Fraser MacKinlay
The Acropolis
It was early in the morning when our master and tour guide Mr. Buckingham commanded "avanti, les garci" and the Western Heritage Boys eagerly paced through the streets of central Athens. We first arrived at The University of Athens, which, much to our surprise and dismay, was riddled with protestors who, standing at the university's entrance with banners in angry Greek, attempted to prevent us from seeing the university in all its splendour.
Later that day we progressed through the narrow roads of the city led by our Latin teacher, who gave us a twenty minute deadline to hunt and consume what food we could find. A nearby bakery sold us, although somewhat reluctantly due to our ignorance of the native language, a "traditional sausage roll pie" and "spinach pie", which were, although very salty, quite delightful.
After being briefed on the potential security risks of public transport in Athens, and Europe in general, we arrived at The Acropolis by train. We passed through a multitude of buskers and hippies and reached the Parthenon, a temple which stands boldly on The Acropolis, despite the numerous plunderings, wars and even bombings it has endured over many centuries. Tommy Hayes delivered a speech on the entrance to the main temple, while George Kirkwood informed us about the Parthenon itself, the purposes of which, over its lifetime this far, have included being a temple, a church and even a mosque. I presented my speech on the Erectheion, the architectural complex situated adjacent to the Parthenon. While many boys were perhaps not impressed with the rather great length of my speech, I hope they were impressed with he marvels of the Erectheion itself.
The view of the city from The Acropolis is breathtaking; the urban sprawl surrounds the hill and extends to great distances. What one can also notice, however, is the dull repetition of the grey Greek apartments, and the messy graffiti scribbled on each building. I can conclude that, despite how rich Athens is in history, the city itself is truly a ghetto.
