Ed and I spent three fantastic weeks in Greece this August. Providing in photos and videos a wealth of eye candy for a series of blog posts. Surely it makes sense to make the famous Acropolis in Athens the first of this series. If there is one thing at the top of any list when one thinks of Greece it is surely the Acropolis.

And the Parthenon is the most well known part of the Acropolis, so I will top this blog post with a photo of it. And below, a video:

This video takes us on a nice panoramic scroll along the Parthenon, as well as other views on top of the Acropolis:

Okay, we’ll actually got to the Parthenon in the middle of this excursion, which started at the Southeast entrance below the Acropolis.

The Amphitheater of Dionysos

The Stoa of Eumenes

The Odeion

The placard above explains that the Odeion hosts performances regularly in the modern era. I attended a performance there when I was 5 years old (the only other time I visited Greece). My mother (Catherine Gayer) was singing the Soprano solo part in Carmina Burana. I remember sitting in the amphitheater seating on a cushion, leaning against my father’s shoulder. I’m afraid I probably slept through the evening performance, as I have a clearer memory of the theater during daylight, when we attended a dress rehearsal.

The West Gate

View of Athens from the West Gate

Approaching the Parthenon

The Erechtheion

The video of the long walk along the Parthenon was taken at this juncture.

Note how the text points out that even more destructive than the 1687 cannonball explosion that blew up a quarter of the Parthenon was the thievery of Lord Elgin in 1802.

View from the flag

View of Athens, looking North, with the highest point in central Athens, Mount Lycabettus

Leaving from the West Gate