Jeffrey and Kristin Lee on the Road: Athens, Greece (October 2018)

Athens is the capital and the largest city of Greece with its metropolitan population of 3.8 million out of Greece's total population of 10.8 million. It is one of the world's oldest cities, spanning over 3,400 years. It became the capital in 1834 when it gained the independence as the Hellenic Republic.

Classical Athens was a powerful city-state that emerged in conjunction with the seagoing development of the port of Piraeus, now the largest largest passenger port in Europe and the second largest in the world. It is considered the cradle of Western civilization based on a center for arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum. Its cultural and political impact was tremendous upon the European continent, and in particular the Romans.

In modern times, Athens is a large cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece,

Athens is still full of the heritage of its classical era, such as ancient monuments and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon. It is considered a key landmark of early Western civilization. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a smaller number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery.

Without a question, the Acropolis of Athens is the number one landmark, standing out on a hill overlooking the entire city in all directions. Acro means in the air and Polis is the city. So Acropolis means "City in the air." It houses several landmarks, including Parthenon, the architectural marble of the Classical Athens.

The night view of Acropolis from the hotel we stayed.

This is the Theater, called Odeon of Herodes Atticus, where every summer festival takes place, including famous opera singers such as three tenors. It was a historic place.

The famous Parthenon. It was built more than 2000 years ago in honor of Athena, the goddess of war. still undergoing construction. The details of the architecture were explained at the Acropolis Museum.

From Acropolis, you could see the excavation activities down the hill.

Another famous temple is Erechtheion. This temple was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon. Obviously, the Athenians wanted to have the protection from both of them. The original women columns of this building are exhibited at the Acropolis Museum.

The view of the City of Athens from Acropolis was panoramic.

We saw a glimpse of Athenians celebrating its "Freedom of Athens" from the Nazi rule. Apparently, the German President was supposed to attend to make a pledge to support the city.

Speaking of Nazi rule, I was surprised to learn that the Nazi Party is the third largest party in the Hellenic Parliament. 500,000 people have voted for them and we happened to see the office of the Nazi Party. Amazing to see the stupidity of some people!

Athens also has a plenty of modern-day landmarks, such as Hellenic Parliament and the so-called "Architectural Trilogy of Athens", consisting of the National Libray of Greece, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the Academy of Athens.

This is the Academy of Athens. Plato and Socrates are overlooking at the entrance, with the statues of Athena, the goddess of war, and Apollo, the god of light, standing to guard the Academy.

This is the University of Athens.

This is the National Library of Greece.

Athens is also home to several museums and cultural institutions, such as the National Archaeological Museum, the Acropolis Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Benaki Museum and the Byzantine and Christian Musuem. We visited only the Acropolis Museum.

Athens was the host city of the first modern day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later, it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics, making it one of only a handful of cities to have hosted the Olympics more than once.

Marathon is a small town in Greece. But, it has a historical significance based on the heavily outnumbered Athenian army's victory against the Persians in 490 BC. Without a more advanced technology or communication device, a soldier ran the entire distance to tell the victory to the Athenians who were anxiously waiting for the outcome of the battle. After the report, he died. To commemorate his spirit, the sport of marathon began when the modern day Olympics resumed in 1896. The distance was originally set at 40 km, a distance from Marathon to the Athens Olympic Stadium. Now the full course distance is 42 km, longer than 40 km, because the U.K. made the distance from the Buckingham Palace to the marathon stadium the standard for the modern-day marathon. Well... another example of imperialism. In 2004, a Japanese woman won the gold medal in women's marathon.

The city name of Athens came from Athena, the goddess of war. She was born of Zeus, bursting out of his head fully dressed for war. She won the contest with her uncle Poseidon, the god of ocean.

Democracy was born out of Athens. Athenians chose to make important decisions directly at the Acropolis. It was effective but its influence and effectiveness may have tarnished in the republic systems where indirect election systems are common.

Philosophy... Greece was the center place of the Western philosophy. There were philosophers prior to Socrates, but they flourished after Socrates, due partly to his philosophical martyrdom. Among the pre-Socrates philosophers was Pythagoras whom we know by a geometry theory that was named after him. Apparently he taught and pursued a harmonious living. Socrates had many students and Plato was among them. Plato himself amassed many followers one of whom was Aristotle.

Agora means market. There are two Agoras. One is Ancient Agora where all civic and commercial activities took place. The other is the Roman Agora, a Roman style market. There are a lot of ruins also, but we decided to skip them. The third photo below is Ancient Agora, while the first two are for Roman Agora.

Monastiraki Square is the most popular hang-out place for people, the tourists and the Athenians alike. Crowded with people, it gives people a sense of openness in the square and leads to Athens Flea Market and other merchants. Plaka is a neighborhood that looks like a small village full of street cafes and restaurants.

Athens Flea Market is famous for its merchants that range from antique stores to souvenir stores, from travel agencies to restaurants and bars. You can buy almost anything from here.

From the Monastiraki Square to the Syntagma Square, you need to go through a Pedestrian-only Street, called Ermou. People of all walks pass through this street, eat, shop and meet. In the middle of the stree was a church. How interesting!

The Olympic Sports Complex of Athens was established in 1896 and renovated in 2004 when Athens hosted the modern-day Olympic Games. The Stadium is still used to receive the Olympic torch carried from Olympia and to pass it onto the hosting country of the Summer and Winter Olympics.

Syntagma Square is another hangout place where many people begin their tours or meet to rest or plan. From here, you walk over to the Hellenic Parliament where the Guards are changing every hour for 24 hours a day. The Greek soldiers are dressed with skirts and their outfits look a bit unusual. But their behavioral movements are even more interesting than their outfits.