All about Athens

Athens is named after the goddess Athena. It is one of the oldest cities in the world with a recorded history of at least 3,000 years. Athena became the patron goddess of the city after a competition with Poseidon. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and the Athenians would choose whichever gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprung up; the water was salty and not very useful, whereas Athena offered them an olive tree. The Athenians (or their king, Cecrops) accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food. Another version of the myth says that Poseidon gave horses to Athens.

There are few interesting places in Athens that one must see when visiting Athens. I must say that 3 days are the most day you should spend in Athens, more than that is not advisable.

The Parthenon, Acropolis Hill

The Acropolis hill, so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens, is the most important site of the city. During Perikles' Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground. The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either as a cult place or as a residential area or both. The inscriptions on the numerous and precious offerings to the sanctuary of Athena (marble korai, bronze and clay statuettes and vases) indicate that the cult of the city's patron goddess was established as early as the Archaic period (650-480 B.C.).

The Erechtheum, or Erechtheion, is located on the north side of the Acropolis, notable for a design that is both elegant and unusual. The temple as seen today was built between 421 BCE and 407 BCE. It derived its name from a shrine dedicated to the legendary Greek hero Erichthonius. Some have suggested that it may have been built in honour of the legendary king Erechtheus, who is said to have been buried nearby.

The Erechtheum was associated with some of the most ancient and holy relics of the Athenians. The Palladium, which was a xoanon (defined as a wooden effigy fallen from heaven - not man-made) of Athena Polias (Protectress of the City), the tomb of Cecrops and the tomb of Erechtheus. The marks of Poseidon's trident and the salt water well (the "salt sea") that resulted from Poseidon's strike, the sacred olive tree planted by Athena in her successful rivalry with Poseidon for the city, and the precincts of Herse, Pandrosus and Aglaurus (the three daughters of Cecrops) where Kekrops'grave and Athena's olive tree were located and of the tribal heroes Pandion and Boutes.

The temple itself was dedicated to Athena and Poseidon Erechtheus. Within the foundations lived the sacred snake of the temple, which represented the spirit of Cecrops and whose well-being was thought essential for the safety of the city. The snake was fed honey-cakes by Canephorae, the priestesses of Athena Polias, by custom the women of the ancient family of the Eteoboutadae. The snake's occasional refusal to eat the cakes was thought a disastrous omen.

The need to preserve multiple adjacent sacred precincts likely explains the complex design. The main structure consists of up to four compartments, the largest being the east cella, with an Ionic portico on its east end. Other current thinking would have the entire interior at the lower level and the East porch used for access to the great altar of Athena Polias via a balcony and stair and also as a public viewing platform.

On the north side, there is another large porch with columns, and on the south, the famous "porch of the maidens", with six draped female figures (caryatids - also spelt Karyatid, is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head.) as supporting columns. One of the caryatids was removed by Lord Elgin in order to decorate his Scottish mansion, and was later sold to the British Museum (along with the pedimental and frieze sculpture taken from the Parthenon). Athenian legend had it that at night the remaining five Caryatids could be heard wailing for their lost sister. Nowadays the five original Caryatids are displayed in helium-filled glass cases in the Acropolis Museum and are replaced by exact replicas.

Temple of Poseidon

In Greek mythology, Poseidon (was the god of the sea, as well as of horses and, as "Earth-Shaker", of earthquakes. The Poseidon Temple is the main attraction here in Sounion. When we arrived there, we passed through a gift shop and a decent-looking restaurant and up a small hill where Poseidon still reigns, overlooking the sea. The ruins of another temple to Athena, a mere goddess of wisdom after whom Athens itself is named, are usually neglected or pointed out in an instant as a group treks up to see the main attraction.

And attraction he is.

