Greece!

Acropolis

Here are some pictures from the Acropolis.  What an awesome site.
A lot smaller than I thought, but still blows you away.
As you wind your way up from the bottom, you pass all kinds of toppled
ruins.  There is a nice amphitheater which has carved marble front row
seats.  If you look closely, you will see the names of the people
who sat in them carved on the front. How cool is that?!?!
Further up is the Herodian Theater, a huge theater that has been
refurbished and still puts on shows.  You will see its seats
have all been redone. The Parthenon is huge and impressive as you
would imagine.  You can't tell that everything is an optical illusion,
but all the scaffolding and cranes tends to take away from that as well.
The Erechtheum is the temple with the porch of the Goddesses and I
liked that the best.  What a beautiful building.

Ampitheater Front Row Seats

Herodian Theater

Parthenon, 447-438 BCE
Built in 14 years by architects Kallikrates and Iktinos made many subtle adjustments in the lines of the structure and the placement of columns to refine the design and possible to counteract the effects of various optical illusions that would otherwise seem to distort its appearance when view from a distance.

Porch of the Goddess

Parthenon and Erechtheum

View from the bottom


Sounio
Temple at Sunset

This is a fortified temple complex built to honor
Poseidon.  This temple is perched right on the edge of a cliff.
The Persians destroyed the temple and razed the rest of the
complex,but it is still stunning.

Temple to Poseidon Below

Thermopylae

Just two pics here.  Both of these were taken from Kolonos Hill,
which is where the Spartans made their last stand and were
surrounded by the Persians.  The hill is not just a mole-hill and
it would have taken some effort to assault the Spartans who were well
defended on it.  It is completely clear why the Persians decided against
an assault and just shot them down with arrows.  Hundreds of Persian
arrowheads were found on the hill when excavating it.  The view shows
the battlefield area.  Where the road is today would have roughly
been the edge of the water during the battle so you can
get an idea of how constricted it was. 

Kolonos Hill Above

Battlefield Below


Pella (Macedonia)
These pics are from Pella, the home of Phillip of Macedon and Alexander the Great. The site is relatively well preserved with this atrium area by far the best. The first two pics are of the nice atrium which had a few standing columns, fountains, and awesome floors. They just used marble and a blueish stone to create them. I love all the swirls and designs on the border of the mosaic pic enclosed. The actual palace is still being excavated on the hill. The rest of the site is pretty much building rubble, but considering that this predates a place like Pompeii by about 400 years, its is in pretty good shape.





Delphi

Delphi was by far my favorite place because it was so massive
and set in the mountains away from the busy city.  The walkway
up to the Temple of Apollo is wonderful with all the city
treasuries and decorative niches and stuff.  One thing that is
amazing is that almost every wall is engraved with inscriptions
from the top to the bottom.  What a resource of history!!!
The stadium was magnificent and it still had the starting blocks
for the runners!!

Time line here appox 530 BCE

Athenian Stoa
a "Stoa" is a columned pavilion open on all sides.
Here people would rest and socialize

Athenian Treasury
there are numerous treasuries built by the various city-states

Stadium

Temple of Apollo

Charioteer, from the Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi
c. 470 BCE Bronze, height 5'11''

Few original Greek bronze statues survived because the metal would be recycled into new works. This one survived by chance because it was buried during a major earthquake. It was found in it's original location along with fragments of the chariot and horses. The inscription states it commemorates a victory by a driver sponsored by King Polyzalos of Gela (Sicily) in the Pythian Games of 478 or 474 BCE. This is an example of hollow-casting.

The robe is stylized in the Archaic style but it is believed that Greek competition winners had their features memorialized in statues.

"The setting of a work of art today affects the impression if makes. Today, this stunning figure is exhibited on a low base in the peaceful surroundings of a museum, isolated from other works and spotlighted for close examination. Its effect would have been very different in its original outdoor location, standing in a horse-drawn chariot atop a tall monument. Viewers in ancient times, exhausted from the steep climb to the sanctuary, possibly jostled by crowds of fellow pilgrims, could have absorbed only it overall effect, not the fine details of the face, robe, and body visible to today's viewers."