The iconic view of Athens, the Panthenon atop the Acropolis as seen from Mt. Lycabettus. [8224]
The Acropolis from Mt Lycabettus with a view to the coast east of Piraeus. [8180]When we were in Athens in 1980, we would look at Mount Lycabettus from the inner city, but never made it there. We rectified that this time. After all, it's less than a kilometer from Syntagma, but it's 277m up! To make life easier, we caught the metro to Evangelismos, then struck out for the Lycabettus funicular discovering that it's a big climb to even get to the bottom station of this tunnel railway on Aristippou street. The 210m long funicular was opened in 1965. Young, fit and keen people can walk to the top, but we happily paid the Euros for a return trip. Railway management had the vibe of a family company, and payments were only acceptable in cash.
Athena's pile of dropped limestone, Mt Lycabettus, stands out in the metropolis of Athens. See here from the Acropolis, where the limestone was intended. [9193]
The bottom station of the fully underground Lycabettus funicular railway. [8257]Lycabettus may be the highest spot in the city of Athens, but somehow it missed out on the name "Acropolis" which was claimed by you know where, less than 2km away. It's very popular with visitors because of the fabulous views it offers over the entire city, all the way to the coast. It's a great place for panorama photography and people-watching. It was hot and windy when we were there, and luckily we could easily find a protected cafe for rest and refreshment.
The marble Panathenaic Stadium as seen from Lycabettus was the site of the first modern Olympics in 1896, having been first built by Herodus Atticus in 144AD. [8181]
The city that is Athens, from Mt Lycabettus. [8195]
The bell in this tower on Mt Lycabettus was donated by Romanov Queen Olga around 1920. [8213]
The Greek parliament at Syntagma, as seen from Mt Lycabettus. [8245]
Well, she posed for me on Mt Lycabettus, so that's permission to publish. [8253]Naturally, Lycabettus comes with various mythologies. The mountain came into being when the goddess of wisdom, Athena, was lugging limestone to build the Acropolis but dropped it when a raven delivered a box containing her adopted son Erichthonius. The name itself means "the one that is walked by wolves" but there are other etymologies, and the true origin of the name is uncertain. However, wolves probably did frequent the area in ancient times.
It's all downhill from Lycabettus back to our digs at The Dolli, so we forsook the metro and walked home.
Floors 3-5 of the Hotel Dolli as seen from Mt Lycabettus. [8248]
Nursery on the back of a truck, plying the streets of the suburb of Lycabettus. [8172]
Adventurous architecture on this apartment block in the foothills of Mt. Lycabettus as we walked home. [8263]In all, we have spent about a month in Greece, a third of the time in Athens and two thirds on the islands. It's been a delightful holiday, the sense of history being palpable, wherever you are, being, arguably, the birthplace of modern (western) civilisation. It was too hot for comfort, and maybe a visit in a shoulder season would be preferable, but we didn't have any flexibility over the dates. But now, it is time to head home.
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