The Bois Family Trip to Athens

March 17, 2001 The Agora

After breakfast at the hotel, which included coffee, fresh bread and chunky orange marmalade, and thick yogurt and raw honey that were great mixed together, we walked through the Plaka to the Agora.

The Agora was the marketplace, the center of Athens 2700 years ago.  These statues, and others that don't exist any more, stood in front of a row of shops.

Like the Acropolis, the Agora is an ongoing archeological site.  Cataloged stones lay everywhere.  Here, Danusia stands in front of what used to be the top of a stone column.

These shelves hold more artifacts that have been numbered, but I presume their original locations are still mysteries.

This is a statue of Hadrian, or part of him anyway.  He was a Roman Emperor in the second century A.D. and Athens was part of his jurisdiction.  His command also spread to the east, and he built the wall between England and Scotland.

The market is overlooked by the Hephaisteion. It's very well preserved, but that might be because it's pretty new.  It's only 1500 years old.

The Stoa of Attalos has two rows of columns before you get to the museum doors.  The pillars and the floor are, of course, marble.

And, of course, there are dogs everywhere.

Looking back at the Hephaisteion from the Stoa of Attalos.

East of the Agora is the Asteroskopeion, in other words, the Observatory.  It's on top of the Hill of the Nymphs near a church.  A more modern observatory is near the Asteroskopeion, but you can't see it in this picture.

	We encountered a few more dogs as we crossed the Plaka to Sýntagma Square.
	At home, we have a dog named Minx.  Apparently, that's also the name of an European car, though you can't really read its emblem in this picture.

We had lunch at a taverna in the Plaka, and continued on to Sýntagma Square.

Next:  The afternoon of March 17, 2001 - the National Garden and Lykavitós Hill