TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN ZEUS
After prying me away from Katrina the Kitty, Andy and I continued our exploration of Athens and made our way towards the Temple of Olympian Zeus, near the base of the Acropolis across the main thoroughfare of Athens.
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| One section of the Temple of Olympian Zeus |
Construction of the Temple began in the 6th century BC and was completed in 132 AD. The builder was Hadrian who designed a much more elaborate and eccentric Temple than what is currently left of it today. Amongst his design was two gold and ivory statues, one of Zeus and one of himself to be erected in the inner chamber (the cella) of the Temple. These are known as “cult statues” and at the time of their design were the largest to exist in the world.
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| Andy in front of the Temple |
The original temple had 104 columns but the entire Temple was significantly destroyed in 267 AD during a Herulian sack of Athens. It was later closed in 425 when the Christian Emporor Theodosius II prohibited Greeks from worshipping their Gods. By the time the Byzantine period had ended the Temple was almost entirely destroyed with only 21 of the original 104 columns still standing.
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| Me in front of the temple |
In the 3rd century AD the temple was destroyed by a barbarian invasion. Today only 16 of the original columns still exist, with one having fallen during a storm in 1852. The cella and statutes no longer exist.
No one ever worked to repair it or ensure its reconstruction and it sat in ruins ever since. As you can see in the pictures there is no scaffolding or construction equipment, so it was unclear whether the Temple of Olympian Zeus was targeted for reconstruction funds and efforts via the Committee for the Conservation of the Monuments as was the Parthenon and other monuments on the Acropolis. It has, however, been deemed to be a historical precinct by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Greek Interior Ministry.
CHANGING OF THE GUARDS
We had read in our Guidebook and from some of the Hotel staff that the Changing of the Guards that occurs outside the Greek Parliament was a must-see event. We learned that it occurred on the hour every hour so we made our way back to our hotel after the Temple of Olympian Zeus to try to catch it. Our hotel was perfectly positioned in the downtown Business District of Athens right across from Syntagma Square and the Greek Parliament. As we walked around the corner towards the Hotel Grand Bretagne we immediately saw a group of people organized outside the Parliament watching the Changing of the Guards. We had made it right on time!
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| Syntagma Square and the Greek Parliament with the crowd forming to the right. |
The Guards in the “Changing of the Guards” refers to what is called the “Evzones,” a group of historical elite light infantry in the Greek Army. The guards that perform the Changing of the Guards are members of the Presidential Guard which is a ceremonial unit that guards the Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Presidential Mansion, and the Gate of the Evzones Camp.
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| Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
The Evzones is an entirely volunteer unit with strict physical training requirements, including one requirement that all Evzones be at least 6′ 1.2″ tall to join. According to Greeka.com, every soldier guards the Tomb, Mansion, and Camp for an hour, 3 times in total, every 48 hours. During the hour in which they are guarding the area they are required to stand completely and perfectly still. They can only blink – no eye movements, head movements, or facial expressions.
They are best know for their outfits, modeled after the uniform of the Kleftes and Armatoloi, two groups of Greek warriors during their War of Independence in 1821. The outfit consists of the hat (the phareon), white shirt, waistcoat (the phermeli), Greek kilt (the foustanella), blue and white fringes to represent the Greek flag, garters, belt, garnet, the gun, and the most famous…the shoes. The shoes were my favorite. Each shoe is made of red leather with an iconic small black tuft on the front. Each shoe weighs three kilos which is about 6.6 pounds! I told Andy he should start wearing those bad boys to court. In these pictures you do not see the blue and white fringes with the white shirt – that is their Winter attire and the attire usually seen in pictures, particularly on Sundays during the main, more formal ceremony. During the Summer the Evzones wear a khaki color.
