Practical Advice for walking in Athens

Yes, we all know how to walk, but walking in Athens can be much more pleasant if you follow these few pieces of practical advice. Whether you take a walking tour or simply venture out on your own (perhaps to sites and walks described in this blog) mind the following and you’ll be much better off:

1) Carry a bottle of water. Plastic water bottles can be found in every kiosk, supermarket and mini-market but you’ll be better off carrying some water with you in advance, especially if you go to a park or archaeological site or if it’s a Sunday noon with most stores closed. Many shops, including kiosks, close for many days in August and with temperatures hovering around 40°C (100°F) the risk of dehydration is just around the corner. To be eco-friendly you may carry a heat-resistant, reusable bottle you can fill yourselves.

2) Apply sun-screen before leaving your hotel. You don’t need a nasty sun-burn to spoil your vacation.

3) Wear a hat or cap. And don’t be ashamed of carrying a sun umbrella if you think the heat will wear you down. Even Greek women occasionally carry them these days. OK, I haven’t seen any guys sporting them yet.

4) Both for safety reasons and for making your walk more comfortable get a hidden waist wallet (a.k.a. waist pouch) that can go undetected under your shirt or a waist-pack, preferably a secure, slash-proof one for use in congested places or one with a bottle holder so your hands can be free to e.g. carry a camera. Make sure that the pockets stay at the front where you can see them. Alternative solutions like cross-body travel bags or "healthy back bags" may be even more comfortable but not quite as safe. If you are already in Athens and don't have one, shop in stores selling such gear near the mid-section of Panepistimiou St. (a.k.a. Eleftheriou Venizelou St.) at Athens center, inside the arcades.

5) Mind the pavement cracks and holes. These and various obstacles (like illegally parked cars and motorbikes) will force you to zig-zag quite often, especially if you venture out of the city center and its large sidewalks. With pavements like these it’s no accident it took 10 years for Ulysses to get back home… (just had to throw this in!)

6) Zebra tracks: Don’t assume drivers will stop before them. On the contrary, zebra tracks are both over-used (by street designers) and ignored (by drivers). Do as the traffic lights suggest and even so always look out for approaching traffic. Drivers often pass through the yellow / orange light. Greeks have a love-hate relationship with the traffic code, and your view will depend on which part of the world you’re coming from. If you come from Cairo or Beirut I think you’ll really appreciate our driving; if you come from Berlin or… Denver… Oh, dear!

7) Have a map with you, digital or paper one (but don't go out flashing your iPhone in a seedy neighborhood...). A map can be truly liberating, as it will allow you to venture out to neighborhoods that you might otherwise tend to avoid out of fear of “getting lost” (which is not a bad thing at all to do, in a foreign city).

8) Carry a couple of transport tickets, or a daily one (price 4Euros). Reason: same as above. With most buses starting, ending or passing through somewhere in the city center you can easily get yourselves back to familiar territory by riding a bus and thus you should feel more free to explore.

9) Last but not least! Avoid the infamous sandals-and-socks combination which is guaranteed to have you frowned upon by Greeks, from the youngest to the oldest and from the homeless to the nouveau-rich J

Follow the above and Athens should be open for you to explore and zig-zag through as long as your feet can handle it.

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More pigs... This time at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens

People who haven't caught the pig collection virus may think that this is a bit too much. First I write about pigs at the Acropolis Museum and now it’s pigs at the National Archaeological Museum? I could present this as another child-friendly post, bridging games and archaeology, but the truth is that the National Archaeological Museum is too big to go pig hunting in its halls! Make no mistake, us pig collectors may be a bit shy sharing our addiction with others (sympathetic ears are hard to find) but no matter how hard we try it always finds a way to creep in, even in the most unusual of circumstances. As there’s a big number of pig collectors in this world (more than you would guess…) and some of them will certainly come to Greece for vacation at some point this is not entirely self-centered. So, enjoy my discoveries of ancient, wild, pigs depicted in artifacts found in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and get a small glimpse of the ancient treasures found there.

Ground Floor, Room 4 (third section)

The Tiryns Wall Paintings: The Akrotiri wall-paintings from the island of Santorini (found on the upper floor) may be more famous, but in the central hall (Room 4) of the ground floor, you will find two wall-paintings (at your right hand side) depicting a wild boar hunt, as the boar is being attacked by hunting dogs. The dogs look a bit pig-faced too if you ask me, but this may just be me.

