Obviously the highlight of any visit to Athens, Greece, probably starts with the Acropolis, but there is so much more to see in this wonderful city. For us, our second favorite location was the Agora of Athens with the Temple of Hephaestus. The agora was a gathering place for the people of ancient Greece and contains many different structures. It is truly a fascinating place to walk and imagine yourself discussing philosophy or the benefits of a democratic society. When you go to the Acropolis, you can buy a bundled ticket that includes other attractions, including the agora, which makes it well worth the extra money as it will save you money in the long run.
Temple of Hephaestus from the DistanceThe Ruins of the AgoraApproaching the Temple of HephaestusArtifacts at the Museum
The Temple of Hephaestus, which sits high upon a hill looking over the agora, is one of the best preserved ancient temples in all of Greece. One of the reasons that it is so well preserved is that it had been in continual use for more than two thousand years, even serving as a Greek Orthodox church until the early 1800’s. Hephaestus was the god of metal working, craftsmanship, and fire, perhaps a fitting choice for it to have remained in almost its original condition.
Looking Up at the Temple HephaestusPreserved Reliefs above the ColumnsUp Close and PersonalWe are on Our Way to the Temple
There are so many fascinating ruins to see as you walk through the agora including several statues such as the remaining torso of a statue of Roman Emperor Hadrian. The ancient roads can still be detected as you walk among the ancient ruins. There is also the Museum of the Agora on the grounds, which displays some interesting pieces that have been unearthed during the excavation of the site.
Roman Emperor HadrianFascinating Museum ArtifactStatue ColumnBack of the Temple
Some people may feel that they have had their fill of ancient ruins and temples after visiting the Acropolis, but we feel that it is well worth taking the time to visit the other sights that Athens has to offer. At least during our visit, there were less tourists at places like the agora and it made walking among those ruins that much more enjoyable. We found the Agora of Athens to be an almost magical place with so much history and so many artifacts that it can a little overwhelming.
So Much to SeeThe Temple above the AgoraAncient WallBuilding WallsRow of Statues
There are a lot of reasons why everyone should hope to visit the Acropolis in Athens if you ever get the opportunity. It is absolutely amazing on so many levels, whether visually, historically, or culturally, it is an important landmark for many reasons. For those of us who treasure democracy, the fact that the foundations of democracy were envisioned over two-thousand years ago is an astounding reality when you consider how long it took to actually implement. Whether you believe in the possibility of a world governed by multiple gods or not, understanding how the ancient Grecians viewed the connection between natural events and the supernatural world is still fascinating. Unlike most modern religions, the Greek gods and goddesses were endowed with human traits and weaknesses, something that seems hard to imagine in a world where higher powers are deemed as infallible.
The ParthenonView of Athens from the AcropolisThe Erechthion
Regardless of their belief system or the reason for building these temples that have lasted centuries, there is no doubting that they are well worth visiting if you ever get the chance. If we can offer any advice for visiting the Acropolis, it would be to go as early in the day as possible. We arrived at about ten in the morning, an hour after it opened, and we had to wait behind five other groups buying their tickets to enter. While we were inside of the site, we had few crowds and were able to see each of the temples and monuments unobstructed from throngs of people taking selfies of themselves. By the time we exited the Acropolis a couple of hours later, the line to purchase tickets was several hundreds of people long, most likely with a wait that was well over an hour long. Add to that the fact that all of those same people would be competing for the same views, taking the same pictures, reading the same placards, you can only imagine how the experience might be changed.
Another View of the ErechthionTheatre of DionysusWe Were Glad to Miss the Lines
The second piece of advice that we would offer would be to buy the package ticket bundle that provides access to the other historical sites that are located in Athens. It might only save you about ten Euros, but you won’t have to wait to purchase tickets as you visit each of the other sites, therefore avoiding more lines. We can only imagine how much history is buried beneath the buildings of Athens if only we were able to unearth it, but for now we will just have to gaze in amazement at the sights that have been unearthed for us to see. Even without those other sites, the Acropolis provides an amazing view back into history.
Close-Up of the Top of the ParthenonEnjoying Everything that We SawBackside of the Erechthion
There are five major sites that make up the Acropolis. The most famous is the Parthenon, the Erechthion, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Theatre of Dionysus, and the Propylaia. Before you enter the main site, you pass by the Theatre of Dionysus, which is truly quite striking and could seat up to 17,000 people to watch theatrical events of the time. Surely it must have been quite the social event to spend an evening being regaled with the adventures of the gods or heroes such as Hercules.
