In Ancient Greece you can go by different routes. For example, go to Cyprus, where columns, mosaics and remains of amphitheaters have been preserved. Or to Crete, where the ruins of the Palace of Knossos await you. But the main keeper of ancient Greek treasures is the goddess Athena, the Greek capital.
Athens is a big, muddled and noisy city, but it is easy to orient yourself in it: over the bustle of the streets, the motley of souvenir shops, the noise of squares and bazaars, the Acropolis with the Parthenon reigns - a temple for all ages, for all times. Athens is not at all the city where you want to stay for a week, so it is better to come there from a resort for a day. In a day you can see all the places where time has stood still, and through its gaps Hellenic antiquity peeks out. The walk should begin with the Acropolis. The steep road to the top of the hill, the columns of the Propylaea - and you find yourself on the pages of an art history album. The little temple of Nike, the mesmerizing Erechtheion with its elegant caryatids, the majestic Parthenon. It is always different - its stone changes color depending on the weather and time of day. Underfoot are marble slabs, overhead are gnarled olive trees planted in honor of the goddess Athena. And the city of Athens, lying far below, at a distance of twenty-five centuries.
On the slope of the Acropolis is the Theater of Dionysus. Its stones remember the steps of Sophocles and Aristophanes, and poppies blaze among them. For some reason it seems that long-eared Greek goats will now appear from behind the bushes. But the goats do not appear - only steamship horns from the port of Piraeus are heard.
The path from the Acropolis leads to Plaka, the old part of the city. Tiled roofs, bouzouki and syrtaki, shops with painted vases, sandals and terracotta masks, cool courtyards of restaurants - the eternal bazaar of the eternal city. Adrianou Street connects the sprawling time, leads out to the ancient marketplace - the ancient Agora. Once this was the central square - a market where merchants sold fruit and orators gathered crowds of listeners. The remains of the Stoa of Attalos colonnade, from which the Stoics borrowed their name, dusty plane trees, the Temple of Hephaestus with columns of Doric order. Once there were pools and wells, a shady garden and workshops of artisans. The artisans made the same sandals and painted the same vases as are now sold in Plaka.
Another fragment of the past is the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos. It is quiet and empty there, on the tombs among the tall grass are bas-reliefs and statues. Once, from the agora to Kerameikos, there was a quarter of carnal pleasures, where hetaeras received guests. Between Plaka and Kerameikos is Monastiraki Square with a small Byzantine church; the name of the square means 'Little Monastery'.
There are several museums in Athens, for example, the Agora Museum with fragments of pots and statues. The main and largest of all is the National Archaeological Museum. Its ancient collection is unique: here are gathered Mycenaean finds of Schliemann, frescoes from Santorini, bronze statues.
PROS: you begin your acquaintance with the history of art and the history of civilization from the very beginning, from the very source, from the most unattainable peak. Only by touching the ancient stones can you understand and feel that all of this really happened. This realization is staggering.
CONS: such an outing with small children should be undertaken with caution: it can be very hot in Athens, and gasoline fumes create heavy smog on windless days. So you will have to choose a cooler and windier day.
While traveling into the past, make stops more often. Sit on the ancient stones, try to absorb the feeling of time. Do not go on an excursion; it is better to buy a guidebook and read everything in it. Such places are not for the crowd, not for group visits. And then sit in a cool tavern, relax.