Of Grave Concern - A Winter Escape To Athens

It was day two of our Athenian adventure and, after another delicious breakfast eaten in the fresh air on the rooftop, gazing out over the Acropolis, it was time to explore more of the city.

Hadrian's Arch, at the end of our street, was built in AD 131. On the west the arch is inscribed This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus and on the east side, This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus to distinguish between the cities of ancient legend and Roman reality. Again, this arch may look familiar as a replica stands in the ground of Shugborough Hall, a stately home we regularly visit.  

Through the arch you'll find The Temple of the Olympian Zeus, the largest to exist on mainland Greece. Inside two colossal statues once stood, one of the god in gold and ivory, and the other of the Emperor Hadrian. The temple's construction began in 515 BC but political turmoil prevented its completion for almost 700 years. 

In contrast to the previous day's glorious sunshine, Tuesday was overcast but, at 16°C, warm enough to wander coatless.

We passed by a statue of the Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know English poet and peer, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), who remains a hero in Greece to this day. 

We followed in the footsteps of the Ancient Greeks, crossing to the very edge of the Classical city. 

Warriors and priestesses returned to Athens via two separate roads through Kerameikos, one leading to a brothel, the other to a temple. Statesmen and heroes were buried beneath showy tombs lining the roads but Kerameikos was also the scene of shadier activities, the haunt of prostitutes, money-lenders and wine sellers.

The walls were built by the Athenian ruler Themistokles between 487 and 479 BC and the main roads from Thebes, Corinth and the Peloponnese converged at the entrance. The arch you can see in the centre of the photo above is the Sacred Gate, reserved for pilgrims and priestesses during their procession to Eleusis, one of Ancient Greece's most sacred places. 

Friendly cats and free-range tortoises wherever you turn!

The name Kerameikos comes from Keramos, the patron god of ceramics (I'd not realised the word ceramic was derived from Greek, its obvious when I say Keramos out loud...hee-ra-mos) and once potters' workshops would have lined the grassy banks of the river Eridanos which cuts through the site.

The on-site museum is packed with incredible finds from the site including grave goods and pottery shards of erotic scenes from a brothel.  Most fascinating are the beautifully carved tombstones (known as steles) which movingly portray the dead alongside their family and friends - these are the originals brought indoors to preserve them, the burial plots outside have replica casts. They may have left this world almost three thousand years ago but you really get a sense of who these people were.

This is from the grave of Lysimachides (320 BC). Flanked by two men and a woman. Lysimachides awaits the arrival of Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld, to take him to the land of the dead.

Traditionally the dead are on the right hand side of the steles and the bereaved on the left.

This stele marks the life of Dexileos, a horseman in the Athenian cavalry who was killed by the Spartans at the tender age of twenty in 394 BC. 

The grave stele of two sisters, Demetria and Pamphile circa 325 - 310 BC. Our guidebook reads, The women, remote and isolated, gaze apathetically at the spectator, already in another, transcendental world, far from the things of this life. This is one of the last steles made before the law passed by Demetrios of Phaleron prohibited the erection of luxurious tomb monuments.

After a wander around the flea market and the antique/junk shops where my tribal jewellery and vintage Afghan dress attracted much interest from the traders, we stopped for lunch and got puddings and a carafe of wine thrown in for free.

As it was directly opposite our taverna, our next stop was the Agora Museum (Stoa of Attalos) which had been closed the previous day. 

Me with Poseidon, Nike, Lyceus and the Emperor Antoninus Pius. 

Jon hangs out with Apollo whilst Tony is joined by a male & a female torso thought to personify the The Iliad & The Odyssey as both sets of armour feature characters from Homer's epic poems. 

Highlights were the ostraka, these small inscribed pottery fragments were used 2,500 years ago as ballots in the process of ostracisation and played a crucial role in the incipient democracy. When there was a fear of tyranny, citizens voted to exile politicians considered dangerous. Those getting the most votes were exiled from Athens for ten years. Does anyone else think that we ought to bring ostracism back?

As the three of us are fascinated by the Spartans (and have all watched 300 countless times ) this huge bronze shield rendered us speechless. Taken as a trophy by the Athenians after their victory in the Battle of Sphacteria in 425 BC. 

We left and walked across the city, passing through the district of Omonia which, with its sweet centres, fabric shops and curry houses, felt like we were back in the Midlands.

A couple of miles later and we'd reached our final cultural destination of the day, The National Archaeological Museum, said to be one of the most important and exciting museums in the world.

If, like us, you watch every documentary about Ancient Greece then you'll probably recognise all of these wonderful pieces...

Boxing Boys

These beautiful frescos, created in the highly advanced settlement of Akotiri were found on the island of Santorini (formerly known as Thera). Buried after a volcanic eruption in the 17th Century BC, they had been perfectly preserved beneath the ash. 

Aspasia of Miletus, Figure of Eight shield and the Spring fresco

We've seen many copies of this majestic bronze sculpture of Zeus (or possibly Poseidon) but this, dating from 460 BC, is the original.

These huge Archaic Korai (dating from 480 BC), statues of idealised youths and maidens, were the first monumental works in Greek art and were used in temples and on graves.

Believed to be the death mask of Agamemnon, the Mycenae king who commended the Greeks during the Trojan War, the mask is made from solid gold and dates to the 16th Century BC. I could hardly bear to tear my eyes away.

More fascinating grave steles,

This 4th Century BC scene depicts a deceased woman accompanied by her slave who is packing away  her jewels.

Phylone's baby, held by a slave, reaches out to his deceased mother (also from the 4th Century BC)

A deceased youth reaches out to his pet bird whilst his cat rests on a pillar beside him, the naked figure is a slave, mourning his master.

After refreshments in the equally impressive museum cafeteria we caught a taxi home to Poetry and Home and, after a siesta, headed back to Kafeneon for another Greek feast followed by late night beers on the rooftop.

Thanks for reading!

My third and final instalment coming soon.