Athena Vs Poseidon
Long ago, there was a battle between the gods. Well, many battles, but one specifically I’m referring to here. Who should be the patron god of Athens? Given the name of the city, I think we can all guess the outcome of the competition! But, legend has it that Poseidon made his offer to the people, which included salt water. And Athena made hers, which included an olive tree to plant and provide shade from the heat, sustenance, etc. The Athenians chose Athena and given the success of that city since it was founded, I’d say they chose well!
Athena and Poseidon also happen to be two of Katia’s favourite gods. Hestia is the other favourite. Her dream for the past year has been to come to Greece to see as many temples and sites as possible, with a huge emphasis on seeing Athens and the Acropolis. During our first week in Greece, we made sure to prioritize a trip to Athens. It turned out to be her dream day!
We got into Athens and made our way into the Plaka. We walked around, browsed a few shops to find our perfect magnet, and found the most gorgeous Greek goddess dresses for the girls. We ended up returning at the end of the day to buy them. They will double as Halloween costumes for the girls this year. Katia will be Athena and Emmeline will be Hestia. I will also dress up as Demeter. She’s an inspirational mother figure, basically destroying the world to retrieve her daughter Persephone after she was kidnapped by Hades. Jon will dress up as Dionysus because who doesn’t love the god of wine, parties, and big cats? The girls think he should haul around a wagon full of stuffed cats… that would be a sight to see! LOL
We walked around, looking at some of the remains down around the inner core. We saw Hadrian’s Library and the ancient agora and admired the architecture. We walked up towards the Acropolis and went up to the lookout at Areopagus Hill. There was a gorgeous view of the Acropolis from here. Emmeline also found it interesting to learn that this was the spot where the Apostle Paul preached and spread Christianity to the people of Athens in 51 AD. We also had gorgeous views out over Athens and to other sites like the Roman Agora.
After spending some time up here on the hill, we were dying from heat! We made our way back down and went over to purchase our tickets to go into the Acropolis. While Jon waited in line to do that, I took the girls to get them some slushies to help cool them down.
While we were hoping to avoid peak tourism season and too hot of weather by coming in May, it was still very busy and our tickets were for two hours later. This gave us a great opportunity to walk down amongst the olive trees and across the street to a large park with churches, lookouts, and other historical monuments. As we walked, we marvelled at the foresight of the Athenians to choose these beautiful trees rather than the salt water they already had in abundance all around them! Katia tried to determine which tree was the original, but we all decided that likely that tree died thousands of years ago and all these other trees are descendants from that first tree.
We walked around the park, feeling we were in our element in nature. The park was mostly deserted, which was surprising yet not. It’s right in the heart of everything and full of so much beauty, but we have long since come to terms with the fact that not everyone revels in nature the way we do. One of the main things Jon wanted to see in Athens was the Prison of Socrates, which we went and checked out first before hiking the beautiful paths around the park. It was something I was also interested in seeing, and it did not disappoint. It is amazing to think of Socrates sitting right there almost 2,500 years ago!
While we were walking, we looked over and saw we had the most gorgeous view of the Acropolis. Wow. It was impressive. We weren’t expecting that stunning view, and it made us wonder why more people don’t come over to this park to hike up and marvel at the views.
We were all extremely hot, despite drinking plenty of water and giving the girls frozen slushy drinks. We finished up our hike a bit early to walk over to a tourist trap hotel/restaurant, Dionysos Zonar’s at the park entrance to sit inside in the air conditioning and have a cold drink. When we got there, the hostess asked if we wanted a table outside, and looked surprised we said indoors until she looked at the girls’ flushed faces and shot us a look of sympathy.
After cooling sorbet, homemade lemonade, and iced mountain tea with honey, we made our way back up through the olive trees to the Acropolis entrance. Along the way, we found beautiful pink flowers on the ground. We picked them up to bring with us as an offering to Athena but were told we couldn’t bring them into the Acropolis. Katia was told she couldn’t bring her prized owl stuffy, Hedwig, into the Acropolis to have her in photos. No reason why was given when asked. Katia was devastated and in tears, as she goes everywhere with Hedwig and was so excited to show her the Acropolis since owls are also Athena’s sacred animal.
Thankfully for Katia, Mommy and Daddy do not follow idiotic, arbitrary rules. While we left the flowers behind, we let her cuddle her stuffy, showed her the sights, and took photos with her in front of the Parthenon. There were a million rocks around the Acropolis, so she also managed to pick one that looked the prettiest to her and said a prayer to Athena, before putting it back down at the base of the Parthenon. I have to say, Katia made a great point when she told us that the Acropolis is supposed to be a holy place where people go to pray, honour the gods, and pay tribute. So why were all these people who didn’t believe in them allowed to come in and take photos, but she who truly believes in Athena wasn’t allowed to come in, pray with Hedwig, and leave tribute at the temple as per its intended use?
We toured all of the Acropolis, but the Parthenon was definitely the highlight for Katia. I also really loved the Dionysus theatre, which is still used today!
After making our way back down to town, we met up with some people for dinner. While in Athens, Jon found out a friend from Saskatoon had just arrived with her husband and niece, as well. Small world! They connected and we met up for dinner at Platanos Taverna. It was such a fun evening chatting and getting to know them!
After a very long day in Athens, we made our way back to Derveni. Before we left, we made plans to come back again in two days. I needed to do some bridesmaid dress shopping, but our day in Athens was just so jam-packed I couldn’t fit it in. We decided after dress shopping, that we would go down south of Athens to see the Temple of Poseidon. This was also one of Katia’s dreams to see. It’s supposed to have some of the most beautiful sunsets in Greece! We told Shelley, Tyler, and Kaylee about our plans and to feel free to join us if they wished.
Two days later, we made our way back, purchased our tickets, and went down to the beach to get some dinner. We never did hear back from Shelley. But, as we got back to the Temple to enter, what do we hear but, “Hello friends!” from Shelley, who had just grabbed their tickets and was also about to go in! Amazing! We had a great time connecting with them at the Temple and enjoying the sunset together.
As soon as the sun set, the employees started rounding people up and kicking them out for the night. We said our goodbyes and began the long journey back to Derveni. It was yet another incredibly long day, being after 11 p.m. when we got home. But it was worth it for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the temple, watch the beautiful sunset, and fulfil yet one more dream my daughter had!
