Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Athens

  • Athens – Parthenon South Slope – Statue Bases

    OK, a post about statue bases isn’t going to set the heart racing, not like a post about Greggs for example. But I still think that they’re interesting. But I’ve set the bar low there….

    A dedicatory base with a choregic inscription. I didn’t know what the word ‘choregic’ meant, but it refers to a group of actors who perform together. It’s also where the word chorus is derived from. It dates from between 76 and 88AD.

    This is an inscribed statue base which honoured archon Tiberius Claudius Lysiades. It dates from the second century AD. The archon were the chief nine magistrates of Athens, but the word came in English to mean ruler. The word was relatively common in the early nineteenth century, but it has now fallen into abeyance. Although it’s also the derivative of the word archbishop or phrases such as arch enemy. And back in the day, in the early medieval period, they weren’t archbishops, but highbishops.

    I thought this was a lump of rock. Although that’s why I’m not a professional archaeologist. But apparently it’s the part of a base and has a dedicatory inscription and is surrounded by an olive-tree wreath. It dates to the second or third BC, which is some impressive dating given there’s a limited amount left.

  • Athens – Parthenon South Slope – Marble Seat

    This is a marble seat on display at the south slope of the Parthenon, probably from the Panathenaic Stadium. I thought that this was strangely compelling, with the detailed carving at the base and knowing that it would have once been used in a packed stadium by attendees watching athletics and also gladiators fighting wild animals (and perhaps each other).

  • Athens – Acropolis Museum

    The Acropolis Museum is currently the highest rated attraction in Athens on TripAdvisor and a huge source of pride for the Greek people. It displays the treasures of the Parthenon, or at least, the ones that Greece has left. It’s a beautifully designed museum and the process to buy tickets was easy to understand and the staff were helpful and welcoming. Tickets are usually €10, but during the winter months they’re just €5, so I felt that was good value.

    I can’t fault the design of the museum, which looks glorious throughout. This is the view of the Acropolis and Parthenon from the museum which has tall windows to maximise the viewing opportunities. The museum was also spotlessly clean, there were English translations of everything and despite the high number of people there, the visitor flow was well managed.

    There’s a separate floor of exhibits which I’ll post about elsewhere, but this is the main part of the museum in my view, it’s the display of the Parthenon Marbles. They stretch around a long rectangle, just as they would have once been displayed on the exterior of the Parthenon, and are positioned in the order they were once located in.

    Unfortunately for the museum they don’t have the complete set of marbles, as around half were taken by Lord Elgin in the early part of the nineteenth century. They’re still on display in the British Museum, and it’s intriguing to see which stones were taken and which weren’t. The museum has inserted in plaster casts of the missing stones, and it’s easy to see what is original and what is a copy. There are some other gaps in the stones, such as when the building was converted into a church and a number were destroyed, but these are clearly marked.

    My own view is that the museum was disappointing as I left knowing little more than I did when I went in. The information panels around the museum were, in my view anyway, randomly located and overly complex. There was no flow by date and I came away with more questions than answers because there seemed to be gaps in the factual record.

    On the matter of the Elgin Marbles, the museum doesn’t touch on this, other than to condemn their taking. The situation was confused at the time, let alone now, so views will likely always be split on this. Elgin claimed that it took over a decade and hundreds of employees to remove the panels and that the locals must have known what was happening, but it was more complex than this and there was a lot of missing documentation when the House of Commons investigated at the time. There’s no evidence that Elgin had permission to take the marbles, so the Greeks do understandably want them back.

    The British Museum has also managed to damage the panels in a botched cleaning process which it transpired they didn’t know about, although this is now a couple of generations ago. For what it’s worth, I prefer the British Museum display of the marbles in terms of the interpretation offered about them and the curation of the stones. Although the Greek museum is clearly a more stunning building. But that’s an aside anyway as it’s nothing to do with me, it’s a matter for the trustees of the British Museum.

    One more point for confusion is about taking photographs. I merrily went around taking photographs and no-one said anything to me during my visit. On the way back down I noticed a sign saying no photos and one staff member was stopping people taking photos, but all the other staff didn’t intervene in their areas. I’m guessing that the situation is that the museum don’t mind people taking photos in principle, but they’re trying to avoid people taking them as it creates pinch points and displays at exhibits. But I can understand why some visitors are confused, and there are three reviews on TripAdvisor about how the museum authorities have made visitors cry by being rude to them. Not a good look.

    Overall, I’m glad that I went and the marbles are simply sublime and it’s marvellous that so many other treasures from the site are clearly displayed in what is a beautiful building. But curation wise, I’m less convinced about the whole museum. But since it’s the most popular attraction in the city, I think I’m in rather a minority here.

  • Athens – Another Day, Another Demonstration

    Every day I’ve been here there has been a demonstration about something taking place. Mostly about the environment and against fascism, but this was a larger and well attended event which winded its way through the centre of Athens.

    I translated one of the leaflets and the protest is related to the closing of schools, but I couldn’t find any media reports on the march to find out more.

    There were plenty of police around, who mostly looked bored, and some irritated looking locals not impressed by the smoke. And an awful lot of flyers were thrown on the floor, although the city seems to employ an army of street cleaners.

    It got the attention of locals and visitors to the city though, which I’m guessing is the entire point that it was held. So job done in that regard….

  • Athens – Coffee Cat

    He seemed quite high up, but also entirely content.

  • Athens – Panathenaic Stadium

    The current stadium is the only one in the world which is built entirely out of marble and it was reconstructed in 1896 to hold the first modern Olympics. It was built on the site of the stadium built in 144AD in marble, but there was also a previous limestone stadium constructed in 330BC and before then the site was a racecourse. So, it has a strong sporting history to say the least.

    Somehow they managed to get 80,000 people in this stadium in 1968 to watch a basketball match. There are photos of this event easily findable on Google and it looks like a somewhat cramped affair. It was also where the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1896 Olympics took place, something which must have been quite an event. The current capacity is 45,000 people, which goes to show just how packed the stadium clearly was.

    The 1896 refurbishment wasn’t the first in the nineteenth century, there had also been some modernisation in preparation for what were known as the Zappas Olympics. These were the forerunner to the Olympics that we know now, and they were held in 1859, 1870 and 1875. The first of these wasn’t held at this stadium as reconstruction wasn’t finished, but the later second events were.

    I didn’t think when visiting that it was possible to get inside the stadium as a visitor, unless there was some sporting or musical event on, but it has transpired that visitors can get in for €5 per person. However, since there’s a big gap where seating would usually be in a stadium, it’s obviously easy enough to look in. The marble still glistens in the sun, so it’s visually quite a statement for a stadium.

  • Athens – Parthenon

    They doesn’t seem much point writing a lot about the Parthenon, since it’s one of the most important historic sites in Europe and there’s no shortage of information readily available.

    But, in short, the Parthenon was built as a temple between 447BC and 432BC and it was later used as a Christian church and then as a mosque. Unfortunately the building was partly blown up in September 1687 when gunpowder in storage caught fire. Today the building is iconic and is one of the enduring symbols of Athens, primarily due to its prominent location.

    I had a pass to visit a number of historic sites and I left this to the last day possible deliberately as I thought that a Monday morning might be a little quicker. I also got to the site at around 08.15 (and discovered there’s no rush hour on the metro) before it got too busy. And before it got too hot….

    The pass meant that I didn’t have to queue up for a ticket and I was able to walk straight through to the Acropolis (the hill that the Parthenon is on). There were a few tour groups and a few visitors, but it was generally quiet when I was there. It did though get much busier as I worked my way back down to the Southern Slope of the Acropolis.

    Signage is reasonably good at the site, although I’d still rather that the museum just gave out a small map of the site to visitors who wanted one, to help put everything in context. But, it was clean and organised, and I was pleased that I didn’t have to queue.

    What it’s like in summer I can’t quite imagine, it must be quite challenging waiting in queues, being hustled along and then standing in the Greek summer heat. So visiting early on a Monday morning in March seems like a good idea.

    Anyway, that’s enough text. Here are my photos from earlier today.

  • Athens – Styl & Cafe

    This coffee shop is in a central location in Athens and on a hot Sunday afternoon (although I think most Sunday afternoons are hot in Athens) it seemed particularly busy.

    Some people like to sit outside and enjoy the excitement of that, but I’m quite happy to sit inside and not be attacked by insects or have to dodge people selling bloody lottery tickets. And even more challenging are the people who come and perform some form of music near the table and I’m not sure whether they’re wanting money as a reward for their efforts or as blackmail for them to stop making noise.

    Quirky interior, although this now seems to be almost expected for cafes. I thought I had misunderstood the ordering process as I wasn’t approached at the table for a while, but it was just because the staff member was busy which was a relief (I mean it was a relief that I understood the service style, not a relief that the staff member was busy). The service remained friendly and warm throughout whilst not being unnecessarily effusive.

    Another latte, at the appropriate temperature and with the depth of taste that I demand. Well, I don’t demand at all, just hope for.

    For someone who didn’t drink coffees a few years ago, I’m doing well on this now. I also liked the biscuit that came with it, but I’m easily pleased with free snacks that come with coffee. And there were also a handful of Jelly Candy sweets made by Oscar (it’s a company, not a individual) and these have appeared several times over the last few days. I’m going to investigate buying a big bag of them, they are the most delightful of sweets….

  • Athens – L’ Arrêt Du Temps

    Lunch today in Athens was at this little French restaurant which looked quite charming from the outside.

    The interior of the restaurant which remained busy during my visit. I was welcomed promptly and the environment was clean and comfortable. The service was always friendly and the waitress was conversational and engaging, it was all rather relaxing.

    A little glass of white wine. I’m no wine expert, but it tasted entirely passable.

    Brunch, which as I’ve said elsewhere, is very middle class of me. The meal was well presented and the green leaves were lifted by the sauce, and the egg was perfectly cooked. There was also sausage, tomato and feta cheese which all went beautifully together. The sausage tasted fine, although it didn’t have the depth of flavour that it perhaps could have done. But as a lunch-time meal, this was all very lovely and the dish was well seasoned.

    I noticed that there are some negative reviews of this restaurant because they don’t let dogs in. It seems staggering to me that someone would seek to damage someone’s business on-line solely because they are politely told that they couldn’t bring their dog in, which is inevitably not to everyone’s liking. On this, given the location and atmosphere, I agree with the restaurant, this doesn’t feel like a setting suitable for dogs.

    The meal and wine came to around £10, which given the location and the environment seemed fair to me. All very lovely.

  • Athens – Half Marathon

    This was a big event today in Athens and I know this because it was difficult to cross the roads as it was such a well attended run. It all looked well organised and there were free bananas available for everyone, both runners and watchers alike. But unfortunately not free crisps, which would have helped me get really engaged with the event.

    So, some photos….