Plaka

This is Athens' oldest and, thanks to the restoration efforts which went into its buildings in recent years, most picturesque neighbourhood. You will be delighted by the beauty of the neo-classical colours of its houses, their architecture, their lovingly tended little gardens, the elegance, and the total atmosphere of the area. According to the most recent theory, Plaka owes its name to a large stone slab plaka in Greek) found in the area of the church of Ayios Georgios of Alexandria, near the ancient theatre of Dionysos.

Plaka's central square was named after the Philomousos Etairia (Meaning Friends of the Muses namely the 9 patron goddesses of the Arts) which was founded in 1813. Its aim was to encourage Greek-oriented studies and the preservation of the archaeological treasures of Athens. You will find the square at the crossroads of Kydathenaeon, Farmaki, Olympiou Dios and Anghelou Geronda Streets. You will find many shops selling souvenirs: miniatures and copies of well known works of ancient Greek art, jewellery of traditional Greek design, worry beads and stamped T-shirts.

Along the Kydathenaeon Street there is the Children's Museum, a child's paradise. In its attic you can see a reconstructed room complete with old furniture, radio and heater of an old Athenian house. It is appropriately called the "grandmother and grandfather room" and in it children can dress up in period costumes. On the first floor there is a reconstruction of the worksite of the Athenian metro, which is currently being extended all over the city. The Museum also houses a playground and a library.

The Tower of the Winds is just outside the eastern side of the Roman Agora. You will come across an octagonal monument. This is Aridronikos Kyristes' clock, built during the 1st century B.C., which housed an hydraulic clock, each of its eight sides was decorated with representations of the eight winds. That is why the monument was nicknamed Aendes (winds).

The Monument of Lysikrates in ancient Athens the staging of theatrical performances in the theatre of Dioriysos was sponsored by wealthy citizens, called choregoi. The choregos who sponsored the best  Plaka- Vyronos Street. performance of Ihe year, was presented with a prize by the city. When wealthy Lysikrates won the prize (334 B.C.), he decided to build a monument to house it where it remains to this day. In 1658, a Capuchin monastery was founded here by French friars of that order and in 1669 the monument was bought by Ihem. It was in this monastery that Lord Byron stayed during his second visit to Greece. In 1829 a foreign traveller in Greece was granted permission by the friars to take the monument with him, but fortunately it proved too heavy for him. Later, Lord Elgin put his mind to the same task but was again stopped, this time by the monks.

The Olympieion is, according to the traveller Pausanias,. the temple of Olympian Zeus and was founded by Deucalion, one of the mythical ancestors of the Greeks. Around 515 B.C., the Peisistratids, one of the dynasties of tyrants (absolute rulers) of ancient Athens, endeavoured to replace the old temple with a new, more impressive one. But tyranny was abolished and the construction was halted. The construction of the temple was resumed by the Roman architect Decimus Cossutius employed by Antiochos IV Epiphanes, King of Syria. When Antiochos died in 163 B.C. the temple was once more abandoned without a roof and pediments, and it was finally completed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in AD 131.

The Arch of Hadrian after the construction of the temple of Zeus, the Athenians honoured Hadrian by building, in AD 131 an arched gateway in the north-west corner of the enclosure of the temple. The arch, built of Pentelic marble, bears two inscriptions. The one on the side facing the Acropolis (west facade) reads: This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus while the other, on the side facing the sanctuary and the extension of the city by Hadrian, reads; This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus.