Today we docked bright and early in Piraeus, the port for
Athens. As soon as the ship was
cleared we were off for our tour.
The first stop was the Acropolis ( high city) which dominates downtown
Athens. No buildings in the
surrounding area can be more than 9 stories so that the Acropolis with the
Parthenon and other temples perched on top can be seen from everywhere and so
that the view of the sea is unobstructed.
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| The Parthenon |
Our guide Maria led us to the summit with frequent stops in
shady spots which gave us a chance to catch our breath and get information
about the place. The myth is that
the Goddess Athena and the God Poseidon competed for the right to have the city
named for them. Poseidon gave the
people a fountain as a gift. The
locals were unimpressed. Athena
presented them with an olive tree which they really liked so the city was named
for her.
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| A view from the Acropolis |
The Parthenon, which occupies the top of the Acropolis, is
dedicated to Athena. Some things
that make the complex in this place special are that it was built by free
people (60,000 of them) who were paid one drachma per day and it took only 42
years to complete. Another thing
we found interesting is that the columns of the Parthenon were constructed to
lean in to compensate for the angle of the hill on which they are
constructed. If the columns were
extended upward they would in fact form a massive pyramid.
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1 comment:
I wonder how large that pyramid would be....
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