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| Bags, bags, and more bags |
The next day we had a "morning of leisure" and left the Hotel Astor with all of our luggage in tow (and there was a lot of it). I can't say that the hotel staff was sad to see us leave, but we left knowing that we would return there at the end of our trip.
From the hotel we drove over to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Here you see only 14 columns, but there is one off to the side a bit (outside of the frame). These are 15 of the original 104. We were told that it was perhaps an earthquake that helped destroy the temple, but when exactly this happened is unknown. Also, much of it was probably taken away as materials for other buildings.
Here is a prime example of the Corinthian order of columns. In fact, these mark the first time that the Corinthian order was used on the outside of a major temple. Perhaps the most defining characteristic (or the most easily recognized) are the capitals, with their outscrolling corners. Pretty, no?
From there we trekked on over to the National Archeological Museum, which is home to some of the most important artifacts from Greece's history. There we were able to see grave goods, pottery, jewelery, statues... you name it, it was there. Here is a random sample:
From there we left Athens proper and went to our seaside suburb of Glyfada, where we would call home for the next couple of days.
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