Bill's Aviation Log

The Ancient Agora's entrance is on the north side.

That's the Stoa of Attalos on the left.

The museum displays artifacts found in the rubble of the Agora. It includes clay, bronze and glass objects, sculptures, coins and inscriptions from the 7th to the 5th century B.C., as well as pottery of the Byzantine and Ottoman periods.

Wall-mounted placards detail the history of the Agora and Athens, in great detail. A lot can happen in 1,000 years or more!

You don't see too many old metal artifacts in museums because metal was so valuable, or they rusted away. But this battered Greek bronze shield somehow survived. Actually, this particular shield was captured from the defeated Spartans in the tite-turning Battle of Sphacteria, which gave Athens the upper hand in the Peloponnesian War. The victory was only temporary, and Athens drained itself in those wars with Sparta.

"Along with the rise of the city-state evolved a brand new style of warfare and the emergence of the hoplite. The hoplite was an infantryman, the central element of warfare in Ancient Greece. Hoplites were the citizen-soldiers of the Ancient Greek city-states (except Spartans who were professional soldiers).

They were primarily armed as spearmen and fought in a phalanx. The major innovation in the development of the hoplite seems to have been the characteristic circular shield (aspis), roughly 3 ft in diameter, and made of wood faced with bronze. Although comparatively heavy, the design of this shield was such that it could be supported on the shoulder. More importantly, it permitted the formation of a shield-wall by an army, an impenetrable mass of men and shields.

Hoplites also carried a six to nine foot spear called a dory. Alexander's Macedonian army had spears called sarissas that were far longer: 18 feet!. The secondary weapon of a hoplite was the xiphos, a short sword used when the soldier's spear was broken or lost while fighting.

Portrait bust of the Roman Emperor Antoninus Plus (138 - 161 AD). He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors: Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), and Marcus Aurelius (161–180).

His reign is notable for the peaceful state of the Empire, with no major revolts or military incursions during this time. A successful military campaign in southern Scotland early in his reign resulted in the construction of the Antonine Wall. Antoninus was an effective administrator, leaving his successors a large surplus in the treasury, expanding free access to drinking water throughout the Empire, encouraging legal conformity, and facilitating the enfranchisement of freed slaves. He died of illness in AD 161 and was succeeded by his adopted sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus as co-emperors.

The Five Good Emperors were notable in that the reigning emperor did not have a male heir, and had to adopt the candidate of his choice to be his successor. Under Roman law, an adoption established a bond legally as strong as that of kinship.

Marcus Aurelius's naming of his son Commodus as heir was considered to be an unfortunate choice and the beginning of the Empire's decline.

Looking west at the Temple of Hephaistos, which we had also seen looking down from the Acropolis.

At left is a watercolor titled "Plundering of the Parthenon Marbles by Lord Elgin's men in 1801". Workmen are lowing down a Metope. Even in 1801 the removal of the Parthenon marbles was controversial.

At right is the same view after the removal of the marbles is complete.

Looking east from the Propylaia, the Parthenon, surrounded by the houses of the Ottoman garrison. (1805)

The Acropolis, looking northeast. Notice the ruins of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in the foreground.

Panorama of Athens, pen and ink drawn from the hill of the Nymphs, looking southeast in 1805. Notice how defined the dity is, within the city walls, with empty space beyond. The Temple of Hephaistos is clearly visible at center left.

Lynnette stands next to, I'm guessing, Alexander the Great (356 BC – 323 BC).

Looking west across the ruins of the Agora.

"During the Golden Era, the center of the Agora was nothing but open space. But when the Romans came, they filled it in with big marble buildings.

In AD 267, the Herulians (a Germanic people) sailed down from the Black Sea and utterly devastated Athens. The Herulians burned most of the Agora's buildings to the ground, including the Odeon of Agrippa. The Agora never recovered. The Slavs invaded in 580 AD and by 700, the Agora was a ghost town, now located outside the city walls, exposed to bandits and invaders. It was cannibalized by the Athenians themselves as a quarry for precut stones.

By the 18th century, the Agora had become a flourishing residential district of houses and churches. Then in the 1930s, Greece got serioius about preserving its classical heritage. They forced everyone out and demolished everything, except the historic Church of the Holy Apostles, and excavations began." ... Rick Steves

In the southeast corner of the Agora is the Church of the Holy Apostles.

