Politics and the Plaka

Today was about seeing the National Archaeological Museum of Greece and exploring downtown. First - the bus to the NAM. Not perfect, but we are getting pretty damn good at making our way around European cities. As we get close to the end of our traipse, it's fitting that we visit this particular museum. One of the world's top 10, it takes in the art of all (most) invaders and displays it chronologically through the museum. The museum is absolutely first class with the added bonus of everything being in both Greek and English.  It is the very best place to see classical Greek works of art.

Another stray dog in Athens perched on the steps of the Museum

SIDEBAR: There are stray dogs and cats everywhere in Greece. At first we were a bit intimidated as they march down the sidewalk toward you but they are not aggressive and for the most part cared for by the community in general. Of course mostly they just sleep!

Found very near our hotel on Santorini and the most famous image in that community. Two shopkeepers fighting over a tourists money :)

The museum displays 7000bc through to 500ad. Early works include this this fresco found in Santorini which ties in nicely with our visit. Many of the early works are pottery which I'm not a huge fan of other than these beautifully shaped pieces. Look at the one on the far left - the balance, grace and proportions are wonderful to look at from my humble and artistically challenged perspective....







The museum goes on to explore the Greek sculpture that inspired the Romans to copy and develop their own style. This again ties all that we have seen together very nicely. As mentioned before, I love sculpture and there are 2 bronze here that were my favorites. The first is (likely) Poseidon and is one of my favorites. I have included 4 views plus a face detail here. It's a very powerful image. I love the positioning of the legs and feet giving this strong and powerful sculpture movement at the same time. Excellent! Even though the Triton is absent, you have no trouble imagining what it would have looked like.

Another great example in bronze displaying both a stillness and movement at the same time. I really enjoy this stuff for some reason. This one is a youth (Scholars are unsure who though perhaps Paris) holding either the head of Medusa (doubtful - I mean look at the expression - he'd be freaked with all those snakes and stuff) or presenting an apple....he may also be hailing a cab. Your call.


















Check out this Egyptian addition....the proportions are so good and  the detail amazing. Again - an interesting tie in with what we have learned about the Roman empire and what all these people were doing around that time.

Lastly, this sculpture captured my attention and imagination. The slightly furrowed brow and calm expression suggest wisdom and thoughtfulness (to me anyway) as he contemplates the mysteries of the world. He may also be contemplating whether of not he left the iron on........

The balance of our day was spent at the Plaka and Monastiraki neighborhoods of Athens. It's a beautiful green leafy area near the Acropolis filled with tourist shops, restaurants and tons of people.

The Plaka at night

Within the Monesteraki, there is one area called Soulvaki row where we found a suitable place to sample what is reported to be the best Greek salad and Soulvaki in Greek. It was!!!! And in what I think is a pretty funny story - we were invited to sit and enjoy dinner while watching Arsenal and Manchester United play a match on TV. Wonderful. We quickly were engaged in the game along with a couple from London two tables over and a group of Australians behind us. Suddenly, mid game, the channel changed to the local Greek match. The waiters wanted to watch this even though there were no customers interested. We protested and got the Premier game back on briefly but in the end the waiters decided that local soccer was more important than the customers desires. It was a pretty funny moment and a couple good laughs for the United Nations side of the equation.

And for me the day got really interesting at this point. At the table next to us were two young men in their early 20's. One studying to be a lawyer and the other working as a teacher. What is going on in Greece politically? I asked them. Over the next hour we discussed the politics of Greece including the demonstrations. Both agreed that nepotism and corruption are serious and systemic issues that must be addressed but also the change to the EU has made Greek goods expensive and difficult to build export markets outside the EU. Hmmm - makes sense. Also - there is the fear of moving to a single European government where the Greek people are unable to participate in making decisions about their future. Great talk.

And as we made our way home later we stumbled on Syntagma square in front of the government buildings. There was a "soapbox" set up and people were taking the opportunity to make their concerns about Greek politics known. I took this shot from behind two of the many police around the square as they keep a close eye on the proceedings. Unfortunately we had quite a wait for our bus as certain buses were out of service while the protest was going on. We did get a bus later on and made it back to our hotel safe and sound. I get the concerns of the Greek people. It's more than just the Drachma that has disappeared as there is a real fear that the birthplace of democracy may be a casualty in the western world's rush to create a kind of prosperity that is incompatible with old world charm and thinking. Just scratching the surface.....but those are my thoughts.

On the bus on the way back to our hotel the man beside me asked me to move so that he could get off the bus. As he thanked me for letting him out of his seat he said "enjoy your stay in Athens and thankyou for coming" Well!!! Thankyou so much for having us!! Below a couple of shots of the kids just cause.