The Areopagus, or Mars Hill

Daniel standing on the Acropolis with the Areopagus in the background.

         Daniel and I had dorky, medievalist fun taking photos of the Areopagus.  During the classical period, it served as the court of criminal justice, while in Roman times, it was the site where the apostle Paul preached his Sermon on the Unknown God (Acts 17).  Dionysius the Areopagite was among Paul's converts.  His identity eventually gets conflated with Pseudo-Dionysius, a late antique philosopher and theologian (late 5th/early 6th century), whose mystical writings were heavily Neoplatonic.  The supposed stamp of apostolic approval lent a good deal of authority to medieval interpretations of his work.

        His name also shows up on the broad boulevard/pedestrian street that runs along the south slope of the Acropolis:

Odos Dionysiou Areopagitou

Steps ascending the Areopagus

        Like the Acropolis, the Areopagus is pretty much bare rock at this point.  It makes the climb something that demands careful attention to where you place your feet!

        This is yet another photo from last summer, but demonstrates the polished surface on the top of the Areopagus.

Looking back toward the Acropolis and Propylaia.

Real Caryatids?

        This is one of my photos from the Acropolis last summer... not sure if the real caryatids were already taken away for display in the new museum (probably) or if these are they.  You can see how badly the stone has weathered, erasing their facial expressions as well as many of the crisp details from their hair and elaborate drapery.

A Trip to the Acropolis

The Parthenon, West facade

        I've posted several pictures of the Acropolis taken from different spots around Athens.  Daniel and I hiked up on Sunday (after another rainy day on Saturday) and spent the afternoon exploring many of the sites of the ancient/classical city.  We visited the Areopagus, Agora and Kerameikos, all in easy walking distance from each other.  And, evidently, all on the same ticket stub for multiple-entry access!  I have a student ID card from the American School that provides admission to public museums and archaeological sites (very handy), so I didn't know how the regular admission worked.  After paying 1 euro for entrance to the new Acropolis Museum on Saturday, 12 euro for the Acropolis itself seemed overpriced.  But going to at least three monuments helps cut this down.

        Apologies for the boring, logistical information!  Anyway, it was worth going to the Acropolis Museum first, I think.  The Acropolis itself has been so stripped down that besides getting a sense of the impressive size and scale of the Propylaia and temples on top of the rocky outcropping, it is difficult to re-imagine the sculptural decoration and hustle/bustle of a sacred precinct (which would have been crowded not only with visitors in its own day, but also votive offerings, sacrifices and dedications).

The New Acropolis Museum

        The museum showcases some of the better-known kouroi and korai, along with smaller bronze votives, reliefs from the Temple of Athena Nike, and the original caryatids from the Erechtheion.  I especially enjoyed some of the huge, archaic ceramic reliefs from the pediments of earlier temples on the Acropolis.  These were fantastic - and still had some of their polychromy!  Of course, the top floor of the museum is then dedicated to the Parthenon, its metopes and Ionic freize.  There is quite a nice view of the monument across the way.  Here is a reverse view - the new museum as seen from the Acropolis.

The Erechteion, Acropolis, Athens

       My favorite monument on top of the Acropolis is the Erechtheion, which housed the old cult statue of Athena and other relics related to the city's founding and to the competition between Athena and Poseidon for its patronage.  I also love the caryatid porch, and have to admit to being somewhat disappointed that the real caryatids are no longer in situ.

Daniel and I with the caryatid porch in the background.

Close-up (it was incredibly bright and I had a hard time not squinting since we were looking right into the sun for these photos!  I had my eyes closed on several.  Otherwise, my eyes would start watering.)

Experiments in Cooking: Part III

Spaghetti with fresh basil

         I'm not sure I can call this an "experiment," rather a dish that returns to the tried and true.  However, please notice the fresh sprigs of basil decorating my plate of pasta!  These are contributions from our second acquisition on the balcony - a potted basil plant.  I've almost done it in a couple of times by forgetting to water it regularly.  But it always seems to come back around (must be a hardy species).  I promise this is the last photo of food on my blog for a while.  As you can see, things were getting desperate! 

