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Thursday, 6 April. Today we were going to explore more of Athens on our own. During our visit to the Acropolis on Monday, we had seen the Temple of Olympian Zeus a short distance down the hill from downtown Athens. We made that our first stop. Although begun in 515 B.C., the project was abandoned a couple of times. The temple was finally finished by Emperor Hadrian about 130 A.D. It was the largest temple in Greece. When we reached it, we found that there were no fences or other barriers, and we could roam all over the ruins. (The site has since been fenced off.)
Next we caught a taxi to Mt. Lykabettus and took the funicular to the top (900 feet). It was a clear day and the view was spectacular. Not only could we see all of Athens but, looking over the Acropolis, we could easily make out several ships of the U.S. 6th Fleet anchored in the harbor at Piraeus. We made a brief visit to St. George’s Chapel, the small whitewashed church visible from all over Athens.
After the funicular ride down, we took a taxi back to the Monastiraki area. We had souvlaki for lunch at a very informal open air restaurant, then browsed through the stalls and shops in the flea market for the rest of the afternoon. We ate an early dinner near our hotel because we were going to the Sound and Light show that evening. we probably should have eaten dinner after the show as most Europeans did. As it was, dinner took too long and we found ourselves very rushed.
To save time, we took a taxi instead of walking, but that had its own problems. First we couldn’t
make the driver understand where we wanted to go. My classical Greek didn’t work very
well in modern Athens. The driver finally understood and drove us a little way up Pnyx Hill, from
where we were to view the show. At that point, however, there were so many pedestrians
clogging the road that the cab couldn’t move. We finally paid the driver and got out, joining the
throngs heading up the hill. As it turned out, we were in our seats well before the show started.
Although it was impressive to see the Acropolis all lit up, the show was somewhat of a disappointment. It supposedly told the story of Athens during the "Golden Age of Pericles," but it seldom rose above the level of a high school play. When it was over, we just followed the crowd down the hill and walked the few blocks to our hotel.
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