The Acropolis

We finally reach the top. It is much colder up here and I wish I had a coat now. We follow the crowds up the stairs of the temple. It is under construction and so there is scaffolding everywhere. It takes away from the mysteriousness, but I can see that a return trip in a few years will have the entire complex restored to its former glory. The columns are huge. It would take four or five people holding hands to circle the base of any of them. I hadn't known that each column is actually a stack of marble sections that are balanced one on top of nest next. It is amazing that the people who built these ancient temples even contemplated building these temples. Even with modern technology it would be difficult. Imagine lifting these marble behemoths with just strong backs and cantilevers. No wonder the ancients invented math and physics!

As we walked higher and higher into the temple, I felt more and more like an ant. So many tourists milling around, it was like being in a sea, pushed through the walkways by so many tourists. That is what is wonderful about Eastern Europe – there is something to see everywhere and there are very few lines of people. Most of the time I am the only person there and I can ask all the questions I want to and not feel like I am taking too much time. As this is not the high tourist time, I can only imagine how crowded this must be in the summertime. Glad I am here now.

Each of these stones is marked with its original location so that eventually it can all be pieced back together again. What an immense undertaking that is. These temples dedicated to Athena still look over Athens with the mountains in the distance. From the other side, the sea stretches out forever. Today there are two ships in the harbor. This would have been an excellent vantage point for a military outlook.

To the very south of this complex is a huge round patio that is dedicated to Aeolus, the god of the Winds. I am sure that someone must have stood watch here to keep an eye out for ships approaching the city. The wind absolutely howls across the patio. We have to lean into the wind to cross the patio. As soon as we leave the patio, the wind turns back into a breeze. Maybe Aeolus is still around.

Just a few feet away from the patio is an enormous olive tree. It is said to have been planted by Athena herself. When I stand up here in front of the Acropolis, surrounded by her other temples, it is just possible to imagine Athena dropping in from time to time to give advice to the priests tending the temples. It is not wholly fantastical to imagine Athena planting this tree.

When we finally returned to our hotel ro much later in the day, Apollo was nearly finished driving his chariot to the west. The sun;ps rays were tinged with that pink that heralds a beautiful day tomorrow.