Acropolis and Athens, Greece

 Acropolis of Athens

The Acropolis (the word acropolis in Greek literally means "city on the extremity") is located on a 7.4 acre flat-topped rock above the city of Athens. Whereas there are several acropolis locations throughout Europe, the one at Athens is called The Acropolis.

 The entryway is a series of steps to the top. Ascending, the prominent sight is the Temple of Athena Nike, built between 427 and 424 B.C. Nike means victory in Greek, and the citizens worshiped Athena in hopes of winning against the Spartans.

 

The people of ancient Athens would take shelter in The Acropolis during attacks as the sheer walls helped to protect the site. 

Immediately on the left of the Temple of Athena Nike was the  Propylaea, or gateway. The stairs led into the gate-house at the entrance of tThe Acropolis. A bit of trivia, the Brandenburg Gate of Berlin and the Propylaea in Munich are specially copied from the central portion of the Propylaea.

Just before entering Acropolis through the Propylaea, I (and a lot of other people) glanced to the right and took this picture of the Temple of Hephaestus. The temple was dedicated to the God of the forge and was set among foundries and metalworking shops of ancient Athens. It is the best preserved of all of the Doric Temples in Greece and still has it's roof intact. 

 Erechtheum

 The Erechtheum was begun about 420 B.C. and was dedicated to several of the Gods.

The entrance, facing east, is lined with six Ionic columns and was dedicated to Athena Polias. The western part served the cult of the archaic king Poseidon and housed the altars of Hephaestus (remember him from the Temple of Hephaestus?).

The southwest porch is supported by the female figures or Caraytids. These figures are second in photographic popularity after the Parthenon.

Temple of Zeus as seen from the Acropolis, dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. The temple is almost in the center of Athens and still a big tourist attraction. Far upper left of the picture is the 2004 Olympic stadium which will be featured later in our story.

Also down the slope: Theater of Dionysus,

The Theater of Dionysus is today a major open-air theater and one of the earliest preserved in Athens. It was used for festivals in honor of the god Dionysus.  

   On a near-by hill:  The Philopappos Monument.

The monument is dedicated to Julius Philopappos, a prince from the Kingdom of Commagene. It is located on Mouseion Hill just southwest of the Acropolis.

 Parthenon

The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece and of ancient democracy and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments.

The Parthenon is a temple also dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron.

^{Christine admired the structure from every angle so long that I left to make sure the bus did not leave without her. Christine is interested all European culture but has a special affinity to the Parthenon, dedicated to Athena. Christine, a former member of the Women's Army Corps, wore the insignia of Athena. Athena was selected to symbolize the WAC's as she was the goddess of handicrafts, wise in industries of peace and arts of war, also the goddess of storms and battle, who led through victory to peace and prosperity. Accordingly, the head of Pallas Athene, together with the traditional US, was selected for lapel insignia, cut out for officers and on disc for enlisted women.}

 ^{Young Lt. Christine. Note the head of Pallas Athene on Christine's lapel. Thus, she had a special interest in the Parthenon.}

^{While off the subject, I thought I would throw in the obligatory "I was there" tourist photo.}

^{Most have noticed the lack of roof, damage to the monument, and cranes for reconstruction.  In 1687 during the struggle between the Venetians and Ottoman Turks, the Parthenon was used as a gunpowder magazine! A Venetian mortar, fired from the Hill of Philosopapus (remember nearby hill with the shrine?), blew the magazine up and the building was partly destroyed.} 

 ^{Another good story concerns the east pediment (left). The pediment narrated the birth of Athena from the head of her father Zeus. A headache prompted Zeus to summon Hephaestus (the god of fire and the forge whose temple we saw earlier). Zeus ordered Hephaestus to strike him with his forging hammer and when he did, Zeus's head split open and out popped the goddess Athena in full armor. The sculptural arrangement depicts the moment of Athena's birth. Remember this the next time you play trivia.}

After one last look, it was time to head back to the tour bus for the rest of the tour.

^{2004 Olympic Stadium}

This was also the site for the Athens 1896 games.

 ^{Remember the shot of the Olympic Stadium from Acropolis? This is a reverse photo showing the Parthenon.} 

^{The Syntagma meaning Constitution in Greek is the square in front of the Parliament (formerly the King's Palace). It is considered the main square of Athens. The two soldiers in the far front are guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier. On the far right, the military were preparing for a ceremony.}

^{Athens Academy
The Academy of Athens (1926) is the highest research establishment in the country and is operated by the Ministry of Education.}

 

Tireless and in good humor after one of her "16 favorite" tours. 

 Back to our temporary home.

Guess what day we toured the Acropolis?

<sup>We leave Greece and sail toward Messina, Italy.

,</sup> 

Ephesus, Part 3

Celsus Library

The Celsus library was really built as a mausoleum for Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemananus. Polemananus was a consul in Rome and later governor of the Asian province, the capital of which was Ephesus. When he died, in 114 A.D., his son built the library to entomb Celsus beneath the library.
The library had shelves for 12,000 scrolls.

