II. Athens. Guest, you will be fine here! – Athens, Greece – Tourist Blog

Acropolis is the center of any ancient Greek city, which is usually on a high hill. Here, behind the fortified walls, the local population was hidden during the times of enemy invasions, the most important buildings were erected.

Athens Acropolis, despite the all-time time, retained a huge number of monuments of ancient Greek art, to meet with whom I went immediately after settling in the hotel.

Fur first. Slopes Acropolis.

The entire hill of the Acropolis, including its slopes outside the fortress walls, was considered the sacred land in those distant times, because not only the revered sanctoes were located on the slopes, but not less significant religious objects.

The hill is conditionally divided into parts, each of which was intended to serve as an object of admiration and worship not for one generation of people.

Place of worship Pericla. During the reign of the pericla (V century BC.NS.) Acropolis became a religious center of the state. At the place of the old manshedral destroyed by the Persians, a huge temple was erected – Parfenon, and on the hillside – an indoor musical hall, named after his ruler – Odeon Pericla.

Another part of the slope was intended to Dionysus. Once Ellity arranged festivals in honor of God Dionysus, the patron of winemaking. These celebrations, accompanied by theatrical ideas, were called Dionysias or Vakhanalia. Over time, Dionysis began to consider part-time and patron of dramatic art. Therefore, theaters were built not only for entertainment, but also in order to earn His mercy and patronage. On the honorarily designated for the patron saint of theaters, next to two temples, to this day, in the open sky, stands in the centuries theater of his name – Dionysus Theater.

Nearby are the remnants of the sanctuary of the god of the doctor of Asclepia and his daughters of Giguese and Panakes, who were considered patrons of two areas of medicine – preventing diseases (hygiene) and the treatment of them (Panacea).

Between theater of Dionysus and Odion geoda attic is the Sta Evemen – a long portico gallery, which was specially built for the walks of visitors to the temple and theater of Dionysus.

An impressive spectacle – the ruins of the indoor theater of the Roman era, erected in the II century.NS. Herodom Attikov, patron of arts, and dedicated to the memory of his wife regilla. Marble benches for viewers and scenes were restored in the middle of the last century. For a complete realistic picture, there are not enough statues of antique beauties and majestic Atlanta in niches.

Walking along the southern slope, having completed the next "zigzag of knowledge," smoothly switched to the opposite direction. The northern slope of the hill is very different from the southern: it is more stony, incisive, cut, irreparable. In one word – "sad" and, at first glance, uninteresting. But it is this slope for Ellinov was a cult.

Archaeologists, during the excavation held on the hill, there were many small caves with the altars on which primitive sacrifices were committed. It is quite natural that the found caves are not some unique natural monuments or, for example, monuments of archeology of world importance. They are not even the most interesting natural objects of Greece, meeting their visitors with almost inconspicuous entrance. In its "architecture", they almost all resemble each other: a small cell, a branched cavity, a few moves and narrow Lases. There are no labyrinths in them, which means there are no risks to get lost. But the caves, like the Hill himself, many of the most interesting legends and believes.

Caves, like many other religious objects, were located between the Acropolis wall and the ancient expensive, hazered the hill. The territory limited to this expensive, together with a plot inside the walls, forms a sacred land, intended exclusively for religious purposes. Today for the convenience of tourists built a modern track, laid close to the rock with caves.

Sanctuary Aphrodite – Zlatovlasa goddess fertility, love and beauty. The honors were rewarded here Aphrodite and her son Eros. According to the legend, in the temple of the goddess, whose love power was subordinate to the gods and people came to one of the summer nights to commit an ancient rite. "When she goes in the brilliance of his beauty, in fragrant clothes, then the sun shines brighter, the flowers bloom. Wild forest beasts run to her from the thickets of the forest; Birds fly to her flocks when she walks through the forest. Lions, panthers, leopards and bears gently caress her …". Where Aphrodite costs, flowers were growing up lush … legends, beautiful legends. What another gift could be asked to ask the goddess of love and fertility?

But I found this place not immediately. Having passed most of the path, and reaching the source of Klepsidra, suddenly I understand that this interesting place passed. Returning back and again I do not see the object. I urge to help the employee of the complex. To leave his post they are prohibited, but also explain to me where the "Aphrodite office" is located, he cannot. The smart Greek calls his colleague, "a little bit speaking in Russian," and I get valuable instructions: At first, I am asked to stand up to the "caretaker’s booth", then looked to the left, say that I see there, then right, and, Approximately two hundred steps in one of the directions, to start carefully look at the pointers. Hooray! I found! With the third attempt! The place is not very noteworthy, the information shield is somehow "quietly" entered in the landscape and is almost not visible among the stones.

Around the middle of the slope, in the crevice of the rock, there was a cave Aglavra. From here, according to legend, the daughter of the king of the Cekreop of Aglarea and her sister Gersi was rushing down and crashed. Young virgins ruined curiosity – they, disobeying the commandments of the goddess of Athens, still looked into the Forbidden casket, left for storage. Opening it, the sisters saw her brother Erechtea with a human body and a snake tail. Mistakes from fear, they rushed with the fortress wall of the Acropolis and died. Here is such a sad legend.

Source Klepsider – "Secret Waters" or "Holy Source".

Previously, this source had another name. His renaming happened, as the legend says, according to the only reason – water in the source periodically disappeared. For centuries, the fountain was bolded by stones, they conducted special work to clear the ruins and again gain access to water.

Three caves cut down over the source of Klepsider in honor of the three gods: Apollo, Zeus and Pan. Each cave has its own legend, which is completely natural.

Apollo Cave – Svetokudroy Handsome and God of Light. After the election of the Supreme Ruler (Archont) in Athens, it became a tradition to take the oath first on the Altar Apollo, and then come here, to the cave, and give the second oath.

Next to the cave Apollo is another, no less interesting cave and altar. And it is dedicated to this altar Zeus – the king of the gods, the God of Heaven, the weather and the law. Attributes of Zeus were thunder and lightning, as well as aegis – made by Hephaeste shield, which was shuck he caused storms and rains. According to the legend, each spring selected Athenian residents came to this cave and waited for lightning – the sign that Zeus had already appeared in the mountains and Ellinas no longer be afraid of drought.

Cave Pana. Located next to Zeus cave and is connected with the name of the forests of forests and shepherds – Pan. According to legend, Pan appeared not immediately, and after the battle of the marathon to sow fear among the Persians and help the Athenians win victory. In gratitude, the Athenians organized here on the North Hill of the Acropolis, the place of worship.

"The goning pan, in the ancient Greek mythology, the god of forests, shepherds and hunters was cheerful, but by the wayward deity. He spent his days, playing the swirls, spying the nymphs bathing in the streams and frolicked on the forest glades. In ancient Ellad, loved pans and satisfied the noisy processions, ritual chants and dances, drove dance in his honor. In the usual time to break the silence of the forest was not supposed, because Pan sternly punished the wicked people who disturbed his rest. The evil asking for the forest God hit the wake-ups of his people, and they plunged into a nightmare disobedy sleep. He could hit the mortal intolerable fear from which they, do not remember themselves, fled where her eyes look ".

That turns out to be who was the progenitor of "Panic Fear" and "Panic". Looking at all the caves by making not one dozen photos, having rested on the ruins of antiquity, pull out your ticket to continue the journey through the "Calibli Cylization".