After visiting the Ancient Agora, we were just in time to take a short lunch break at the popular O Kostas located on Irinis Square. We were surprised to see a short queue at the hole-in-the-wall shop. We managed to secure a spot at one of the tall tables placed outside.
The Kalamaki pita is only priced at €2.20. The grilled meat are wrapped in a lightly grilled piece of pita, rolled up with sliced tomatoes, chopped onions, lettuce, and a few french fries and tzatziki sauce.
At first bite, I was blown away by the texture of the pita. It was fluffy, pillowy and thick enough to absorb the juices from grilled meat without getting soggy or greasy. Then the amazing combination of smoky meat and their famous peppery tomato sauce hit our palate. It was heavenly~ We can’t help but kept nodding our heads in agreement that this is a great find!
We were so impressed and addicted to the gyros here that we returned another day to have another round! Here’s the shot of the same chef (the owner presumably?) but in a yellow shirt.
The queue was visibly longer when we visited in the late afternoon slightly before 4pm. We were simply trying our luck as many websites wrote that they may close early if they run out of meat. We thanked our lucky stars as we snagged one of the last few pitas. They started to turn people away while we were still savouring ours.
Seldom do we visit an eatery twice on our trips…so this place is highly recommended! Keep the address: 2 Agias Irinis square, Athens, Greece
We also started trying out Mediterranean eateries serving gyros after we returned to Singapore when we have a craving for it.
Next to O Kostas is Tailor’s House. We dropped by for our caffeine fix while trying to escape from the sweltering heat. This joint doubles as a cocktail bar too.
The Freddo cappuccino double espresso shot with ice and whipped milk for a creamy texture and an illy Ethiopia cold brew cost more than the gyros. But heck….we needed the air-con and a place to rest our feet after walking the whole morning.
Earlier Photos Taken:
Started our day early to get to the Acropolis. There are 2 entrances to get inside, other than the main entrance there is a side entrance on the South side. We opted to entre from the South Gate so that we get to see the ruins of Theatre of Dionysus (left) and Odeon of Herodes Atticus (right). The former is an ancient theatre said to be the first and largest there to be built in Athens whereas the latter is a beautifully restored theatre dating back to 161 AD.
The first building we spotted even before entering the ancient citadel is this Temple of Athena Nike. It’s a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena Nike (goddess of victory) and is the smallest temple at the Acropolis.
Proplaea was the monumental gateway to the Acropolis. When viewed from the front, most of the centre structure are missing. This is the back view of the Propylaea seen from the inside of the Acropolis compound. All visitors entering the Acropolis would walk through the passageway in the centre of this building, which is lined with huge majestic columns on either side.
While the Parthenon was the most impressive and famous temple on the Acropolis, the Erechtheion is the most intricate temple. It has a complex plan that was designed to accommodate the radically uneven terrain with up to 3 metres difference and has several unique features.
Perhaps the most significant feature is the Caryatids (Maidens) on the South porch. The columns were sculpted into female figures. These six maidens supporting the ceiling of the porch are exact cement copies for reasons of conservation. Five of the marble originals now reside in the Acropolis Museum of Athens and the other is in the British museum, London. While the maidens looked similar from far, each of the six Caryatids are said to be different, from their faces, stance, draping and hair. Visitors were able to observe them in the Museum and those columns had been cleaned using a laser beam to remove accumulated soot and grime, unveiling a much whitened marble. Although it should be noted that these figures sued to be painted with vivid colours.
An olivewood statue of Athena Polias (Athena venerated as the protector goddess of Athens) once stood inside this eastern chamber which is the largest of 4 chambers in this complex. Notice the Ionic columns, how slender and elegant they look. Could you tell that the right most column is a reconstruction?
After admiring the chamber of Athena Polias, we walked down a flight of stair to arrive at the part of the building which was devoted to Poseidon-Erechtheus ( a local version of the god). It is unusual for one site arranged to accommodate so many shrines dedicated to goddesses, gods and local heroes. There is a distinct aperture on the ceiling of this porch and herein lies an interesting story on how it came about. Legend has it that Athena and Poseidon both claimed to be the deity of Athens. In order to decide who should have this honour, they held a contest. Both displayed their powers in order to see who had the most to give to the people. Poseidon showed his by striking the Acropolis with his trident. Sea water flowed out as he was god of the sea. it was said that the architects of the Erechtheion deliberately left this space to show the path of Poseidon’s trident when it struck the Acropolis.
