12/16/2012
We visited Hadrian’s Gate, an arch that was made of marble. It is on the street that goes from the old city of Athens to the new section that was built by Hardrian in 131-132 AD. It is 18 meters high and 13 meters wide. The crazy thing about the gate is that it is right on one of the busiest roads in Athens. Trying to get a picture without a car was not an easy task!
We continued towards the Columns of Zeus. They are right in the middle of town and were dedicated to Zeus, the king of all Olympian gods. The temple was built in 6th century BC, but in the 3rd century it started to deteriate and started to be a ruin soon after. After the fall of the Roman Empire much of the marble and building material was stolen to build other things. We could still see a lot of the ruins.
Last stop of the morning was the Panathenaic Stadium. It is the oldest stadium in the world and the first modern Olympic Games were held here in 1986. Now it is more a less a museum and once you walk through the tunnel it is full of many items from past Olympic games. Some of the torches are pictured.
Now days the stadium is used for some Greek sporting events as well as in 2004 when the final legs of the Olympic Marathon were run there. 
timistravels 
Leave a Reply