"This charming little church with the lantern-like dome marks the Agroa's revival. It was built around the year 1000, while Athens was under the protection of the Byzantine Empire, ruled from Constantinople. Athens slowly recovered from centuries of invasions and neglect. This early church was the prototype for later Athenian churches. It has a central dome, with four equal arms radiating out, forming a Greek cross. The windows have the tall horseshoe-shaped arches typical of the Byzantine style. The church was built of large rectangular blocks of ashlar stone." ... Rick Steves

All that's left of the MIddle Stoa, largest building in the Agora, oriented east-west.

Unlike the Soa of Attalos, the Middle Stoa was only one story tall.

To the right of the Acropolis is Mars Hill, where the Apostle Paul famously preached.

We head for the Temple of Hephaistos.

"This is a classic peristyle temple (like the Parthenon), meaning that the building is surrounded by columns. Also like the Parthenon, it's made of Pentelic marble in the Doric style, part of Pericles' vision of harking back to Athens' austere, solid roots. But the Temple of Hephaistos is only about half the size of the grand Parthenon and has fewer carvings." -- Rick Steves

Note, unlike the Parthenon, the building (surrounded by columns) is still there.

In fact, "the entire temple is remarkably well preserved. It remained an important place of worship when the Romans arrived, was converted into a church (and given a roof) in the Christian era, and even stayed open under the Muslim Ottomans." ... Rick Steves

The temple was converted into the church of St. George probably in the 7th century. In the early 19th century the church was used as a burial place for Protestants and many European Philhellines who died in the Greek War of Independence in 1821. The building remained in use through 1834, when it was the site of the official welcome of King Otto, the first king of the modern Greek state. Since then until the 1930s it was used as a museum.

Close-up of the Acropolis.

Looking southeast at where the Middle Stoa and Odean of Agrippa (theater) once stood. The Church of the Holy Apostles is dead center.

The below remnants of the circular "Tholos" may not look like much, but listen to this:

"This rotunda-shaped building housed Athens' rulers. It was built around 465 BC, right at the dawn of the golden age and of Athenian democracy. About 60 feet across, this round structure was originally ringed with six Ionic columns and topped with a cone-shaped roof.

The Tholos was the center of Athenian government. It was the headquarters, offices, and meeting hall for the city's 50 ministers. They also lived and ate here, since the law required that at least a third of these ministers be on the premises at all times. The Tholos housed the official weights and meausres. By law, any shopper in the Agora could stop in here and use these to check whether a butcher or tailor was shortchanging them.

The Tholos was also a kind of temple to democratic rule. The altar in the middle -- where the broken column is now -- once held a flame that was always kept burning. This represented the hearth of the extended "family" that was Athens." -- Rick Steves.

Back down in the Agora, looking south.

Two of the statues are meant to be Tritons, with fish tails, while the other monster has the tail of a snake.

Artist conception of the north face of the Odeon of Agrippa in 150 AD. The six statue-columns are conspicuous.

The building was destroyed by fire in the 267 AD Herulian (barbarian) invasion.

The Little Kook constantly changes their "theme" but currently it is Snow White, in case you hadn't figured that out.

What a day we had today: the Acropolis, Parthenon, Acropolis Museum and Ancient Agora!

April 23, 2025 - Greece Ancient Angora
After the Acropolis Museum, we had a touristy but filling lunch in the Plaka, then walked over to the Ancient Agora. Outside the Ancient Agora Lynnette makes friends with a Greek cat.

The Ancient Agora's entrance is on the north side.

We're in the Ancient Agora! On this very street, "nestled in the shadow of the Acropolis", called the Panathenaic Way probably walked Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pericles, the famous Father of History Herodotusand, Alexander the Great, to name but a few. This was Athens' traditional main street. Per Rick Steves: "While the Acropolis was the ceremonial showpiece, the Agora was the real heart of ancient Athens. For some 800 years (c. 600 BC - AD 300), it was the place where people came to shop, businessmen struck deals, laws were passed, worshippers venerated the gods, and theaters hummed with nightlife. Agora means 'gathering place,' but you could call this space by any of the names we typically give to the busiest part of a city -- downtown, main square, forum, piazza, marketplace, commons, and so on. It was a lively place where the pace never let up -- much like modern Athens. Little survives from the Classical-era Agora. Other than one very well-preserved temple and a rebuilt stoa, it's a field of humble ruins. But that makes it a quiet, uncrowded spot to wander and get a feel for the ancients."

That's the Stoa of Attalos on the left.

