Ancient Athens

1494

7th September 2007

Athens has been the center of Greek civilization for some 4,000 years. The capital of modern Greece, it’s still dominated by 5th-century-B.C.E. landmarks, including the Acropolis, a hilltop citadel topped with ancient buildings such as the colonnaded Parthenon temple. But it’s also a contemporary city, and it’s not uncommon for the nightlife hubs of Kolonaki, Psiri and Gazi to stay busy until dawn.

This is my first trip to Greece and I am so excited to be doing it with my Mum and sister! One of the cool things you notice about Athens is the unique city vibe, it’s a city stacked with history that is trying to be part of modern Europe but still has that old bohemian feel to it. The people are friendly and it’s relatively cheap to travel in (compared to the rest of Europe). It seemed like everywhere we went people were happy to give directions or a recommendation for where to eat.

One of the most famous and iconic structures in the world, as well as a symbol of Western civilization, the Acropolis is an unmissable feature on any visit to Athens.

Tucked below the Acropolis, this theatre was a very important venue during the ancient Dionysiac festival – a riot of wine and debauchery. It is usually also blissfully uncrowded in comparison with the big rock above!

TOP TIP: You can climb down to the theater from the back of the Acropolis, so you don’t need to backtrack. Entry is included in the Acropolis ticket.

Acropolis

Temple of Olympian Zeus – The remains of the temple of Zeus give a hint of the former magnificence and grandeur.

You can’t miss this striking marvel smack in the centre of Athens. It is the largest temple in Greece; begun in the 6th century BC by Peisistratos, it was abandoned for lack of funds. Various other leaders had stabs at completing it, but it was left to Hadrian to complete the work in AD 131 – taking more than 700 years in total to build.

The temple is impressive for the sheer size of its 104 Corinthian columns (17m high with a base diameter of 1.7m), of which 15 remain – the fallen column was blown down in a gale in 1852. Hadrian put a colossal statue of Zeus in the cella – and in typically immodest fashion, placed an equally large one of himself next to it.

A short visit to Athens has got us in the mood for our travel adventure and after a scare that I had lost my passport we booked a ferry to Mykonos, one of the most beautiful Greek Islands.