May 28-29, 2017 Athens, Greece
The Acropolis of Athens located on a rocky
outcrop that rises 150 meters above sea level in the city of Athens. The word
Acropolis comes from ‘akron’ (extremity) and ‘polis’ (city). Homer is assumed
to refer to this fortification when he mentions the ‘strong-built House of
Erechtheus’ in Odyssey 7.81. This ancient citadel contains Parthenon, Old
Temple of Athena, Erechtheion, Sanctuary of Zeus Polieus, Odeon of Herodes
Atticus, and Theatre of Dionysus of 21 ancient architectural significances in
total. Before the 13th century BC, an earthquake caused a fissure
near the northeastern edge of the Acropolis, and following the invasion of
Mycenaean period and Venetian Siege in 1687, was hit by artillery fire and
severely damaged.
The Acropolis Restoration Programme began
in 1975 and it is on the way of completion. The aim of the restoration is to
reverse the decay of centuries of attrition, pollution, destruction from
military use and misguided past restorations. At the downhill of the Acropolis,
completed in 2007, Acropolis New Museum exhibits the pediment of Parthenon, the
unique works of Propylaia, Athena Nike and Erechtheion, also the sculptures carved
in Archaic Period (7th century BC until the end of Persian Wars,
480/79 BC); in the galleries we visitors are able to discover the delicate
surface variations of sculptures under the changing of natural lights. My hubby
and I spend around 4 hours in the New Museum on raining Sunday, and climb
uphill atop to Parthenon on cloudy Monday.
All the way to hilltop requires 2 bottles
of water, a comfortable pair of sneakers/espadrilles and loads of our curiosities.
We purchase the tickets from the side entrance in order to avoid the tourist
crowds. After the entrance, first passing by the Theatre of Dionysus, and all
the direction toward north we proceed. At the peak of Acropolis, the wind is
blowing approximately 12 m/s; the huge amount of staff are whistling those who
try their very best transpassing the defending ropes along Parthenon. We are
luckily not dehydrated but suffering non-photogenic moments; therefore, we take
the selfie/outfit photos near Odeon of Herodes Atticus, or on the stairs of
Theatre of Dionysus (Third Eye Blind’s song ‘God of Wine’ has been humming all
the way by me), and only aim at landscape views onto Parthenon and Erechtheion.
Viewing the pillars of Earth inspire us the understanding of micro life of a
living being, while standing on the top of hill cast all the negative daily burdens
away. The grey day provides indirect light, which does not burn our heads, and
on photography, it reflect rather less yellow shades on the marble or on our
faces, surprisingly a smart choice we made to Acropolis Atop.
On the Road Tip: Climb Acropolis during the
cloudy day, visit (any) museum while it burns or rains.
#Athens #Greece #acropolis #Athena
#Dionysus #Parthenon #Erechtheion
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