Athens, In Review
Our 2019 Starseed Greece Adventure began in Athens. As we ascended the Acropolis, an Athenian temple sanctuary dedicated to the patron goddess Athena during the 8th century BC, a melodic voice wafted through the air. I leaned over the low-lying rock wall to see the red-headed siren, ethereal in dress, standing alone on the grand stage of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Her song registered in my ear. We observed Florence Welch perform a sound-check; the debut performance of Florence + the Machine was later that evening.
“From opera divas to tenors, the world’s best performers have appeared on Athens’ most majestic stage.” – Why Athens.
Photo credit: Althea Provost, 2019
With permission to perform, Florence + the Machine was given a rare opportunity to experience lightning-fast sellout performances at the Odeon: one that evening, adding another in two days, with a third at a different venue in Athens. This aged stone theatre was undoubtedly a highlightable moment for Welch’s career. Her name was added to other notables: Greek singer Nana Mouskouri, Luciano Pavarotti, Frank Sinatra, and Elton John. The two-thousand-year-old Odeon was funded in 161 AD by Herodes Atticus, a wealthy Athenian-Roman official, a multi-hyphenate with many comma attributes across a broad spectrum of positive and negative historical narratives. Did he show personal financial restraint for wine and song so thousands of people could indulge in wine and song? Or, as patron of this ancient amphitheater, was it built in honor of his late wife, Appia, which he may have had a hand in her death? Like most buildings from ancient times, the roof is missing; the Odeon was once covered in a cedar roof, a rare wood associated with wealth at the time.
At the Acropolis, I considered climbing the low-lying retaining wall to join the evening festivities; the good vibes were palpable.
“Life is too important to be taken seriously.”
—Oscar Wilde.
Before descending, we made way for the pomp and circumstance of the flag procession led by the Presidential Guard, elite soldiers called Evzones. During our descent from antiquity, walking along the winding sacred path, we encountered diaphanous dresses, adorning flowers, and a beautiful crowd walking toward the Odeon.
During the pandemic, controversial work was done to install cement walkways on the grounds of the Acropolis. If you ever had the good fortune of visiting, the Acropolis’s ascent and descent can be tricky; the well-trodded stone surfaces are polished smooth from centuries of use, but on top of the Acropolis, the dirt surfaces with rock outcropping offer many layers of yet-to-be-excavated history.
📸 Photo credit: @jamesrelfdyer
Can you spot Mount Lycabettus or the Porch of the Maidens, the six larger-than-life maiden statues that serve as columns supporting the southern part of the Erechtheion?
Want to learn more about Athena’s sanctuary? Sign up for our free class on The Art of Giving Sacred Temple Libations. More than you ever want to know. Here at Thea’s Heart, we take knowledge with us as we travel through the perception of time.💫
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