Our guidebook describes the ceremonial procession and guarding of the tomb as a combination of “history and comedy,” and that is quite true. The ceremony is long and done in ultra slow motion in order to ensure that the Guards’ blood does not circulate too fast after standing stark still for an hour. It is essentially a combination of hand raising, feet dangling, and stomping/sliding the soles of their feet on the ground in a series of coordinated steps and movements. Two soldiers always do the ceremony at the same time for aesthetic purposes and to ensure their moves are perfected over time.
It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen and it was incredibly enjoyable to watch. It was a huge piece of culture that had remained unchanged for hundreds of years and it was heart warming and inspiring to see that Greece had maintained a sense of duty and pride over such a tradition. It did make you laugh and smile a bit at first but the meaningful history behind it and dedication of the soldiers performing the ceremony made you think twice and just watch with awe and appreciation.
Once the ceremony finishes, the new guards conduct a small procession into their guard shacks, which are two narrow white booths with blue roofs. Once they are inside, a fellow officer goes into each booth and gives them a drink of water and wipes the sweat off their foreheads (since they are not allowed to move).
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| It’s hard to tell in this picture, but he’s giving the guard some water |
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| Wiping the sweat off the Guard’s forehead |
Once the Evzones were safely inside their little guard huts, the crowd dispersed, as did Andy and I. By this time the sun and heat were even more unrelenting than before and since we were right across the street from the Hotel we decided to take a dip in the pool. The hotel had a beautiful outdoor pool on its 7th floor with towels, chaise lounges, and a full bar. Andy and I loaded up on the sunscreen (a multi-daily habit we became way too familiar with), got some drinks, and relaxed by the pool.
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| My Kiwi Sunset drink |
Andy and I struggled with this part of the vacation. Our dehydrated bodies were desperately telling us to take a break but we felt guilty and un-adventurous just sitting by a pool. Big Husband, we can do this anywhere…..It’s ok Tiny Wife drink your Kiwi Sunset.
DINNER AT Ορίζοντες; THE TREK
After we convinced ourselves that sunning by the pool could be done guilt-free, we made our way back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. I really can’t stress enough how great of a travel planner Andy is. He never does anything with half-effort and splurges where it’s legitimate to splurge. He found this beautiful restaurant called Orizontes (Ορίζοντες in Greek) which was perched beautifully atop Lycabettus Hill in Athens. We could actually see the hill when we were standing on the Acropolis.
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| Lycabettus Hill in the top right |
Our relaxing hour by the pool was quickly trumped by the trek to the restaurant. It was one of those incredibly annoying situations where you could see your destination but you couldn’t quite get there. It was the first real moment of the trip where we were frustrated with each other. For no reason. Because that’s usually how it goes. The trek began around 6:00 p.m. something like this:
Me: When’s our reservation? (thinking it’s around 6:30 or something)
Andy: At 8.
Me: 8?! Well what on Earth are we doing walking around Athens an hour and a half before our reservation?
Andy: Well, I don’t really know where it is.
Me: (in a high pitched voice) You don’t know where it is?!
Aaaaaaaaaand thus began the evening. At this point both of us were still in the business of putting our heads together to solve the issue so we decided since the restaurant was on top of a mountain, going up was probably the best idea. So, up we went. We walked about 5-6 blocks and hit a small knoll with a little public park. The park had a winding path that seemed once again to lead up. We determined it was probably up there. The path was straight up, dusty, filled with rocks, and tucked in amongst a bunch of trees filled with wild cats and bugs. I was wearing sandals. And a skirt. Finally I stopped and Part Two began:
Me: What is going on right now?
Andy: What do you mean?
Me: Where are we?
Andy: I don’t know, I don’t live here.
Me: Well doesn’t the guidebook say anything?
Andy: It says there should be a tram. I think it’s close by. Probably up this hill.
So up we went, looking for a tram. A few twists and turns later and I was not having it. Introducing Part Three of Andrew & Allison’s argument stage…one of us brings out the lawyer.
Me: This doesn’t make any sense.
Andy: What doesn’t?
Me: Isn’t it true that the book says this is an incredibly popular restaurant?
