Greece - Part 1: Athens

Greece - a country of natural beauty and classical history. I spent two weeks and visited three (and 1/2) locations throughout Greece at Easter - starting in Athens, and then traveling through the Cyclades Islands. (The "1/2" is Crete, but I'll get into that detail later.)

My photos (of which I'll show ~70 of the 357 I took), like my trip, are divided into three posts: 1. Athens, 2. Naxos Island, and 3. Santorini Island.

Here is Part 1: Athens -

The Parthenon at the Acropolis, perched high above Athens.
Arguably one of the most famous and important ancient monument in the World.

The Greek columns at the Acropolis, with the glorious sun.

The Greek Flag - Blue and White,
representing the Mediterranean and the white-washed island houses.

Me, doing my best Spartan act before the Parthenon.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, on the slope of the Acropolis,
where classical and opera concerts are still held. Yani, welcome home!

The Odeon seats. Pure Greek marble. Artistic photograph.

Columns and columns at Ancient Agora, the political heart of classical Athens.
Socrates himself walked these roads spouting philosophy...

Greek statues line the Agora Museum halls.
Greek museums have multitudes of plain-clothed security guards watching your every move.

The sun rays beat down on the Temple of Hephaestus in Agora.

The view of sprawling Athens from the top of the Acropolis.

The sunset over Athens from the top of Lykavittos Hill (the highest point within Athens).

Athens at night from Lykavittos Hill.
The beautiful Acropolis lit up with the Saronic Gulf beyond.

Full moon over the Acropolis.

Artistic full moon photograph.

The following photographs were taken in the world-famous National Archaeological Museum in Athens:

The celebrated Mask of Agamemnon.
This was on the cover of my Grade 7 history textbook!

A selection of 3rd century BC Greek artifacts, including two Cycladic figurines.

Aphrodite disk in front of the famed Statue of Zeus or Poseidon.
Could be either, is he holding a lightning bolt or a trident?

Bronze Spartan helmet. Elegant yet powerful.

After 3 days of Athens (and that's more than enough time in the big city), it was time to explore the islands. I headed to Athens' port Piraeus and bought my ticket on the fast ferry.
Next stop: the Cyclades, specifically Naxos!

Boarding the fast ferry at 7am. Yawn...

Next post: Greece - Part 2: Naxos. Stay tuned!