Ground Floor, Room No. 5 (far end)

Further on at the ground floor (left hand side) you will find a Bronze Age (3^rd century BC) piggy-bank shaped vase from Poliochni in the island of Lemnos (No.22 in its window).

Ground Floor, Room No. 10 (far end)

You will see a votive relief(*) depicting Heracles (aka Hercules) capturing and carrying the Erymanthian boar (one of the “twelve labours of Hercules” in ancient Greek mythology)

(*) [You will see the term votive offering many times in the museum: it means an object deposited in a sacred place to gain favor of supernatural forces]

Ground Floor, Room No. 28 (far left corner)

In this room, people gather around the bronze statue of a young man who is probably Paris holding the Golden Apple of Eris (Discord) but in the far left corner, behind the young man you will notice the remnant of a 4^th century BC marble boar head, found in an ancient temple at Tegea, Arcadia, depicting the hunt for the Calydonian boar. I think I must have been the only one to ever take a picture of it! J And if the young man is indeed Paris with the golden apple then you have a pig and an apple in the same room… (If you’re too serious about ancient art you’ll have to forgive me…)

Ground Floor, Room No. 32

This same Calydonian boar is depicted in a very well preserved sarcophagus, from the 2^nd century AD, together with the whole scene of its hunting. The marble sarcophagus was found near the city of Patra in western Greece. BTW, if you are into gory and morbid subjects the –much smaller– Archeological Museum of Patra has a whole section on ancient death rituals with sarcophagi, tombs and the like…

Ground Floor, Room No. 36 (Metallurgy / Karapanos collection)

Part of a collection donated by 19^th-20^th century Greek politician Konstantinos Karapanos is an amazing “pair of lead jumping weights in the shape of a boar” (Kar. 855a, 855b), found in the ancient temple of Dodona, near the NW city of Ioannina.

Upper Floor, Room No. 55 (or 54) (ceramics collection)

There’s a really interesting 5^th century BC small vase (lekythos) here, among myriads of others: A depiction of a tale from Odyssey: “Odysseus’ (a.k.a. Ulysses’) companions turned into swine” by the witch Circe (a.k.a. Kirke). The vase is in black – red colours, “from Boeotia” and painted “in the manner of the Bowdoin Painter” 480-470BC. (9685).

Of course, pigs (should I say boars?) are not the only animals or objects of interest to be depicted in ancient artifacts found in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, but for the rest you’ll have to go searching on your own. If you think I’m not taking ancient art seriously, that would only show you don’t know much about pigs :) [Update: ...and as I just found out, ancient Greek pigs are the subject of study of a University of Buffalo professor. Read on: Hog Wild in Athens B.C.E.! Role of Pigs in Social and Religious Life Provides Insights into Ancient Greece] As always, your comments are more than welcome!

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Pigs at the Acropolis Museum!

In an effort to make the Acropolis Museum more enjoyable and welcoming to children, the museum’s management has come up with an interesting game: Children are challenged to discover 12 different representations (statues or others) of the Goddess Athena found throughout the museum. They are marked with bright red signs, all 12 of them, so that kids can spot them more easily.

As this is a pig-friendly blog (it is, trust me!) I’ve come up with a different version of the game! There are 3 depictions or statuettes of pigs among the artifacts presented in the museum! They serve as reminders of the fate and role of pigs throughout history: to serve and benefit humans and their needs! But I'm sure you don't need the pork philosophy! So, challenge your child (or the child in you) to find these ancient pigs! Happy rooting! Below are their descriptions (and “solutions” to the “game”):

-The first piggy is found on the ground floor, at the window case to the right as you enter. It is Exhibit No. 125 : “Wild boar figurine 1st cent. BC – 1st cent. AD)

-Pig no. 2 is also found on the ground floor, but this one on the left side. It is included in a fairly large mable “Dedication to Asclepius” and the sign reads as follows: “A young slave at the beginning of the procession leads a pig to sacrifice. – Mid. 4th. cent. BC.”

-Pig no. 3 is on the first floor: “Relief of the sacrifice of a pig” – “A family consisting of the parents and three children advances towards the Goddess Athena, offering a female pig for sacrifice. 480-490BC – Marble from Paros (Acr. 581)”. Only the snout and tail of this pig are preserved.

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