Athens, Greece II (4/27/2025)

Sunday, April 27, 2025 (continued)

After visiting the National Archaeological Museum, we were dropped off at the Viking shuttle bus stop, and were on our own.

The shuttle bus stop was across the street
from the Arch of Hadrian (131-132 CE), to
honor the Roman Emperor who was
granted Athenian citizenship

Melina Mercouri Monument (1999, by
Anastasios Kratides) honors the Greek
actress and politician, who wished for the
return of the Parthenon marbles (statues,
frieze, metopes, etc) to Greece

Acropolis Museum (2003-2009, by Bernard Tschumi
and Michael Photiadis) was purpose-built with space for
the marble elements of the Parthenon taken in 1801 by
Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
then in control of Greece, and are now in the British Museum

As of now, the Elgin Marbles have not been returned. Other fragments from the Parthenon have been returned from the Vatican Museum and a museum in Palermo, Italy.

We were able to purchase timed-tickets for the Acropolis
with only an hour to wait, which gave us time for a
quick lunch at a nearby McDonald's

At the McDonald's in Athens, you must
segregate your waste thoroughly;
however an employee was dumping
everything into one container

Interesting roof tiles on the Spanish Embassy

Roman Cistern below the Acropolis

Scouts had set up a lemonade stand

Scouts touting their lemonade stand, in English

Upon entering the Acropolis grounds through the Dionysus gate,
we saw the Theater of Dionysus (6C BCE)

Tamiko at the Theater of Dionysus;
we would have to continue climbing to the
level of the top of the high wall

Stoa of Eumenes II (160 BCE) provided a
sheltered promenade for theater-goers

Temple of Asclepius (419-418 BCE) was dedicated
to the god of healing

Odeon of Herodes Atticus (161 CE) was a Greco-Roman theater

Beulé Gate (c 280 CE) inner side is now the
main entrance to the Acropolis

Pedestal of Agrippa (178 BCE) was topped
by a quadriga/four-horse chariot to honor
Eumenes II of Pergamon after his chariot race
victory in the Panathenaic Games

Propylaea (437-432 BCE) served as a partition separating
the secular and religious sections of the city

The small Temple of Athena Nike (426-421 BCE)

The Parthenon (447-432 BCE) was dedicated to the
goddess Athena in thanksgiving for a victory over Persian
invaders; in the 6C CE it was converted into a church and
in the 15C it became a mosque after the Ottoman conquest

Block of marble showing how it was split by inserting dry
wooden wedges, then soaking the wood until they swelled

The Greek flag at the Acropolis

 Erechtheion (421-406 BCE) was dedicated to Athena,
divine protector, and Erechtheus, the founder of the city

The Erechtheion is known for the
Porch of the Caryatids/female figures
serving as an architectural support

Ruins of an ancient Temple of Athena (6C BCE)

View down on the left at the Temple of Hephaestus (450 BCE) dedicated to the
god of fire and metalworking; the center foreground is the ancient Agora (6C BCE),
and on the right is the red-roofed Stoa of Attalos (2C BCE) that was lined with shops

Leaving the Acropolis through Beulé Gate

Man on the street playing a cimbalom, which is actually
an instrument that originated in Hungary

Neoplan N6216 Trolley Bus

Back on the Viking Saturn for dinner
and to complete a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle