Athens, Greece

I am just going to put this out there now; Athens, Greece is one of the best cities I have been to on this trip. Why do I say this? I have no idea, since I have been to some amazing places so far on this trip, but I truly enjoyed my time in Athens. I think it has a lot to do with the history of the city. I need not tell you all about how powerful Athens once was, during her time she gave birth to some of histories greatest philosophers, such as Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, and is also known as the birthplace of Democracy. Fine work indeed. The city itself is named after the Greek Goddess Athena. And it is all this history that shows why this city was so enjoyable. I could be strolling through some shops, only to turn a corner and see ancient ruins. I did this, many times, and each time was better then the last.

Now we actually were docked in Piraeus, which is the port city right near Athens. It was only a short 15 minute walk followed by a 10 minute metro ride to take us anywhere in the heart of Athens. I want to say this; Athens has one of the finest metro systems around. My friend Elena told me it is because of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, and man, did Athens do one hell of a job. It was so convenient to get anywhere around the city. The first day I had a SAS trip that gave us a brief tour of Athens, followed by a trip to the Acropolis. We drove around, passing all the sights of the city. We actually stopped Panathinaiko Stadium, a 70,000 seat horseshoe shaped stadium built in 329 BC but remodeled and refurbished enough over the years that it hosted the 1896 modern Olympic Games. It is made entirely of marble, and it was truly a sight to behold. We had a great view of the Acropolis from the sight, and that was our next destination. We went into the acropolis through the remains of the gateway called Propylaea. To the south of the entrance is the tiny Temple of Athena Nike. At the centre of the Acropolis is the Parthenon or Temple of Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin). East of the entrance and north of the Parthenon is the temple known as the Erechtheum. South of the platform that forms the top of the Acropolis there are also the remains of an outdoor theatre called Theatre of Dionysus. The real treat was the Parthenon, it was an incredible temple, built in honor of Athena, and only allowed to be entered by the priests and special visitors. The real shame of the whole experience was that all the buildings were undergoing renovation, and there a lot of construction materials that really took away from the view. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy, and is one of the world's greatest cultural monuments. Oddly enough, a lot of the ground was made out of marble, and it was slippery walking amongst the remains. But it was an awesome experience none the less, and if one closed their eyes long enough, you could imagine the temple in her heyday, beautifully built. Heck, you could imagine the hustle and bustle of the acropolis, with tax collectors, philosopher, politicians, priests, peasants, shopkeepers, sellers, buyers, and just the general feel for the city could be experienced if one imagined hard enough. Not to mention that the view of the city was amazing as well. Alex and I signed off with our tour at this point, as we wanted to explore the acropolis some more, as well as stay in Athens for a bit. It was awesome to see these temples, built atop this hill, overlooking the city below. I could only imagine what it was like during their time period, when the view below was of rolling plains and grassy knolls. We also got to explore around the side of the hill the acropolis is situated on, and walked around where caves of Zeus, Pan, and Apollo once received praise. We ended at the Theatre of Dionysus, which is still used to this day to hold concerts and other venues. We finally walked down from the hill, and made our way into the city. We didn’t have much of a plan in mind, beyond just walking around. It was oddly strange, since we had landed on a Sunday, and August in general or that day in particular had some significance for the Geeks, but the entire town seemed more or less completely dead. Sure souvenir shops and some restaurants were open, but it was a very quite town for a Sunday afternoon. We got to pass the Arch of Hadrian, which is what it sounds like, a monumental arch that led to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which we could see through a gate, since we didn’t feel like going in. All that remains are some rather large columns. Funny store about the Arch though. At the base, there is an inscription that reads, ΑΙΔ' ΕIΣΙΝ ΑΘΗΝΑΙ ΘΗΣΕΩΣ Η ΠΡΙΝ ΠΟΛΙΣ, which translates to, “this is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus.” I don’t know who Theseus is, but I can tell you someone did not like him, since on the other side of the arch reads, ΑΙΔ' ΕIΣΙΝ ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟΥ ΚΟΥΧI ΘΗΣΕΩΣ ΠΟΛΙΣ, which means “this is the city of Hadrian, and not of Theseus.” Since it is known as the Arch of Hadrian, I think we all know who won that spat. After walking around for a bit, we decided to call it quits and see what we could do as far as finding our way back to the ship. We found the metro, and after some wheeling and dealing, we figured out and eventually made our way back to Piraeus.

