Athens, Greece: The Acropolis & Stolen Statues

Almost anywhere you go, there’s a must-see tourist attraction and in Athens, it’s definitely the Acropolis. “Acropolis” in Greek translates to “highest point in the city” and while it’s not the only high point in Athens, it is the high point.

There are two ways you can get up to the Acropolis, the long way, which takes you through Ancient Greek civilization, or the short way, which takes you up a hill directly to the Parthenon and other main attractions. It was hot as hell that day so we opted for the short route. You do have to purchase tickets whichever route you choose, but be aware that the lines at the top can get super long. You can also purchase a guided tour, but we didn’t because we’re cheap and we were with a local.

Theatre of DionysusThe theatre from a different angle

When you’re walking up to the Propylaea (the entrance), you can see the Theatre of Dionysus below. Be careful as you’re walking since the walkways are paved with marble and can be slippery! Luckily I wore my Sperry’s that day, but it was still a little slippery.

PropylaeaMost of the crew outside.The Propylaea once you walk in.

We took some pictures in front of the Propylaea and then walked up through it. It’s pretty crazy that these buildings are thousands of years old and they’re completely made of marble!

The Parthenon 

The Parthenon

Next in sight was the Parthenon – a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena (hence the city of Athens). They’re in the process of rebuilding the ruins so there were construction things all around.

The ErechtheionErechtheion

Caddy corner to the Parthenon is the Erechtheion, another temple. One of the corners of the Erechtheion has women statues, called caryatid, as pillars. The caryatid we saw are actually replicas; most of the originals are housed in the Acropolis Museum.

Fun fact: one of the statues was stolen by the British and housed in the British Museum in London. According to my Greek friend, Greece asked that it be returned but the Brits refused! I even googled it and apparently, it’s true!

The Acropolis Museum

After taking a lot of pictures, we finally headed out and ended up at the Athens museum to wander around and cool down.

The original caryatid.

We saw the actual caryatid and got educated on the history of the Acropolis and the Parthenon. It’s pretty  amazing the level of detail the Greeks put into the buildings – everything from the pillars to the sheer size of the marble statues. You really have to appreciate the work they put in with their lack of technology.

I remember being a kid wondering if I would ever get travel. I would never have guessed that a little island girl like me would make it halfway around the world to the Acropolis, let alone Greece! God has definitely been good to me.