BSA Course Day 8 - All about the Romans, and a trek up Mount Lykavettos

Weather: Sunny, hot & humid ,34 degrees

Step count: 20379

Our most demanding day of the course so far was all about the Romans - the Roman Agora, the Library of Hadrian and the Temple of Olympian Zeus - which was led by tutor Rossana Valente.

We started by considering the 'odi et amo' ('love and hate') relationship that the Romans had with the earlier periods of Greek antiquity, as both conquerors and admirers of the classical and hellenistic past. Philhellene Emperor Hadrian had a considerable influence on Athens, as illustrated by his Library, an immense space which would have been richly decorated with marble and gilding with a collection of papyrii to rival that of the Library of Alexandria.

Walking through the site we could see evidence of how it had changed and developed through to the present day, with a later 'tetraconch' (‘four apses’) church placed in the central courtyard, the propylon (gate to the library) being transformed into a 12th century Christian church which was later destroyed by fire, and a small Ottoman building which provided a fantastic example of spolia, the re-use of earlier material in later buildings, as column capitals and various other materials were incorporated into its walls.

An online 3D reconstruction of the site shows more of what it would have looked like.

The nearby Roman Agora was in use from the 1st century BC, having moved from the Athenian Agora due to increasing monumentalisation. We were able to visualise how the space would have been used as a focal point for economic transactions, and particularly to control the production and trade of olive oil, with evidence of an olive press and a section of the stoa used for weights and measures, with storage jars set into the walls on the opposite side.

As an ambassador for Lytham St Annes Classical Association it was fun to take the Spring edition of our newsletter 'Agora' on tour! It was a great talking point amongst the group, and several have now taken advantage of the free student membership being offered for the upcoming programme.

A short walk brought us to the middle-Byzantine church of Little Metropolis, which provided another example of spolia, and the re-interpretation of mythical to Christian iconography.

Our final stop was the immense Temple of Olympian Zeus, started in the 2nd century BC and completed in the 2nd century AD as part of Hadrian's building programme. Alongside the temple, which was one of the most ambitious and largest ever built, are the remains of the Arch of Hadrian which cleverly aligns a view of the Acropolis when viewed one way, and a view of the temple from the other. We practised our analytical skills once again on the remains of the Roman baths within the site, identifying changes in levels and structures and what this might tell us about how the buildings were used.

The optional 4.30pm activity was a climb up Mount Lykavettos, the highest hill in Athens and almost double the height of the Acropolis, in 34 degree heat. Surprisingly it’s quite a nice walk, once you get past the several flights of steps which take you up the streets to the pathway! It winds up past cacti and olive trees, giving an ever-expanding view of the immense city, until the eventual reward of an almost 360 degree panorama of the urban expanse laid out far below.

It really put into perspective the size of the ancient city of Athens compared to the urban sprawl it is today, as the red roofs surrounding the rock of the Acropolis would have been the extent of the ancient city, and gave us an appreciation of the challenges in transporting the marble from the quarry at Penteli to the Acropolis.

After a long day we treated ourselves at the cafe on the halfway point, savouring the views and the peace of the evening as the sun set beyond the Acropolis.