A Full Day at the Acropolis/Agora

1-23-08
Though exhausted, I am writing this now so that I will remember our busy day better since it's still remotely fresh on my mind. We left at 8 a.m. to go to the Acropolis for our tour with our guide, Catharina. A fresh, perky young woman, Catharina gave us some background history on the way into town. Our first stop was at the Greek President's mansion, which is right across from the prime minister's mansion-- so we killed two birds with one stone. There was the national guard in front of the mansion, marching-- stone-faced. Though we all snapped shots of them, they remained undeterred. One of the guards stands in front of the gate-- many people got their picture with him, but he just stood there like a statue. That takes talent, considering I can't go 5 minutes without bursting into laughter. Poor guy-- I wonder what he's like outside of the job.

From there, we went through the Propylaia, which is the entrance-way to all the amazing structures. Walking through the huge Doric columns, I couldn't help but feel small and insignificant against its marble massiveness. When we emerged from the Propylaia, our eyes met the Parthenon. Even though steel restoration was around, it was still an impressive sight. The tour guide explained to us that it would have been a colorful building with statues all around back in its day. I tried to picture how it would have looked-- how powerful, how elegant. I mean, thousands of years later-- its a marvel-- I can't imagine seeing it in its day. It was thought to be built in 10 years, with 6 years for its decoration. The one thing that runs through my mind when I see all these buildings is just how much they have seen. Wars around them cause damage to their structure, the people that have looked at them through the years-- and here I am, in 2008, staring up at the same structure that so many before me have.

For some reason, one of my favorites is the Erechthion-- it is the only one we have seen that has women (the caryatids) as columns. Called the Porch of Maidens, it is unique to see a bunch of women holding up a building with their head as the capital and feet as the bottom of the structure. We also saw a neat odeon (or concert hall) built by Herodes Atticus in honor of his wife. There are still performances here presently-- famous artists like Norah Jones have played here.

I am leaving out so much-- we saw so much today!! We climbed up Mars Hill and looked around-- the view from it was spectacular. You could see all the structures we had just seen up close, mounted high up in the sky and see the town below. Dr. Griffith read the part in Acts where Paul talked to the people about their unknown God. Standing surrounded by temples dedicated to their false gods just put the verses in perspective for me. Could you imagine being surrounded by your history, beauty and works that took years to construct-- and have Paul basically tell you that it was all in vain? Being a Christian, I never really thought about why they would object to Paul's speech-- but now I get it. And I admire Paul for his bravery in standing up to a people stuck in their culture and tradition.

Even though there wasn't much to discern, the agora (or ancient gathering/market place) was still neat to see. We saw some of the ancient streets, one for the marble makers and the rest dedicated to other trades. We also saw the prison that Socrates was probably kept in til his death. In the museum we went to, we saw the poison jars that he probably drank during his execution. Once again, using my vivid imagination, I tried to see this place come alive. I saw where trials were held, government met and I tried to see it filled with people.

The museum was a collection of artifacts, most of them found in family burial grounds. They were often buried with pottery, jewelry, toys and other things that described them. I guess the neatest things I remember would have to be a child's potty chair (they thought of it before Fisher Price), the way they did jury duty and court (I'm a big Law and Order fan so I found this part fascinating..) and I think the theater masks of the time. Because they performed in front of large crowds and men played both parts, they put on masks with exaggerated facial expressions to depict different genders and emotions. They are pretty creepy-- maybe even a little more than my own personal clown wall adornment.

We saw so many other temples (Hephaistos-- who is the one who took an ax to Zeus' head to get grown Athena out) and so many other neat things, but you would be reading all day and night. Just know that overall, it was one of the most liberating, educational experiences I've ever had. When I went to the Louvre in Paris, I was impressed because I was "supposed" to be-- but this naturally and without force, touched me. Knowing that Paul looked up at the same Tower of Winds to see the time as I did (in the Roman forum) is just amazing to me. More about the Roman forum: they had a water clock that told the time of day based on where the water level was. I thought that was neat, along with a giant sundial on 8 sides of the tower. Not so significant, but thanks to common hygiene practices today, we don't have to take our own sponges around and then use a long bench of toilets. Thanks be to privacy and provided toilet paper. :-)

We also ate at our first Greek restaurant today-- it was pretty good. I had my first cheese pie-- I don't normally like different kinds of cheese in pie crust, but I tried it anyway. They topped off our meal with icecream, though, so it made it all worth it.

Love you guys. Thank you to all that have made this adventure possible. I know it was a financial (and emotional..haha) sacrifice, but I appreciate it!