December 2013
Athens, Greece
Athens is where the occidental culture is born. Everything in this city seems pure probably because there's a loot of marble. All the trip you will look at the Acropolis who's staring at you, in the highest place of the city. What I like is the fact there're a lot of archeological excavation all around, like in Rome.
The Acropolis wasn't like we saw today, there were much more building and much more history. In fact before the V century BC, the Acropolis had different temples and buildings, that you can see at the Acropolis Museum. But even a lot of statues covered during the persian attack on the Second Persian War, named the "Perserschutt", like Moscophoros, The Rampin's Chevalier ecc. The main buildings on the Acropolis, exept for the temple of athena nike, are: the Parthenon, built during the 438 BC from the great architect Fidia and his collegues Ictinos, Callicrates and Mnesicle, and dedicated to the "Athena Partenos", which statue was conserved in the temple's cell and made by Fidia himself with ebony and gold. In the decoration there're typical war scenes, and on the frontons (east and west) the birth of Athena and her dispute with Poseidon. Of course Athena was the main goddess of Athens, but the other main building: the Erectheion, in past had even a Poseidon sanctuary, the name Erectheion, is related to one of the most ancient & mytical Athens's ruler. On the Acropoli's slopes there are one Odeion and the Dyonisus theather, symbols of the greek arts and culture. The Agora, it means the political and financial place of the city, there was the Stoà, a long columned building which reminds to "stocisim" because these philosophers like to walk under this columned porchs. During the roman empire Athens was really beloved by the emperor Hadrianus (II AD). He built and restored so many public monuments like the Hadrian's arch or the Olympeion. Athens after the roman empire was under the Byzantine empire, and this had a lot of influence on what Athens is now, first of all is the orthodoxia. Lots of cute & tiny byzantine church are in the city center and a wonderful Byzantine museums with lots of first cristianic arts. |
SOME TRAVEL TIPS:
WHAT YOU CAN'T MISS IF YOU LIKE: ART = Byzantine and Christian Museum ARCHEOLOGY = Acropolis and the National Archeological Museum FOOD = Monastiraki from the square to Ermou ARCHITECTURE: The new Acropolis Museum How my trip was: Day one: Kerameikos, Hadrian Library, National Archeological Museum Day two: Agorà, Byzantine Museum, Roman Agorà Day three: Olympieion, Odeion of Erode Attico, Theather of Dyionisus, Acropolis Museum Day four: Acropolis |