A Morning in Athens

I started my morning at the Acropolis.  My options were limited for a brief Monday morning in the city, as a number of the main museums, including Tschumi's Acropolis Museum, are closed.   I was struck by the degree of construction, or restoration, at the site.  I couldn't remember if it was like this before.  My Michelin Greece guide is considerably dated but warns, "The steps are very slippery."  The Propylaia are actually the monumental gates to the Acropolis, which comprises a number of buildings:  the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and, of course, the Parthenon.

View from the Acropolis

I really enjoyed myself here and then made my way down through the ancient Agora, or marketplace.  I walked along the Panathenaic Way, which cuts through the Agora.   As I understand it, the Panathenaia was a festival honoring Athena that took place every year.  This included musical contests, sporting competitions and religious sacrifices (according to a YouTube video by Open University).  The Panathenaic Way was part of the route of the procession to the Acropolis.   Every four years, a slightly longer festival incorporating special games would be held.  The Michelin guide claims that the Parthenon frieze, the bulk of which are in the British Museum, depicts the Panathenaia.  However Wikipedia claims that this interpretation is problematic as a temple structure would then depict mortals and a (then-)contemporaneous event.  Wikipedia also claims that no description of the frieze survives from antiquity.

The Panathenaia and the Panathenaic Way, courtesy of Open University @ YouTube

After my walk through Agora, I happened upon the ruins of Hadrian's library.  Then I was off to Gagosian for my last stamp.