The Acropolis (aka the Parthenon)
I had read to either be the first in line for the Acropolis at 8am or the last ones there at 6pm. We were eager to go so we took the 8am route. Struggled to wake up at 7am this morning, I had to drag Adam out of bed who didn’t sleep very well at all last night.
We grabbed a quick breakfast of cappuccinos (which I promptly spilled down the front of my white shirt) and pastries and set out for the Acropolis. It was easy to see atop the hill but tough to find the entrance among the streets. We risked following another couple who looked like tourists too and luckily it was a good risk as we ended up at the entrance to the Acropolis at 8am on the dot. There were only maybe 15 people ahead of us in line. We bought a ticket which covers 7 sites across Athens.
There is much more to the Acropolis than the Parthenon but of course that is the building that everyone knows. It faces easy to West so the sun rises over the building in the morning. This was take at about 9am and actually this is not that many tourists compared to how it looked an hour later.
Rick Steve’s has a nice guide with an Acropolis tour that I enjoyed reading/speaking along too. He also has a free audio guide but I prefer reading over listening.
The entry way is not original but I still thought it was rather impressive. You enter up a ramp into the Propylaea, and would have passed many statues before seeing the Parthenon. The Acropolis was all about worship and processions that led up to this area where they would sacrifice animals and such to protect the city.
My favorite building is the Erectheion which was a temple to Athena and Poseidon. I particularly love the Porch of Caryatids which are currently reconstructed imitations as the real ones are in museums. Near that building is the supposed oldest olive tree that Athena planted when she won a contest to be protector of the city.
On the way up we did pass the Odeon which is completely reconstructed. The Odeon is “not” a theater because it was meant for musicals (and theater is only for straight plays). They performs concerts and such in this venue today.
By 10am we had seen everything and the place was getting so damn crowded. Tour groups were coming in with one guide and 50 people in tow in all different languages. It was overwhelming and neither of us enjoys crowds. We moved on to the ancient Agora before the sun really started beating down on us.
