Athenian Agora

Today was our first official day of class with a brief overview of Greek archaeology and geography. Afterwards, we made our way across Athens through Monastiriki (the market area) and Plaka (the old town with a lot of tourist shops) and finally to the Athenian Agora, which sits at the foothill of the Acropolis. As we strolled through the Agora, we noticed the bases of structures that were crucial to the average Classical Athenian, such as the Bouleterion (meeting place of the Boule, Athens political body) and the altar which held the statues of the Eponymous Heroes. On the far east sat the Hephaistion, or Temple of Hephaestus. It is one of the best preserved temples left. On the far west sat the Stoa of Attaloos, a rectangular structure which served as a sort of courtyard area for the Athenians. It has been reconstructed since the 50's and now houses the Agora Museum, which we checked out. Although it had a few cool objects, such as the broken pottery chards used to osctracize Themistokles, it was just like most other small-time museums in Greece, having most of its important artifacts shipped off to the National Archaeological Museum. As we exited the Museum, we walked down the Panathenaic Way, which is the main road that leads up to the Acropolis. Our group then headed back to Monastiriki to grab lunch. On the recommendation of Dr. Leonard, I tried the Kebabs and they were delicious. Then our group walked through the meat market. Although dead animals do not bother me in the least, It was shocking to see so many carcasses (with heads mind you) just hanging freely. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. Anyway, I wanted to buy a goat so bad, until I realized that I didn't know how to do anything with it. Alas, I left the meat market empty handed. On an exploratory route back to the apartment, I came across a large Byzantine church, called the Church of Panaghia Kapikarea. Then, we made our way to Syntagma Square again. but from a different angle and passing Hotel Electra, the hotel I stayed in for 3 nights last summer. I hopped on the Metro back to Pangrati. It was my first time on the Metro in Athens and it sure makes exploring the city in the heat so much better. I spent that evening catching up on reading but I did divulge in one of the best concoctions ever created; a crepe filled with strawberries, bananas, nutella, peanuts and coconut. Delicious!!!