Andy: Yes.
Me: And didn’t we have to make a reservation way in advance?
Andy: Yes.
Me: No one in their right mind would hike up this giant hill to go to a restaurant. This restaurant would be out of business. Unless everyone who eats there are mountaineers and marathon runners.
Andy: Well maybe they are.
Me: This is stupid.
Andy: Objection.
Finally we got frustrated enough to head back down the hill scattering wild cats and dust everywhere on our descent. We made it back to the street, where I dramatically told Andy he was lucky I wasn’t murdered in that god forsaken park by a wild cat. He ignored me, took the map and started walking up another hill. Part IV:
Me: Where are we gooooooooingggggggg?? (yes exactly like that)
Andy: I don’t know! The tram is up here somewhere. I do not know where we are going.
Me: I’m hottttttttttt.
Andy: I know.
Me: I’m hungrrrrryyyyyyyyyy.
Andy: I know.
Me: This is ridiculousssssssssss.
Andy: Hush Tiny Wife.
I know, he deserves a gold star. I do too, for the record. I had blisters on my feet and was dying of starvation. Sort of. Finally, on the next block, we saw a set of stairs leading up somewhere. There was a small sign at the base of the stairs with some kind of symbol on it with a name. I didn’t recognize it but I thought it might be important since it was a huge flight of stairs leading directly in the direction of the restaurant. We confirmed on the map that it indeed was what we were looking for.
I got super excited we had found it. But that excitement was short-lived. There was like a billion flights of stairs. Each one more challenging than the next. By flight number a million I was hanging on the stair railing wailing up to Andy who was a couple flights ahead of me (flight number 1,000,0002). You should have seen me…I wish Andy had taken a picture. I was being so dramatic. I would drop my body into a 90 degree angle while gripping the railing with my right hand and laboriously lift my left foot up onto the next step. Then I’d stand up and flail my body all the way backwards and right back down to the 90 degree position. Andy was just standing there staring at me, sweat dripping down his face, exacerbated at my insistence on over-dramatizing the entire situation.
Me: When’s….our….<huge breath> …. reservation again?
Andy: 8:00 p.m.
Me: Ohmygod what time is…it?
Andy: 7:40 p.m.
Me: We’re going… <huge breath> … to be late.
Andy: We will if you don’t start moving. We have to catch this tram.
Me: I need WATER. What is the TEMPERATURE out here?
Andy: <checks his phone> 72 degrees.
Me: WHAT?! Noooooooo, it has got to be hotter than that.
Andy: It’s not, you’re just from Alaska. Let’s move Tiny Wife.
Me: Oh my goddddddddddddd I miss Alaska.
Andy: She misses you. Now pick up the pace.
We made it to the top of the stairs despite the entire situation laid out for you above and saw the tram entrance. I felt like one of those people staggering through the desert, pants tied around their head seeing a water oasis. I started running towards the tram area (Andy: “Oh NOW you’ve decided to move”). I burst inside like it was a hospital emergency room and immediately saw a cooler. Andy came staggering in after me. I immediately demanded all the Euros Andy had on his person so I could buy a bottle of water. It was like a stick up. He dumped all the coins he could find into my hand partially out of fear probably. In return I bought him a lemonade.
We bought our tram tickets, collapsed into the two available seats in the waiting area and realized that everyone was staring at us. Sitting next to us was a family with two small children. I stared at them in disgust. I kept thinking HOW did you get up here?! How?! What secret tunnel did you use?! Do you teleport?!?! It was fine. I was fine.
We finally made it inside the tram and I gave Andy a kiss on the cheek. Our understood symbol for argument’s over, we did it.
DINNER AT Ορίζοντες; THE ACTUAL DINNER
The tram ride was actually pretty fun, although short. It went straight up, much like the escalators in DC. The tram let us out at the top of a small building which led to a terrace with some small stairs and breathtaking views of Athens (you can see more beautiful pictures on the restaurant’s website here.)
