Athens: Other Sites

Other sites we visited in Athens included the Roman Forum, also known as the Agora. It was built by the Romans after they conquered Greece. While the ruins were very tumble-down (and the plaques were few and far between, we got an excellent view of some mosaic floors.




The Library of Hadrian was built in 2nd century A.D. and once contained a library, lecture halls, garden, and art gallery.


It may not be a typical tourist activity to attend the open-air markets, but this was one of our favorite things to do in Greece! The market in Athens did not disappoint. We enjoyed the shiny mounds of olives, as well as the butcher stations full of recognizable animals (as opposed to ambiguous meat blobs).


We toured several flea markets and plakas, but didn't really take any pictures. Then it was off to the Temple of Olympian Zeus (started in 6th century B.C., finished by Hadrian 7 centuries later) and Arch of Hadrian (2nd century A.D.)


The Temple of Zeus was truly impressive; it's the largest temple in ancient Greece and originally stood 360 feet by 145 feet.






Having traipsed about for a good portion of the day, I entered my "fatigued and obnoxious" phase of the tour. Poor Mike--it's a wonder he didn't pitch me over the wall into some unlabeled archeological dig. We cut through the National Gardens to get a respite from the heat. Hurray for shade!

I wasn't fully recovered, however. My attention wandered a bit at the Byzantine and Christian Museum... tragic, really, as it had a huge collection of art and artifacts pertaining to my favorite era of history. (By the time we got to the awesome display on the fall of Constantinople, I was like, "hey, look. More religious icons. Whatever." So sad!)