I spent my second day in Athens with a bunch of friends and we headed to Monastiraki, which well-known for its string of small shops and markets, as well as its crowded flea market and taverns. We split off into some smaller groups, and went off on our separate ways. Some people wanted to shop, but I had a goal to get to a hill I had heard about, where Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, and other great philosophers use to gather to teach classes and debate anything. So Elena, Matt, and myself made our way, and we passed the ancient Agora of Athens. We decided to enter, and see what was up. It was basically the center of the Athenian Government, and it was the place where things got done. It also had houses, as well as being home to other religious centers. We made our way inside and stopped at the Stoa of Attalos, a 2nd century building which was reconstructed in the mid 20th century. It was a rather large open air building, with some beautiful columns, though it did house a small museum inside the closed in part, which even had a SPARTAN SHIELD. Badass. The thing was huge. We then made our way to the Theseion which is a temple of Hephaistos, god of metal working, and Athena Ergane, goddess of pottery and crafts. You could obviously tell what went on around the temple, all things considered. It was really neat walking amongst the ruins, as you could see the remains of a great and powerful civilization. It was much quieter than the Acropolis and peaceful since we more or less had the place to ourselves. You could once again imagine the ruins being buildings if one imagined hard enough, and you could see the beauty the place once had. Now, only the crumbling remains of the foundation exist, but it is history all the same. We left the Agora, and kept trying to make our way to this hill, but we got sidetracked and ended up spending a half hour sitting outside this church in the shade hanging out. I busted out my phone, and we played some Red Hot Chili Peppers and O.A.R. and jammed out for a bit. Once we decided we had cooled off enough, we went and met up with the rest of the group for lunch. I had some kind of plate called a souvlaki, which was more or less chicken on bread, but really good all the same. After lunch, we had planned on climbing up this rather large hill that held a monastery at the top, but after buying some rather fragile gifts, we called it a day and went back to the ship. I went out a bit later that night, but nothing crazy, just saw Piraeus’s a bit by night.

I went out the third day with a rather new group of people, some I had not really hung out with before, and I’m rather glad I did. Let me see if I can remember some names. Lindsey, Katie, Jocelyn, Amber, Dan, and another girl whose name I forgot, damn, so close. Anyway, we headed back into Monastiraki again, and promptly found a table for lunch. I ordered some pan fried cheese and a side of fries, and it was pretty good. Katie and Jocelyn ordered more food than they could stomach, so I got to pick at their order of calamari, oh how I miss mahi-mahi back home. Afterwards, they all wanted to head out and shop. I used this time on my own to head towards this hill I’ve kept been meaning to get to. I eventually found the hill, called Pnyx. I want to take some text from wikipedia to define what this hill was all about. “Compared to the better-known surviving monuments of ancient Athens, such as the Parthenon, the Pnyx is relatively unspectacular. It is a small, rocky hill surrounded by parkland, with a large flat platform of eroded stone set into its side, surrounded by steps carved on its slope. It is nevertheless one of the most significant sites in the city, and indeed in the world. For the Pnyx was the meeting place of the world's first ever democratic legislature, the Athenian ekklesia (assembly), and the flat stone platform is the bema, the "stepping stone" or speakers' platform. As such, the Pnyx is the material embodiment of the principle of isēgoria "equal speech", i.e. the equal right of every citizen to debate matters of policy. The other two principles of democracy were isonomia, equality under the law, and isopoliteia equality of vote and equal opportunity to assume political office. The right of isēgoria was expressed by the presiding officer of the Pnyx assembly, who formally opened each debate with the open invitation "Tis agoreyein bouletai? "Who wishes to speak?". The Pnyx was used for popular assemblies in Athens as early as 507 BC, when the reforms of Cleisthenes transferred political power to the citizenry. It was then outside the city proper, but close enough to be convenient. It looks down on the ancient Agora, the commercial and social centre of the city. At this site all the great political struggles of Athens of the "Golden Age" were fought out. Pericles, Aristides and Alcibiades spoke here, within sight of the Parthenon, temple of Athena. I didn’t know all this going to the hill, I just found out right now. All I knew was that philosophers once debated here. I didn’t realize just to what extent they did. Knowing all this now just makes my time there that much more special, as I believe my best time in Athens was spent on this hill, completely alone. There was nobody else there but myself. I stood at the bema, and just imagined a figure giving a fiery debate before the gathered crowd. I could feel the history around me, and it was a riveting moment. I made my way higher up the hill, and sat on a rock with a gorgeous view of the acropolis and the hill it sits on. It was all laid out before me, and I just sat there and enjoyed being alone, with nothing but the past all around me, and yet nothing but the future ahead of me. I was there for as long as I could, before heading back down to meet up with my friends at our appointed meeting time. I wish I had just skipped out and stayed up there, as I could have enjoyed my time there all afternoon. In any event, once I got down they all were set to head back to the ship, so I accompanied them down, but truly happy for the time alone that I had just shared back on Pnyx hill. My good buddy Travis is leaving us after Croatia, and he is heading to China directly from Croatia. He and I have been guilt tripping each other back and forth, and we headed out that night to enjoy a beer and to hang out. We went out with a group of people and found a rather trendy lounge near the water to hang out. We took a cab back to the ship after our drinks, and I stole the beer glass they gave me since it had the Olympic rings on the back with the words Athens 2004. Don’t act like you wouldn’t have done the same.

My fourth and last day in Athens was uneventful, and I didn’t even go into the city. I actually just hung out on ship, only getting off to spend a little time walking around Piraeus again. I have a ton of papers due after Croatia, and I wanted to work on them, plus I was beat. We didn’t get any down time after Egypt, and I just felt whipped and beat after these last two countries. They are wearing me down, but in a good way. It doesn’t seem like I did a whole lot in Greece, as this is probably one of my shortest blog posts, but it’s funny because this was one of the most enjoyable countries. I didn’t go to any of the Greek islands, I didn’t swim in the Mediterranean, but I got to experience and enjoy the history of the city, and walk amongst the people, and it was an incredible experience all the same.