Greek Isles Cruise: Corfu and Athens, Greece

Bob and I disembarked the ship the morning of Monday, November 19, 2018 in the city of Corfu on an island in Greece.  Since the 8th century BC, this island has been prized for its beauty and strategic location, and many wars were fought to possess it.  There are two fortresses in the city of Corful which were important protections from invasions.  We had just half of the day to get acquainted with Corfu and opted to go visit the old fortress.  The natural promontory was converted into a fortress by the Byzantines in he 8th century AD and contained all of of the medieval town,  Later the Venetians extended fortifications and dug the moat creating a defense from both land and sea.

 We had a little time to wander the streets of Corfu and get a feel for the architecture before the rain began and we returned to the ship.  It seemed a little dirty and not well kept, but definitely had a Venetian sense of charm.

 We did a little shopping and Bob bought a pair of "tragedy" and "comedy" masks for his collection.

 We briefly saw the "new fortress" from the outside before calling it a day.

The following day, we pulled into the port of Piraeus, which was our gateway into Athens, Greece.  I was extremely excited about seeing Athens and was sad that we did not arrive until around 1:00 that afternoon.  We had met a cute young couple, Scott and Emily, on our hike in Kotor, and we kept running into them.  As we were headed to the subway, we met up with them and decided to spend the day together.  They had arranged an electric bike tour of Athens and it sounded like a blast.  We went to the bike shop and the owner said he would be happy to depart with just the four of us on a tour of the city.  When I asked what we would see, his response was "Everything!"  I guess I should have been more specific, because as our tour continued around the city, our time was running short to enter the Acropolis which closed at 5:00.  We asked when we were going to see the Acropolis and he replied that it was not part of his tour.  By the time we returned the bikes, it was nearly closing time and we did not actually get to wander the ruins as I had looked so forward to doing!  I guess that gives us an excuse to return someday . . . but if not, I've probably seen enough ruins in my day to be satisfied with what I can view on the internet.  The electric bike experience was something new for Bob and I, and it was unbelievably fun.  Love the idea of owning a couple someday . . .

Our first stop was at the Pnyx, which was the official meeting place of the Athenian democratic assembly.  On a hill south and west of the Acropolis - shown to the right in thefirst photo below, are the ruins of the assembly place.  The Pnyx now appears as just a stone platform with some steps up to it as also shown in the photo of Bob with our guide, George.  A view of the area can be seen better from a distance.

From the Pnyx is one of the best views of the Acropolis.  Isn't it breathtaking?

Areopagus , or what is now known as Mars Hill, is another rocky outcropping just to the left of the Acropolis, and was anciently the site of the council of elders (similar to a Roman senate), and the place of many trials.  It is also significant that the Apostle Paul is said to have delivered the famous speech found in Acts 17: 

"9 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.

21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

22 ¶ Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

26 And hath made of bone blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

28 For in him we alive, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring."

We were able to get some good photos of the city of Athens and a few more of the Acropolis.

We hopped on our bikes at rode to the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Gate. Construction of he Temple f Zeus began in the 6th century BC and was not completed until the 2nd century AD.  Originally there were 104 of the enormous columns and it was intended to be the greatest temple in the world.  It has been proposed that the arch was built around 131 AD to celebrate the arrival of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and to honor him.  As we biked through the city, there were random excavations, such as this bath house, which were discovered as the subway system was being built.

The Zappeion is a building in the National Gardens of Athens.  According to Wikipedia, in 1869, the Greek Parliament allocated 860,000 sq ft of public land between the Palace Gardens and the ancient Temple of Olympian Zeus, and also passed a law on 30 November 1869, "for the building works of the Olympic Games", as the Zappeion was the first building to be erected specifically for the revival of the Olympic Games in the modern world.  The beautiful gold-leaf atrium to the details such as winged lions on the roof-top hint at the grandeur of this building.

We rode to the parliament building to watch the changing of the guards.  This takes place at the  Monument of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Hellenic Parliament and at the Presidential Mansion.  We caught a glimpse at both locations.  Every detail of the soldier's uniform and walk has historical significance. The tapping of the toes are to wake and honor the dead and the pompom on the shoes disguise a knife.

The Panathenaic Stadium, the only stadium in the world build entirely of marble was completed in 143 AD with a capacity of 50,000.  It was built on a site used since the 6th century BC as a racecourse, and hosted the Panathenaic Games, a religious and athletic festival celebrated every 4 years in honor of the goddess Athena. In modern times, the stadium held the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1896 Olympics when the games of the First Olympiad were officially opened.

After visiting the stadium, we rode our bikes to the ruins of the Ancient Agora.  This is another name for marketplace or center of a community. Not only did shopping and business transactions take place here, but philosophers would gather to question and discuss the meaning of life. The 'School of Athens' painting by Raphael, (photo which I took in the Vatican in May 2018), is meant to represent the Greek agora and all the great minds that passed through it. It was in the Agora of Athens that the great philosopher Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle broadened the minds of many.  The Temple of Hephaestus is one of the most well-preserved remains.

After we concluded the tour and returned the bikes to the shop, we walked through the streets of Plaka, passing by lovely mosaic style Byzantine churches, colorful graffiti, and charming shops and restaurants.  We found a quaint restaurant and enjoyed dinner with Scott and Emily before heading toward the subway station and back to the ship.

Ahhh, the wonders of Ancient Greece!