After yesterday's somewhat day of rest, we were ready to get out and visit the two major museums in Athens, the Acropolis Museum and the National Archeology Museum. Before heading out though, it was time to check out the roof of our AirBnB which many reviews said it was one of the highlights of the apartment. Well, check it out...very cool view!
OK...time to visit the Acropolis Museum. The museum is a beautiful building that just opened in 2009. The first floor is displays of artifacts found on the grounds of the Acropolis and the second floor is the re-creates the exact dimensions and floor plan as the Parthenon.
Here is a great shot of one of the galleries on the first floor:
Here is a great shot of one of the galleries on the first floor:
Here they are...the original Caryatids from the Erechtheion. These five of the original six stood outside in their original location until the 1950's when they were finally brought inside after much weather and pollution damage. It is pretty cool how these women are actual columns that held up the roof of a temple on the grounds of the Acropolis.
Here was an interesting relic. Some sort of Magic Sphere. We found the carvings interesting. One side has what looks like the Statue of Liberty and the other side has some kind of alien hieroglyphics. Quite odd.
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Finally, we made it to the top floor to see what we came to see...the Parthenon Frieze. As I mentioned earlier, this floor matches the dimensions of the actual Parthenon, so when you walk around, you can the location of the columns and frieze. The frieze is along the wall, and what is left of the pediments, which are usually high up above the frieze and below the roof, are brought lower down so we could see it.
An interesting thing about the Parthenon Frieze is that most of the original frieze is located in the British Museum in London. Between 1801 and 1812, Thomas Bryce, 7th Earl of Elgin, took the frieze and most of the pediments and brought them to England. Greece hopes to have the pieces returned, but England has so far refused. Anyway, the panels that are in London are reproductions and clearly marked.
An interesting thing about the Parthenon Frieze is that most of the original frieze is located in the British Museum in London. Between 1801 and 1812, Thomas Bryce, 7th Earl of Elgin, took the frieze and most of the pediments and brought them to England. Greece hopes to have the pieces returned, but England has so far refused. Anyway, the panels that are in London are reproductions and clearly marked.
What makes this display so cool is that right out the window is the Parthenon in all its glory.
We left the Acropolis Museum after about 1.5 hours. We were tired, but we still have another museum to tackle. We took the bus with a bit of issues (got on in the wrong direction, got off, and got back on in the correct direction) and made it to the National Archeology Museum by around 3 PM.
Here we learned all about the four stages of Greek sculpture (Archaic (700-480 BC), Severe (480-460 BC), Classical (460-323 BC), and Hellenistic (323-30 BC).
There were many Archaic Kore (female) and Kouros (male) statues...very stiff and stoic with obvious Egyptian influence.
Here we learned all about the four stages of Greek sculpture (Archaic (700-480 BC), Severe (480-460 BC), Classical (460-323 BC), and Hellenistic (323-30 BC).
There were many Archaic Kore (female) and Kouros (male) statues...very stiff and stoic with obvious Egyptian influence.
 Kore, 650 BC |  Kouros, 600 BC |
After many, many Kore and Kouros sculptures, we were finally seeing the more realistic ones.
Zeus or Poseidon was found in a shipwreck north of Athens in 1928. Because he is missing whatever he was holding, it could be Zeus if he was holding a thunderbolt, or Poseidon if he was holding a trident.
Tim liked the little Athena (one-twelfth-size replica) of what stood inside the Parthenon.
The jockey was also found in the same shipwreck as Zeus / Poseidon.
I really liked Statue of Aphrodite, Pan, and Eros. It is playful and fun.
Zeus or Poseidon was found in a shipwreck north of Athens in 1928. Because he is missing whatever he was holding, it could be Zeus if he was holding a thunderbolt, or Poseidon if he was holding a trident.
Tim liked the little Athena (one-twelfth-size replica) of what stood inside the Parthenon.
The jockey was also found in the same shipwreck as Zeus / Poseidon.
I really liked Statue of Aphrodite, Pan, and Eros. It is playful and fun.
 Zeus or Posideon, 460 BC  Bronze Jockey, 140 BC |  The Athena Varvakeion, 450 AD  Statue of Aphrodite, Pan, and Eros, 100 BC |
Hello back to you Bronze Statue of a Youth who could be Perseus holding up Medusa's head or Paris awarding an apple to the winner of a beauty contest between goddesses. Either way, this is typical of us walking around museums with me reading out loud the descriptions as Tim (and others standing around us) listen in.
We saw so, so many Grecian urns, vases, cups, plates, bowls, etc. This is room 3 or 4 or 5 of many.
Well...we did it. two large museums in one day. This was not the original plan, but since everything was closed yesterday for May Day, we had to get it done in one day. It was exhausting, but so worth it. We learned about and saw so many amazing pieces of art. By the way, we spent 3.5 hours in the National Archeology Museum...WOW!
After all that walking and standing all day, we definitely earned dinner. Yesterday, when we went to Blame the Sun Brewery, Angelo (one of the owners) told us that we needed to eat at Ο Λόλος. He started to tell us what we need to order. Instead, I told him to write it down. He wrote down four dishes and didn't tell us what they were. Today, we stopped by the brewery for a pint before dinner and he added another dish making it 5 dishes to order. Luckily we are starving after today.
When we arrived at the restaurant, we just handed the list to the waitress. We had no idea what we ordered, so it was fun to see what was appearing on our table. Here was our meal and what I think we got based on looking at the menu: smoked herring fillet, marinated anchovies, fried blue whiting, grilled squid stuffed with feta, and mussels that were not even on the menu. We also brought a basket of bread and we ordered 500ml of house white wine. The mussels took a long time, so they brought us another 500ml of wine. All of this cost around $50. So delicious and so worth it.
After all that walking and standing all day, we definitely earned dinner. Yesterday, when we went to Blame the Sun Brewery, Angelo (one of the owners) told us that we needed to eat at Ο Λόλος. He started to tell us what we need to order. Instead, I told him to write it down. He wrote down four dishes and didn't tell us what they were. Today, we stopped by the brewery for a pint before dinner and he added another dish making it 5 dishes to order. Luckily we are starving after today.
When we arrived at the restaurant, we just handed the list to the waitress. We had no idea what we ordered, so it was fun to see what was appearing on our table. Here was our meal and what I think we got based on looking at the menu: smoked herring fillet, marinated anchovies, fried blue whiting, grilled squid stuffed with feta, and mussels that were not even on the menu. We also brought a basket of bread and we ordered 500ml of house white wine. The mussels took a long time, so they brought us another 500ml of wine. All of this cost around $50. So delicious and so worth it.
 Smoked herring fillet & marinated anchovies  Grilled squid stuffed with feta |  Fried blue whiting  Mussels |
We walked back to our AirBnB and decided to check out the roof at night. Look what we saw...so amazing. Also on the roof was two women from California. They just finished their drive around Greece, so it was interesting to compare notes of where they went and were we plan on going.
Tomorrow we take a ferry from Athens to Hydra. Our ferry is at 10 AM, so we have to get an Uber before 8:30 AM. It will be an early morning, but should be another amazing day.
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