IN QUEST OF HUMAN EXCELLENCE, UNDER THE ATTIC SKY
The Panathenaic Stadium, refurbished in 1896 for the first modern Olympics, was given its monumental form in the 4th century BC. Athletes then and now have long competed for coveted honors on its oval track. A temple of Tyche (Fortune) once stood on the far hill.
SIMPLY DIVINE
The temple of Poseidon atop Cape Sounio, a magnificent showcase of the elements of nature, was once a sailors’ landmark, a haunt for pirates and a target of pilgrimage for early modern travelers and Hellenophiles – including Lord Byron, who left his name etched on a column. The sunset is a total must.
TIMELESS
From Thiseio, a vista of the majestic Acropolis, whose forested northern slopes, marked above by numerous cave shrines, were once home to the earliest, Neolithic inhabitants of this now universally recognized outcrop, known as the Sacred Rock.
PRIDE & BEAUTY
(L) With their foustanella skirts (30 meters of white fabric folded into 400 pleats, to represent the years of the Turkish occupation) and tsarouchi clogs weighing 3.5 kilograms each, the young soldiers of the Presidential Guard ("evzones") offer an unrivaled spectacle every Sunday at 11 a.m. for the ceremonial changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of Parliament. In preparation for sentry duty, they go through a month of grueling training so they can learn to stand perfectly still.
(R) Anafiotika is a small neighborhood that adjoins the bustling Plaka district, a small slice of the Cycladic islands right in the center of Athens, with a fascinating history. How many modern cities can boast such a picturesque little corner as this?
ZEA MARINA
The picturesque bay of Pasalimani (“Pasha’s harbor”) as it’s been known since Ottoman times,
is the most cosmopolitan part of Piraeus, (just 30 minutes from the city center on the ISAP train). Have a walk around and enjoy the view of the sea and the shiny yachts at one of its many cafes or restaurants.
