Mediterranean Cruise 2106 - Corinth and Athens

Corinth and Athens

After a full day at sea and entering a new time zone we were very excited to visit Greece. We arose early and had breakfast before leaving the ship.The first stop for our tour bus was  at the Corinth Canal. It cuts through the isthmus joining the Aegean and Adriatic Seas. The canal saves 200 miles of sailing around the southern part of Greece. Nero first attempted to dig the canal in 66 AD using 6000 young Jewish slaves. A French company, which began the work in 1881 where Nero's crew had stopped, completed the canal in 1893. It is long, narrow and deep. There is a bridge at one end that sinks into the water when a boat comes through and rises after it passes so vehicles can cross.

Our next stop was the ancient location of Corinth. The modern city was built  about 2 miles from the ancient city after an earthquake destroyed the city in 1858. The ancient ruins are estimated to have been inhabited as early as 6500 BC.

We first went to the museum. One interesting thing was the headless Roman statues. We were told that these were not damaged but were intentionally made with detachable heads, hands, limbs or other body parts. If a hero, ruler or famous person lost fame, honor or died the head could be easily replaced with the head of a new hero, ruler or famous person.

There were many other relics there. 

The two bottom photos are stones from the ancient Jewish Synagogue. 

The first thing you see when you enter the excavation site is the ruins of the Temple of Apollo from the 6th century BC. Seven of the original 38 columns still stand.

The excavation site is quite large and has many different structures and ruins.

The BEMA is the part of the synagogue where the Prophets and Torah are read. Paul most likely spoke to the Corinthians at this spot.

Leaving the site we saw more interesting objects. Like this round stone, a fountain and the toilets.

Water ran through the troughs to carry away the waste. These were the women's or slave's toilets. The men's would have been inside the city walls.

We leave Corinth and head to downtown Athens.

Our destination was Mars Hill and the Acropolis. They are very close to each other. We started at Mars Hill where Paul preached about 2000 years ago about "the Unknown God".

You are still able to climb the old stairs to the hill top but there are also new stairs with hand rail, that was our choice. Brother Eric Huntsman talked a bit about Paul and his preaching there and we all sang "I am a Child of God". The view from the hill is incredible.

Top left is the Temple of Zeus and Olympic Stadium, top right is Temple of Hephaestus, center is toward the Acropolis, bottom left is the Agora, and the right is a view of Athens. It was a stunning sight. We climbed down and walked over to the entrance to the Acropolis. This is the fortified part of a city built on a hill with steep sides chosen for defensive reasons. 

It was a good uphill hike with very interesting sights along the way. We saw a tomb marker on another hill top and the ancient Theater of Dionysious, the first stone theater.

 We entered through Propylaea. Construction on this gateway was begun in 437 BC and it was never finished.

Then came the long awaited sight of the Parthenon. It is being worked on to keep it from deteriorating. The construction equipment was a little distracting but it is magnificent!

At the top you can see what almost looks like Lego Bricks.

Turning around you would see the Temple of Athena Nike. It was built, demolished and rebuilt a few times over the centuries.

There are many ancient stones in the area. Perhaps they will one day be placed in their original spots.

The view from the Acropolis is spectacular. You can see all around the city of Athens.

Athens is very large and very modern along with the ancient sites. We really enjoyed our day in Corinth and Athens. Check that off the bucket list!

Things we learned about Athens -

Athens is named after Athena, the goddess of wisdom, who defeated Poseidon to become the patroness of the city.

Many scholars believe that theaters originated from Athens. The structure of theaters that we see today is based on Greek theaters having semi-circular arrangement with rows of seats. The theaters portrayed tragedies and comedies. Tragedies were based on wars and sorrows faced by Greeks and the characters wore dark colored clothes whereas comedies were based on everyday life and the characters wore light colored attire. The presence of 148 theater stages makes it the city with the largest number of theatrical stages.

 The Olympics Games started in Athens in 776 BC. With some modifications and alterations in the ancient form, the modern Olympics, that we know today, were launched in the year 1896.  The Olympics were such an important event in ancient Athens that the athletes who backed out were fined for their cowardice.