Monday, May 25, 2015
We had an appointment first thing Monday morning in Athens. Six weeks before our trip, my friend and colleague Charlotte had emailed Jim Wright, the head of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, to say that we would be there on May 25 and ask if he could show us around. We already had a connection with the school, because its United States office is in Princeton, and Grace had worked there as an intern one summer while in high school, back when she wanted to become an archeologist (the job was also courtesy of Charlotte, who is the school’s lawyer). Somewhat coincidentally, we had a connection with Jim Wright, as well as the American School, because Grace had taken an archeology class with him her freshman year in college, before he took the position at the American School. Jim remembered Grace (or was polite enough to say he did) and graciously agreed to show us around the Agora, Greece’s ancient forum sprawling at the base of the Acropolis. He met us at our hotel and we walked over.
The American School has held the license to excavate the Agora since 1931. I can’t stress enough how cool it was to have the head of the school give us a tour. Jim met us at our hotel and walked us to where John Camp, the Director of Excavations (below, in pink shirt) was giving a talk to a group of German architecture students.
We tagged along until the end of that tour, then John Camp took us into the school’s offices, upstairs in the South Stoia, which is a beautiful re-creation of what was once there (built largely by Rockefeller money, interestingly).
In the American School’s offices on the second floor of the South Stoia, there were rows and rows of glass cabinets full of archaeological finds:
But what I found most fascinating about our inside tour was the back office, with file cabinets containing little notebooks of archeologists’ notes. Every coin and shard of pottery found since 1931 has been photographed and described, then cross-referenced into other books. They are in the process of digitizing the notebooks, but it’s almost a shame because the originals are so charming.
After John Camp showed up the notebooks, Jim Wright picked us up again, and Jim generously spent hours walking around the Agora with us. Hard to imagine a more pleasant way to spend a beautiful morning in Athens than strolling through the Agora with someone who is an expert on it.
Jim couldn’t join us for lunch, as he was already late for a meeting and we had thoroughly monopolized his time, so we ate at a café near the train tracks. This is one of the most fascinating things about the Agora, to me: In the 19th century it was well known that under acres of tenements lay the ancient Agora, but there was a misjudgment about where its boundaries were. As a result, the train line was placed beyond what scholars then thought was the boundary. After almost a century of excavation, the American School has now expanded its excavations to the other side of the train tracks and is currently uncovering the Painted Stoia, an important building obscured by the tracks and the restaurants on top of it.
This blows me away: Jim pointed to a stone and told us that it was a critical place for important ancient Greeks like Socrates to make speeches. It’s completely unmarked, is within feet of the train tracks, and has a garden hose lying next to it.
After a quick break back at our hotel, we tackled the Acropolis. I still think that walking up to and around the Parthenon is something everyone should experience. It breaks my heart a little bit, though: How could something so spectacular have been treated so unkindly (pillaged, then accidentally blown up)?
Above, the Erechtheion, with the Porch of Caryatids.
Grace on the way down from the Parthenon, with the Agora behind her.
The Parthenon Museum is closed on Mondays (which we knew in advance), so we started walking. We stopped for a coffee and yogurt with honey (to die for) at a café. Little waifs playing accordions begged for tips at each café before being shooed away by the café owners.
The last time I was in Athens we didn’t go to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, but Grace and I spent a bit of time there. This was a peaceful place in the middle of the city.
We then walked through the grounds of the Zappeion, an impressive building whose purpose was not at all obvious. In front of the Zappeion, what should have been an impressive flower garden had some scraggly pansies. Seriously, my windowboxes at the shore look a lot more impressive.
This was typical of what I observed about Athens: In the six years since I was last here, it has become much more seedy. I still like Athens quite a bit, but it’s dirtier, and less well-kept, and more covered in graffiti.
We would have liked a longer stroll through the National Gardens…
Grace fascinated by turtles.
We barely dipped into the National Gardens because we were determined to arrive at Parliament in time for the changing of the guard. I mean absolutely no disrepect, but all I could think of was this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV2ViNJFZC8. Please do click on the link.
Above, the inspection of the pom-poms.
For dinner, I had in mind to see another neighborhood, having pretty much mastered the Plaka in my last few visits. We went to Kolonaki – not completely successfully, because we had trouble finding any of the restaurants we’d checked out. We ended up walking quite a distance to a strange little place, The Cave(?). It was incredibly quiet, which was a relief after last night’s tourist trap, but almost too much so. We were the only people there, and it was fairly late, so we felt bad keeping the help from going home. We ordered a selection of cheeses to split as an appetizer, and it turned out to be an elaborate display, after which neither of us needed to eat another thing. We had already ordered, however, so we dutifully picked at our main courses. Grace decided that dill really doesn’t cut it as a pizza topping.