At the height of its power, the Athenian Empire constructed the Parthenon to replace an older temple destroyed during the Persian invasion of 480 BCE. Built atop the Athenian Acropolis, it was dedicated to the city’s patron goddess Athena. Completed in 438 BCE, the building is considered one of the most important surviving examples of Classical Greece, and culmination of the Doric order and the namesake columns that line the temple.

However like most Greek temples of the time, the Parthenon found itself in use as the treasury, and even as …

The Olympieion is the ruins of a colossal temple at the centre of Athens that was built over the course of centuries. Dedicated to Zeus, construction began in the sixth century BCE under the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who intended it to be the greatest temple in all the world.
Unfortunately about ten years into the project (ca. 520 BCE) the tyranny was overthrown, and the temple was left unfinished with only the foundation and some elements for the columns completed.

For over three hundred years it would lie in …

With a recorded history dating back to 1100 BCE, Athens joins a handful of cities capable of boasting such a long uninterrupted habitation. The largest of Greece’s cities – and the fourth most populous city of the European Union – the capital continues as it has for millennium to sit at the country’s centre, dominating economics, politics, and culture alike.

And like the other cities this old, Athens is home to numerous ancient monuments and works of art from not only the Golden Age of ancient Greece, but also a variety …

Probably the most iconic and best known of the acropoleis scattered across Greece, the Acropolis of Athens has a rightly deserved place upon the World Heritage list.
the Parthenon or the Temple of Athena Parthenos – Athena the Virgin

the smaller companion Erechteuem temple – aka temple of the old ones and the reason Nic’s throwing squid-face

Theatre of Dionysus

Theatre of Herodes Atticus

And with ongoing restorations nearing completion – a project originally started back in 1975 – the Acropolis is a must-see for anyone visiting Athens.
Plus you really can’t go wrong …

Yesterday, we enjoyed a relatively slow day at sea after a whirlwind tour of ruins at Ephesus and in Athens.  We say ‘relatively’ because we spent part of our day running around the ship for Augusto’s FlipCam Scavenger Hunt in which Nic did stupid things on camera for points.  Don’t worry – we have the video, thanks to Augusto!
We also did a little napping and a little dancing and a little drinking, and may possibly be convinced into a dancing competition due to an offhand comment made to the Cruise …