Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
FILOPAPPOS HILL
The pine-covered slopes of Filopappos Hill offer a pleasantly shaded maze of
paths leading through monuments marking centuries of history. Known as
“the hill of muses” in antiquity, countless poets have drawn inspiration here.
On the first day of Lent, the hill is swarmed with hundreds of Athenians,
who traditionally gather here to fly kites.
Enter from Dionysiou Areopa-
gitou •
www.culture.gr
• Metro: Acropoli • Free
Google Map
1. HILLTOP VIEW
You may not feel you deserve such a jaw-dropping view after such an easy, shaded
walk. But the hilltop directly overlooks the Acropolis and all of southern Athens
stretching to the sea. This was once a favourite vantage-point for generals - and it's
equally appealing to photographers today.
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2. FILOPAPPOS MONUMENT
Roman senator Gaius Julius Antiochus Filopappos was a lover of Classical Greek cul-
ture. He took his retirement in Athens and died here in about AD 114. The Greeks
built this marble tomb and monument to the senator, showing him as an Atheni-
an citizen, surrounded by his royal Roman family. Its partially destroyed form looks
across to the Acropolis.
3. SOCRATES' PRISON
This is believed to be the cave where
Socrates
was imprisoned, having been con-
demned to death. His disciples sat with him as he drank the hemlock that dispatched
him.
4. CHURCH OF AGIOS DIMITRIOS LOUMBARDIARIS
In 1648, an Ottoman commander planned to bombard this charming Byzantine
church. But lightning struck his cannon, giving the church the name of “Saint Dimitri
the Bombadier”.
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