Location: Athens
The Acropolis was open today!
The Parthenon:
The Temple of Hephaestus
Church of the Holy Apostles
I have to thank Glenn for forcing me to sit through that documentary about how ancient architects built the Parthenon, as it gave me a healthy appreciation for the effort that went into building this incredible structure. Alexis and I also walked through the National Gardens and the Ancient Agora, and we watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Alexis and I cautiously discussed with each other that we may have enjoyed the Ancient Agora and the accompanying museum in the Stoa of Attalos even more than the Acropolis. It’s one thing to see where people worshipped, but it’s far more interesting (to me) to see how they lived. The museum was filled with items like dishes, cookware, jewelry, and other pieces recovered around Athens (for really, people dig this stuff up in their backyards) that ancient people used in their day-to-day lives. There were also water clocks and the device by which ancient Greeks selected juries for cases. And oh my god, the sculptures!
One piece of the exhibit were the ostraka from Greek assembly votes (our word ostracism comes from this word ostraka); they are pieces of broken pottery on which members of the assembly wrote the name of the politician they least liked, and if a politician received over 6,000 votes, he was exiled from Athens for ten years (a sort of negative vote). Themistocles appears to have been particularly unpopula
As neither Alexis nor I could stomach any more Greek food, we were delighted to locate a greasy Chinese place. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping; we loved looking at the pretty European lingerie and we had a ball putting together outfits for each other in H&M. We had Italian for dinner.
The Acropolis was open today!
The Parthenon:
The Erechtheion
The Theater of Dionysus
Church of the Holy Apostles
I have to thank Glenn for forcing me to sit through that documentary about how ancient architects built the Parthenon, as it gave me a healthy appreciation for the effort that went into building this incredible structure. Alexis and I also walked through the National Gardens and the Ancient Agora, and we watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Alexis and I cautiously discussed with each other that we may have enjoyed the Ancient Agora and the accompanying museum in the Stoa of Attalos even more than the Acropolis. It’s one thing to see where people worshipped, but it’s far more interesting (to me) to see how they lived. The museum was filled with items like dishes, cookware, jewelry, and other pieces recovered around Athens (for really, people dig this stuff up in their backyards) that ancient people used in their day-to-day lives. There were also water clocks and the device by which ancient Greeks selected juries for cases. And oh my god, the sculptures!
As neither Alexis nor I could stomach any more Greek food, we were delighted to locate a greasy Chinese place. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping; we loved looking at the pretty European lingerie and we had a ball putting together outfits for each other in H&M. We had Italian for dinner.
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