September 30th – October 6th, 2017
There is nothing that archaeologists love more than trash and dead people’s things. I guess they might like books more, but the pages don’t always stand the test of time. Trash, pottery, and tomb stones, on the other hand, last almost forever even after being neglected for hundreds of years.
a tombstone of a dead wrestler
In Athens we saw a lot of dead people’s stuff. It was amazing the amount of details that went into making burial chachkies. These items did nothing for the dead or even their family, but they’re doing wonders for us now. Every tombstone, sarcophagus, and piece of pottery tells us so much about the past. Mark and I even went to a museum that told the life story of some guy who died thousands of years ago, all with information they got from the things they found in his grave.
It seems that the more important a person was, the more pottery that person was buried with. These jugs would tell about the person’s life in picture form. If the person were an athlete, there would be a picture of a man running, wrestling, or doing some other athletic activity.
A lot of information about Greece’s past can be found on its old pottery. It’s like they used jugs as note pads. If you were an ancient and you thought that Telemachus was “oh, s00o hot” you would get some clay and throw a new jug with pictures of you making googly eyes at his half-naked body doing push-ups or something. Pottery was like the blogging of its time, except people had to come over to your house to look at your jars.
There is so much pottery in Greece. Every museum has a pottery section. Some dedicated entire floors to pottery. Mark and I found a few museums that only had pottery. By the time I left Athens, I was completely sick of pottery. I still enjoyed the tales they told, though.
Stories told on a dead guy’s pottery
How to get there:
You can enter this country air, land, or sea.
Phone:
- 112 – Emergency
- 166 – Ambulane
- 199 – Fire
- 100 – Police
- 171 – Tourist Police
Website:
Videos:
Notes:
- Don’t flush toilet paper.
- Supposedly, it’s bad for the pipes.
- You’re supposed to throw it in the trash can in the bathroom.
- Although Greece is relatively inexpensive, you can go through all your money traveling to all the various islands.
Cost:
- 10 Euros
Hours:
- 9:30 – 17:30
Notes:
- Don’t miss:
- There is no audio guide
Ancient Agora of AthensCost:
- €8
- €30 – special package ticket that’s valid for 5 days and includes:
- Acropolis of Athens & South Slope of Acropolis + North slope of Acropolis
- Ancient Agora of Athens & Museum of the Ancient Agora
- Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos
- Archaeological Site of Lykeion
- Hadrian’s Library, Kerameikos
- Olympieio
- Roman Agora of Athens
Hours:
- 8:00 – 19:00
Notes:
- Don’t Miss:
Cost:
- €6
- €30 – special package ticket that’s valid for 5 days and includes:
- Acropolis of Athens & South Slope of Acropolis + North slope of Acropolis
- Ancient Agora of Athens & Museum of the Ancient Agora
- Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos
- Archaeological Site of Lykeion
- Hadrian’s Library, Kerameikos
- Olympieio
- Roman Agora of Athens
Hours:
- 8.00-18.00
- Last entrance: 17.30
Videos:
Notes:
- Hadrian’s Arch is right outside the gates.
- Don’t mistake this temple, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which is in Athens, for the Temple of Zeus in Olympia.
Hadrian’s LibraryCost:
- €4
- €30 – special package ticket that’s valid for 5 days and includes:
- Acropolis of Athens & South Slope of Acropolis + North slope of Acropolis
- Ancient Agora of Athens & Museum of the Ancient Agora
- Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos
- Archaeological Site of Lykeion
- Hadrian’s Library, Kerameikos
- Olympieio
- Roman Agora of Athens
Hours:
- Monday to Sunday 08.00 – 15.00
- Last Admission: 14.45
- When the temperature reaches above 39o C, the Archaeological Site will remain open from 8:00 till 13:00
Notes:
- Built in AD 132.
Roman AgoraCost:
- €30 – special package ticket that’s valid for 5 days and includes:
- Acropolis of Athens & South Slope of Acropolis + North slope of Acropolis
- Ancient Agora of Athens & Museum of the Ancient Agora
- Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos
- Archaeological Site of Lykeion
- Hadrian’s Library, Kerameikos
- Olympieio
- Roman Agora of Athens
Hours:
- 8:00 – 15:00
- When the temperature reaches above 39o C, the Archaeological Site will remain open from 8:00 till 13:00
Notes:
- Built between 19 and 11 B.C.
KerameikosCost:
- €30 – special package ticket that’s valid for 5 days and includes:
- Acropolis of Athens & South Slope of Acropolis + North slope of Acropolis
- Ancient Agora of Athens & Museum of the Ancient Agora
- Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos
- Archaeological Site of Lykeion
- Hadrian’s Library, Kerameikos
- Olympieio
- Roman Agora of Athens
Hours:
- 8:00 – 19:00
Notes:
- Don’t Miss:
- The Pompeion
Acropolis of AthensCost:
- €30 – special package ticket that’s valid for 5 days and includes:
- Acropolis of Athens & South Slope of Acropolis + North slope of Acropolis
- Ancient Agora of Athens & Museum of the Ancient Agora
- Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos
- Archaeological Site of Lykeion
- Hadrian’s Library, Kerameikos
- Olympieio
- Roman Agora of Athens
Hours:
- 8:00 – 20:00
Notes:
- If you are going to buy the 30Euro Special package ticket, get it before you go to the Acropolis.
- The line for buying tickets here is very, very long. If you have your ticket already, it could save you a good hour of waiting.
- Don’t Miss:
- Mars Hill is nearby outside the gates.
Cost:
- €30 – special package ticket that’s valid for 5 days and includes:
- Acropolis of Athens & South Slope of Acropolis + North slope of Acropolis
- Ancient Agora of Athens & Museum of the Ancient Agora
- Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos
- Archaeological Site of Lykeion
- Hadrian’s Library, Kerameikos
- Olympieio
- Roman Agora of Athens
Hours:
- 8:00 – 19:00
Notes:
- The museums nearby are not included. You needed to purchase additional tickets for them.
Acropolis Museum
Cost:
- €5
- Check the website for days when entrance fees are waved.
- Opens at 8:00
- Closing time varies by day and season.
- Check website for closing times
- Closed: 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 25 and 26 December
- On August Full Moon and European Night of Museums, the Acropolis Museum operates until 12 midnight.
Notes:
- Don’t Miss:
- Agios Eleftherios Church
- Gennadius Library
- Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art
- Greek Parliament
- Basic Information
- The Tomb of the Unknown Solider is nearby
- Hadrian’s Arch
- Mars Hill
- Mount Lycabettus
- Basic Information
- You can walk up or take a tram
- The tram only takes you up part way
- Pittaki
- Plaka
- Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
- Basic Information
- Very near to the Greek Parliament
- Changing of the Guard happens every hour on the hour throughout the day.
- Syntagma Station
Map:
