Our starting point for this truly monumental tour is the Acropolis, which means ‘high city.’
At the end of our journey we hope you will have a full appreciation of the glories of the very heart of Athens.
This historic hill is the home of the Parthenon, dedicated to Athena, and a number of other monuments.
They include the Propylaea, originally part of Pericles’ great rebuilding programme and the Temple of Athena Nike. This once contained a wooden statue of Athena. It was wingless signifying she would never leave Athens.
Meanwhile, the Erechtheion and its marble edifice is an Ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis. The eastern part is dedicated to Athena Polias and the western part to Poseidon-Erechtheus.
From the hill you can marvel at the glorious stone theatre structure of the Odeon Herodes Atticus on the southwest slope. To bring us up to date, many of the world’s biggest names have performed here including Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti and of course Nana Mouskouri.
The modern, bright and imposing Acropolis Museum is our next stop. Opened in 2009 it houses a whole host of exhibits of classical antiquity and is thematic.
It’s the perfect way to draw everything together and give context to the wonderful structures you have just seen.
We leave the high city and pass the Parliament and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We make a stop at the site of the first modern Olympiad in 1896, the Panathenaic Stadium and then visit the stylish ‘Trilogy of Athens’, the old building of the University of Athens, the National Library and the Academy of Athens. We end our day with a trip through the epicentre of modern day Athens, the Squares of Omonia and Syntagma.
This is a monumental excursion of discovery, literally and figuratively.
© Greek Cruises 2024