We arrive at the Stoa of Attalos. Built around 150 BC, "this stoa was an ancient shopping mall. Covered walkways protected shoppers from the sun and the rain. The ground floor once had about 20 shops -- today, those rooms hold the museum. Upstairs were offices." ... Rick Steves

"The original structure is long gone, but the building that stands today is a faithful reconstruction, built in the 1950s by the American School of Classical Studies, which helped excavate the Agora." "The Agora stands two stories tall and was made of white Pentelic marble, the same as the Parthenon. The covered porch is about 400 feet long. It's lined with one row of 45 Doric columns (the outer layer) and another row of 22 Ionic columns." ... Rick Steves

Statues like this once populated the Agora: gods, heroes, athletes, and ceremonial stele (an upright stone or slab with an inscribed or sculptured surface, used as a monument or as a commemorative tablet in the face of a building).

The museum displays artifacts found in the rubble of the Agora. It includes clay, bronze and glass objects, sculptures, coins and inscriptions from the 7th to the 5th century B.C., as well as pottery of the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Wall-mounted placards detail the history of the Agora and Athens, in great detail. A lot can happen in 1,000 years or more!

Burial urn for a wealthy woman around 850 BC.

You don't see too many old metal artifacts in museums because metal was so valuable, or they rusted away. But this battered Greek bronze shield somehow survived. Actually, this particular shield was captured from the defeated Spartans in the tite-turning Battle of Sphacteria, which gave Athens the upper hand in the Peloponnesian War. The victory was only temporary, and Athens drained itself in those wars with Sparta. "Along with the rise of the city-state evolved a brand new style of warfare and the emergence of the hoplite. The hoplite was an infantryman, the central element of warfare in Ancient Greece. Hoplites were the citizen-soldiers of the Ancient Greek city-states (except Spartans who were professional soldiers). They were primarily armed as spearmen and fought in a phalanx. The major innovation in the development of the hoplite seems to have been the characteristic circular shield (aspis), roughly 3 ft in diameter, and made of wood faced with bronze. Although comparatively heavy, the design of this shield was such that it could be supported on the shoulder. More importantly, it permitted the formation of a shield-wall by an army, an impenetrable mass of men and shields. Hoplites also carried a six to nine foot spear called a dory. Alexander's Macedonian army had spears called sarissas that were far longer: 18 feet!. The secondary weapon of a hoplite was the xiphos, a short sword used when the soldier's spear was broken or lost while fighting.

Two skyphos -- a two-handled deep wine-cup on a low flanged base (or no base). The one on the left shows a pair of youths, one carrying the other piggy-back. The one on the right shows dancers. Both were created around 500 BC.

Looking down the museum.

Ivory statuette of Apollo Lykeios created in the 3rd Century BC.

Portrait bust of the Roman Emperor Antoninus Plus (138 - 161 AD). He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors: Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), and Marcus Aurelius (161–180). His reign is notable for the peaceful state of the Empire, with no major revolts or military incursions during this time. A successful military campaign in southern Scotland early in his reign resulted in the construction of the Antonine Wall. Antoninus was an effective administrator, leaving his successors a large surplus in the treasury, expanding free access to drinking water throughout the Empire, encouraging legal conformity, and facilitating the enfranchisement of freed slaves. He died of illness in AD 161 and was succeeded by his adopted sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus as co-emperors. The Five Good Emperors were notable in that the reigning emperor did not have a male heir, and had to adopt the candidate of his choice to be his successor. Under Roman law, an adoption established a bond legally as strong as that of kinship. Marcus Aurelius's naming of his son Commodus as heir was considered to be an unfortunate choice and the beginning of the Empire's decline.

Upstairs on the second floor, looking down the Stoa in the other direction.

Looking west at the Temple of Hephaistos, which we had also seen looking down from the Acropolis.

From 1801 to 1806, a man named Edward Dodwell -- an Irish painter, traveller and a writer on archaeology -- travelled around Greece. Among other things, he produced these fascinating watercolor paintings of Athens, now displayed on the walls here in the museum. In 1819 he published A Classical and Topographical Tour through Greece. In 1819 he published Views in Greece, with thirty colored plates. Before cameras existed, paintings like this were the next best thing to photographs; offering a fascinating snapshot of time. But to create them, it took a person who could paint, and who had the resources to visit and stay in the location for the time it took to paint the image. Looking northwest from Filopappos Hill at the Acropolis. Notice how the area around the Acropolis is practically empty.

On the top left is the Arch of Hadrian, looking west. On the top right is the Temple of Olypian Zeus. At bottom left is all of Athens, looking east. At bottom right is the Panathenaic Stadium with Athens in the background.

