Up the hill to the Acropolis

When in Athens, you must head up the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. Or is it the Pantheon? We continuously got ourselves in knots over which one was the Greek temple and which the Roman. At least, I got myself in knots....

Whichever one it was, we were checking it out today. We had our tickets booked online, however families of six don't always fit the standard definition of family in ticketing websites, so we arrived and explained we couldn't "buy" the two free under ten tickets online. The lady at the turnstile said "No problem. Go to the front of that line and she will give you two tickets for the young ones."

"That line" was a 50m queue of impatient tourists waiting to buy tickets. I sheepishly went to the front and, apologising to the gentleman that was next, asked if I could get two free tickets for our youngest. The process took longer than it should have, and I felt more and more eyes on me as we waited. Eventually however, we got ourselves inside.

We made our way up the southern slope, stopping occasionally to read about the various buildings and ruins on the slopes of the rock. The Theatre of Dionysus, the world's first temple, and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a theatre that still hosts performances today, 2000 years after it's first showing

By the time we reached the main platform of the Acropolis, we felt a little like sheep being herded through a stockyard. We reached the small Temple of Athena Nike and made our way through the imposing Propylaea, the entrance to the main platform of the rock. It was a little difficult to stop and admire the structure, but we did our best. The Parthenon appeared in front of us and we took it in as we walked past. While restoration and reconstruction works continue and have done for the past 40 years, it's not hard to imagine the building in its glory, a huge imposing structure casting its great shadow over the city.

We continued to check out the various temples, statues and sculptures. eventually, we had made our way around the space and started to head for the stairs. On our way down we encountered a Spartan. Fortunately Fred and Cam were on hand with their swords ready to defend us. At a cost of 5 euros....

After seeing the Acropolis in the flesh, we made our way to the Acropolis Museum, located just south of the hill. It's an extremely well presented museum with the majority of artefacts, recovered sculptures and frescos from the acropolis now housed there. Perhaps most impressive was the full reconstruction of the two pediments from the Parthenon. The pediments are the triangular groups of sculptures that sit over the eastern and western entrances to the temple. One depicts the birth of Athena who emerged fully grown from the mouth of her father, Zeus. The other depicts the battle between Athena and Poseidon for the affection of the people of Greece. Legend has it that Poseidon struck the ground on top of the Acropolis with his Trident and formed a spring for the people, however it produced salty sea water, which the people were none too pleased about. Athena's gift to the people was the first olive tree, from which all olive trees in Greece descend (and there's a lot). The people approved. They appointed Athena as their patron and named the city in her honour.

Culturally satisfied, we left the museum and walked home. The boys had a play and a kick at the park before we made our way to Geor. Olimidou, a tree-lined pedestrian strip near our apartment with a bustling cafe and restaurant scene. Dinner was again fantastic and nicely finished off with a few shots of raki to help the digestion as the locals will readily tell you.Read more