Sights in Athens
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Hadrian’s Library
Once the most luxurious public building in the city, Hadrian’s library was erected around AD 132. It had an internal courtyard and pool and was bordered by 100 columns. The building was destroyed in AD 267 during the Herulian invasion. The remains of Megali Panagia, believed to be the oldest Christian church in Athens, can be seen in the garden, including parts of the mosaic floor. During the Ottoman period it was a bazaar.
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Temple of Athena Nike
The exquisitely proportioned little Temple of Athena Nike once stood on a platform perched atop the steep southwest edge of the Acropolis, to the right of the Propylaia. It may well be there by the time you read this, but the temple was dismantled piece by piece in 2003 in a controversial move to restore it off-site. It was supposed to be back in time for the Olympics, but only parts had reappeared at the time of research.
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Panagia Hrysospiliotissa
Above the Theatre of Dionysos, you will see an indistinct rock-strewn path leading to a grotto in the cliff face. In 320 BC Thrasyllos turned the grotto into a temple dedicated to Dionysos. The tiny Panagia Hrysospiliotissa (Chapel of our Lady of the Cavern) is now a poignant little place with old pictures and icons on the walls. Above the chapel are two Ionic columns, the remains of Thrasyllos' temple.
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Panathenaic Way
The Panathenaic Way, which cuts across the middle of the Acropolis, was the route taken by the Panathenaic procession - the climax of the Panathenaia festival held to venerate the goddess Athena. There were actually two festivals: the Lesser Panathenaic Festival took place annually on Athena's birthday, and the Great Panathenaic Festival was held on every fourth anniversary of the goddess's birth.
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Limni Vouliagmenis
You can swim year-round at Limni Vouliagmenis, a part-saltwater/part-springwater lake whose temperature never falls below 21°C and is known for its therapeutic mineral qualities. It is set dramatically against a huge jutting cliff, just off the coast, and has a quaint old-world atmosphere thanks to the regular clientele of elderly citizens dressed in bathing caps and towelling gowns.
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Athens’ First Cemetery
In a city with limited open space, the well-tended gardens of the old cemetery are a pleasant, if quirky, place to stroll. The resting places of rich and famous Greeks and philhellenes have some lavish tombstones by leading 19th-century sculptors, including The Sleeping Maiden by Halepas and archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann’s mausoleum, decorated with Trojan War scenes.
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Church of Agios Eleftherios
The 12th-century Church of Agios Eleftherios is considered one of the city's finest. It is built partly of Pentelic marble and decorated with an external frieze of symbolic beasts in bas relief. It was originally dedicated to the Panagia Gorgoepikoos (Virgin swift to answer prayers) and was once the city's cathedral, but now stands in the shadows of the much larger new cathedral.
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Street of Tombs
Leading off the Sacred Way to the left as you head away from the city is the Street of Tombs. This avenue was reserved for the tombs of Athens' most prominent citizens. The surviving stelae are now in the National Archaeological Museum, and what you see are replicas. The astonishing array of funerary monuments, and their bas reliefs warrant more than a cursory examination.
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Athens University
The splendid Athens University was designed by the Danish architect Christian Hansen and completed in 1864. It still serves as the university's administrative headquarters. On its left is the Athens Academy, designed by Hansen's brother Theophile and completed in 1885. The Ionian-style entrance mimics the eastern entrance to the Erechtheion. Neither is open to the public.
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Cecropion
The northern porch of the Erechtheion consists of six graceful Ionic columns; on the floor are the fissures supposedly cleft by Poseidon's trident. This porch leads into the Temenos of Pandrossos, where, according to mythology, the sacred olive brought forth by Athena grew. To the south of here was the Cecropion - King Cecrops' burial place.
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Temenos of Pandrossos
The northern porch of the Erechtheion consists of six graceful Ionic columns; on the floor are the fissures supposedly cleft by Poseidon's trident. This porch leads into the Temenos of Pandrossos, where, according to mythology, the sacred olive brought forth by Athena grew. To the south of here was the Cecropion - King Cecrops' burial place.