Even in 1806, there wasn't much left of the Temple of Olypian Zeus.

At left is a watercolor titled "Plundering of the Parthenon Marbles by Lord Elgin's men in 1801". Workmen are lowing down a Metope. Even in 1801 the removal of the Parthenon marbles was controversial. At right is the same view after the removal of the marbles is complete.

The Parthenon looking northwest, before the pediment sculptures and metops were removed. Could the Parthenon have been painted. In this watercolor, it seems so.
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Looking east from the Propylaia, the Parthenon, surrounded by the houses of the Ottoman garrison. (1805)

Dodwell's "West Front of the Parthenon". Looking east.

The Acropolis, looking northeast. Notice the ruins of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in the foreground.

Watercolors of the interior of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus .

The southern slope of the Acroplis.

Panorama of Athens, pen and ink drawn from the hill of the Nymphs, looking southeast in 1805. Notice how defined the dity is, within the city walls, with empty space beyond. The Temple of Hephaistos is clearly visible at center left.

A fascinating model of the Agora at its peak, during the Second Century AD, looking south towards the Acroplis. At left is the Stoa of Attalos. Running diagonally from lower right to upper left is the Panathenaic Way. At center, the courthouse-looking building is the Odeon of Agrippa. Behind it is the Middle Stoa. The building with the cirdular roof is the Tholos. At far right is the Temple of Hephaistos.

Lynnette stands next to, I'm guessing, Alexander the Great (356 BC – 323 BC).

Outside the Stoa of Attalos.

Looking west across the ruins of the Agora. "During the Golden Era, the center of the Agora was nothing but open space. But when the Romans came, they filled it in with big marble buildings. In AD 267, the Herulians (a Germanic people) sailed down from the Black Sea and utterly devastated Athens. The Herulians burned most of the Agora's buildings to the ground, including the Odeon of Agrippa. The Agora never recovered. The Slavs invaded in 580 AD and by 700, the Agora was a ghost town, now located outside the city walls, exposed to bandits and invaders. It was cannibalized by the Athenians themselves as a quarry for precut stones. By the 18th century, the Agora had become a flourishing residential district of houses and churches. Then in the 1930s, Greece got serioius about preserving its classical heritage. They forced everyone out and demolished everything, except the historic Church of the Holy Apostles, and excavations began." ... Rick Steves

P44

In the southeast corner of the Agora is the Church of the Holy Apostles. "This charming little church with the lantern-like dome marks the Agroa's revival. It was built around the year 1000, while Athens was under the protection of the Byzantine Empire, ruled from Constantinople. Athens slowly recovered from centuries of invasions and neglect. This early church was the prototype for later Athenian churches. It has a central dome, with four equal arms radiating out, forming a Greek cross. The windows have the tall horseshoe-shaped arches typical of the Byzantine style. The church was built of large rectangular blocks of ashlar stone." ... Rick Steves

Looking north with the Stoa of Attalos on the right.

A 2021 sculpture by Wu Weishaun called "Socrates and Confucius, an Encounter". "With a sublime view of time and space, the artist engages the two great thinkers, each representing a different culture, in a conversation thousands of years after their time." Confucius and Socrates were both great thinkers, philosophers, and educators, one in China and one in Greece, about 80 years apart. Both lived about 70 years.

Looking north down the Agora.

All that's left of the MIddle Stoa, largest building in the Agora, oriented east-west.

Another look at the remains of the Middle Stoa.

Unlike the Soa of Attalos, the Middle Stoa was only one story tall. To the right of the Acropolis is Mars Hill, where the Apostle Paul famously preached.

This ditch, called the Great Drain -- doesn't really look that great to me -- was part of Athens' waterworks system, dug in the fifth century BC.

A statue of the great Roman Emperor Hadrian who ruled the Roman Empire, including Athens, from 117 to 138, when Rome was aat its peak and Athens was a vital part of the empire. The statue shows Hadrian wearing the typical Roman military uniform, complete with a breastplate and leather skirt. Hadrian was an admirer of Greece and everything Greek. He was the first Roman emperor to wear a Greek-style beard. Hadrian was nicknamed Graecula ('The Little Greek') for his love of Greek philosophy amd literature. He personally traveled to Athens, where he financed major constructions projects: Hadrian's Arch, the Library of Hadrian, the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Athens' main street through the Plaka is called Adrianou: 'Hadrian's Street'.

The Hadrian statue at lower left with the Acropolis in the background.

The Temple of Hephaistos overlooks the Agora.

