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January 31, 2010
Athens, Greece -- Part 2
OK, so I know it's been WAAAY too long since I last posted. I wish I had a good excuse, but for some reason I just couldn't finish a post.
Nevertheless, I've still been making images and decided to finally catch up. To begin, I'll continue with the Greek post.
So, where did I leave off? Ahh yes, Julie and Mike finished their Mediterranean cruise and met us in Athens.
These soldiers are part of the Presidential Guard of the Hellenic Army. Here they are performing a changing of the guard at the Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Dress right, dress! Or, the Greek equivalent.
Carrying their M-1 carbines.
I saw this cutie in the crowd, do I had to make her image.
Sometimes it takes laying in the street about to be marched over to find an interesting angle.
This is Hadrian's Arch, juxtaposed with the modern Athens through it.
The other side.
Temple of Hephaestus - Thission. Hephaestus is the god of fire and metal. It's interesting that although this temple was begun before the Parthenon, but not finished until after.
Ahh, the Parthenon. A building that needs very little introduction.
The Porch of the Caryatids on the Erechteum. This sacred sight was built around the time of the The Peloponnesian War, just before 400 B.C.
Anna and I on the acropolis.
Julie and Mike at the same place.
The pediments are glaringly missing on the Parthenon. You may be aware of the controversy surrounding their removal in the early 19th century. Lord Elgin, the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire shipped them back to Britain and they are now on display in the British museum. In the new Acropolis museum, the pediments are explained and shown in detail. If the piece is missing, the museum indicates it's location. The visual impact was profound. Although we really enjoyed seeing the Elgin collection in London, it would have been nice to see them in Athens. But, we'll leave that decision to the courts.
Unfortunately, the Temple of Zeus is nearly completely destroyed. When constructed it held a gigantic statue of its namesake, considered by many as a wonder of the ancient world. Today, very little is left, but with a little imagination, one can still see the mighty god reposing in his temple.
We also stopped by the Theatre of Dionysus, god of wine and fertility (perhaps a contributing factor to Anna's pregnancy??). Although it's not in the best condition, the Greek government recently announced that a partial restoration would commence shortly. Also, most of what is visible is from the time of Roman emperor Nero when gladiator contests were hosted here.
In fact, Julie and Mike were so excited about the gladiators, they could almost see them!
Yet another view back to the Parthenon. A fact we learned from our good friends Dan and Rachael is that Nashville has an exact replica of this building. When we visited Dan and Rachael in Nashville, they drove us to it. and to our surprise ... there it was, right in the middle of the Country Music Capital of the World, (almost) just as the ancient Greeks built it.
We also enjoyed the food, wine and dancing of the culture.
The Five Star Metaxa was also tasty. It's a Greek type of brandy.
Night on the acropolis.
The subway was safe, efficient and fast to take us back to our hotel.
It was a great time and best of all a rare opportunity to hang out with Julie and Mike. We loved the opportunity to tour one of the most historic sights in the world with my sister and brother.
Until the next adventure... (this time I promise to publish faster!)
--Jim
Posted by jim at January 31, 2010 05:24 PM