The building was never completed, though, as both the temple and the offerings were destroyed by the Persians in 480 B.C

Though his famous statue is long gone, safely imprisoned at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, great Poseidon needs no bronze props to make his presence felt. The Greeks have always watched the sea, for the return of loved ones, for the safe delivery of goods, for news of war. Maybe that's why the Temple of Poseidon, with its magnificent view of the Aegean, seems to still fulfill the role of sea watcher from the high promontory. (Or maybe it's just the combined eye power of several hundred visitors, many local Greeks included, intent on watching the blazingly beautiful sunset). In ancient times, the promontory there was used to sight ships approaching Athens well before they would arrive

Piraeus is a city in the south of Athens. It is the capital of the Piraeus Prefecture. It was the port of the ancient city of Athens, and was chosen to serve as the modern port when Athens was re-founded in 1834. Piraeus remains a major shipping and industrial centre, and is the terminus for Line 1 (the "green line"), the electric train service now incorporated into the Athens Metro.

Lykavittos Hill

Mount Lykavittos is a Cretaceous limestone hill in Athens. At 277 meters above sea level, the hill is the highest point in the city that surrounds it. Pine trees cover its base, and at its peak are the 19th century Chapel of St. George, a theatre, and a restaurant.

Enjoying the view

Views from top of Lykavittos Hill

Lykavittos appears in various legends. Popular stories say that it was once the refuge of wolves, possibly the origin of its name (which means "the one (the hill) that is walked by wolves"). Mythologically, Lykavittos is credited to Athena, who created it when she dropped a mountain she had been carrying from Pallene for the construction of the Acropolis after the box holding Erichthonius was opened.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

The construction of Temple of Olympian Zeus began in the 6th century BC, but it was not completed until the reign of the Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD. Hadrian dedicated the temple to Zeus (known to the Romans as Jupiter), the king of the gods. He erected a giant gold and ivory statue of Zeus in the cella, and placed an equally large one of himself next to it. Nothing remains of these or anything else from the interior of the temple. It is not known when the building was destroyed but, like many large buildings in Greece, it was probably brought down by an earthquake during the mediaeval period, and the bulk of its ruins taken away for building materials.

The Panathinaiko Stadium

The Panathinaiko Stadium (also known as the Kallimarmaro, i.e. the "beautifully marbled") is the only major stadium in the world built fully of white marble (from Mount Penteli. In ancient times it was used to host the athletic portion of the Panathenaic Games in honour of the Goddess Athena. During classical times the stadium had wooden seating. It was remade in marble by the archon Lycurgus in 329 BC and was enlarged and renovated by Herod Atticus in 140 AD, to a capacity of 50,000. The remnants of the ancient structure were excavated in 1870. It was fully rebuilt in 1895 in order to host the first modern Olympic Games, with funding provided by the magnate George Averoff (whose marble statue now stands at the entrance) and on designs by architects Anastasios Metaxas and Ernst Ziller. The stadium was built long before dimensions for athletics venues were standardized and its track and layout follow the ancient hairpin-like model. It can seat about 80,000 spectators.

Corinth Canal

The canal is 6.3 km in length and was built between 1881 and 1893. It was planned by the Hungarian architects István Türr and Béla Gerster, who had also been involved with early surveys for the Panama Canal. Its construction was started by a French company, which ceased work after only the two ends had been dug, due to financial difficulties. A Greek company took over, the main contractor being Antonis Matsas, and continued (and completed) the project, which is considered a great technical achievement for its time. It saves the 400 km long journey around the Peloponnesus for smaller ships, but since it is only 21 m wide, it is too narrow for modern ocean freighters. The canal is nowadays mostly used by tourist ships; 11,000 ships per year travel through the waterway. The low water depth of the canal is 8 meters.

Abg Guard yg control macho

Syntagma Square is located in central Athens. The Square was named after the Constitution which King Otto was forced to grant the people after a popular and military uprising. The eastern side of the square is higher than the western and is dominated by a set of marble steps that lead to Amalias Avenue. In the center of the square there is a large water fountain which hosts the occasional Syntagma pigeons along with the occasional heat-tormented Athenian. Every hour, the Changing of the Guard ceremony, performed by the Presidential Guard is conducted in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Sumber: Wikipedia