Arriving in Athens

After a little flight delay, we made it to Athens, the first stop on our journey. Our Airbnb apartment is on the pedestrian walkway around the Acropolis, which is very scenic and conveniently located!

Today’s highlight was an excellent walking tour entitled “Mythology, Philosophy and Democracy.” Our guide, Panos, walked us around around some of the less well-known (non-Acropolis) sights of Athens, while explaining the history of Athens, the advent of western philosophical thought and the birth of democracy.

Here are a few things we saw:

Hadrian's Library, created by Roman Emperor Hadrian in AD 132, was the second largest in the world at the time (after the library at Alexandria). When it was built it featured a 100-column facade. Now, just a fraction of the Corinthian capitals remain after it was destroyed by invaders 130 years later.

The Tower of the Winds, located in Athens' Roman Agora, is a 1st-century BC octagonal marble structure regarded as the world's oldest meteorological station. Built around 50 BC, it served both as wind indicator but also a clock, so it was the “Big Ben” of Athens and also the meteorological station of the city. The clock was solar but in cloudy days there was also a hydraulic mechanism that produced a sound every hour.

In the earliest days of Athenian democracy (508 B.C.), the citizenry (middle class and wealthy males, that is) would meet in the Agora to vote on laws that anyone could propose.

Our guide’s favorite law was that when policeman would come to a suspect’s house, they had to leave all their clothes at the door. That way it could be known that they didn’t plant any evidence or remove any belongings.

Sometime in the early 5th century the meeting place was moved to Pnyx Hill, which was where were ended our day at sunset, with views over the city and up to the Acropolis. It was a great start to our trip!Read more