Getting High

The time had arrived to get to some serious investigation of the elevated places of Greece, of which there are many. Also, in keeping with the theme of my sabbatical, we were going to start exploring ancient Greek theaters. The first ancient theater we visited was at the Acropolis: the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. It was built in 141 B.C. to honor Herodes Atticus late wife. (Odeon: A kind of theater in ancient Greece, smaller than the dramatic theater and roofed over, in which poets and musicians submitted their works to the approval of the public, and contended for prizes; - hence, in modern usage, the name of a hall for musical or dramatic performances.) It’s located at the base of the hill on which the Acropolis is built. At the center of the Acropolis is the Temple of the goddess Athena (also known as the Parthenon.)

There is an excellent museum that is built over ancient ruins that you can see from through the floors in both the outside entryway and indoors on the main floor. Eventually these ruins will be open for the public to walk through. Inside there was an impressive collection of sculptures and other historical artifacts from the original site. Although this site is known simply as “The Acropolis”, as it is the most famous, there are many other of these high fortifications throughout Greece.

Athens is VERY difficult to navigate while driving. I am so thankful that my son Jason came with us to be our driver! Signaling for turns is unheard of. Lots of motorcycles and scooters here, and they zip between lines of traffic without even blinking. ( I have to say I understand the choice of vehicles: gas translates to over $9 a gallon!) We went looking for a show that explained about ancient Athens and a ten minute drive became 30 because our maps were less than wonderful, and we don’t have GPS. It turned out that the only show in English was in the evening, so we'll try again another day. Then we went looking for a certain shopping district and had very little luck with that. So we ended up back at the hotel at 6:30, and decided it was time to go in search of a meal. Emily has been keeping us informed of the best places to eat based on Foursquare and other reviews. We decided on a place a little over half a mile from our hotel. (Ted stayed behind and ordered room service.) Emily and I were in favor of Greek food, but we deferred to the guys on this one. After all the walking I was done in early. I had been awake since 4:30 Athens time, so I was in my jammies by 8:30. I hope tomorrow to be a bit more acclimated to the local time!