Athens & Around - Greece - page 166

fire on a communist rally, and in 1954 it was the location of the first demonstration
demanding theenosis(union) of Cyprus with Greece.
The historic Hotel Grande Bretagne, the most illustrious of Athens' hotels, was
built in 1862. The Nazis made it their headquarters during WWII, and in 1944 the
hotel was the scene of an attempt to blow up Winston Churchill.
Left of the metro entrance, find a section of the Peisistratos aqueduct , which
was unearthed during excavations.
In front of the Parliament ( Click here ) the much-photographedevzones(the
presidential guards) stand sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The chan-
ging of the guard takes place every hour on the hour.
Walk through the lush National Gardens ( Click here ) and exit to the Zappeio
Palace, which was used as the Olympic village in 2004. Pass the playground and go
left until you see the crossing to the Panathenaic Stadium ( Click here ) , where
the first Olympic Games were held in 1896.
Walk back along the gardens to the striking Temple of Olympian Zeus ( Click
here ), the largest temple ever built. Teetering on the edge of the traffic alongside
the temple is Hadrian's Arch ( Click here ) , the ornate gateway erected to mark
the boundary of Hadrian's Athens.
Cross Leoforos Vasilissis Amalias, head right towards Lysikratous and turn left
into Plaka. Ahead on your right are the ruins of a Roman monument in the fore-
court of the Church of Agia Ekaterini ( Click here ) .
Continue to the Lysikrates Monument . Built in 334 BC to commemorate a
win in a choral festival, it's the earliest-known monument using Corinthian capitals
externally. The reliefs depict the battle between Dionysos and the Tyrrhenian pir-
ates, whom the god had transformed into dolphins. It stands in what was once part
of the Street of Tripods (Modern Tripodon), where winners of ancient dramatic and
choral contests dedicated their tripod trophies to Dionysos. In the 18th century the
monument was incorporated into the library of a French Capuchin convent, in
which Lord Byron stayed in 1810-11 and wroteChilde Harold. The convent was des-
troyed by fire in 1890.
Facing the monument, turn left and then right into Epimenidou. At the top of the
steps, turn right into Stratonos, which skirts the Acropolis. Just ahead you will see
the Church of St Georgeof the Rock , which marks the entry to the Anafi-
otika quarter . The picturesque maze of little whitewashed houses is the legacy of
stonemasons from the small Cycladic island of Anafi, who were brought in to build
the king's palace after Independence. It's a peaceful spot, with brightly painted
olive-oil cans brimming with flowers in the tiny gardens in summer.
Continue past the tiny Church of Agios Simeon . It looks like a dead end but
persevere and you will emerge at the Acropolis road. Turn right and then left into
Prytaniou, veering right after 50m into Tholou. The yellow-ochre building at Tholou