Day 16: What Day is it, honestly? The Acropolis!!

Today was my most anticipated day of the entire trip. We got to see the ancient Acropolis in Athens. And as a huge Percy Jackson books nerd with an interest in Greek mythology, the Parthenon was on my bucket list of places I had to see in my life.

We got up extra early to beat the crowds today- we were thrilled about the 8 am departure from our hotel (note my sarcasm) and we were definitely all on time as per usual (still being sarcastic just fyi). Regardless of some people (Louis and Chapman) who held us up, we still managed to make our way toward the Acropolis before 8:30. Nike, our tour guide throughout Greece, made several stops along the way to tell us about the history of ancient Athens.

On the way the group took a small detour up on a cliff and got to see an incredible view of the entire city of modern Athens.

There was never a more informed electoral process than ancient Athens, the birthplace of democracy. As we approached the We saw the Pnyx, the hill on which every decision of the Athenian council was made by the Council of 500.

When we walked inside the Acropolis, you saw the spot where a statue of Athena once stood so tall that the Athenian navy could see the gold tip of her spear from the sea. Unfortunately it was destroyed in after it was carried to Constantinople.

Then as we traveled through the ancient sanctuary, we came across the sacred Olive tree- one of my personal favorite myths which explains how Athens got its name and patron god. Athena and Poseidon both wanted to be there patron god of the city that would become Athens. Zeus proposed a contest between the two where they both created a gift for the city, and the people would choose their favorite. Poseidon struck his trident into the ground and out sprung a saltwater fountain. Athena created the Olive tree that was planted next to the fountain. The people chose Athena. They adopted the name of Athens and the Olive tree came to symbolize peace and prosperity for the city.

The Greeks really stick to their stories too. In one of the temples there is a hole in the ground where the saltwater fountain sprung up, and a hole in the ceiling where Zeus' lightning bolt struck it down after Poseidon lost the contest. I thought that was very cool.

Then we finally made it to the Parthenon. I cannot express in words how breathtaking it is. The one upsetting thing for me was the construction going on. I feel like it took away from the glory of the temple.

We saw the Theater of Dionysus, the first theater and the birthplace of drama on a stage. The followers of the wine god were the first to begin to put one person on a stage in front of crowd to tell stories.

 

Then we went to the museum and spent some time discussing more in depth about Athenian culture and the history of the rise and fall of the city. The museum has a lot of art and preserved pieces from the temples, which add to the rich detail of the city.

After that we had another authentic Greek lunch near the museum (probably my least favorite meal of the trip), but it was still pretty good. We had free time after that to buy souvenirs and enjoy Athens before our final day of the trip.