5/21/2023 0 Comments Colossus of rhodes ruinsAt the foot of the bridge was a well-preserved fort dating to the days of the Crusades. The route to the site of the first Olympics presented a constant contrast between the old and modern: A space-age cable-stay bridge carried us to Peloponnese, a peninsula on the other side of the canal at Corinth. Like many excavated sites, this was cordoned off. Above was a newer stadium, built by the Romans during their occupation and still remarkably intact. We passed the slab that served as a supporting wall and also a newspaper of the day, and on to a 2,500-year-old theater carved into the hillside. Still intact is the conical stone marking the mythological center of the Earth. The upward path brought us past the ruins of the temple of Apollo, dating back several hundred years B.C., and the excavated site of the Oracle, whose ambiguous incantations came at a price in sacrifices and donations. In Delphi, we were again following the footsteps of the ancients on the Sacred Way on the slopes of Mount Parnassos. Beyond there, the traffic thins out as the road meanders past olive plantations, along the shimmering Gulf of Corinth and gradually into the highlands. Marathon Plain, northeast of Athens, was the scene of the Athenians’ battle victory in 490 B.C. But there’s so much more outside the city, not only in terms of history but also natural beauty. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, file) Petros Giannakouris / APĪthens offers enough history to consume months or years of sightseeing, so these highlights are just a sample. **FILE** In this Mafile photo, tourist walks on Filopapos hill, in front of the ancient Parthenon on the ancient site of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. While only 15 of the original columns remain, their sheer size shows that the Zeus temple at one time was larger than the Parthenon, and the largest in Greece. Notable is the fully restored, colonnaded Stoa of Attalos, which features a fine museum. 161 but now restored and in use.įrom here, we followed the footsteps of Socrates through what was once the political center of Athens - the Agora. Below the walls is Theatre of Herod Atticus, dating to A.D. Nearby and also remarkably intact is the Erechtheion, famous for massive statues of women used as supporting pillars. I was struck by how much of the edifice is still intact, although restoration is ongoing. We clambered past the ruins of the formal entrance, the Propylaia, and stood before the remains of the Parthenon, where a huge statue of the goddess Athena once stood. We joined a crowd on the same stone pathway once traversed by throngs as part of an annual rite, known as the Panathenaic procession, to the site of the grandest of temples around 500 B.C. (Building-height restrictions of 24 stories ensure its view will not be obstructed.) The city spreads out below the Acropolis, which glows under lights by night for an awe-inspiring view from virtually anywhere in the city. Traveling with my family on an organized tour, we started in Athens, where a third of the Greek population lives and works.
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