Classical Glories

Classical Glories

You don't have to look far in Athens to encounter perfection. Towering above all—both physically and spiritually—is the Acropolis, the ancient city of upper Athens and the stonied remains of one of the greatest civilizations the West has ever produced. Sooner or later, you will climb the hill to witness, close-up, monuments of beauty and grace that have not been surpassed in 2 millennia. Nowhere, in fact, has ancient allure been more elegantly expressed than in the six caryatids that support the porch of the Erechtheion. No matter that these maidens are copies (the originals are in the Acropolis's museum). When the setting sun bathes them in rosy hues, these great sculptures of the 5th century BC fire the imagination. The few friezes that remain in situ at the Parthenon, the loftiest point of the Acropolis, are enough to evoke the splendor with which this masterpiece of Doric architecture was once adorned.

The ancient temples of Athens no longer serve their original purpose, but the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a theater built into a hillside, still welcomes audiences to performances for part of the year. And at the National Archaeological Museum, a 3,500-year-old funeral mask is but one of the treasures reflecting centuries of artistic achievement. Pay a visit to the Hephaistion, the well-preserved Doric temple that graces the Agora, the marketplace and hub of everyday life in ancient Athens.