Nowhere conjures up the
great age of mythical monsters
and ancient gods quite like
Athens. Greece’s huge, hectic
cosmopolitan city is one of the
most historic in the world – as well
as being Europe’s oldest capital.
It is, however, ultra-modern, too.
Beneath the Acropolis there are
buzzing markets, outdoor cafés
and a vast pedestrian zone.
Drama in
Athens
Athenians have a great
sense of drama, but
then they did invent
the theatre! Ancient
Greek tragedies penned
thousands of years
ago continue to be
staged in spectacular
amphitheatres such as
the Odeon of Herodes
Atticus and the Epidaurus
Ancient Theatre, south
west of the city.
Draconian Law
Democracy was born in
Athens during the 7th
century BC. For the first time
ever, a man called Draco
decided to write down the
city’s laws. The Greek writer,
Plutarch, later said that these
laws were ‘written in blood,
not ink’. Every crime, be it
stealing a cabbage or worse,
was punishable by death!
Market day
The city’s central food
market is called Dimotiki
Agora. A trip to the
glass-topped market
hall plunges shoppers
headfirst into the noise,
chaos and mayhem of
Athens’ urban life. It can
be a gory experience
– locals head there to
buy skinned rabbits and
slimy cow intestines.
Dimotiki Agora is also
the finest place in town
to purchase chunks of
freshly butchered pig to
make traditional souvlaki
(skewered meat).
RUNNING MAN
Dromeas is a modern
statue of a man sprinting
down Vassilissis
Sofias Avenue, one
of Athens’ most
glamorous streets. To
create the illusion that
the runner is moving
at speed, Athenian
sculptor Costas
Varotsos made his 12m
(39ft) tall work of art out of
stacked sheets of broken glass.
Grave concerns
Noisy Athens is so jam-packed
with people, buildings, traffic
and historic landmarks, the
city is running out of space to
bury its dead. Graveyards are
overcrowded and plots have to
be recycled. Bodies are buried
for three years, then the bones
are dug up, washed in wine,
popped in a box and moved
to a communal ‘ossuary’ (a
storeroom for bones).
Port side
The rows of tankers,
ferries and cruise liners
filling the quays at Piraeus,
Athens’ humungous port,
are quite something
to behold. Eighteen
million passengers
sailed through here in
2014 – the equivalent of
the populations of both
Hungary and Sweden
hopping aboard! The
biggest ever sea battle
in history was fought at
Piraeus between Athens
and Persia in 480 BC.
More than 1,000 ships and
200,000 men took part.
Moonlight magic
The ancient Parthenon on top of the Acropolis is one
of the most copied buildings in the world. It is at its
most stunning during the August Moon Festival, the
brightest night of the year. Over 100 famous sites
and monuments all across Greece are opened up to
celebrate the full moon. Athens’ Acropolis can only be
admired from a distance, however – it has to be kept
closed after dark for safety reasons.
Olympic feats
Athens’ most famous
invention, the modern
Olympic Games,
kicked off in 1896 in the
Panathenaic Stadium. It
is the only stadium in the
world to be built entirely
in white marble. Before
the Olympic torch leaves
Greece on its world tour
at the start of each new
Olympic Games, a ‘flame
handover’ ceremony is
held here.