At the side of Erechtheion, you can see Mount Lycanettus which is as amazing as the ancient buildings in Acropolis. It rises abruptly in the middle of the city. Heard that it’s a great place to watch sunrise or sunset in Athens.
We continue with the legendary competition between Athena and Poseidon. Athena demonstrated her power by striking the ground and miraculously an olive tree grew. The olive tree proved to be far more useful than a salt-water spring created by Poseidon, and Athena won the contest. The re-planted tree in the photo is known as the sacred olive tree of Athena. The olive tree also known as the “tree of life” for its incredible endurance. It is one of the most iconic and significant trees in Greek culture, heritage and cuisine. It is also a symbol of peace and friendship. The Erechtheion‘s highly unusual, asymmetrical structure is a stark contrast to the precise symmetry and grandeur of its famous neighbour, the Parthenon. I was captivated b its intriguing design and the fascinating stories from Greek mythology such that i spent the most time in Acropolis at Erechtheion.
Colonnade on North side of Parthenon. From this angle one can see that there is gradual reduction of the columns’ thickness from the middle upwards. There are many such intricate design elements incorporated to make this building look so wonderfully proportioned.
Although the Parthenon was a building dedicated to Athena, researchers suggested that it perhaps functioned as a treasury. in fact, the Parthenon has a storied history as it was converted into a church, a mosque and even an ammunition store.
Built entirely of Pentelic marble, the Parthenon rests on a base of three steps. It had eight Doric columns in the front area and 17 columns on the long sides, each more than 10 meters high and with a base diameter of 23 meters. Eventually, gunpower that the Turks had stored in the Parthenon exploded from inside basically ripping the guts out of the structure.
Looking down from the South of Parthenon, you can see the Theatre of Dionysus in the foreground and the new Acropolis Museum of Athens at the back.
As we descend from the Acropolis, a striking building caught our attention. Standing tall on a hilltop, surrounded by lush greenery is the Temple of Hephaestus. The ancient structure of more than 2400 years old is dedicated to the Greek god Hephaestus. He was the son of Zeus and Hera, and a god of blacksmiths, metallurgy and craftsmen. It was built about 30 years later than the Parthenon.
After Acropolis, we walked over to the Ancient Agora of Athens. it is an archaeological site with minimal restoration. The site is not important for the splendor of it buildings, but for the significance of its history. The Stoa of Atallos is the most striking building in the Agora site other than the Temple of Hephaestus. First constructed in the 2nd century BC but destroyed in the 3rd century CE. It was reconstructed in the 1950s and visitors can appreciate why stoas used to be a common form of public building among the Greeks. Stoas were built in agoras, sanctuaries, near theatres, and wherever many people were expected to gather. The spacious colonnades provided shelter for people, shielding them from sun, wind and rain while allowing in abundant light and fresh air. I was excited to see an olive tree WITH bunches of olives on it just outside the stoa.
The Agora used to be the center of Ancient Athen’s social, political and economic life. It is known for being the birthplace of Democracy. On display in the museum is this Kleroteria. An allotment machine made from slabs of wood or stone. It’s a device used by the Athenian to pick members of the public for jury service. Identification tickets were inserted into the slots. A mixture of white and black balls would then be poured down the funnel, to be released one by one onto the stone or wood via the crank mechanism. Dependent on whether the ball released was white or black, all citizens on that row were accepted or rejected for jury service that day.
Another display which caught my attention was the practise of OSTRACISM. It was a unique type of voting intended as means of protecting the city against aspirants to despotic power. Each voter scratched or painted on a potsherd the name of the man he thought most undesirable. The “candidate” with the greatest number of votes against him was obliged to withdraw from Athens for ten years.
The last stop before we take a lunch break was to visit the Hadrian’s Library. We didn’t actually plan to visit this site, you can actually see the structure from the fence outside. However our combination ticket included entrance to this place we went in and found a small “office” of sorts. We entered simply because we wanted to enjoy some air-conditioning…but was in awe when we saw this glorious sculpture which is Statue of Nike. In Greek mythology, Nike (Greek Νικη, pronounced /’nike/ “Nee–keh“, meaning “Victory”). Roman equivalent: Victoria. I luv the colour of the background which helped to create a nice contrast yet matching the feminine characteristics of the figurine. Its said to be one of the most spectacular finds from the excavations of the Library of Hadrian. This is an over life-size statue (over 3m high) of a Nike (Victory) treading on a globe. It is made of one single block of white (Pentelic) marble.
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