Today we arrive at the Port of Pireaus in Athens,
Greece. Throughout history, Athens has
been one of the most important and influential cities in the western
world. The peak of civilization occurred
during the 70-yeat Golden Age in the fifth century BC. It was during this period that the great
strives were made in architecture, literature, math, science, philosophy and
medicine. History gave witness to some
of the most celebrated men of our time including Sophocles, Euripides,
Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.
I am excited to be setting foot here for the first time.
The port is full of cruise ships, the most we’ve
encountered. Pireaus consists of five natural
harbours each with their own port: oil tankers; cruise ships; commercial
vessels; yachts; fishing boats. Located
7 miles from the city centre, Pireaus has been Athen’s port since the early 5th
century BC. It is a lovely port, leafy,
surrounded by mid height (around 6 stories) apartments overlooking one of the
natural harbours full of yachts. As our
bus wends its way round the streets I admire the view and think this is just
how I imagined Greece to be. The beach
is already crowded with swimmers and it’s only 8.30am. We pass the ‘slum’ area, the fishing port,
which is the oldest part of Athens. It looks
pretty good now and is inhabited by poor, low economic immigrant
labourers. The buildings are made of
concrete as cement is a natural mineral found here.
As we head into the city of Athens we pass the 2004 Olympic
stadiums and hear snippets of history such as how Socrates walked 21kms daily
from Pireaus to Athens to teach his philosophy students. Now that’s dedication! Athens grew to a city of historic importance
around the 8th century BC when it became the artistic centre of
Greece. It continued to flourish and
reached its zenith in the 5th century BC. This period was known as the Golden Age of
classical Greek culture and produced some of the most influential historical
figures of the Western world. Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides wrote tragic masterpieces while Aristophanes satirized
contemporary ideals with his comedies.
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle debated the fundamental questions of
knowledge and meaning, and early historians such as Herodotus challenged the
assumption that gods, not human beings, governed history. Hippocrates developed the science of
medicine, and classical architecture and sculpture reached new heights with the
construction of the Acropolis and Parthenon.
The end of the Golden Age began with the Peloponnesian War
(431-404 BC) between Athens and Sparta.
Athens continued to be a notable cultural centre until the 2nd
century when the Roman Empire took control of Greece. The city remained the centre of Greek
education until the fall of Rome to the Byzantine Empire in 476 AD. Emporer Justinian closed Plato’s Academy in
Athens and the dark ages (Medieval Era) prevailed for the next 500 years.
Athens experienced a pseudo-renaissance around the 12th
and 13th centuries but then fell under Turkish rule for the next
four centuries. The Greek War of
Independence (1821-1829) brought the city out of cultural hibernation and in
1834 Athens was proclaimed the capital of the new, independent Greece.
Athens today is a bustling modern city with overcrowded
streets, traffic jams, pollution, and characterless modern cement
building. Our bus journey takes us along
one long road completely full of car shops!
The roads are darker asphalt here, more like NZ than I’ve seen in the
other countries. Greece is no longer
called Greece in the European Union, and don’t refer to them as Greeks! They are now known as Hallas and that is what
features on their passports. In March
1979 Greece’s entrance to the EU was signed.
I bet there are mixed feelings about that now in light of the current
financial crisis.
Our first stop is the Acropolis, the number one must see
attraction. We follow our tour guide up
the winding path towards the top of the hill where the magnificent ruins sit,
lording it over the surrounding countryside.
It is hot today and we are thankful for the many trees lining the
walkway. We stop while she buys our
tickets then set off through the gate and into the site itself, climbing many
large marble steps to reach the top.
We view the magnificent stadium which is still used for
occasional concerts and marvel at the majestic setting.
Next we head on up to the awe-inspiring Parthenon. Our guide spends too much time telling us the history behind it as we wilt, but anyone can see the magnificence of the construction, much of it undergoing restoration which must be a full time job. The goddess Athena was one lucky woman!
We wander around in the heat (well into the 30s) and take in
the spectacular view of Greece. From
here it is easy to see where the two cities of Athens and Pireaus join to make
one huge city of over 4 million people.
That’s all of New Zealand in one city!
As I’d chosen the ‘panoramic’ tour the rest of our trip is
spent viewing various monuments, buildings and ruins from the comfort of our
bus after the now customary hijacking to a small gift shop offering
refreshments & toilets while the guide looks on and we inject much needed
cash into the Greek economy.
We stop briefly at the Olympic Stadium for photos. This open air stadium was built in 1896 for
the first modern Olympics. It is a
rectangular stadium, unlike the oval ones of today, as the runners went from
side to side rather than round the track as is current. The stadium now seats 60,000 but not that
many originally. It is the only marble
stadium in the world. The guide
continually mentioned the 2004 Olympics throughout the tour until it became
monotonous.
Everywhere you looked was another breathtaking building or
ruin such as Hadrian's Gate. Sadly, all this beauty has a dark
side and the city and port were heavily tagged with graffiti. Couple this with the protests and placards
outside some banks and the heavily armed police with assault rifles at the
Pireaus Police Station and you have an Ancient city with modern day issues.
Today was a half day tour so we’re back on board in time for
lunch so I try the Windjammer Café. Once
again I’m blown away by the food on offer and the vast quantities of it. I sit and admire the view and reflect on
another educating day. I have time to
catch a movie and relax outside by the pool before getting ready for
dinner. Casual tonight so that’s easy.
Tonight’s show is a juggling duo then I head to watch the
ballroom dancing display, drink in hand.
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