 18th Century mansion, built in the Palladian style, with Hadrian's Arch at one end of the street and the Acropolis at the other.

After a Greek feast eaten al fresco at one of Plaka's many tavernas, we popped into the nearest kiosk, bought a few beers and headed to Home & Poetry's rooftop to drink them, mesmerised by the view.

Breakfast was included with our booking and served on the rooftop between 7.30am and 10.30am. In addition to fresh fruit, pastries, cake, nuts, honey, yogurt, muesli, olives, freshly baked bread, ham, cheese and tomatoes, along with fruit juice and every type of coffee known to man, there was also hot food cooked to order. The feta cheese, tomato and oregano omelette was incredible as was the wholemeal toast topped with avocado, fried eggs and paprika-dusted tomatoes. 

Celebrated on the first Monday of Lent, our first full day in Greece was a national holiday, Clean Monday. When we'd checked in the previous day the receptionist had warned us that the city would be very busy but that all the monuments were open so we were able to stick to our original plan and visit Greece's most famous attraction, the Acropolis.

The Acropolis Rock has been a focal point of the city since the Neolithic times. The temples on the sacred rock are considered to be some of the most important in the Western world. Constructed from white marble during the reign of Perikles during the late 5th Century BC, known as the Golden Age of Athens, many of the temples were built to honour Athena, the city's patron goddess. 

The Parthenon is said to be the epitome of Ancient Greek classical art. Even with the scaffolding it was jaw-droppingly beautiful.

There has been a temple dedicated to Nike, the goddess of victory, at this location since Prehistoric times.

The Acropolis opens at 8am and we were there just after nine, it was busy but not crazy.

Poseidon and Athena are said to have battled for patronage of the city of Athens on the spot where the Erechtheion now stands and combines temples to both of the gods. The statues which make up the Caryatid porch, or Porch of the Maidens, are replicas, with all but one of the originals to be found in  the Acropolis Museum.

Athens' winters can be similar to those in the UK but we'd timed our visit perfectly, experiencing Greece's legendary Halcyon Days, a period of idyllic, storm-free days. Monday saw temperatures of  19°C - perfect for exploring.  

The Theatre of Dionysus could hold over 17,000 people. Here, works of dramatists such as Aristophanes, Menander, Sophocles and Euripides enthralled the Ancient Athenians. 

Admission to the Acropolis is €20 but, for €30, visitors can purchase a combination ticket, valid for five days and allowing entry to Kerameikos, the Theatre of Dionysus, the Agora, the Roman Forum, the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, the Lyckeios and Hadrian's Library in addition to the Acropolis - a bit of a no-brainer. After a quick stop for a coffee it was time to make full use of our tickets.

The Tower of the Winds, an octagonal tower built in 50BC by Syrian astronomer Andronikos Kyrrhestas, has personifications of  the eight winds on each side and inside a water clock was operated by a stream from the Acropolis.

The Gate of Athena Archegetis, built from Pentelic marble and dedicated from the people of Athens to Athena.

The Roman Forum has been used since the 1940s by archaeologists as a repository for smaller, unclassified finds from all over Attica so the area is crammed with fascinating bits and pieces.

Eagle-eyed readers may be familiar with the Tower of the Winds from previous blog posts, there's a copy down the road from us in Shugborough Hall, one of our most frequently visited National Trust properties. 

 

Roman Emperor Hadrian built his library in AD 132. It featured a marble courtyard, mosaic floors, concert areas and small alcoves for storing scrolls surrounded by some very attractive Corinthian columns.

We loved the cats and the free-range tortoises dining on the clover.

After all that exploring it was time for a long and leisurely lunch.....

Athens' ancient marketplace, the Agora, was founded in the 6th Century BC and was the heart of the city for 1,200 years. This was where Socrates addressed his public, where democracy was born and where St Paul preached. 

The impressive two-storey Stoa of Attalos was built by King Attalos II of Ramon (159 - 138 BC) and reconstructed in 1956. The Stoa is home to one of the best museums in Europe but was closed on a Monday (hopefully we'd be able to visit later in the week.)

These statues of serpent-tailed Giants and Tritons once flanked the Odeon of Agrippa, built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in AD 15.

The Temple of Hephaestus (the blacksmith god) dates from 350 BC. 

The ultra-modern glass-sided Acropolis Museum opened in 2008 with a panoramic view of the Acropolis from each floor, making it easy to visualise the treasures in their original positions. 

Between 1800 and 1803, the seventh Earl of Elgin removed two-thirds of the sculptures of gods, men and monsters adorning the Parthenon and took them to England. Many were sold to the British Museum who refuse to return them, saying that the sculptures are integral to its role in narrating human cultural achievement. The Acropolis Museum has answered previous criticism that Athens could not display them adequately or safely, for a special room awaits their return. 

Here are the original Caryatids with a space left awaiting the return of the one in the British Museum.

What a day! After a cheeky sunset beer we returned to Home And Poetry for a siesta before regrouping for dinner. We stumbled across Kafeneon - a traditional eatery popular with the locals. The food was epic (and cheap!).

The evening ended - yet again - with beer bought from the kiosk and drunk on the rooftop.

Part two to follow shortly, see you soon!