Ancient city of Athens
The ship slowly sailed into the port of Piraeus. We got on the shore and transferred to the underground train that went straight to Athens. It is 8 kilometers from Athens and it is less than 10 minutes away.
With a population of 2.5 million, Athens is the capital of Greece. We took a bus to visit the Acropolis in Athens. Along the way, the tour guide told me the mythical story of the city’s name: Athens is an ancient city with more than 5,000 years of history. In 1600 BC, the Mycenae built a castle on the hillside of the sea. It is said that every city in ancient Greece has a patron saint, who is the largest city patron of Greece? The most intelligent art goddess Athena and the most powerful Poseidon Pseig have a dispute. They decided to win the championship in the public. Puseg used his long fork to poke on the top of the mountain. When he was squatting, there was a steady stream of water from the ground, symbolizing the broadness and majesty of the sea. Athena stood quietly on the ground and used her spear on the ground. After a stroke, I suddenly grew a green olive tree, symbolizing peace and wisdom. The people chose peace and wisdom, and Athena was the patron saint, so the name of Athens was born. After the story was finished, the Acropolis also arrived. I saw that the east, south and north sides of the Acropolis are steep cliffs. There is only a gentle slope in the west, which can be used for people and cars.
Built on an isolated hill, the Acropolis is the commanding heights of Athens and the oldest castle in Greece. On the 170-meter-wide and 300-meter-long highland, there are towers built in 1000 BC. The city houses the Temple of Patti and the Temple of Athena. The Patti Temple is the most outstanding ancient building in the Acropolis. It was built in 438 BC and was designed by the famous ancient architect Achillos. The temple is made entirely of crystal clear white marble. The temple is surrounded by 46 marble columns up to 11 meters high; the triangular mountain wall in front of the temple is decorated with beautiful statues, which are very harmonious and elegant, fully reflecting the mature style of Greek classical art. According to the guide, according to the literature, there is a statue of Zeus in Olympia, 14 meters high, in the temple, which is dignified on the wooden carving seat with many gems; the face and hands of the god are carved with ivory, eyes It is set with precious stones. This statue is from the hands of the ancient Greek sculptor Fedias. It is a pity that this statue was robbed by the Roman Emperor Theodores I to Istanbul, Turkey, and was destroyed by a fire in 475 AD. The Temple of Athena was also destroyed by war and earthquake, and most of the precious statues were stolen and looted. In recent years, due to the development of the chemical industry, air pollution in Athens has become increasingly serious. A large amount of dust and chemicals have diffused in the air, forming a strong acid rain, which has caused the remnant Athena temples and marble columns to be corroded.
The oldest playground
From the Acropolis, the tour guide specially accompanied me to the suburbs of Athens to change the fresh air in order not to disappoint me.
In the spring of March, it is the time when the earth rejuvenates and everything wakes up. Soon after the car drove out of the city, it reached the famous Marathon Town. The environment is quiet and the air is fresh. The green grass is dotted with blush poppies and golden spring flowers, giving a beautiful and comfortable feeling. The tour guide proudly said: “More than 2,300 years ago, this was the battlefield of our ancestors to defend the motherland and the Persian aggressors. In 490 BC, the Persian invaders attacked Greece, the Greek people fought back, and finally the marathon near Athens. The town made a decisive battle. Greece finally defeated the invaders. In order to tell the people the victory news as soon as possible, the Greek army sent a soldier named Fidi Pitz, from the town of Marathon to the central square of Athens. When the soldier panted After the report of the good news of victory, thousands of people cheered and jumped, and the whole square became a boiling sea, and the wounded soldier fell on the square of joy. People want to commemorate this forever. The patriotic warrior, the distance of the marathon town to Athens, 40,195 meters, is the distance of the Olympic Games marathon, and continues to the present.
