Acropolis Mars Hill

Boarded the the bus in Pireas at about 8. We will be touring today before going to our hotel. The largest port in Greece is here. This was also the port for war ships in ancient Athens. The Sardonic Gulf is the southern border of Athens. In 1980 the Peace and Friendship stadium was built.

 

41/2 million live in Athens; 40% of the population. We are going to the Acropolis museum first to allow the crowds to dissipate on the Acropolis.

2nd Sunday in November is the Athens marathon. It begins and ends in the First modern Olympic stadium - Panathenean stadium 1896. All the seats are marble. During the last Olympics in Athens the stadium was used for women's archery.

 

Athens has a severe graffiti problem. We even saw graffiti on Mars Hill.

Mars Hill looking down on the Agora below the Acropolis

Before going to the Acropolis we went to the Acropolis Museum which contains the original artifacts from the Acropolis. The museum was very modern and well done. The inside was the actual length and width of the Acropolis with pillars in the exact position of the original with the artifacts placed where they would have been on the original structure. We saw the friezes that were near the top of the structure.

 

The scenes above would have been in the squares between the squares with the vertical lines.

 

 

Remains from the western end of the Acropolis.

The beautiful sculptures of "the Girls" that were the pillars on the Erechtheion were on the second floor of the museum. Each one was different from the other. The sculptor gave each an elaborate fishtail braid so the sculpture could support the head without a thick neck.

These maidens were originally on the Porch of Karyatids. Their right hands once held libation bowls for drink offerings. Erechtheus and Poseidon were worshipped here.

 

We found our way to Starbucks in Athens both mornings!

 

 

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