Although we had a quick stay in Athens is definitely made a
long lasting impression. Both Tom and I cannot wait for the opportunity to go
back. It was absolutely insane to learn about things that have happened over
1,000 years ago! I thought Charles Bridge, which was built in the 15th
century, was old. Since there is so much history in Athens we decided to take a
free walking tour. Throughout our day we ended up walking over 17 miles!
We started out tour at the National Library of Greece and worked out way towards the Academy of Athens which governs all the education in Athens. This building is known as one of the perfect examples of neoclassical architecture and is one of the highest researched establishments in the country. Outside of this building sits two statues one of Socrates and one of Plato. Both are very highly recognized philosophers that lived and studied in Athens. Plato even went on to establish the Academy of Athens, which was the first institute of higher learning in the western world.
We also learned that the ancient Greeks were the people that
came up with the idea of currency. Before they were just trade goods for things
that they needed. Much of Athens was also built by very rich people that lived
in the city and wanted to make it beautiful. I wish our generations took that
same pride in our cities!
We went to the Olympic Stadium as well. This is a stadium
that is completely built from marble and is still used today. At this site we
learned about the story behind “Nike” and how the “Marathon” was created. In
490 BC a soldier (Philippides) that fought in the Battle of Marathon ran back to Athens to tell
everyone of their victory over the Persians. He ran the entire way and when he arrived, before falling to the ground he yelled “Nike”
which is victory in Greek. He ran from Marathon beach to the stadium
which was 26.2 miles. Every year there is a marathon from marathon beach
to the stadium to commemorate that soldier and their victory. That is why when you run a marathon it is a
fixed distance of 26.2 miles. (I know I probably learned about all of this in
high school but I obviously didn’t pay attention because at that point on our
tour my mind was blown! )
Afterwards we went to the temple of Zeus. Sadly there is not
much left of the temple but it was still fascinating to see. It blows my mind
how these ancient greeks were able to create just amazing buildings during
their time. The are very large but also extremely detailed. We later went to
the Greek and Roman Forum which was the main area of the city back in the day.
It was where all the laws were kept and a majority of the city buildings/temples
were there. Greeks are credited with the first ideas of Democracy.
Finally it was time to climb to the top of the Acropolis.
The entire day we looked from a distance at the top of this amazing hill and we
all couldn’t wait to get to the top! On top of the Acropolis lies the
Parthenon, Erechtheion, and Old Temple of Athena.
Partheon was built in 447 BC to honor Athena. This building was supposed to show the success of Athens.
Another interesting fact was that the Roman Emperor Hadrian loved Athens and planned to make it the cultural capital of
the empire. He spent a lot of time in Athens and contributed financially to
many of the famous buildings of that time.
Once Christianity spread through the Roman empire many of
the Ancient Greeks went and destroyed most of the pagan temples. That is why
much of the city is in ruins and many of the temples only have the foundations
left. The greeks destroying their own city and abandoned for hundreds and hundreds of years.
It wasn’t until 19th century when the city was reborn and made it into what it is
today. When I think of Athens I think of this old amazing city but in all
reality the city had two life times. It had an ancient time and then a modern
time and is only 150 (ish) years old.
To
end our amazing day in Athens we climbed to the top of Philoppapos Hill and
watched the sunset!
Poster child for Mythos beer
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