On Top of the Acropolis

Athens is Greece's largest city, and from the top of it, you can tell. Our first view of any ruins on the way to our five star hotel was Zeus's Temple. There are 15 still-standing Corinthian columns, one fallen, that make up Athen's largest temple, dedicated to the head of the 12 Olympian Gods.

At the end of our second night in Greece's capitol, we climbed to the top of Mars Hill, where you can see the entire city. Ruins of ancient Greek architecture dot the city's horizon from the top of the Acropolis, where our group of 40+ hiked to the top in 108 degree weather. The day before, we stopped in Delphi to visit the Archaeological Museum and the ruins of the Oracle which we were unable to see due to the heat which forbid any visitors at the outside ruins for the day. It was a disappointing bump in our schedule, but after trekking up the hill chosen as Athens' highest point (it is actually the second tallest in the city and was chosen because it had better water sources than the other) we got a good fill of ancient Greek ruins. The Parthenon sits at the top of the Acropolis, and is currently undergoing restoration, set to be finished in 2020. At the top of the hill, we learned that any flag other than the Greek flag is prohibited, because of the disrespect the Nazi Party put on the Acropolis with their own flag during World War II. The Agora, which can be seen from the steps of the Acropolis, is the best-preserved structure of Ancient Greece, with its 2.5 thousand year old roof still intact. The roof of both the Parthenon and the Propylaea Gate that leads to it were both destroyed by explosions; one from a stray bomb shell, and the other from a lightning strike that hit the gun powder foolishly being stored in the Gate. The Parthenon, dedicated to Athena- goddess of wisdom and war, once held a 12 foot tall statue of her, which is now nowhere to be found. Theories say the inside wooden structure was burnt, and her gold and ivory decorations were stolen.

After descending to the base of the hill, we spent time learning about the archaeological discoveries from the Acropolis and surrounding areas in Athens at the Acropolis museum and took a small bus tour that passed the National Library, the Academy of Greece, and many other important federal and cultural buildings. The coolest stop was the stadium built for the first modern Olympics in 1896. It was again used in the 2004 Olympics for archery and is still the endpoint of the Athens Classic Marathon each year.

We then had the rest of the day to ourselves in the country's capitol. Our group perused the local tourist traps (many souvenirs were bought, both for friends and yours truly). And once we got back to our hotel, you guessed it- right into the pool we went! The next day, we hopped on our bus (which inopportunely decided to overheat and not have A/C on a 104 degree day) at 10 AM to head back to Thessaloniki. Halfway through, we took one more stop for a group picture in front of the Hot Gates of Thermopylae where King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans held back the invading Persians. Our pit stop was pretty fitting for those of us in Mythology class, who had just watched 300 that week.

On the rest of our very hot bus ride, we found some movies to watch on the bus's two screens for some bonding that made the heat a little less miserable (we all survived; the suffering was probably good for us, we're having way too much fun).

The next morning, our class was held inside the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, where we saw amazing mosaics and bones found in the ruins underneath our summer home. Tuesday, a.k.a. the Fourth of July for you Yanks back home, was spent celebrating with late night karaoke at a local place named Wonderwall. Wednesday was our movie day for the week (yes, we have one every week...like I said before, best class ever) watching Disney's Hercules. Our last class for the week met at the Museum of Byzantine Culture Thessaloniki. Here, we saw how the Thessalonian lifestyle changed from the first museum earlier in the week. Greece's deep history and rich culture can be found anywhere you turn, and I still have so much to learn. 'Til next time!