Athens - Part II

After lunch I did a quick tour of the Roman Forum – an ancient Roman marketplace – and the Ancient Agora – the so called heart of public life in ancient Athens. The Ancient Agora was particularly interesting and the Temple of Hephaestus was in remarkable condition.

The Ancient Agora also offered very nice views of the Acropolis.

I then walked to Kerameikos, which included the pot makers’ quarter of ancient Athens (the English word “ceramic” is apparently related) and an ancient cemetery dating back to 3,000 BC. As I was running short on time before it closed for the day, I asked a local for directions to “care-A-MY-kos”. In response, I received a completely blank stare as if he had absolutely no idea what I was referring to. Fortunately, after about five minutes of inefficient dialog a light bulb went on for him and he finally said “oh…’care-AM-EE-kos’” It was clearly a “po-TAY-to” – “po-TAH-to” moment.

Kerameikos had a number of interesting sights and it was much less crowded than the other ancient areas. The most interesting sights included various cist graves and ancient buildings.









To conclude my tour of the ancient sites, I went to the Temple of Olympian Zeus (the remains of a massive temple dating back to the 6th century BC), Hadrian’s Library (literally an ancient library created by the Roman emperor Hadrian around 100 AD) and Hadrian’s Arch (a monumental gateway supposedly built to “celebrate” the arrival of Hadrian). They were all interesting to see, but there wasn’t a lot to them like the other sites.

















The temple of Olympian Zeus also offered a nice view of the Acropolis and the Parthenon.

I then headed to the Panathenaic Stadium, which is actually quite ancient as well – it dates back to nearly 600 BC (at least its initial form) and is now constructed entirely of white marble. It has played a role in five Olympic Games and is constructed in a horseshoe shape with one end completely open, thus allowing for some pictures.









Finally, I made the short walk to the Presidential Residence and happened upon an interesting scene due purely to opportunistic timing. Right as I was arriving the two guards in front (called Evzones, apparently) were beginning a ritualistic ceremony that can best be described as slow motion marching combined with high leg kicks. The uniforms were a trip as well – particularly the cogs with their giant black “pompons”. Here are some of the pictures.















For dinner I found a nice outdoor restaurant in the Plaka, which is the historical “old” neighborhood below the Acropolis. It’s an interesting area with narrow, pedestrian-only streets that are lined with small shops and restaurants. The weather had been quite hot during the day, but by evening it had cooled down and become much more comfortable.