I took 4 versions of this shot, and waited 5 minutes for a man in front of me to move. It is important to me because it is to me, Athens. The monument of Lysicrates, which was originally a monument set up by a choregos, an Athenian of the 4th century BC who sponsored a chorus, the last surviving monument on the street of the tripods. Later, it was part of a Capuchin monastery at the turn of the 19th century when Byron, the British poet and sexiest man of his age, was here. He used part of this as his study, delighting in living with part of ancient Athens at his side. Above it you get a view of part of the Acropolis, the fortifications... and below, under the tree cover, is a cafe. There you have it: the sublime, the ordinary, the monmental, the human, ancient, old but less ancient, modern, European, Greek, touristy, all in a single camera shot.
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