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Areopagus Hill
Diagonally opposite the main Acropolis entrance, you’ll see new stairs leading up to the hallowed rocky spur of Areopagus Hill (the worn steps got too dangerous for most). Once the meeting place for the supreme council, contemplative tourists and romantics are found there at all hours enjoying superb views over the Ancient Agora.
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Roman Bath Complex
Excavation work to create a ventilation shaft for the metro uncovered the well-preserved ruins of a large Roman bath complex. The baths, which extend into the National Gardens, were established near the Ilissos river after the Herulian raids in the 3rd century AD; they were destroyed and repaired again in the 5th or 6th century.
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Atelier Spyros Vassiliou
The home and studio of leading 20th-century Greek painter and set designer Spyros Vassiliou (1902–1985) has been converted into an impressive museum and archive of his work. Exhibits include his celebrated paintings depicting urban Athens, theatre sets, his artist’s tools and illustrations from literary journals and newspapers.
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Museum of Traditional Pottery
This small museum in a lovely neoclassical building around the corner from the Keramikos site is dedicated to the history of (relatively) contemporary Greek pottery, exhibiting a selection from the museum’s 4500-plus collection. There’s a reconstruction of a traditional potter’s workshop. The centre holds periodic exhibitions.
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Church of Agios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris
West of the Acropolis, on Filopappou Hill is the Church of Agios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris containing some fine frescoes. There are small paths all over the hill, but the paved path to the top starts near the periptero (street kiosk) on Dionysiou Areopagitou will get you there - after 250m, the path passes the church.
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Islamic Art Museum
The Benaki Museum’s celebrated collection of Islamic art is one of the finest in the world. This stately neoclassical complex of buildings exhibits more than 8000 items covering the 12th to 19th centuries, including weavings, carvings, prayer carpets, tiles, ceramics and a 17th-century reception room from a Cairo mansion.
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Agios Nikolaos Rangavas
The lovely 11th-century Agios Nikolaos Rangavas was part of the palace of the Rangavas family, who counted among them Michael I, emperor of Byzantium. The church bell was the first installed in Athens after liberation from the Turks (who banned them), and was the first to ring in 1833 to announce the freedom of Athens.
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Presidential Palace & Megaron Maximou
Evzones (guards) stand guard outside Ernst Ziller’s imposing 1870s former royal palace, now the residence of Greece’s president. Neighbouring Megaron Maximou, an elegant neoclassical building easily spotted by the media throng outside, is the prime minister’s residence. Admission is by invitation only.
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Church of the Holy Apostles
The charming Church of the Holy Apostles, which stands near the southern entrance, was built in the early 10th century to commemorate St Paul's teaching in the Agora. Between 1954 and 1957 it was stripped of its 19th-century additions and restored to its original form. It contains some fine Byzantine frescoes.
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Piraeus Archaeological Museum
This important museum has stunning antiquities from Piraeus and southern Greece, including finds from a Minoan sanctuary on Kythira. Star attractions are the four colossal bronzes, including a larger than life–sized 520 BC statue of Apollo. A 2nd-century BC theatre has been excavated in the museum grounds.
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National Library
Athens boasts a large number of fine neoclassical buildings dating from the period after Independence. The National Library is one of these. Its main feature is the corridor leading to the reading room, which is flanked by a row of Doric columns influenced by the Temple of Hephaestus in the Ancient Agora.
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Technopolis
There’s always something on at the city’s old gasworks, the impressively restored 1862 complex of furnaces and industrial buildings. It hosts multimedia exhibitions, concerts, festivals and special events and has a pleasant café. The small Maria Callas museum is dedicated to the revered opera diva.
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Museum of Greek Popular Instruments
More than 1200 folk instruments dating from the 18th century are exhibited over three floors, with headphones for visitors to listen to the sounds of the gaida (Greek goatskin bagpipes) and Byzantine mandolins, among others. Musical performances are held in the lovely garden in summer.
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Centre of Folk Art & Tradition
The 1920s mansion of folklorist Angeliki Hatzimichalis recreates the traditional pastoral life, including an old kitchen and chapel. Exhibits include regional costumes, embroideries, weaving machines, ceramic vases and family portraits. At the time of writing, it was closed for refurbishment.
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