Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
houses here, as well as the ancient Koile road, which led from the city to the port at
Pireás, protected by the Long Walls; a vital strategic thoroughfare in antiquity.
1
The prison of Socrates
Filopáppou Hill
On the way up Filopáppou Hill, signed of to the left, is the so-called
Prison of
Socrates
, in actual fact the rear part of a house - age unknown but probably very
ancient - with rooms cut into the rock. The main structure would have been in front,
and you can still see holes for joists and beams, and part of a rock-cut stairway.
Áyios Dhimítrios
Filopáppou Hill
The main path up Filopáppou Hill follows a line of truncated ancient walls past the
attractive Byzantine church of
Áyios Dhimítrios
. The church is much venerated because,
the story goes, its patron saint (Dhimitrios “The Bomber”) protected worshippers
celebrating his saint's day here in 1656. The Turks planned to bombard the church, but
instead “God sent a thunderbolt, exploding the powder and destroying their cannon,
killing Yusuf Aga and his men”. Inside, original Byzantine frescoes have been uncovered
under later ones, the eyes of the saints gouged out.
The Hill of the Pnyx
North of Filopáppou rises the
Hill of the Pnyx
, an area used in Classical Athens as the
meeting place for the democratic assembly, which gathered more than forty times a
year. A convenient semicircular terrace makes a natural spot from which to address the
crowd. All male citizens could vote and, at least in theory, all could voice their
opinions, though the assembly was harsh on inarticulate or foolish speakers. There are
some impressive remains of the original walls, which formed the theatre-like court, and
of
stoas
where the assembly would have taken refreshment. This atmospheric setting
provides commanding Acropolis views, while benches on the west side allow you to
contemplate the vista across Pireás and out to sea.
The Hill of the Nymphs
he
Hill of the Nymphs
(Lófos Nymfón) lies to the west of the Pnyx and Filopáppou,
overlooking Áno Petrálona. Nymphs were associated with the dusty whirlwinds to
which this hill is particularly prone and it is said to be the location of the fairy
sequences in Shakespeare's
A
Midsummer Night's Dream
. Slightly lower and quieter
than its better-known neighbours, this is a peaceful place with good views across to the
western suburbs of Athens and beyond, as well as pleasant shaded walks.
Benáki Museum of Islamic Art
Áyion Asomáton 22, corner Dhípylou • Tues & Thurs-Sun 9am-3pm, Wed 9am-9pm • €5 •
W
benaki.gr • Metro Thissío
Antónis Benákis, founder of the Benáki Museum (see p.90), spent much of his life in
Egypt, and this museum, in a converted Neoclassical mansion, was created to house the
collection he amassed there. Exhibits in the
Benáki Museum of Islamic Art
follow a
chronological course up through the building, from the seventh century on the first floor
to the nineteenth on the fourth. Throughout there are beautiful, intricately decorated
objects in almost every type of art: ceramics (especially tiles), metalwork and wood above
all, but also textiles, jewellery, glass, scientific instruments, armour and more. The
highlights, perhaps, are on the third floor, from the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century
Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire under Süleyman the Magnificent. Here is a
reconstructed room from a Cairo mansion, complete with inlaid marble floor, sunken
