So our second day here in Athens. We went to the Acropolis today. It was amazing! I remember back when I was younger I wanted to be an archaeologist, why did I ever stop wanting that? I have no idea. The Parthenon was really something to see up close. I didn't realize how huge is was, and I cannot imagine people back in the 5th century B.C. building that with no machines or other equipment needed to build large buildings today. Irina (our tour guide, who I love by the way) told us that one of the mountains that they got the marble from for the Parthenon and the other temples surrounding it was over 17 KM away. I don't know how long a KM is exactly, but I know it's long and to excavate, sculpt, transport, and build these monuments was nothing short of a miracle. I would give anything to go back in time and see these buildings back in their prime with the full Athina (the Goddess Athens is dedicated to) statue, pediments, and everything. On the way up to the top of the Acropolis we got to see the different ampitheaters that the Grecians and Romans used to put on plays back in the Ancient times. While the Greek theater was partially ruined, the Roman theater was in really good condition and was absolutely spectacular. Irina told us they even used to fill up one of the theaters with water and have mock ship battles, that is way cooler than anything you can see today! I have included a couple pictures from the Acropolis. Pictures do not do it justice to the scale of these buildings. After the Acropolis we went to the Acropolis Museum. When they were digging to build the foundation for the museum, they found an ancient Grecian neighborhood under the Earth. Instead of destroying it and building the museum anyway, they decided to build the museum on top of the neighborhood and put glass in the floor of the museum so that at different parts you could look down and see the artifacts. That was really cool! The museum was very modern and was full of really neat statues and monuments from the Acropolis. Some of them were just in pieces because of two explosions (the Persians hid their gunpowder in these monuments after they took over Greece) that tore apart the Parthenon and surrounding structures. We also talked about how some of the Parthenon marbles (pieces of the stoa that surrounded the original Parthenon) are in the British museum because Lord Elgin in the 19th century tore down some of the marbles and took them to his home country of England. When Irina talked about it, there was visible anger on her face. It makes me sad that the British museum refuses to give back the Greek community what is rightfully theirs. Barnes even said that at one point the British offered the museum in Athens the marbles for 6 months if they would relinquish their rights to the marbles forever. That is just a plain slap in the face. In an attempt to show the British what they have done is wrong, the museum has placed an atrium on top of the museum that aligns perfectly with the Parthenon that showcases the marbles that they currently have and leaves an obvious empty space for the ones that they hope to have back some day. I thought that was really clever of them, and I hope one day they get their monuments back.
On a much lighter note, after the Acropolis we went to dinner. The food was great as usual. I had calamari and octopus for the first time in my life....I loved it! The octopus was even almost raw and I still liked it. The food here is so fresh, and I haven't really tried anything that I haven't liked yet. Oh, and the wine. Oh my gosh, I have drank more wine in one night then I have in my whole life combined. I am definitely not a wine person, but I have a feeling that I am going to have to grow to like it by the end of this trip. Then we all went out for a drink after dinner, Barnes went with us (so weird, but extremely cool drinking with your professor) and we had a great time. Now that I have written a small novel, hope everyone at home is well...talk to you guys soon! :)
Oh and by the way, the only Greek mythology I know of is Hercules and I learned that from a Disney movie (I mean really what do I not learn from a Disney movie?), so I feel like everthing here reminds me of Hercules. We saw the temple of Zeus today from afar. It is completely destroyed and I died a little inside when I realized there would be no talking Zeus or Pegasus to see while here. That is all.
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