We'll start up there
at the historic
cultural and literal high point
of any trip to Athens --
the Acropolis.
Like other hilltop sites
in the ancient Greek world,
Athens' Acropolis,
or "high city,"
was both
a place of worship
and of refuge
when under attack.
Crowned by the mighty
Parthenon temple,
the Acropolis rises
above modern Athens,
a lasting testament to Greece's
glorious Golden Age
in the 5th century BC.
Grand processions followed
the Panathenaic Way,
which was a ceremonial path
connecting the town below
and the Acropolis.
They'd pass through
this imposing entryway
and up to the religious heart
of the city
in the Parthenon.
The Parthenon was perhaps
the finest temple
in the ancient world.
Valiantly battling the acidic
air of our modern world,
it still stands, with the help
of ongoing restoration work.
It was constructed
in the 5th century BC
and dedicated
to the virgin goddess Athena.
Seeing it today
is awe-inspiring,
but imagine how striking
it must have looked
when it was completed,
nearly 2,500 years ago,
in all its carved and
brilliantly painted splendor.
The adjacent erect
is famous
for its
Porch of the Caryatids --
six beautiful maidens
functioning as columns.
Dedicated to Athena
and Poseidon,
this was one
of the most important
religious buildings
on the Acropolis.
This, rather than
the Parthenon,
was the culmination
of the Panathenaic Procession.
At the foot
of the Acropolis,
the Ancient Agora,
or "marketplace,"
sprawls out
from its surviving temple.
This is where,
for 3,000 years,
Athenians gathered.
While the Acropolis was
the center
of ritual and ceremony,
the agora was the beating heart
of ancient Athens.
For some 800 years,
starting
in the 6th century BC,
this was the hub of commercial,
political, and social life.
Visitors wander the remains
of what was
the city's principal
shopping mall
and administrative center.
Exploring the agora,
it's fascinating to ponder
the world of Plato
and Aristotle
and the age which laid
the foundations
for =Western thinking
about economics, democracy,
logic, and more.
The Stoa of Attalos,
from the 2nd century BC,
was rebuilt in modern times
to house the agora's museum.
With so little of the agora
still standing,
this reconstruction
makes it easier to imagine
the site
in its original glory.
Crowds would gather
in shady porticos like this
to shop, socialize,
or listen to the great
philosophers of the age.
In fact, Socrates spent
much of his life right here,
preaching the virtues
of "nothing in excess"
and urging those around him
to "know thyself."
The temple of Hephaestus,
one of the best preserved
and most typical
of all Greek temples,
dates from about 400 BC.
Like the Parthenon,
it's constructed
in the simple Doric style.
It housed big, bronze statues
of Hephaestus --
the blacksmith god --
and Athena,
patroness of the city.
Greek architecture evolved
in stages.
The capitals, or tops,
of the columns,
were both functional
and decorative.
While just the tip
of the architectural iceberg,
these are handy indicators,
helping us identify
the three main architectural
"orders," or styles.
The earliest style,
Doric,
has flat, practical plates
as capitals.
In the next order, ionic,
the capitals are decorated
with understated scrolls.
The final order,
Corinthian,
popular later on
with the Romans,
features leafy capitals,
boldly decorative,
with no apologies necessary.
How to remember
all these?
As the orders evolve,
they gain syllables.
Doric,
Ionic,
Corinthian.
But for most travelers,
the agora
is more than
an architectural review.
Strolling in the footsteps
of Socrates
is your best opportunity
to commune
with the epic Greek past.