We head for the Temple of Hephaistos.

"The Temple of Hephaistos is one of the best preserved and most typical of all Greek temples, this is textbook golden age architecture. Started in 450 BC -- just before the Parthenon -- it was built at Athens' peak as part of the massive reconstruction of teh Agora after invading Persians destroyed the city (480 BC). But the temple wasn't compleeted and dedicated until 415 BC, as work stalled when the Greeks started erecting the great buildings of the Acropolis." -- Rick Steves The metopes above the outer entrance show 10 scenes from the Labors of Hercules. They're interspersed with panels of three vertical lines -- clearly seen in this photo -- meant to imitate the humble-but-virtuous look of early Greek dwellings made of wood.

"This is a classic peristyle temple (like the Parthenon), meaning that the building is surrounded by columns. Also like the Parthenon, it's made of Pentelic marble in the Doric style, part of Pericles' vision of harking back to Athens' austere, solid roots. But the Temple of Hephaistos is only about half the size of the grand Parthenon and has fewer carvings." -- Rick Steves Note, unlike the Parthenon, the building (surrounded by columns) is still there.

In this temple you can still see the inner friezes.

Looking through the inner building. Inside, there used to be a large bronze statue of Hephaistos, the blacksmith god, and one of Athena, patroness of Athens and of arts and crafts. Both are long gone, of course.

A nice look at the remarkably well-preserved inner frieze.

In fact, "the entire temple is remarkably well preserved. It remained an important place of worship when the Romans arrived, was converted into a church (and given a roof) in the Christian era, and even stayed open under the Muslim Ottomans." ... Rick Steves The temple was converted into the church of St. George probably in the 7th century. In the early 19th century the church was used as a burial place for Protestants and many European Philhellines who died in the Greek War of Independence in 1821. The building remained in use through 1834, when it was the site of the official welcome of King Otto, the first king of the modern Greek state. Since then until the 1930s it was used as a museum.

Since the Temple of Hephaistos is up on a hill, it was a good vantage point to take some pictures of the Agora and the Acropolis.

Close-up of the Acropolis.

Looking east-northeast across the Agora at Lykavittos Hill in the distance.

Looking southeast at where the Middle Stoa and Odean of Agrippa (theater) once stood. The Church of the Holy Apostles is dead center.

What the Agora looked like at its peak in 150 AD.

The below remnants of the circular "Tholos" may not look like much, but listen to this: "This rotunda-shaped building housed Athens' rulers. It was built around 465 BC, right at the dawn of the golden age and of Athenian democracy. About 60 feet across, this round structure was originally ringed with six Ionic columns and topped with a cone-shaped roof. The Tholos was the center of Athenian government. It was the headquarters, offices, and meeting hall for the city's 50 ministers. They also lived and ate here, since the law required that at least a third of these ministers be on the premises at all times. The Tholos housed the official weights and meausres. By law, any shopper in the Agora could stop in here and use these to check whether a butcher or tailor was shortchanging them. The Tholos was also a kind of temple to democratic rule. The altar in the middle -- where the broken column is now -- once held a flame that was always kept burning. This represented the hearth of the extended "family" that was Athens." -- Rick Steves.

Two Athenian cats.

Back down in the Agora, looking south.

The Odeon of Agrippa -- an ancient theater and concert venue -- was fronted by a line of six colossal statues, which functioned as columns. These three are all that survive, along with an empty pedestal.

Two of the statues are meant to be Tritons, with fish tails, while the other monster has the tail of a snake.

Artist conception of the north face of the Odeon of Agrippa in 150 AD. The six statue-columns are conspicuous. The building was destroyed by fire in the 267 AD Herulian (barbarian) invasion.

All that is left of the Odeon of Agrippa. In the distance is Mars Hill, the location of one of Paul’s most important gospel presentations at the time of his visit to Athens during his second missionary journey (Acts 17:16–34).

Leaving the Ancient Agora, we headed north into the adjacent Psyrri district in search of a restaurant for dinner. We tried two Rick Steves' recommendations but both were boarded up and out of business! We did pass this by this amazing place pictured below called the Little Kook cafe, a fairy tale-themed coffee and tea house. We ended up eating outside at some forgettable restaurant; we could have done better.

The Little Kook constantly changes their "theme" but currently it is Snow White, in case you hadn't figured that out. What a day we had today: the Acropolis, Parthenon, Acropolis Museum and Ancient Agora!


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April 23, 2025 - Greece Ancient Angora

April 23, 2025 - Greece
Ancient Angora