        Next series actually has to do with travel - Daniel arrived late on Friday,  October 16th, and we spent two weeks roaming Greece.  We first rented a car and drove from Athens to Thessaloniki, with stops in Meteora and Kastoria along the way.  After spending the weekend w/ droves of St. Demetrius pilgrims in Thessaloniki, we flew to Crete and made our way westward from Heraklion to Chania before returning to Athens.  It turned cold and rainy during the second half of our trip, so it was no surprise that we both ended up getting sick (again!).  Still, we had lots of fun and I got to share many of the places that I explored last summer with Daniel, plus add some new sites/sights to the list!

Experiments in Cooking: Part II

Lentil Soup

        Here's another lunch spread...  the ubiquitous cucumber with slices of salami, dried toast (melba-style), and a wedge of laughing cow cheese all accompany home-made lentil soup.  This was a new recipe and used a bay leaf, oregano, cumin and basalmic vinegar along with the basics.  It was okay.  I prefer the 'monastic' lentil stew recipe that I got from Carissa and her father (with thyme and marjoram as the main spices).  Perhaps the problem was trying a new soup recipe when I was still stuffed up from my cold and couldn't actually taste anything!

Experiments in Cooking: Part I

The Potato Pancake

        I've been housebound for a few days with my first head cold of the season.  Funny thing is, it doesn't feel like fall yet around here.  The end of last week was still in the 80s (by mid-afternoon), so I'm not sure where the cold came from.  But it was miserable enough.  These Greek varieties hit harder than what I get back home.

        Anyway, I've entertained myself by trying out some new recipes with what I had on hand.  That included a lot of fruits and vegetables from the Friday laiki (a neighborhood market that takes place just around the corner).  This was pretty basic (grated potato w/ a bit of flour, onion, salt and pepper, plus one egg to hold it all together), but surprisingly tasty.  I'm also proud of the Parmesan flakes (hand-shaved) on my salad in the background.

Sunset

        This one was particularly breath-taking.  What can I say?  I love my apartment (esp. the balcony).  It is starting to get a little bit cooler in the evenings.  Hopefully the weather holds for Daniel's visit.  We'll be traveling around, so there will be more exciting pictures to come, I promise.

Balcony, new bougainvillea, and a cup of tea

        Everything is a little more perfect when accompanied by a cup of tea!  When there isn't obnoxious construction going on right across the street, I love sitting out on the balcony to read, write, or work online.  Actually, I usually have to sit out on the balcony in order to get enough bars of reception to be online in the first place.  This is one of my favorite spots in the new apartment, regardless.

        What I wanted to show off in this photo is the new bougainvillea plant in the background.  I got it for 8 euros in the local laiki agora (a weekly fruit and veggies market).  The guy who had the stand with all the potted plants was very concerned that he communicate to me just how I should take care of my new purchase.  Lots of sun, and lots of water (but important to keep it well-drained).  He got most of his points across in Greek, but also called over a friend who could tell me all of this in English.  I appreciated not only how knowledgeable he was about the plants he was selling, but also that he saw it as part of his responsibility to impart that knowledge to me, the new owner and caretaker of the bougainvillea.  Besides, I now know how to spell bougainvillea, as well.  =)

Views from my balcony

        I haven't been able to get out and about much recently; I've tried to buckle down and get some serious work done in the library and it has been pretty rewarding.  However, I thought I might post some views from the balcony of our Koukaki apartment.  We've had some lovely sunsets over the past couple of days.  Not so picturesque is the construction site on the opposite side of the street: 

        They aren't out every day, but when they are working they start early (7 or 7:30am).  The noise at least functions to drive me out of the house and over to the Gennadeion in good time!

View from the Lykavittos

This was the reward for my long climb yesterday afternoon...

an amazing view of all Athens spread at my feet.

        Here, of course, I'm looking toward the Piraeus with the iconic Acropolis and Parthenon at center.  Filoupappou Hill, which I hiked on Friday, lies just behind them.  If I could write the brief guide to Athens, it would simply state that one is going either up or downhill.