Αθήνα, Ελλάδα

We arrived in Athens a little before 9am. Our driver met us at the airport and took us to our hotel in the center of Athens. The hotel was in the perfect location, right next to Syntagma Square, the Parliament, the National Gardens and most importantly the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus as well as various other archeological sites.

We spent that first day walking around and seeing the sights near our hotel while taking in the amazing weather. We ate at a local food place where we had our first taste of authentic Greek food. We particularly enjoyed the Greek Yogurt with honey (which puts to shame the Greek Yogurt they sell to us in U.S. stores). 

That evening we spent several hours walking up and down Ermou Street and its many side streets. Ermou Street consists of fashion shops, shopping centers, as well as various places to eat. It also goes around the Byzantine Church of Panaghai and leads all the way up to Syntagma Square and the Parliament, which is where our hotel was. After scoping out Ermou Street we caped our night off by walking around the National Gardens which was commissioned by Queen Amalia in 1838. We caught an outdoor concert and enjoyed some wine and gelato.

The next morning we were up early and out the door. We started off our day touring the Acropolis. Acropolis in ancient Greek refers to the highest point in the city. The Acropolis in Athens’ most famous structure is the Parthenon. The Parthenon is a temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena (which is also the actual name of Athens) who is the patron deity for the city of Athens. The Parthenon is considered by many to be the “first true rectangle” in architecture and seems as though it was modeled off of the golden ratio, though it is not known if this was by accident or on purpose (the golden ratio is found a lot in nature but is also used in mathematics and art and is linked to aesthetics).  Furthermore, the floor of the Parthenon is not level. If it were actually level it would make the building appear warped inside, so the architects compensated for this with curves in the floor. Additionally the Parthenon has no true right angles, this combination gives the visual representation of a perfect rectangle and flat floors. The other structures on the Acropolis include the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the temple of Nike.

After we visited the acropolis we went to the new Acropolis Museum, which went a little more in depth in the history of the Acropolis and housed many statues and slabs from the building on the acropolis. It was interesting to learn the Parthenon was converted into a Church by the Christians in the sixth century and became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in the Roman Empire. The Christians defaced many of the statutes and wall carvings because the statues did not coincid with their beliefs. The Parthenon was also used as a mosque when the Ottoman Turks invaded in 1456. However, the Parthenon sustained the most damage during the Venetian siege in 1687. We ended our tour with the Parliament, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Temple of Zeus and Panathenaic Stadium which housed the first modern Olympic games in 1896.

We spent the rest of our time in Athens at the Plaka (an area with a bunch of Greek shops), walking Ermou Street, the National Gradens, and eating at local restaurants, one of which had been family owned since the late 1800s. Our trip through Athens was brief but busy and full of history. It was incredible to tour a city with so much history that had played such an important role in the development of western society. After all, Athens is the birthplace of democracy! Our next stop, the island of Mykonos!