Return to the Acropolis!

On Friday we returned to the Acropolis so that we could take it in at a leisurely pace without the demands of class. As is usual, we got in for free- the joys of being an archaeology student! I think I calculated that I've saved at least $45 dollars on museum and site admissions with my ISIC card, which for a poor student is no small thing. One of the things that people forget about the Acropolis (and I'm not sure why this is) is that to get to the top you do need to make a bit of a climb. The views are absolutely gorgeous, though, and at least on Friday it was a bit cooler.
The sky from inside the cave of Pan! The slopes of the Acropolis, especially the north slope, are littered with caves. Most of them are sacred to some god or other.
Almost there! You can see how far on the plain Athens extends here. The interesting thing is that in the classical period, where I live now and where I go to school would both have been out in the country, though now they are well within Athens city limits. Classical Athens was actually quite small.
The Propylaia! Much of the Acropolis is currently under construction of some sort. The Parthenon is also covered with scaffolding. It's sucky for those of us here right now, but in the long run I think it's a good thing. (I'm taking a workshop on conservation, and I'm hoping we might learn about this. I do know that we get to destroy pots and then put them back together. Exciting!)
And one more view of the Parthenon. Going to the Acropolis is oddly depressing- it's amazing to see everything, but the whole top is covered with tour groups and tourists who seem to care less about the history and more about getting a picture of themself in front of a Caryatid. If they know what that means. It's still worth the trip up, though.

Next stop- the agora!