Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Parthenon South Slope

  • Athens – Parthenon South Slope – Odeon of Herodes Atticus

    This theatre is built into the side of the Acropolis and was funded by Senator Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife. A nice gift to give…. It was completed in 161AD and remained in use until 267AD when the Heruli (a Germanic tribe) came and destroyed it.

    The remains of the theatre survived in relatively good condition over the centuries, but it was decided to renovate the site in 1950 to bring it back into use. It seems a shame that the historic elements of the seating area have been lost, although the former facade is still standing, at least in part. Although it’s an open-air theatre today it wasn’t originally, there used to be a grand (and no doubt expensive) cedar wooden roof.

    Numerous big names (as in well known people, not those with lots of letters in their surnames) have since performed here, including Pavarotti, Elton John, Sting, Placido Domingo and Jethro Tull. When the sun is shining this must make for a spectacular site for a performance, with the performer looking straight up at the Acropolis. John Cleese is also performing there later this year, I’m sure that will sell out quickly if it hasn’t already.

  • Athens – Parthenon South Slope – Danger

    Coming back down from my Parthenon visit I was merrily reading every sign that I could find. This one looked moderately interesting and I realised I hadn’t seen much wildlife.

    And then I saw this. The Balkan whip snake. The Acropolis could have been riddled with these….. Glad I saw this at the end of the visit.

  • 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).