The Akropolis

Parthenon at night, from Plaka

The first human settlement on the rock over what is now Athens has been dated to about 5,000 years ago, but the building works that makes the place famous was started by Perikles in the 5th century BCE. The most famous, iconic building on the hill is the Parthenon. It's an extraordinary monument.

There is, of course, so much written about these monuments. I'm not going to replicate all that here.



I spent about five days and nights in May 2009 under its spell. The hotel room I was staying in had the view here. I could see it just about everywhere I walked throughout the Plaka and Monastiraki areas of Athens. It does disappear behind the buildings that hug the streets, but usually it's there, reassuringly, like it has been for millennia.

The Parthenon

I have looked at the marbles in the British Museum that once adorned the Parthenon. I'm familiar with some of the arguments on both sides about whether Britain should continue to keep them, or return them. When I was in Athens the museum dedicated to the Akropolis was meant to be open (it was meant to have been opened years previously; in May 2009, there were advertisements at Athens airport saying it was open), but the gates remained steadfastly padlocked and I could see hanging electrical cables where the lights ought to be. I believe it now actually is open. I would like to return to Greece, and Athens, and to see the museum.




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