I just came back from a visit to Athens and here are some impressions for those who might not have been there yet . The Temple of Olympian Zeus was probably once the largest Temple in the Greek world. It was begun in 520 b.C. and completed by Hadrian some 628 years later, only to be damaged beyond repair during the Herculean invasion of 267: Hadrian was a great patron of Athens and was honored with a triumphal arch: The Theatre of Herodes Atticus, built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, is still in use today: The Temple of Hephahestos (inaugurated in 415 b.C.) is probably the best preserved Greek Temple of them all, having been saved from destruction in the middle Ages by being used as a church for more than a thousand years: The Propylaea, monumental gateway to the Acropolis (built in the 430s b.C.): Antoninus and me : As this is a coin site after all, here is a hoard of 54 bronzes (Augustus to Salonina) of Nicopolis, found at Epirus in 1934, at the Athens Numismatic Museum: Sunny greetings to all of you!!!
What a coincidence: I was in Athens last week as well, and am in a taxi on my way back after spending a week in Crete! The weather is supposed to be a bit warmer/less rainy this week which will be much appreciated. I'm planning on going back to the Acropolis as soon as it opens tomorrow to hopefully catch it before tourists swarm in droves. We have almost the same sets of pictures. It took quite a bit of waiting to get a people-free picture of the Temple of Hephaestus for me as well. Did you enjoy the numismatic museum? That's my main site to see on Tuesday: I've booked out the full afternoon just in case I lose track of time.
Nice pictures. Thanks for sharing. It's a place I've always wanted to visit for its history but strangely, have not done so yet......better start working on my itinerary!!!
Athens is a wonderful city, but I was there last in the first week of September and it was like being in an oven. Well over 100 Fahrenheit every day.
I would never have recognized what I see in this photo as it is labeled. If I saw the coins, I would not have bought them. A 54 coin hoard spanning 250 years is really interesting.
Lovely city, lovely country as are all the Islands. I`ve lost count the times I`ve visited Greece. I`ve travelled the world and there is nowhere else I wish to go apart from Greece, lovely people, great food, good weather, masses of history. We have a family place over in Corfu, my eldest son and family are there now.
Greece is one of the places I want to go to eventually. Glad to see you had such a great time. In ancient Chinese hoards, it is not unusual to find coins spanning 900 years. Good copper was still good copper, regardless of when it was issued.
Would love to go and see that stuff. Not a fan of heat though. Not impressed with the coins in the OP pic, talk about over cleaned!! Usually they look better in "hoard" setups. Thanks for sharing!
great pics indeed, thanks for sharing! man, i hope they don't clean that cat the same way they cleaned those coins!
Oh yes, we had the nicest weather for a week and the rain only started on the way back to the airport. There were not THAT many tourists on the Acropolis in the late afternoon. Here is the Erechtheion featuring the famous Porch of the Caryatids: We also met a couple of native greek Tortoises (it must be quite a sport for them to climb up there): I only got to spend 15 minutes in the Numismatic Museum as old coins are not my girl´s cup of tea . To console myself a little I spent 7 Euros on the antique flea market to bring back something remotely coin-related: Diademed head right of deified Alexander III (the Great) with Horn of Ammon / - Brass Medallion, 20th Century 215 gr / 79mm (obverse inspired by Tetradrachm of Lysimachus of Thrace)
Wonderful pics @Julius Germanicus ! My wife SAYS she is interested in my coins, but glazes over after 5 minutes (and she says she loves me...) Oh no! That last one is a fake... did Customs and the TSA lock you up at the border??? Jest kiddin' ! (7 Euros for a souvenir is a STEAL no matter what!)
Thanks for sharing all those wonderfull pics, Julius. Also Been there a couple of times, remember the Plaka very well Bought these as souvenirs , cant remember for how much.
