Our last day in Greece. We got an early start after a marvelous breakfast in the Hotel Stevens.
Breakfast at Hotel Stanley
Came with the room: link sausage, scrambled eggs and potatoes, bacon, halved peaches, and other fruity desserts. I had this strange feeling that we should not be there. This was definitely not our normal fare.
Our first order of business after breakfast was to check in with British Airways and get our seat assignments. We had to use the Hotel computer because it had a printer, and we had to print out our boarding passes.
Richard at the Hotel computer getting our seat assignments and boarding passes.
We had to ask for paper, and the printer cartridge was running out of ink, but we finally got printouts of our boarding passes that we thought would be good enough to get us onboard. Then we were off to the ruins of the Ancient Agora.
Off to the Monesteriki district.
The Agora is in the Monesteraki district, just northeast of the Akropolis. It is the ancient market place where Socrates used to have many of his philosophical discussions. Plato and Aristotle also frequented the Agora.
Just inside the main gate to the Ancient Agora, Marketplace
Once inside the gate, we tried to get our bearings and plot a strategy for seeing it, and for Richard to select what he was going to sketch. In ancient times, the Agora was the center of Athenian life. It served many purposes for the city: elections, processions, open-air markets, athletic events and dramatic performances. To get an overall view, we decided to walk to the far side of the site, which was elevated by virtue of being on the northeastern slope of the Akropolis.
Ruins of the Eleusinian in the Agora on the slope of the Akropolis.
We walked to the Eleusinian, the place where the procession for the Mysteries of Eleusis started. From here the initiates walked the fourteen miles to Eleusis. At the front of the procession, an official carried the sacred objects in a basket. The initiates viewed the sacred objects during the epiphany. While at the Eleusinian, we had a break in the clouds and sunlight fell on the Hephaestion on the hill at the far side of the Agora. Hephaestus was the Greek god of fire. the Hephaestion is the most complete temple in Greece and stood out in sunlight like a revelation.
On the far side of the Agora. The Hephaestion in the upper left.
Richard located a place to sit while painting the Hephaestion, and I went about my business of photographing and taking videos of the Agora.
The Hephaestion in the Agora.
Once we are finished, we were on our way to the Potters Quarters and the Dipilon Gate. Monesteraki was pretty much deserted when we came here this morning, but is now packed with pedestrians, tourists. We fall into line, but the going is slow with the street-side venders crowding in on the walkway.
Inside the ruins of the Kerameikos (Potters' Quarters).
Soon, we find what is known as the Kerameikos, Potters’ Quarters, in a fenced-in area quite a bit below current ground level. Richard is really hungry, but I have a burning urge to at least get a few pictures of the site.
In ancient times, the Dipylon Gate was the main entrance to Athens. My interest in this new set of ruins is that I plan to have a couple of scenes from the third volume of The Mysteries set at the Dipylon Gate. Both of my principal characters, Theanoe and Zakorus, will enter the city through there but at different times.
One portion of the Dipylon Gate.
After paying the entry fee, I enter a little gift shop, while Richard goes on out to the ruins. I purchase a guidebook and go on out myself. The ruins are extensive and it’s not easy to find the ancient gate, even with the guidebook.
Another portion of the Dipylon Gate.
Finally, on the far side of the site, we locate it, and I snap a few pictures. They will be a great help when it comes time for me to visualize it fully formed while I’m writing The Mysteries.
We once again have to fight the hoards of people to find a quick gyro place, but to no avail. All we can find are sit-down tavernas. We decide to go back to Plaka to eat, and we have brave the crowds again to get to the Metro station. Once there, we take the Metro two stops to the one at the Akropolis. We get our gyros at the little gyro place on Adrianou Street, and take them back to the bench out front of our hotel to eat. This little shaded enclave is our refuge from all the tourists. Then we’re off to the Hill of the Muses.
The Hill of the Muses has a couple of things that we’re interested in seeing. The first is the Prison of Socrates, which is right on the trail up the mountain and easy to locate.
The so-called Prison of Socrates.
Late in life, Socrates was found guilty of corrupting the youth of Athens and was forced to drink hemlock. Although no one really believes that this is his actual prison, it has popularly become the place where he was held. The Hill of the Muses is actually a large park covered in trees and is practically vacant. We certainly appreciate the quiet sylvan scene after the rush of tourists in Monesteraki.
Once Richard completes his drawing, we walk on up the hill to the Monument to Philopappus.
The Monument to Philopappus on the Hill of the Muses.
Philopappus was a Greek prince who died in 116 AD. While Richard draws, I rest and walk a bit, running onto one of the natural inhabitants of Athens: a tortoise eating grass.
The Tortoise on the Hill of the Muses.
We then start back down the hill, and Richard finds a location on the side of the hill where he has an amazing view of the Akropolis. He settles down to draw the Akropolis one last time, and I take a few pictures.
The Akropolis from the Hill of the Muses.
By the time Richard finishes his drawing, the sun is getting low on the horizon. Our last full day in Greece is coming to a close. Richard wants to paint a street by Hotel Adams, which was our savior when we first got to Athens, and where we spent so much time, We settle down on a bench by a tree, and he starts drawing.
For our last dinner here in Greece, we decide on a taverna in Plaka that we have passed by many times along Adrianou Street. [The name of which I cannot remember.] We decide to eat inside, and take a table close to the front. Richard has lamb chops, and I have pork souvlaki, again. We split a Greek salad. We both have a Mythos. Our bill comes to 50EU ($75). Quite expensive.
We return to our room in Hotel Stanley, set our iPhone alarms for 04:45, pack our bags as much as possible, shower, and settle into our beds for a few hours sleep.