The ParthenonAnother View of the Theatre of DionysusThe Erechthion from the Distance
As you enter, you pass through the Propylaia, which is the grand entrance to the entire site and will definitely fill you with a sense of awe for everything that you are about to see. On the right of the entrance, you will find the Temple of the Athena Nike, which is not particularly striking, but is still amazing for its cultural and mythical history. Obviously it is not necessary to understand the mythological beliefs of the ancient Grecians to appreciate the grandeur of the monuments that they built, but it is worth knowing if you want to understand why they expended such energy to create monuments meant to appease their gods and bring favor upon the land and the people.
The PropylaiaWe Were Very HappyTemple of Athena Nike
We didn’t take a tour on our trip, but there are certainly plenty of opportunities to get a guide if you so desire. There is so much to see and learn about this important historical and archeological landmark that we will likely read and investigate more and more about it over the coming months and years, just to truly appreciate everything that we have seen. Hopefully you will get a chance to visit and see it for yourself, but in the meantime we hope that you get a sense for how impressive this incredible location truly is from the few images that we were able to capture.
One of the most memorable day trips from Chennai was our trip to Kanchipuram. We were told that Kanchipuram was the place in the state of Tamil Nadu to buy silk, so we drove the hour southwest out of Chennai to visit the city. In addition to buying scarves and other silk products, we also visited the Ekambareswarar Temple, which was another gorgeous temple that we were able to see while we were there. It was one of the hottest days that we encountered while we were in India, but the beautiful sites and the thrill of buying the silk items more than made up for any discomfort we felt.
Ekambareswara TempleShops Outside of the TempleWorker Spinning Silk
Walking around the Ekambareswarar Temple was one of the few times while we were in India that we weren’t overwhelmed by crowds. Obviously, it is India, so that is a relative term, but it did feel more relaxed than some of the other places that we went to. As with most temples, tour guides will come up to you and offer to take you on a tour and the price always has to be negotiated, but we chose not to pay for a tour at this particular temple. Heading southwest away from Chennai takes you to more of a jungle feel and we enjoyed seeing the parrots that were content to make the temple grounds their home.
Parrot on Top of TempleIntricate Column Inside TempleAnother Parrot Sitting on a Temple
One memory that we’ll never forget was getting blessed by a temple elephant while we were in the temple. Apparently, at the time that we were in India, many of the temple elephants were on “holiday” where they are pampered and spoiled once a year for all of their hard work. We handed the elephant a coin, which he took with his trunk, and then we bowed and the elephant gently tapped us on the head with his trunk. We were surprised by how soft the elephant’s trunk was, we were expecting it to be leathery and hard, but it wasn’t. In addition to being blessed by the elephant, another interesting site within the temple was seeing all of the ribbons tied to the “wishing tree”. We were told that many woman would tie a ribbon in hopes of getting pregnant, but people would tie ribbons on the tree for many other reasons as well. It was just another tradition that we enjoyed learning about.
Temple ElephantWishing TreeGorgeous Views of the Temple
Going to the silk shop was quite the experience. We were told that Indian women from around the country order the wedding saris from Kanchipuram due to the high quality of the silk. We sat down at a table and the owner of the shop started pulling out bundles of silk and laying them before us. If we found a color pattern that we liked, he would pull out several more bundles and lay them in front of us. There were two shop girls who would hold them up in front of us, wrap them around Dona’s shoulder while speaking only to Pete. We knew in advance that Indian men would rarely address women directly, so we weren’t surprised by the way that they communicated with us.
Decisions, Decisions…Miniature TempleColorful Temple Building
We ended up buying scarves for every female family member that we could think of as well as a beautiful table runner that we use on our formal dining room table. The best thing that we bought, however, was an absolutely gorgeous sari. Not only was the silk incredibly sensuous, but it was more than affordable. Everything that we bought in Kanchipuram that day probably cost us less than what a single silk scarf would cost us here in the United States and was even less expensive than the silk that we bought in Chennai.
Dona Wrapped for Her SariOrnate Temple RoofTemple
If you are ever in Tamil Nadu and want to buy some silk, a trip to Kanchipuram should definitely be on your agenda. The owner of the store couldn’t have been more helpful and friendly, despite the language barrier, but fortunately we had our driver plus a coworker to help ease the communication process. Fortunately, you don’t have to haggle over prices at the silk shops, the price that they quote is what you pay and it is so reasonable, there isn’t any reason to complain. We came home with several souvenirs on our trip, but the silk items we bought are definitely some of our most treasured. Not to mention that our family and friends were quite thrilled to receive such beautiful items.
