Greece - Korina Miller [75]
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF KERAMIKOS
The small Keramikos museum (Map) was established by its benefactor, Gustav Oberlaender, a German-American stocking manufacturer. It contains stelae and sculptures from the site, as well as a good collection of vases and terracotta figurines.
Roman Athens
TOWER OF THE WINDS & ROMAN AGORA
Entrance to the Roman Agora (Map; 210 324 5220; cnr Pelopida & Eolou; adult/concession €2/1, free with Acropolis pass; 8.30am-8pm Apr-Oct, 8am-5.30pm Nov-Mar) is through the well-preserved Gate of Athena Archegetis, which is flanked by four Doric columns. It was erected sometime during the 1st century AD and financed by Julius Caesar.
The rest of the Roman Agora is hard to make sense of. To the right of the entrance are the foundations of a 1st-century public latrine. In the southeast area are the foundations of a propylon and a row of shops.
The well-preserved Tower of the Winds was built in the 1st century BC by a Syrian astronomer named Andronicus. The octagonal monument of Pentelic marble is an ingenious construction that functioned as a sundial, weather vane, water clock and compass. Each side represents a point of the compass, and has a relief of a figure floating through the air, which depicts the wind associated with that particular point. Beneath each of the reliefs are the faint markings of sundials. The weather vane, which disappeared long ago, was a bronze Triton that revolved on top of the tower. The Turks allowed dervishes to use the tower.
HADRIAN’S ARCH
The Roman emperor Hadrian had a great affection for Athens. Although he did his fair share of spiriting its classical artwork to Rome, he also embellished the city with many monuments influenced by classical architecture. Grandiose as these monuments are, they lack the refinement and artistic flair of their classical predecessors.
Hadrian’s Arch (Map) is a lofty monument of Pentelic marble that stands where busy Leoforos Vasilissis Olgas and Leoforos Vasilissis Amalias meet. It was erected by Hadrian in AD 132, probably to commemorate the consecration of the Temple of Olympian Zeus (below). The inscriptions show that it was also intended as a dividing point between the ancient and Roman city. The northwest frieze bears the inscription ‘This is Athens, the Ancient city of Theseus’, while the southeast frieze states ‘This is the city of Hadrian, and not of Theseus’.
TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN ZEUS
This is the largest temple (Map; 210 922 6330; adult/concession €2/1, free with Acropolis pass; 8.30am-8pm Apr-Oct, 8am-5.30pm Nov-Mar) in Greece. The temple was begun in the 6th century BC by Peisistratos, but was abandoned for lack of funds. Various other leaders had stabs at completing it, but it was left to Hadrian to complete the work in AD 131. It took more than 700 years to build.
The temple is impressive for the sheer size of its 104 Corinthian columns (17m high with a base diameter of 1.7m), of which 15 remain – the fallen column was blown down in a gale in 1852. Hadrian put a colossal statue of Zeus in the cella and, in typically immodest fashion, placed an equally large one of himself next to it.
HADRIAN’S LIBRARY
To the north of the Roman Agora is this vast 2nd-century-AD library (Map), the largest structure erected by Hadrian. It included a cloistered courtyard bordered by 100 columns and there was a pool in the centre. As well as books, the building housed music and lecture rooms and a theatre.
ROMAN BATHS
Excavation work to create a ventilation shaft for the metro uncovered the well-preserved ruins of a large Roman bath complex (Map). 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.
PANATHENAIC STADIUM
The Panathenaic Stadium (Map), which lies between two pine-covered hills between the neighbourhoods of Mets and Pangrati, was originally built in the 4th century BC as a venue for the Panathenaic athletic contests. A