Old friends (cont.)

As promised previously, I want to post about the ancient sites we are visiting: some we go to every year, others we haven't visited in many years. But they all remind us that even these "timeless" places change over time, with more care and protection lavished on them.

We went to Sounion, which was a very familiar place to us. The temple of Poseidon stood in all of its "timeless" glory:

And we were able to locate Byron's signature, always fun. But the site has changed enormously since the last time we were there. Last time we visited, the Archaeological Service was excavating the town. Now it is carefully conserved, with a paved staircase and an explanatory marker:

You can also now follow the path down to the shipsheds, which I'd read about but never seen before. It was very exciting to be able to see them:

Yeah, it doesn't take a lot to get me excited.

The biggest thrill for me was that for once, the Temple of Athena was open (and completely unguarded). This is the first time in many years of seeing this structure, and although it isn't grand like the Temple of Poseidon, it is a fascinating structure in itself.

The site is what my friend Jeremy McInerney calls a "toe-stubber." You'll have to take my word on the "fascinating" part.

After our visit to Sounion we ended up at Mojito Bay, which is still as loud and as overbuilt as the last time we visited it (for my screed on modern Greek beaches, see the post from several years ago). Maybe I'm getting a bit more indulgent as I get older, but I appreciate how much the students enjoy this scene; and after having them go through a hot archaeological site, I figure they've earned some time at the beach under the shade, listening to Europop.

There is a beach here somewhere.