The terrace was the main waiting area for guests. Andy and I only had to wait about 15 minutes, but we looked around the terrace and took some beautiful pictures. On the terrace was a gorgeous small Greek Orthodox Church with a little elderly lady manning the entrance. When you walked in she started chattering to you in Greek with a big smile on her face. The inside of the church had an area you could pray, light candles, and read the bible. The artwork inside was detailed and colorful and had clearly been there for a while. Like other Greek Orthodox churches we would see on our trip, the paintings and murals inside the churches adorned not only the walls, but the ceilings and small side coves of the church as well. Even the floors had beautiful marble or wood designs on them.
After exploring a bit, we went back down the stairs to the main entrance of the restaurant to get our table. On the way to our table I spotted that family in the tram waiting area and their teleporting children.
The waiter led us to a beautiful table right under an olive tree overlooking the city of Athens. It was breathtaking and very romantic.
The menu itself was worth noting. It was filled with mainly Greek food with a variety of other European dishes. It boasted dinners like mille feuillet of smoked trout, lamb hock with beer, thyme, and honey, and sea bream (Andy’s new favorite fish), with anise and wild greens. Everything looked delicious. We ordered mussels in wine sauce for a starter, Andy ordered lobster pasta with basil and fennel and I ordered organic risotto with fruits of the sea and black ink fish sauce.
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| Andy’s lobster dinner |
We had the wonderful and amusing fortune of having a table next to a delightful group of British people who apparently found the menu and surrounding environment impossible to interpret. For purposes of background, Athens is filled with locusts/cicadas. This sounds gross, but it’s really not, as these giant bugs stick to the trees that line the downtown streets and the only alert you get of their presence is an incredibly loud chirping noise (hear it here; no need to listen to all 60 minutes, unless you want to for some reason). They don’t bite or land on you…you really don’t know they’re there, until you hear them chirping. One of these delightful little guys was hanging out on the olive tree near our table and chirping his face off. Remember how I said I make Andy name all our animal friends? This friend was Larry Locust.
So here’s Larry enjoying his evening, chirping away and these British people cannot figure out what is going on. The following should be said in your head in a British accent:
Person #1: What on EARTH is that?
Person #2: I believe it’s a tree toad.
Person #3: What is a tree toad?
Person #1: Oh yes, you know, one of those frog tree things.
Person #3: Is there such a thing?
Person #2: Oh yes, quite.
Andy: <leaning his chair over> Um, it’s a locust.
I was dying I was trying so hard not to laugh. Andy’s not one to inject himself in others’ conversations and he never acts like a know-it-all, but I was with him on this one – something had to be said.
Our British neighbors moved on to the menu. The Ορίζοντες menu had a lot of unique and exotic things on it including squid ink raviolis, fish cheeks, and what baffled our friends the most, beef hock. To be honest, I didn’t know what beef hock was either, but their attempt at guessing it was legendary.
Person #1: Oh, what is a hock?
Person #2: A what?
Person #1: A hock. A beef hock.
Person #3: Like the cow’s butt?
Person #2: No I think that’s something else.
Person #1: Maybe it’s that thing that rhymes with hock.
Person #3: Well, I am NOT eating that.
Andy then whispered to me if he should tell them what it really is. I advised no, since he had already crushed their dreams with the tree toad.
We continued our beautiful meal with the lovely views, listening to Larry, and overhearing our fascinating British friends. They ended up being wonderfully interesting people – a few of them were historians who had actually specialized in American history. From the little we overheard of their conversation, they spoke intelligently about American presidents, politics, and current affairs. They were fun table neighbors.
After dinner we said goodbye to Larry, made our way back down the tram, and walked back to Hotel Grand Bretagne. The walk back was much less stressful than the walk there. Athens was beautiful at night and still warm. We enjoyed our last night walking back together – tomorrow we’d head to Santorini!