GREECE - Athens (Ancient Agora & Athenian Trilogy)

The excavation of ancient Athenian agora has been excavated since 1931. It revealed a large number of temples, stores, altars and even a concert hall. Today, two large buildings are intact: the Hephaisteion and the Stoa. The Hephaisteion is the best preserved temple in Greece and the Stoa was a large shopping center which is now a museum.



View from my new hotel, Divani Acropolis. Acropolis is so near I could actually view it from my hotel room window. A great way to start my day.



I visited Ancient Agora in the morning.











The opening hours is 8am – 8pm.



The Hephaisteion from afar.



But first, I’m heading to the Stoa.





The Stoa of Zeus was a two-aisled stoa located in the northwest corner of the Ancient Agora of Athens. A stoa, in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway, commonly for public use.



As mentioned earlier, it’s now a museum.







Fragments of a bronze statue, a work of 300 B.C.



Athenian coins.



Marble statue of a youthful satyr with a Pan’s pipe, holding a goat, dating back from 150 A.C.



Winged Victory.











The Odeion of Agrippa is a grand and luxurious building designed for musical performances.



Gymnasium or “Palace of the Giants” contained a bathing establishment, surrounded by several rooms, two courtyards, and a garden in the south. It covered 13,500 m2. Originally the building was considered a gymnasium, but it was probably a palace.





Heading to the Hephaisteion.





It’s Athen’s best preserved temple, built in the year 449 B.C. The reason it was so well preserved is that it was used as a church from the 7th century until the 19th century.





Hephaestus was the patron god of metal working, craftsmanship and fire. In this temple, it was once stood statues of Athena and Hephaestus.



This shows the battle between the Lapiths (a northern Greek tribe) and the Centaurs (half human, half beast), an allegory for the war between the Greeks and the Persians, which the Greeks won the war.









In my opinion, although it’s not as grand as the Parthenon, the Hephaisteion is more well preserved and have less crowd.





After visiting Ancient Agora, we walked to the streets near Monastiraki in search for the Melissinos Poet Sandal Makers shop.



The back lanes were full of graffiti.



It sells handmade leather sandals for 50 years now.





International celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker also had her leather sandals made here.





Different designs to choose from.



But surprisingly, I couldn’t find anything I like here.



Instead, I bought a pair of leather sandals at another leather shop.







Next, we walked around Athens city.





When Greece regained its independence in 1832, Athens was proclaimed capital of the new state. Stately buildings were erected here to house cultural, economic and administrative institution. The most interesting of a group of three neoclassical buildings, all built next to each other, formed the so-called “Athenian Trilogy”: the Academy, the University and the National Library.



The Academy is most magnificent of all the neoclassical buildings that were constructed in Athens during the 19th century. Its design was inspired by the ancient Erechtheion at the Acropolis.





The statue of Socrates. On the other side of the staircase is the statue of Plato.



Flanking the main temple are two tall columns with statues of Athena and Apollo. Both sculptures were sculpted by Leonidas Drosis.



The statue of Athena is shown holding a shield and a spear.











The interior of the Academy.









The large murals depicts the myth of Prometheus, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals.





Next to the Academy is the University of Athens. The university is the oldest and largest of these three buildings. The statues in front of the building commemorates important figures in the history of modern Greece.



Last of the trilogy of Athens is the National Library.



The National Library was designed as a Doric temple flanked by two wings. Two wide winding staircases lead to the entrance. The statue standing between the staircases is the statue of one of the benefactors of the library, the merchant Panaghis Athanassiou Vallianos.



Time for a break.



Back to the Syntagma Square to my new hotel, Divani Acropolis.



I was having dinner at the roof garden of the hotel which boost the view of Acropolis!















If I remember correctly, this is grilled pork steak with some crispy fried sweet potatoes.



This is fish dish with three different kinds of fish cooked in different ways. They’re all delicious.



Last but not least, juicy shrimps, yummy!



It was the best meal I had in Greece.





I had a great day in Athens. Next, I’ll introduce the famous shopping district in Athens.