Friday, May 3, 2024

Our Celestyal Cruise ended today, and our flight home is tomorrow, so we took a private tour to the Acropolis. Today is Good Friday in Athens, a holy day for many residents, so the downtown and business areas were very quiet. There is a Good Friday tradition in Greece, the Epitaphios (funerary) procession. In the morning, an icon of Jesus is placed on a platform, like a bier, then decorated with flowers, ribbons, candles, and it lays in state in the church where people come to venerate it. At 9pm, the Epitaphios is taken up by priests and/or members of the church, then carried in an elaborate procession, and bells ring throughout the city to commemorate the death of Jesus. Sadly, our schedule did not allow us to witness this event tonight.

On our way to the Acropolis, we drove by the Presidential Palace and saw a couple of Presidential Guards, or Evzones, on their march to take over standing guard over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The march looks quite bizarre. It’s done in very slow motion after the guards have completed their one hour duty at the tomb, during which they must remain perfectly still. The march involves raising their knees very high, and bringing their feet down hard to make a loud noise (their shoes have 60 nails beat into the soles to create this loud noise,) which tells their ancestors that Greeks are alive and free. The costume is very colorful and symbolic. The tradition of the guard dates back to 1867.

The Acropolis was very busy today, so it was a challenge to see very much. The wind was very strong as well, but we did manage to cover a fair amount of ground. The site looked different from the last time we were here, about 10 years ago. There has clearly been some additional restoration work since then. It’s easy to see where the restoration has taken place because of the color of the marble. Although the marble used today is from the same source, it is much whiter, not having been exposed to the air and pollution of centuries. The Pentelic marble comes from a nearby quarry.

The Acropolis Museum was built to house every artifact found at the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. An earlier museum was located at the site of the Acropolis, but ultimately did not have the capacity to house the ever growing number of artifacts there. The current museum was established in 2009, and now holds over 4,500 artifacts, displayed over 14,000 square meters (about 3.5 acres.) Most of the statues and friezes at the ancient site have been replaced with reproductions, and the originals stored in the museum to protect them.

What a lovely trip this has been, something we will remember long after we return home tomorrow.