Motorhomers on Tour : Ancient Athens

We decided not to rush off from Pachi to Athens and enjoyed another day by the sea, where we had wild camped the night before. Temperatures were high again, around 35°C but there was a nice sea breeze. Then suddenly the wind got up and blew away our beach brolly and Mel had to turn into an Olympic swimmer to rescue it!

At the end of the beach there is a lovely little Greek church, where we watched a Greek wedding the previous night and no it wasn't a' Big Fat One' (as in the film) in case you were wondering ha! ha!

We got to Piraeus (a suburb of Athens) early evening and parked up in a secure car park (N37.94759 E23.64595). This is our first paying site since coming into Greece, as we have enjoyed 6 free nights – thank you Greece! This car park has high walls and a locked metal fence It’s far too risky doing any wild camping in and around Athens!

Sonny, the motorhome feeling nice and safe in his high walled secure car park in Athens

Mary, the Greek lady who runs the car park speaks very good English and was really helpful giving us a map of Athens, telling us the best places to visit and explaining where to get on and off the Metro.

We had an evening stroll around Piraeus, which has a lovely marina. Surprisingly it was full of a lot of big Greek yachts – the Greeks here obviously haven’t been affected by the country’s financial crisis.

Down near the marina we came across this interesting contemporary monument made of steel and brass. We later found out that it's a tribute to the memory of 353,000 Greeks of Pontus who perished during the Genocide between 1914 and 1926.

It was so hot last night that we struggled to sleep, it was still 30°C turned midnight so when the alarm went off at 7am it was a struggle to get out of bed. We knew we had to get to the Acropolis early before all the tour buses got there though, so cereal and coffee downed we were on our way to the metro! We got to the Acropolis just after 9am. The Parthenon stands high up within the Acropolis and quite an incredible site from a distance. This ancient place has existed since the 5^th century BC, as a monument to the cultural and political achievements of the inhabitants of Athens.

At the ticket office queues weren’t too bad, so armed with our ticket (€40 for us both of us!) we had a long, slow slog up to the top – lots and lots of steps. On the way you pass a couple of ancient theatres.

The Theatre of Dionysos held 17,000 spectators and 20 of the original 64 tiers survive along with the great marble thrones in the front row inscribed with the names of festival officials or important priests.

Theatre of Dionysos, the first stone theatre

Marble Thrones

The Theatre of Herod Atticus built by the Romans in 161 AD and used today for classical concerts

The Parthenon - we made it to the top!

Not much left of the Parthenon frieze. The best surviving examples are in the British Museum, London as Lord Elgin stole them in 1801 along with many other sculptures - known as the Elgin Marbles or Parthenon Marbles as they are known in Greece.

It has been destroyed and restored over many, many years. The current restoration work has been going on for about 30 years and is predicted to go on for at least another 30! Much of it has been taken apart and put back together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Unlike Delphi, it was hard to get a feel of the ancient history up here, as there has been so much restoration work and it is surrounded by scaffolding and cranes.

There were so many people at the top and nearly every nationality that you could think of. No chance of taking photos without someone stepping in front of the camera, or us photo bombing theirs! There are signs all over the marble columns in Greek and English asking you not to touch but still they touch. There are plenty of guardians around watching though and they blow their whistles and shout at the culprits who walk away sheepishly!

To the north of the Parthenon stands the Erechtheion, which sits on the most sacred site of the Acropolis where according to myth Poseidon and Athena had their battle. Around it is the Porch of the Caryatids, these are copies – five of the originals are in the Acropolis museum, the sixth one was one of the pieces taken by Lord Elgin, when he removed all the best sculptures and shipped them back to England where they now sit in the British Museum and it doesn’t look like we are going to give them back. Much to the annoyance of the Greeks, who reference this in the Acropolis museum and we think it is a shame too!

Copies of the Caryatids around the Erechtheion

Original Caryatids in the Acropolis Museum

The views around the city from the top of the Acropolis are immense. You really get a feel for how vast it is, as it stretches out endlessly below. From the 360° views you get from the tops, you see the ceramic tiled roofs of the houses, Hadrian’s Arch and the ruins of the giant Temple of Olympian Zeus.

It started getting busy up the Acropolis so we headed down to the Rock of Areopagos, where St Paul spoke to the people of Athens in AD 51 and more views across Athens

Then into the Acropolis museum. It opened in 2009 around a lot of controversy, as it is built on top of an archaeological site. Glass floors have been placed over some of it and a viewing point where you can look down on the bricks and mosaics on the walk up to the museum. There are plans to eventually open it up to the public.

Entering the 3-floor museum there are a lot of restrictions of what you can take photos of (not sure why) – much to my annoyance! There were a lot of plaster cast models in the museum definitely lacking the most important pieces – those that Elgin stole! And not a patch on the museum in Delphi.

Figures from the Erechtheion frieze dating from 406 BC

Nike adjusting her sandal - no trainers in those days!

Leaving the museum it was time for lunch and we were desperate to try out some Gyros (a popular Greek dish of pork or chicken meat cooked on an upright rotisserie, to crisp the outside of the meat and served with pitta bread, chips, salad and tzatziki), so headed for the Plaka district via Hadrian’s Arch - the Roman who built the wall to keep the Scots out of England!