Today we visited the Acropolis of Athens where the famous Parthenon is located along with other temples. Here is a view of the acropolis from our hotel. It is above the building on the hill near the middle of the photo. In the night it is lit up beautifully and is a sight to see from our hotel.
Here is the Parthenon that was originally used as a temple to the goddess of wisdom, Athena. It once held a massive statue of the patron deity to protect and look over the city of Athens (which was named after her). The scaffolding along the right side of the Parthenon are used by archaeologists to perform reconstruction to the Parthenon. They fill in gaps of the old marble with new marble cut from the same mountain. The new marble is considerably whiter than the old due to it's lack of weathering, but in time the old and new should match. Eventually, Athens' goal is to reconstruct the entire Parthenon.
Story has it that when the first Athenians settled and began constructing their city, both Athena and Poseidon fought each other to become the city's patron deity. The people of Athens told the gods that whoever gave them the best gift would be dubbed the patron. (Truth is, they were scared of them both and didn't want to choose).
So Poseidon struck his trident on a rock and out sprung a spring that provided more than enough water for all the people of Athens. When it was Athena's turn, she struck her spear and created the very first olive tree which was a symbol of life, prosperity, and unity. The people of Athens were so pleased with the goddess's gift that they chose her to be the patron. Needless to say they were still afraid of Poseidon, so they dedicated a portion of the Parthenon to him as well.
Below is a picture of what is said to be the first olive tree next to the temple on top of the acropolis.
Here is a picture of the floor of the same temple (you can see the olive tree in the background) where the rocks below are said to hold three marks from Poseidon's trident. No traces of the spring were found but some Athenians say that during the quiet of the night they can hear the roaring waters of the stream underground.
After we visited the Athens Archaeological Museum of the Acropolis, we were able to see scaled statues of the friezes on both the west and east side of the Parthenon. (The frieze is what fills the triangular shape between the top of the columns and the roof of the front and back of a parthenon).
The first frieze (scaled figure is seen below) depicts the competition between Athena and Poseidon for the city of Athens. Keep in mind that on the real Parthenon, these statues reached over 10ft tall in the middle.
The second frieze expresses the birth of Athena. The myth says that one day Zeus had a terrible headache and ordered someone to hit him on the head with an axe to make it go away. When they did, out came Athena from the head of Zeus which is why she is the goddess of wisdom.
After the acropolis and museum, we were more than ready for lunch and headed to the old town center known as the Placa. There, we found great food and great shops. Many of us broke our banks, so to speak, with souvenirs and clothing. It was fun to walk around the city and experience the Athenian people in action.
-Jordin and Emily
It looks peaceful from far away but the closer we got the more tourists
we found. Below is a picture of the crowded entrance of the acropolis.
Here is the Parthenon that was originally used as a temple to the goddess of wisdom, Athena. It once held a massive statue of the patron deity to protect and look over the city of Athens (which was named after her). The scaffolding along the right side of the Parthenon are used by archaeologists to perform reconstruction to the Parthenon. They fill in gaps of the old marble with new marble cut from the same mountain. The new marble is considerably whiter than the old due to it's lack of weathering, but in time the old and new should match. Eventually, Athens' goal is to reconstruct the entire Parthenon.
Story has it that when the first Athenians settled and began constructing their city, both Athena and Poseidon fought each other to become the city's patron deity. The people of Athens told the gods that whoever gave them the best gift would be dubbed the patron. (Truth is, they were scared of them both and didn't want to choose).
So Poseidon struck his trident on a rock and out sprung a spring that provided more than enough water for all the people of Athens. When it was Athena's turn, she struck her spear and created the very first olive tree which was a symbol of life, prosperity, and unity. The people of Athens were so pleased with the goddess's gift that they chose her to be the patron. Needless to say they were still afraid of Poseidon, so they dedicated a portion of the Parthenon to him as well.
Below is a picture of what is said to be the first olive tree next to the temple on top of the acropolis.
Here is a picture of the floor of the same temple (you can see the olive tree in the background) where the rocks below are said to hold three marks from Poseidon's trident. No traces of the spring were found but some Athenians say that during the quiet of the night they can hear the roaring waters of the stream underground.
After we visited the Athens Archaeological Museum of the Acropolis, we were able to see scaled statues of the friezes on both the west and east side of the Parthenon. (The frieze is what fills the triangular shape between the top of the columns and the roof of the front and back of a parthenon).
The first frieze (scaled figure is seen below) depicts the competition between Athena and Poseidon for the city of Athens. Keep in mind that on the real Parthenon, these statues reached over 10ft tall in the middle.
The second frieze expresses the birth of Athena. The myth says that one day Zeus had a terrible headache and ordered someone to hit him on the head with an axe to make it go away. When they did, out came Athena from the head of Zeus which is why she is the goddess of wisdom.
After the acropolis and museum, we were more than ready for lunch and headed to the old town center known as the Placa. There, we found great food and great shops. Many of us broke our banks, so to speak, with souvenirs and clothing. It was fun to walk around the city and experience the Athenian people in action.
-Jordin and Emily
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