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DAY
1 DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight
to Athens.
DAY
2 ARRIVE ATHENS (6 NIGHTS) - HALF DAY
TRIP TO CAPE SOUNION
We will be met at the airport by our tour manager/guide, and
transfer to Cape Sounion on the coast of the Aegean Sea.
Here we will visit the Temple of Poseidon, ideally
positioned for worship of the powerful god of the sea, as it
was built on a beautiful site set back from the sheer cliffs
tumbling into the Aegean Sea. The present temple, built in
444 BC, stands on the site of older ruins. It features an
Ionic Frieze made from Parian marble and 15 of the 34
original Doric columns remain. We continue to our hotel in
central Athens. Time permitting; we will take a Walking
Tour through the Monastiraki, the old area that takes
its name from a sunken monastery. This section of Athens is
highlighted by: the Fethiye Mosque, Tsistaraki Mosque, the
Roman Agora, the remains of Hadrian’s Library and the unique
Tower of the Winds.
DAY
3 ATHENS (BIRTHPLACE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION)
Our morning commences with a visit to the Acropolis,
which has dominated the skyline of Athens for over 2,000
years. A citadel was built on the rock in Mycenaean times,
and was the first of a series of temples that honored
Athena, the city’s divine patroness. In 480 BC the Persians
captured the Acropolis, and the Athenian leader Pericles
rebuilt the site according to his plan of unsurpassed beauty
and grandeur. During our tour of the Acropolis, we will
view: the Propylaia, the monumental entrance
to the complex; the Temple of Athena Nike; the
Parthenon, the temple to Athena which crowns
the Acropolis; the Erectheion, dedicated to
Poseidon and Athena; and the Theater of Herodes
Atticus, originally built in AD 161. Our day
continues with a visit to the Ancient Agora, or
marketplace, which formed the political heart of Athens from
600 BC. Socrates was indicted and executed here in 399 BC.
The theater, schools and colonnades filled with shops also
made this the center of social and commercial life.
- Your First Concert Performance will be today
DAY
4 DAY TRIP TO MYCENAE & CORINTH
We will make an early start today as we travel to Mycenae, a
fortified Palace Complex uncovered by archaeologist
Heinrich Schielmann in 1874. The complex is one of the
earliest examples of sophisticated citadel architecture, and
only the ruling class would have inhabited the hilltop
palace. Highlights of our visit will include: the 13th
century BC Lion Gate; Grave Circle A,
with six royal family shaft graves; the Royal Palace
situated at the acropolis summit; and the Secret
Stairway, a flight of 99 steps dropping to a cistern
deep beneath the citadel. We continue outside the palace
complex, where will visit the Treasury of Atreus, the
most outstanding of the tholos tombs. Dating from
the 14th century BC, it is one of only two double-chambered
tombs in Greece. We continue to Corinth, one of the largest
and most prosperous cities in ancient Greece and the site of
an important Roman colony. The ruins of the ancient city
spread out for miles, but we will focus on the site known as
the Acrocorinth beyond the main city. We will
explore the remains of the huge rock fortress, which could
withstand lengthy sieges due to the presence of the upper
Peirene spring on the southeast side of the ramparts. In
addition to the fascinating remains of the Acrocorinth, we
will also be afforded one of the most sweeping views in all
of Greece. Our panoramic views stretch over 35 miles in all
directions, from the Geraneia range in the northeast to the
peaks of the Ziria in the southwest. We return to Athens
for the evening.
DAY
5 ATHENS
Our
morning commences with a visit to the National
Archaeological Museum, one of the world’s most important
museums, which houses treasures collected from many small
museums in and around Athens.
Our day continues as we view Hadrian’s Arch, an
enormous triumphal arch built by the Roman Emperor, which is
still a symbolic entrance to Athens. The Temple of
Olympian Zeus is the largest temple in Athens, and we
will get a sense of its enormous size on our visit when we
view the 15 columns that remain of the original 104.
- Your Second Concert Performance will be today
DAY
6 DAY TRIP TO DELPHI
Today we make an early start and travel north to explore
Ancient Delphi, which to the Greeks was one of the most
sacred spots in their world. Its setting is dramatic - a
natural amphitheater that faces the sea and lies under the
shadow of Mt. Parnassus. At the center of Delphi stands
the Sanctuary of Apollo, for many centuries
antiquity’s largest center of pilgrimage. Our exploration
of ancient Delphi will include: a walk up the Sacred
Way, which winds up the hill to the Temple; the
treasury buildings of the various ancient city-states; and
the spectacular ruins of the Doric Temple of Apollo,
the home of the oracle Pythia who would deliver the
prophecies of the gods. After exploring the sacred site, we
will visit the Delphi Museum, with a collection of
sculptures and architectural remains of an importance second
only to those of the Athenian Acropolis. This afternoon we
return to Athens.
DAY
7 ATHENS
& ELEUSIS
This morning we begin with a visit to one of Athens’ most
interesting churches. First we visit Panagia
Gorgoepikoos, a tiny 12th century church also known as
the Little Cathedral. Built entirely of Pentelic marble,
this domed, cruciform church is highlighted by its beautiful
bas-reliefs and the Lintel Frieze, dating from
the 4th century BC. The cathedral is the official seat of
the Bishop of Athens and is used for ceremonial events, such
as coronations and state funerals. Our day cotinues with a
visit to the nearby Museum of Greek Popular Musical
Instruments which houses an impressive collection of
over 1,200 musical instruments. Instruments from all over
Greece are displayed, and the museum traces the history and
development of different styles of Greek and island music,
all the way to the arrival of rempetika (Greek Blues).
- Your Third Concert Performance will be today
DAY
8 DEPARTURE FROM ATHENS
Your enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as your
guide accompanies you to the airport for the return flight
home.
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