June 17th - Day 7

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Today we toured through the Roman parts of Greece. It was a short and relaxing day because many things were closed due to the Greek election that was held today.

Arch of Hadrian

This morning we took a nice leisurely stroll down through the National Park, which is a very pretty park. Scattered throughout the park a bits and pieces of antiquity that were placed there when Athens was sprucing itself up for the Olympics.

We then walked over to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Of course it was closed due to the elections, but we were able to glimpse it through the fence. Right across from the temple is the Arch of Hadrian, built to honor Emperor Hadrian.

Relief of Pan - chest is at the
bottom of pic, head and horns
above

As we continued our walking tour we came across a small shrine built into a rock side dedicated to Pan, somewhat off the beaten trail. Our guide pointed out a relief of Pan that is carved into the side of the shrine, which is hard to see unless you know what you are looking for.

After that it was on to the Tower of the Winds, which is a marble clock tower built on the Roman agora, and we were done for the day. We stopped for some lunch - Greek gyros (so delicious) - and head back to the school. I spent the afternoon in the library doing some more research for my site presentations.

Tower of the winds

Tonight we are taking an overnight ferry to the island of Crete where we will be for the next 6 days, which might be a good thing depending on how the Greek election plays out. I don't know what the internet situation is going to be, so I may be out of communication for the next week or so...I will be back in Athens on June 24th.

Happy Father's Day!