The structure is three stories.

Apeth Keasoy is one of four statues adorning the library. Apeth represents virtue. The other three reprsent wisdom (Sophia), knowledge (Episteme), and intelligence (Ennoia). 

What lady? Oh, the blonde? I didn't notice her at first, but since she seems to be posing for me, let's let her represent beauty (Venus). 

To the right of the library is the Gate of Augustus. And as one can guess, it is dedicated to the honor of Emperor Augustus. It is sometimes called the Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates and leads into a large commerical agora where food and craftwork items were sold.

Also in the vicinity of the library was--just what it looks like.

Latriana
The latrina are the public toilets of Ephesus. Really public as there are no partitions between the seats. In the middle was a square pool and the floor was paved with mosaics, hence the wooden flooring for tourists.

If one lets his imagination flow, one can see the Ephesians stopping by the library, obtaining their favorite scroll, and going to the latrina.

But what is not a joke: the wealthy patrons had their servants sit on the seat, first to warm it up, and then the occupant could read in comfort.

From the library was a long stroll to the grand theater.

Side streets go to other parts of the city.

As I looked down the street, I could tell why they roped it off. Down at the far end was a shade. As mentioned in the first article, no shades. So plan your trip accordingly, July was not the ideal time. (Editor's note: I could go back again whether it was July or not.)

Approaching the theater.
The theater was built on the slopes of Mount Panayir. Construction began in the reign of Emperor Claudius and completed in the reigh of Emperor Trajan (98-117 A.D.).

Sign at the theater entrance with Latin writting. Since most people can't read Latin, I will take the liberty to translate: "Patrons with tickets enter the portal on the right. Patrons without tickets, please que at the ticket window to the left".

On a serious note, as mentioned in part 1, Paul had adverse encounters with the silversmiths and others who created statuettes of Artemis (Diana in Latin) and her temple and sold them to the followers of the goddess. As their business was in danger due to the new religion they led a group against Saint Paul declaring that Artemis was their goddess and that they should keep worshipping her. Saint Paul was brought in the Great Theatre of Ephesus where he was judged and found guilty because he did not respect Artemis of the Ephesians, so he was imprisoned in Ephesus.
The theater had a greater significance to us than "just" a marvelous structure.

The theater is still used today for seating the public during the performances in the auditorium. The original theater could seat about 24,000, but most of the seats had been removed and used in the constuction of later buildings.

On the back wall of the theater is the Hellenistic Fountain House dating back to the Hellenistic period (3rd-1st century B.C.) An inscription on one of the front columns (for real) states that the water collected here was brought in from the Marnas River.

Christine samples the hand washing fountain. Think it was just her imagination and play acting?

Then how did she give this cat some water to drink?

The street leading back to the bus staging area. As usual, tourists taking one more shot for their facebook page. But note the people on the far left. They have found the only shade in Ephesus!!

Home sweet home. Holland America Noordam.

Christine relaxing after an eventful day, and before boarding ship. Note she still has her green tag on her left shoulder. That is not only to identify which group tour a person belongs to, but also helps vendors and pickpockers to easily identify a tourist.

And then we sail off on the beautiful and peaceful Mediterrian Sea to Athens.


Ephesus, Turkey Part 2

The Gate of Hercules

Ephesus

The Gate of Hercules is located at the beginning of Curetes Street. It is decorated with reliefs of Hercules and was built during the 4th Century A.D. Note that the gate narrowed the street and blocked wagons and other traffic from entering Curetes Street.

 Curetes Street

During the Roman Empire, the priests dealing with both religious and state affairs were called curetes. The names of the curetes were inscribed on  the bases of the columns found at the beginning of the street, hence the Curetes Street.

 Much of Curetes Street had elegant marble mosiacs, therefore tourists (and the previously mentioned blocked wagons) were prevented from walking on the beautiful designs.

 Cats are the exception. They do as they please.

And what is Christine admiring?

 Another great mosiac on the street.

 Trajan Fountain

The fountain was erected between 102 and 104 A.D. and was dedicated to the Emperor Trajan.

Temple of Hadrian

Built between 117 and 138 A.D., the Temple of Hadrian is one of the more attractive edifices on the Curetes Street.

 

 Over the two colums in the middle, the bust of Tyche, the goddess of the city, is depicted in the center of the arch. (Unfortunately, it is too fuzzy to see).

 On the second semi-circular frontal over the door, the figure of a maiden resembling Medusa is depicted among flowers and acanthus leaves. 

Terrace House

Part of a residential unit divided into six parcels located on Curetes Street.

Temple of Domitian

The temple was dedicated to Emperor Domitian (82-96). Not much is left of the temple now. In its day, it consisted of thirteen columns at the long sides and eight columns at the short sides. The ground floor of the building contained warehouses and shops.

We are nearing the Celsus library and the grand stadium. Of course I took a lot of pictures as these were two of the highlights of the tour.

Therefore, lest this get too long and everyone else and I join this cat, we will have to start another series on the epic Ephesus tour.