Executive Traveler June 2006
© Dale Leatherman 2006
Photos © Donnelle Oxley
The view from our table on the terrace was fit for the Greek gods. Below us, a full moon hovered protectively over the Acropolis, bathing the Parthenon in a flattering golden glow, like an aging diva with the house lights dimmed. On the surrounding plain, the lights of Athens glittered like a carpet of jewels reaching all the way to the sea.
The Orizontes Restaurant sits atop wooded Mt. Lycabettus, the highest point in Athens. No roads reach the peak, so we arrived by way of a funicular, then climbed steps on legs still shaky from jetlag and sightseeing. I sipped my glass of firey Greek ouzo and thought about books on time travel I’d read as a kid. They could have been inspired by moments such as this.
The night before we had been in the U.S., where 200-year-old structures are considered ancient. In contrast, the Acropolis is one of the oldest habitations in Europe. People have been living on it or around it for 8,000 years, the Greeks the past 4,000 years or so.
Looming 260 feet above the city, the Parthenon is visible from almost any place in Athens, and is, of course, a magnet for tourists. The dusky marble temple, built 2,500 years ago as a tribute to the city’s patron goddess, Athena, has suffered damage from wars, pillaging, earthquakes and, more recently, the effects of air pollution rising from the city’s busy streets. Reconstruction of it and three adjacent structures has been underway for some time, making the cranes and wire fences an unfortunate necessity.
But I was oblivious to all distraction as I circled the Parthenon, staring up at decorative friezes 35 feet above, supported by six-foot-thick Doric colonnades set on a 100- by 228-foot base. Many of the most fragile pieces of statuary and frieze are housed in a small museum, awaiting the completion of the restoration and a new museum. At that time Athenians hope that precious sculptures taken from the Parthenon will be returned from museums all over the world.
From the Acropolis we could see many of the Greek and Roman ruins scattered throughout Athens. To orient ourselves, we first visited the National Archeological Museum, which contains the world’s best collection of Greek antiquities. Then we made our way to the city’s most famous sites, passing from chaotic, modern streets into quiet walking paths through the remains of past dynasties. Our immersion in history was interspersed with shopping forays in the open-air market on Athinas Street, and dining in the lively tavernas of Thission, where tables and music spill onto the sidewalks.
All recent visitors to Greece benefit from the 2004 Olympics, which caused Athens to build a modern new airport and transportation system and restore many historic areas. One afternoon my friend and I hopped a futuristic-looking high-speed train to the coast and the Olympic water sports venues. There we lingered at a beachside café over classic Greek salads, fresh bread and rich wines from the islands we would sail to a few days hence. But first, the interior of the country beckoned, with the promise of more ancient wonders as well as opportunities to mingle with the Greek people. . . .
Contact me to read the entire story or to discuss second rights or a rewrite. daleatherman@cs.com