Athens II

The ancient sites of Athens. What can one say but OMG!!! I hadn't planned on visiting any sites yesterday but as I passed the entrance to the ancient agora I thought: why not? 37 years ago, after a month or so spent on the tranquil islands, I came to Athens. I stayed in a flea bag hotel, being poor, and was so horrified by the noise and traffic of the capital that I left as soon as I could and headed for Thessaloniki and an island in the north, the heavenly Thassos. But not before a short visit to the Acropolis. I got there at opening time and left when the first tourist buses arrived. It made a profound impression on me then, and it did again today. Wisely, I arrived at 8:30, as the gates opened. It was not too crowded, but within an hour, when the first tour buses pulled up, it became intolerablely crowded. The phrase from my guide book kept going through my head: this is the most important ancient site in the Western World. And so it is. And the Parthenon is without doubt the most perfect building ever erected. It may be just a shell of its former glory but it is still an awesome experience to be in front of it. This is truly holy ground, this is the monument that incorporates the best of human aspiration, the striving for what is good and excellent. When I thought of all the great beings who had trod these stones, a host of Athenian minds who literally shaped the course of human intellectual development, I was in tears. This is a monument to us, to our humanity. It is no wonder that huge sums are being spent to preserve and reconstruct the complex of buildings that stand atop the Acropolis. After that I went to the newly opened Acropolis Museum. It is superbly done and gives you an overview of the history and magnificence of the ancient city. Since I had all day, I walked to the National Archaeological Museum. Two museums in one day is a bit much, but how could I leave Athens without having seen it? It houses the finest collections of Greek historical objects. And what was the first thing I saw when I walked in? Nothing other than the famed Funeral Mask of Agammemnon. Whilst Sir Arthur Evans was scratching away in the dirt at Knossos, Heinrich Schliemann (who had already excavated Troy) unearthed a series of graves in Mycenae. What he discovered was a world sensation. He thought he had found the funeral mask of the great king mentioned in the Iliad, but it turns out he was wrong. Nevertheless, what he found changed our notions of pre-Hellenic Greece forever. And there was the mask that I had seen in photographs, one of the supreme treasures of the ancient world, staring me right in the face. There were many other renowned statues and objects and I was awed by each one, as tired as I was. Playing tourist is hard work. I had walked miles in the hot sun and hadn't eaten hardly a thing all day. As I walked back to my hotel along Leoforas Alexandros I came upon a wonderful restaurant, the answer to my culinary prayers. A half liter of Greek red later I was feeling no pain.