The Bite Magazine - Autmn/Winter 2020 - Issue 28

bitetravel Roman Emperor Hadrian had his famous construction, Had- rian’s Library, built close by in 132 AD. The Gate of Athena Ar- chegetis, named after the city’s patroness, stands on the western side. It consists of a row of four Doric columns and a socle made of Pentelic marble. The East Propylon is found at the eastern en- trance consisting of four Ionic columns made of grey Hymettian marble. Turkish mosque Fethiye Djami constructed in 1456 AD on the ruins of an Early Christian basilica lies on the northern side. Indulge in a piece of history at the Ancient Agora where philos- ophers like Sophocles, Socrates, and Protagoras and ordinary citizens would gather to reason and exchange ideas. Nestled among a mass of greenery, northwest of the Acropolis, the An- cient Agora were filled with private houses until the tyrant Pei- sistratus, son of Hippocrates, removed them. He closed the wells and made it the centre of the Athenian government. He then built a drainage system, fountains, and the Altar of the Twelve Gods. Here you will find the humble Temple of Hephaestus and the impressive Stoa of Attalos, two buildings of splendour that testify to the site’s past glory. The former, located northwest of the Agora of Athens, on top of the Agoraios Kolonos hill, is a well-preserved Greek temple that remains mostly intact with exterior Doric and interior Ionic colonnades. The latter, a two-storey building was built by and named after King Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamon who ruled between 159 BC and 138 BC. Acropolis Museum is one of the exciting places to visit in Ath- ens, especially if you’re into historical relics. The building de- signed by architects Bernard Tschumi and Michael Photiadis is relatively new since it was inaugurated in the summer of 2009. It was established to exhibit all the significant finds from the Sacred Rock and its foothills. The collections are spread across three levels as well as in the archaeological excavation that lies at its foundation. On the ground floor, the Galley of the Slopes of the Acropolis houses findings from the settlement and sanctuaries. The exhib- its include streets, squares, cemeteries, wells, fragments of hous- es and workshops, objects Athenians used in everyday life and painted vases. You will also see votive offerings from the sanctu- aries where gods were worshipped as well as two clay statues of the goddess Nike. Go up the gallery’s sloped floor and envision yourself climbing up to the sacred hill. Naturally lit, the nine-metre high Archaic Gallery contains the archaic findings from the Erechtheion (ancient Greek temple), the Temple of Athena Nike, and the Propylaea (monumental gateway). It also holds the magnificent sculptures that graced the first temples on the Acropolis. Five of the six statues of Ko- rai (Caryatids), the maiden columns that held up the roof of the Erechtheion are here. The sixth Caryatid was removed by Lord Elgin in 1801 and is now held in the British Museum, in London. He also took the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, back to England. This collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures were made under the supervision of architect and sculptor Phidias. They were initially part of the temple of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. National Archaeological MuseumThe Mycenaean Lady Wall Painting National Archaeological Museum Marble Statue of a Fighting Gaul Temple of Olympian Zeus - The Parthenon through Hadrian’s Arch Athens - Jumble Shop