Monday, April 14, 2008

ATHENS, GREECE APRIL 11, 2008























































ATHENS, GREECE APRIL 11, 2008

Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. It is also known as the birthplace of democracy. Named after the goddess Athena, Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world with a recorded history of at least 3000 years. Today, the Greek capital is a bustling cosmopolitan metropolis with an urban population of 3.1 million people.

Ancient Athens was a powerful city-state center of learning, home of Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum. It is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European Continent. The classical era heritage is still evident in the city, portrayed through the number of ancient monuments and artworks, the most famous of al being the Parthenon and the Acropolis, standing as an epic landmark of western civilization.

Today our long time friends Platon and Annelise Davakis who are residents of Athens greeted us at the foot of the gangway. We were delighted just to be in the company of these dear friends, but in addition Platon being a trained historian and guide of ancient sites, began a day long tour of a few of the ancient features of Sparta where his family’s roots began.

We first stopped at the “Corinth Canal” built at the end of the 19th century by the same French company who constructed the Suez Canal. The canal divides the narrow causeway linking the Peloponnesus and the mainland and is 3.8 miles long and 75 feet wide and 26 feet deep. A channel linking the Ionian and Aegean Seas had been an unfulfilled dream since antiquity.

We then visited ancient Corinth once the wealthiest city with a forum larger than Rome’s. We saw the remains of the paved Lechaion Road, 25 feet wide and the ruins of the Doric Temple of Apollo.

Next we drove to Mycenae where for four centuries it was the most powerful state in ancient Greece. The famous Lion Gate guards the Citadel of Mycenae. The amateur archaeologist, who also found the site of Troy, discovered the shaft graves here. We visited the Tomb of Agamemnon (also known as the Beehive Tomb). Agamemnon was the Greek Commander-in-Chief during the Trojan War.

The final stop of the day was in the costal town of Naupilon for a Greek lunch. Mezze is a series of small offerings shared by all at the table. It is supposed to be like a group of appetizers but be ordered so many of the small dishes it became a real MEAL. The city of Naupilon was once the capitol of Greece but today it is a pleasant and very attractive costal town that could be easily lived in.