Ever since I was a young boy, I relished the opportunity to view Hollywood’s liberal take on ancient Greek and Roman history as portrayed by some of the box office stars of the day. From Richard Burton to Kirk Douglas, from Robert Taylor to Charlton Heston, from Victor Mature to Peter Ustinov.
But the actor that I enjoyed seeing the most was the usual star on one of my hometown TV channel’s Sunday Movie Spectacular: Steve Reeve, a.k.a. Hercules (“And the Cretan Bull awaits!”), an American B-list star exiled to Cinecittà in Rome.
He was the muscular guy — obviously if he was portraying Hercules — tossing around all those paper-mache boulders and Corinthian, Doric and Ionic columns — as if they were toothpicks — in a host of Italian-made “sword-and-sandal” flicks that magically made their way into the family b&w TV set each and every Sunday afternoon.
Sorry, I’m starting to veer off course. Bear with me. I’ll get us there in a moment.
In addition to my fascination with Roman and Greek period movies, I also excelled in geography and history (probably my two best subjects) in school. Since then, I’ve always wanted to visit Athens and Rome — and Cuba, too, but that’s a whole different story — to see for myself. Now that I’m all grown up (chronologically, that is), I’ve gotten to see them both — Athens only once, but the “Eternal City” multiple times as I now pay a visit there just about every month.
It was on a business trip to the Greek capitol a few years back that I finally got to lay my eyes on the “Sacred Rock” — The Acropolis of Athens — and I was BLOWN AWAY. Seeing something so historic, so iconic, for the very first time, will do that to you.
After the initial shock and awe wore off, like Hermes, one of Dodekatheon (12 mythical Olympians), I scampered around the strewn rubble (I know, priceless artifacts) surrounding the various temples, dodged workers and scaffolding, and managed to see right through all of the URBAN RENEWAL projects going on simultaneously in order to soak up the incredible scene laid out before me. I was simply amazed at the vision those Greek architects created some 2,500 years ago.
If you’ve not been to Athens, allow me to sum up The Acropolis for you. It’s an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Valley of Ilissos in the center of Athens and contains antiquities of great architectural, cultural and historical importance — the Temple of Athena Nike, the Propylaea, the Erechthium, and the most famous of all, the Parthenon. The word acropolis comes from the Greek words ἄκρον (akros) meaning “top or summit” and πόλις (polis) meaning “city.” Although there are quite a few acropolises dotting Greece, the importance of this particular “summit city” is such that it is known as The Acropolis without hesitation.
In 1975, the Greek government set in motion a massive and challenging restoration project on The Acropolis — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — to fully restore the citadel to its rightful glory for all the world to enjoy and appreciate.
Now in its 37th year, at additional costs quite difficult for the Greek Government, much less its citizenry, to afford today, the goal of the project is to reverse centuries of decay, pollution, destructions from wars, and previous misguided restoration attempts. The project includes collection and identification of all stone fragments (the “rubble” that I mentioned earlier) from the summit, and to restore the landmark site as much as possible using reassembled, original material where possible.
With the exception of the Temple of Athena Nike, now fully restored, the other three temples remain under partial wrap as the renovations continue. According to project experts on the ground in Athens, the Parthenon has approximately ten more years to go before tourists will have unfettered views of the crown jewel of the “Sacred Rock.”
If you’d like more information on The Acropolis, its restorations, educational tools and the museum, just logon to The Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments (ESMA).
Scaffolding or not, it’s never too late to pay a visit to the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of democracy. To miss out on an opportunity to actually climb that steep hill and feel the history that was made just underfoot on The Acropolis would be a real [Greek] tragedy.
Enjoy the short video up to and around the “Sacred Rock” and down to the Agorá and the Temple of Hephaestus.
Δείτε σας κατά μήκος του πλακόστρωτα να κάπου (See you along the cobblestone to somewhere…)
©The Palladian Traveler
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My dear friend, thank you for all your kind words about my home. Greece used to be the birth place of miracles and now….
The acropolis looks enchanting even now, even like this, torn into pieces by Elgin…. I know you can’t read in Greek, so just look at the pictures here => http://goo.gl/vvxyv – How monuments of the world would look like if Elgin would have been there. So sad… Hopefully, now that we have a bright new and beautiful museum, our ancestor’s marbles can come home….
Ioanna – Thanks for reading the article. About Elgin, now the British Museum, I think you’ve got a battle on your hands to get those marble slabs back into the Akropolis museum. Good luck!
Tom – Great post. I alway like being reminded of those old movies and seeing these great treasures being restored is marvelous. A glimmer of hope for Ioanna, the British Museum has been handing back Aboriginal remains to Australia in recent times. Cheers.
Thanks Paul — Thanks for stopping by. Really glad you enjoyed the post. It would be nice if the British Museum returns those marble slaps to their rightful owner — there’s space already inside the Akropolis Museum just waiting showcase them. I plan to return there soon and reshoot the Sacred Rock.
I was there in 1999, and really enjoyed those majestic ruins. Good luck to them with the ongoing restoration. I enjoyed the video very much. 🙂
ADinP – Thanks very much.
I grew up in Greece and in fact lived 5 blocks from the Acropolis and its Parthenon. Your post made me homesick…. thanks for sharing…I really enjoyed your interpretation of Renewal
Lisa – Thanks for stopping by. Glad you enjoyed my “homesick” post. Lucky you for having lived a spell just blocks away from this amazing site. I look forward to returning to the Akropolis once all of the renovation is completed — I really dislike photos of scenes with cranes and scaffolding in them.
Sacred sites … I like the 3rd photo…. there is so much to learn on “ancient stones” Awesome shots….
DJ – Thanks very much. TPT
Great pictures. Thanks for such an informative and very well written blog. Can’t wait to see how the renovations pan out! 🙂
– Francis
Thanks, Francis. Hopefully, the final scaffolding will be removed in 2022 for a clean photo shoot.
It will be worth the wait. I will try to see it before its completion too, it would be nice to see the ruins as they are before the end of the renovation.
That is one of the greatest things I have ever seen in my life. To stand in the cradle of Western civilization moved me more than I could ever explain in text. Thanks for bringing that wonderful memory back to the forefront!
Derrick — As I wrote, the Acropolis BLEW ME AWAY. Glad the article took you back to the day when you first laid eyes on the Sacred Rock. Thanks for the read. TPT
Why not!? That looks like a really highly remarkable historical site. I hope it continues to stay aflaot. Awesome, awesome capture!, I must say. And the veering off was a fun fun read. 😀
Thanks Rommel. I enjoyed putting this post together; glad you enjoyed it, too.
Wow the last picture is surely amazing. The Greek architects sure had a great vision to have built that 2500 years ago.
It is these things that make studying history worthwhile. Sadly, in our schools history has been reduced to a series of dates and wars that need to be memorized and vomited on the answer sheets in the year-end exam.
Sapna – Thanks for stopping by and reading/viewing “Renewing the Past: The Acropolis.” Did you view the video at the end? About history, without it we’re nowhere.
Nope 🙁 The video took a long time to load so I had to close but sure will come back to the post for the video