Listening to the lively introduction of the tour guide, the time passed very fast. In a short while, the car had reached Niemiyabu, 130 kilometers southwest of Athens. After getting off the bus, we followed the crowd to a weather-beaten old sports field. Despite the age, the track and grandstand of the stadium are clearly legible. The runway here is 177 meters long and can accommodate 13 athletes at the same time. The stands are made of megaliths and are very strong with nearly 40,000 seats. There is also a 50-meter arched tunnel under the stadium, which is said to be an ancient athlete. The place to enter the game. On the wall of the tunnel, many names of athletes at the time were engraved. We walked out of the tunnel and climbed into the high stands. I faced the empty ancient sports field, and there seemed to be a scene of the brutality of the ancient Greek slaves and beasts. It seemed to see the ancient Greeks driving the horse racing… The tour guide interrupted my reverie. He said: “This Niemiyabu stadium was discovered only in 1980. This discovery has advanced the earliest Greek games for more than 470 years. According to archaeological identification, the Nemeab Stadium was built in 1250 BC. The oldest sports ground in Greece to date.
When I mentioned the Olympic Games, I thought about Olympia to see, but it is the source of the Olympic Games! We took a flight from Athens to Olympia and took a bird’s eye view of the Peloponnese from the air, like a green sycamore leaf floating on the blue Ionian sea.
Olympia was originally a village in ancient Greece. Because it has the statue of Zeus, it is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We came to the Temple of Als in front of Mount Olympia. The statue of Zeus in the temple has long since disappeared, and it is particularly ruined and desolate. The tour guide told me that in the early days and early days, the Greek city gangs often fought and fought frequently. But they all believe in the god Zeus. Every four years, the city-states will send delegations to worship in front of the statue of Olympian Zeus. On the open space in front of the temple, they used a convex lens to focus the sun on the “holy fire”, and then surrounded the bonfire and held various sports competitions. This is the origin of the Olympic Games. According to research, the earliest Olympic sports event was founded in 776 BC. At that time, the competition was far less than today, but the scope of the competition was larger than it is now. In addition to sports, there are art, drama, poetry, music, etc. It is an all-encompassing gathering.
The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896. Every four years thereafter, it takes turns to be held in countries around the world.
Greece is an island country. In addition to the native Balkans and the Peloponnese, there are thousands of large and small islands that are like pearls scattered on the Mediterranean blue sea. The port of Olympia is equipped with a tourist speedboat for people to explore the islands. I and the tour guide took a speedboat and started the tour of the islands.
Greece was originally a barren country. There are mountainous hills everywhere, no decent rivers, and no broad and fertile plains. But the industrious Greek people used their hands to decorate them with beautiful scores. Every island we have been to is full of flowers. We took a tour of the excavation of the goddess Aphrodite, the island of Mes and the Rhodes with its roses. At noon, I ate on a speedboat and ate authentic Greek food. The locals called it “Babakia”. It is a kind of food made from grape leaf wrapped meat, rice and raisins. It is a bit like our scorpion and sweet. It is fragrant and salty, with no flavor.
After lunch, the speedboat will drive to Crete, the largest island in Greece. There are frequent earthquakes here. According to two scientists in the United States and Switzerland, a devastating earthquake will occur in Crete in the last 10 years. Before going to the island, I imagined that it was a broken and heart-wrenching place. However, when we set foot on the island, we saw a scene of prosperity. The people here are optimistic and calm, as if there has never been a disaster. The island is full of flowers, the hills are full of herbs and grapes, and the tall olive trees are connected in the valley. On the rugged mountain road, the old farmers ride on the donkeys and leisurely go to the market, followed by a group of dyed lambs… … The tour guide told me that frequent earthquakes did not intimidate the Cretans. Instead, they defeated the disaster again and again. Today, it has become the birthplace of major export products such as Greek spices, herbs and flowers.
From the Cretans, I saw that the Greek people have a strong character and courage, which is why they can withstand the test of frequent earthquakes on the mountainous and barren land and build the country better and better. .
The trip to Greece ended in Crete, and I bid farewell to the hospitable tour guide in Port of Iraklin. In the moment I left it, I was a bit reluctant, because the grass and trees here are all in my memory. It is full of fantasy, and it is in the poetry. I have been indulging in it for a long time.