Athens is full of ancient wonders including temples, theaters and the Acroplis of Athens.
The sites of the Acropolis and nearby Agora are closely linked to the world of Greek mythology and so understanding the mythology while visiting this site can spark the imagination of adults and children.
The Acropolis is primarily dedicated to the Goddess Athena.
Apparently, Athena and Poseidon both wanted to be the patron of the Athens, and a contest between the two arose with the winner presenting the best present to the city. Poseidon struck the Acropolis with his trident and created a salt-water well. This is known as the sea” of the Erechtheion, which lay inside the temple, and is said to make sounds of waves whenever the wind blows from the south. Athena thrust her spear to the ground and an olive tree appeared.
Athena was named the winner, but the temple Erechtheion was built to soothe raging Poseidon and prevent him from flooding the city.
Now, as the story goes, Athena was born from Zeus and Titaness Metis. Apparently, Zeus swallowed Metis with Athena inside. He developed an huge headache and his cries shock the whole Earth that could hear him.
Hephaestusm, the blacksmith god, came to help and struck Zeus’ head with his hammer. Guess what? Athena came out of Zeus’ head, in her full gown and armour.
The Temple of Hephaestus is situated overlooking the Agora, a marketplace of ancient craftsmen.
Now, Zeus had numerous love affairs. His wife, Hera, was constant jealous and often directed her anger at Zeus, his offspring and his mistresses. Despite his reputation among the deities, Zeus was worshipped by mortals as the most powerful of all the Olympian Gods. Today the Temple of Olympian Zeus has only a few columns remaining but you can imagine it as a colossal structure in its full glory as a fitting tribute to the king of the Olympian gods.
The Theater of Dionysus sits on the south slope of the Athenian Acropolis.
Dating back to the 4th century BC, the structure could seat a staggering 17,000 spectators, and was used to host festivals in honor of Dionysus, the love-child of Zeus and Semele, a mortal famous for her beauty and grace.
According to the mythology, Zeus was deeply in love with Semele. He wanted to please her so he swore upon the sacred river Styx to make her every dream come true. Now, Zeus’s wife Hera was not happy about this. She pursued Semele to ask Zeus to come in his true godly form. Zeus knew that a mortal who sees a deity in all his glory will die, but he made a promise to Semele. So, Zeus appears in his natural form and Semele is immediately wrapped by fire and burns to death. Yikes! Zeus did manage to rescue Dionysus by stitching the fetus into his thigh until he was ready to be born. The advent of the theatrical tragedy is attributed to many ancient Greek playwrights, who were inspired by the dramatic misadventures and exciting lives of their Olympian Gods.
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