This part is called "Things you think you should see in Greece." I wrote it in Greek (via Google Translate…of course!!) and am now considering writing this whole post in Greek because it looks much more mysterious and exciting that way! Αν μπορείς να το διαβάσεις αυτό, έχεις το χάρισμα της γλωσσολαλιάς.
So. The things you think you should see in Greece are: the Parthenon. And various other Parthenon-like structures. Perhaps, if you remember your History of Civ. I class (and you ought! Surely you ought!), you may faintly recognize the name "Porch of the Maidens" or even remember that the real name is "Porch of the Caryatids." Extra points if you remember that the building they're on is the Erechtheion. Those are the things you think you should see, and those are the things you should see! They feel supremely Greece-like and appropriate.
Sam said he had a teacher at BYU who used to sigh and tsk-tsk about the terrible job the Greeks do protecting their antiquities. It horrified him to see them letting people walk about on thousands-of-years-old structures and tossing Hadrianic Era artifacts into piles without so much as a commemorative plaque on them. I didn't share his teacher's dismay. I thought it was great to walk right up among these old stones and stand where people would have stood…even to walk up the smooth marble stairs polished by thousands of years of other feet. Perhaps if I knew more about ancient history…but alas, I do not. Porch of the Caryatids, Hadrian's Arch, and the Ancient Agora are about the sum of my remaining knowledge. Too bad I didn't take this trip after Sophomore Year. (Although, not to brag, I can still tell an Ionic from a Doric from a Corinthian column in my sleep!)
But first, before we get to the Parthenon, we must go to church. Church in Athens was a little way from the City Center. Maybe 10-12 stops on the Metro. So we walked from our apartment to the Blue Line Metro at Syntagma Station. On the way you pass the National Garden, which is lovely.
I wasn't expecting everything to still be so green in December!
Suddenly, there was Hadrian's Arch. I didn't expect it, but there it was! Just right at the edge of the garden.
The metro station looked pretty and Christmas-y.
From Nomismatokopio Station, where we got off, we walked about 15 minutes to the church. We went through a slightly sketchy trailer part with huge garbage piles by it…
…then down this nice orange-tree street…
…and then we were there!
It's always so good to be at church. You can tell it says "Church of Jesus Christ." Just because of the lettering, I guess? It was a nice building. Church was in both English and Greek, and most people there sounded like English was their first language! I don't think there are many members of the church in Greece. I'm guessing that like many places, there are more immigrants joining the church there than native Greeks. But it was cool to see the ward full of many nationalities and languages.
There were a few sets of missionaries there, and I was curious about the mission, so I looked it up and it's actually the Bulgaria-Greece Mission. But! In 2026 (this year!) they will be opening the Greece Athens Mission again. So maybe they are baptizing lots of people!
We rode back to Monastiraki Station, where there are some ancient ruins. (8th Century B.C. to Hadrianic Era.)
Monastiraki Square was one of the busier places we'd been, I guess because this is the main tourist area right by the Acropolis. There were shops and vendors all around the square.
You can see the Acropolis in the background.
I didn't know there were SO MANY ruins near the Acropolis! Hadrian's Library is there. And the Ancient Agora of Athens. Lots of columns, some standing and some lying on the ground in pieces like jigsaw puzzles. Walls. Pieces of walls. Arches. All of them looking equally ancient (but spanning thousands of years of history, in fact).
I loved this street lined with old olive trees.
As you walk up the hill there are lots of pretty views.
Also along the way is Mars Hill (or Areopagus Hill), where the Apostle Paul preached to the Athenians who worshipped "the Unknown God." ("Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.")
…with the crest of the Acropolis behind.
There is a beautiful forested area by Mars Hill. From there it's a short walk to the Acropolis entrance. Children under 18 get in free, and when the ticket guy heard Malachi had just had his birthday, he let him in free too: "As a birthday present!"
Inside the Acropolis Historic Site, you can see the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which is a cool stone amphitheater built in AD 121. It's been restored and is still used for concerts sometimes!
There's the Sea out there!
The Propylaea is a grand entrance hall leading to the rest of the Acropolis. Built in 437 BC. For some reason I couldn't stop looking at the smooth marble steps. They were so shiny and polished. Someone made them. Then people walked on them. Someone was walking on them when Jarom was writing in the Book of Mormon. Someone was walking on them when Jesus was in Jerusalem. The Apostle Paul probably walked on them. And now I was walking on them. Doesn't that seem amazing?
I liked the little plants growing out of the cracks in the walls too.
The Parthenon has scaffolding on the back side. And a crane inside it. I don't know what they're doing. Rebuilding the thing? Reinforcing what's already there? Putting up some of those jigsaw-puzzle columns that are lying around everywhere? Somehow, the modern elements didn't distract too much from the ancient feeling of the place. Those columns and pediments with their perfect proportions are just so recognizable. You can't forget what they are.
See what I mean about the uniformity of the buildings in Athens? They're all in the same…color family, or whatever you call it.
Such a cool city.
We thought we could probably find our apartment if we looked hard enough. After all, we could see this spot from our window. The building has quite a distinctive shape. Can you find it?
You can also see the gardens we walked by every day, and those columns are from the Temple of Zeus. The green forested hill near the middle of the picture is covering one side of the marble Panathenaic Stadium, site of the first modern Olympic Games.
Some of those unlabeled stones Sam's teacher would shudder to see
This is another temple to Athena (did I say the Parthenon is a temple to Athena? It is), built in 421 AD. I like the asymmetry of it. I also like how the downhill part is long and the uphill part is short.
Sacred Olive Tree
Malachi was in a bit of a salty mood at this point. He had warned us against reading one more historical plaque and we (Sam) kept doing it anyway. So at this moment Ky was holding forth about ancient monuments and how he didn't care if his descendants remembered him. We pointed out that the very fact of having descendants meant they would owe him something.
Ah! The Porch of the Maidens! I told you we'd get there.
Look at that coffered ceiling!
All right, say goodbye to the Parthenon.
Back through the Propylaea. You can see Mars Hill down below. (That rock with lots of people on it.)
There's a pretty walk through olive trees down the hill.
This is the front of that stadium. The Odeon of Herodes.
It's huge! That tiny yellow person is me.
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