All Greeced Up

Today was the Michael Matera show, and I was happy to bear witness. Michael is an experienced traveler of European nations, so when he said he'd like to split off from the tour group and see some sites of historical value that we had missed, I eagerly signed on. I was not disappointed.

We boarded public transportation at 7:30 am for a 90-minute bus ride to Sounio to visit the Temple of Poseidon (pictured at left). It has been my goal on this trip to be photographed at as many temples of the Olympians as possible. As stunning as Apollo's temple at Delphi and the Parthenon in Athens (dedicated to Athena) are, Poseidon's temple takes the proverbial cake. It is situated on a promontory overlooking the Aegean Sea. It was peaceful and isolated and massive - everything a temple to a god should be.
We spent about an hour there, including waiting time for the next bus to come around. Then another 90-minute bus ride back to Athens. Half the day gone, right? How productive could the day be?

The bus stopped three blocks north of the Temple of Zeus in the shadow of the Acropolis. Hadrian's Arch showed us the entrance to this tribute to the King of the Gods. If Poseidon's temple was large, the Athenians definitely knew who was boss and made this temple so large and impressive, one couldn't help feeling humbled. A quick tour led to photos of the temple itself and the remnants of the foundations of temples to Cronus & Rhea and Apollo & Artemis. Mission accomplished, we hoofed it several blocks and found ourselves back in the Plaka, our trip's first excursion destination last Thursday. A quick stop for a gyro at a street-side taverna and we were refueled for the afternoon.

Michael, who teaches history, has been jazzed to get to the Roman and Greek agoras all week long. The Roman agora was just on the other side of the taverna, so we hit that first. Michael toured Hadrian's library and I scoured some shops just outside for additional gifts for the family. I struck out, but Michael struck gold - historical gold that is. A few blocks over we found the Athenian agora, a place renowned as the birthplace of democracy. There were several temples on the site, so I armed myself with my camera and we toured the grounds. We hit the temple of Hephaestus (still remarkably well preserved - not surprising since he is the God of the Forge) and the temples of Ares, Zeus, and Apollo, the Alter of the Twelve Gods, and the Eponymous Heroes building.
(The Parthenon as seen from the temple of Hephaestus to the right.) We perused the agora museum, highlighted by a bronze Spartan shield and some of the earliest Athenian technology (a machine the could randomly pick a jury and a water clock for timing political speeches - 6 minutes only, sounds like something we should employ back home). Then Michael spotted the one place he's been hoping to visit the entire trip - the Areopagus Rock - the actual birthplace of democracy. The picture below shows him soaking in the history of the rock itself, on which the seeds of our way of life were conceived, with the Temple of Hephaestus in the background.

After a brisk 1.5 mile walk back to the hotel, we have showered and are headed up to dinner. One last look at the Parthenon all lit up. It has been an outstanding, once-in-a-lifetime trip. I have to thank USM for granting me the opportunity to experience some of the history and mythology behind the subject matter than I teach.

We leave for home at 4:30 am CST (12:30pm Athens time) and expect to be back in Milwaukee around 11pm CST. It's a long day. Looking forward to seeing Julie and the girls - not looking forward to the travel. Good night, Greece.