Ateny przewodnikAteny przewodnik, Turystyka zagranica, Grecja, Informatory przewodniki
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GREECE A thens, having been inhabited since the Neolithic age, is considered Europe’s historical capital. During its long, everlasting and fascinating history the city reached its zenith in the 5th century B.C (the “Golden Age of Pericles”), when its values and civilisation acquired a universal significance and glory. Political thought, theatre, the arts, philosophy, science, architecture, among other forms of intellectual thought, reached an epic acme, in a period of intellectual consummation unique in world history. Therefore, Athens constituted the cradle of western civilisation. A host of Greek words and ideas, such as democracy, harmony, music, mathematics, art, gastronomy, architecture, logic, Eros, eu- phoria and many others, enriched a multitude of lan- guages, and inspired civilisations. Over the years, a multitude of conque- rors occupied the city and erected splendid monuments of great signifi- cance, thus creating a rare historical palimpsest. Driven by the echo of its classical past, in 1834 the city became the capital of the modern Greek state. During the two centuries that elapsed however, it developed into an attractive, modern metropolis with unrivalled charm and great interest. Today, it offers visitors a unique experience. A “journey” in its 6,000-year history, including the chance to see renowned monu- ments and masterpieces of art of the antiquity and the Middle Ages, and the architectural heritage of the 19th and 20th cen- turies. You get an uplifting, embracing feeling in the brilliant light of the attic sky, surveying the charming landscape in the environs of the city (the indented coastline, beaches and mountains), and enjoying the modern infrastructure of the city and unique verve of the Athenians. Year-round visitors are fascinated by Athens, one of the most at- tractive and charming capitals of Europe. 1. A section of the pediment of the Athens Academy building. TOUR OF ATHENS, stage 1 ANTIQUITIES IN ATHENS Ο LYMPIEION T he Olympieion includes the Tour of Athens, stage 1: Α NTIQUITIES IN Α THENS 1 AD by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. It is of Corinthian order (110m in length and approximately 44m in width), three rows of eight columns at the narrow sides and two rows of twenty columns at its long sides. Inside the temple there was a gold and ivory statue of Zeus which does not exist today. • Ilissos Valley. The surviv- ing section of the Ilissos river valley (right behind the temple of Olympian Zeus) is worth a visit. In antiquity the Ilissos riv- er was known as the sacred riv- er of the Muses. Scattered re- mains of ancient sanctuaries are located in the valley. You will find nearby the rock of the Kalliroi spring – which was fa- mous in antiquity – and the church of Ayia Fotini , which was built in 1872 at the site of an ancient temple, on the foun- dation of the sacred sanctuary of Ekati. You will find nearby, the preserved monuments of the Classical, Roman, and Byzantine age, among others, (the Temple of Apollo Delphinios, sanctuary (temple) of Olympian Zeus, Roman baths, classical houses as well as a sec- tion of the ancient city’s fortifi- cation wall. According to the geographer Pausanias, the tem- ple of Olympian Zeus was founded by Deukalionas, a mythical ancestor of the Greeks. In the age of tyrrany, circa 515 BC, Peisistratos the younger grandson of the tyrant Peisistratos, attempted to re- place the old temple with a new, more impressive temple. The tyranny, however, was abolished and construction work was terminated. The con- struction of the new temple was later assigned to the Roman architect Decimus Cossutiusby the king of Syria Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Antiochus died in 163 BC and the construction of the temple was once again abandoned. The structure did not have a roof and pediment. The con- struction of the temple, which ranks among the biggest in an- tiquity, was completed in 131 15 14 13 4 5 A 3-kilometre pedestrian zone (the biggest in Europe) has been established in central roads (Vas. Olgas Str, D. Areopagitou Str, Ap. Pavlou Str, Adrianou Str. and a section of Ermou Str) leading to the major archaeological sites of Athens (archaeological park). Visitors to the section from Dionyssiou Aeropagitou (opposite Hadrian’s Arch) to the crossroads of Ermou Str and Piraeus Str (in the Kerameikos area) may enjoy the ancient landscape in a tranquil setting of the city. The archaeological tour is an unforgettable experience. 2. Temple of Olympian Zeus: 16 of a total of 104 columns (with a height of 17 metres) have been preserved. TOUR OF ATHENS, stage 1 ANTIQUITIES IN ATHENS the Temple of Cronos and Rhea, a Byzantine quarter with workshops, and Leonidis Church) . 4. Famous sights of Athens: the rock of the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Temple of Athena Victory and the Propylaea. In the foreground, the Roman Odeion of Herodes Atticus and in the background Lycabettus Hill. H ADRIAN’S Α RCH F ollowing the con- 2 struction of the temple of Zeus, the Athenians, in 131 AD, in honour of Emperor Hadrian, built an arch on the northwestern perime- ter of the temple. The monument is 18m tall and 13m wide while the arch, built of Pentelic marble, bears two in- scriptions on the architrave over the arch. One inscription, facing the Acropolis and the old town (facing west), says: “This is Athens, the city of Theseus.” The other inscription, facing the sanctuary and an ex- tension of Athens constructed by Hadrian, (facing east), says: “This is the city of Hadrian, not Theseus.” 3. Hadrian’s arch, the symbolic gate of the city of Athens. ΔΕΙΤΕ: 6 7 D IONYSSIOU Α REOPAGITOU STR D ionyssiou Aeropagitou Str THE A NCIENT T HEATRE OF D IONYSOS D irections: Enter the ar- 3 4 Areopagitou Str ), and descend. On the slope to your right is the most ancient theatre of the world, the Theatre of Dionysos. In this theatre, the most famous ancient Greek poets, Aeschylus, chaeological area on the southern slope of the Acropolis (entrance at Dionyssiou is one of the most impres- sive streets of Athens, offering an extraordinary view of the southern slopeof the Acropolis, where some of the city’s most significant monuments stand, and the Parthenon. Most of the buildings on one side of the road facing south were con- structed in the late 19th centu- ry and the early 20th century in the neoclassical or mod- ernist style, reflecting the bour- geois style of the street. 5. View of the pedestrianized Dionyssiou Areopagitou Str., centerpiece of the “grand promenade” in the archaeological sites of Athens. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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