At the Parthenon

I fulfilled a life-long dream in Athens. I climbed the Acropolis. I stood in the shadow of the Parthenon. I explored the Ancient Agora, the Roman Agora and the slopes of the Acropolis. I walked in the footsteps of history. And although the Parthenon was covered by a considerable amount of construction equipment, it was amazing. It’s size – it’s age – it’s importance – it’s presence perched on a hill above the city for all to see – it was all amazing.

I saw the Parthenon nearly every day thanks to the location of our apartment 2 blocks from the Acropolis Boardwalk; I stood directly in its presence twice; and I inspected its ancient marble from the new Acropolis Museum on two occasions.

What I enjoyed most about the Acropolis Museum is that the top floor, the Parthenon Marbles floor, is turned askew from the rest of the building so that it perfectly matched the orientation of the Parthenon (which you can see up on the hill through the wall of windows). The entire floor is masterfully designed to allow the visitor an upclose look at the marble slabs, reliefs and friezes while keeping its locational context in check. There are columns along the North and South sides. The East end of the floor and the West end of the floor have the friezes, just as on the Parthenon. And along each of the four sides are the two levels of marble decorations. As you walk the floor, you are walking around the faux-Parthenon, but with the added bonus that the marbles are at a level more appropriate for admiring them. The marbles that are not in Greece (ie England, France, etc) have casts in their places so that the onlooker does not miss out on the overall picture and feel.

Although I have seen what I set out to see and thoroughly enjoyed the experience – I don’t know that I am ready to remove it from my list – as it wouldn’t bother me one bit to see it all again.