ancient temple

The Temple of Poseidon/Ο Ναος του Ποσειδωνα

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There is a lot of graffiti from over a century ago. If you zoom in you at the top you can see Lord Byron’s’ name.

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touriststextThe temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio is a beautiful spot at the southern tip of Attica. It has one the greatest views of the sea I have seen in Greece. It is no wonder then that it was such a significant strategic point for the ancient Athenians who, from this point, could control the sea passage to the Aegean sea and Piraeus and Lavrion Peninsula.  Poseidon, the God of the sea, protected the ships in the Mediterranean. Seafarers would come to the temple and make animal sacrifices or give gifts in exchange for a safe sea voyage.

A Window To The Soul/Ένα Παράθυρο Στην Ψυχή

‘A Window To The Soul’ digital collage by Angela Zafiris

This digital collage contains layers of photographs that I have taken of the Supermoon, a temple, a headless statue, a window and trees. I made the collage background scanned it and then I layered all of the images. I have made a black and white version and the original colourful one is below.

Αυτό το ψηφιακό κολάζ περιέχει στρώματα  από φωτογραφίες που τράβηξα με τo Supermoon, ένα αρχαίο ναό, ένα ακέφαλο άγαλμα, ένα παράθυρο και δέντρα. Σάρωσα το κολάζ φόντο, και στη συνέχεια  έβαλα όλες τις εικόνες. Έχω κάνει μια ασπρόμαυρη εκδοχή και το αρχικό πολύχρωμο είναι κάτω.

‘A Window To The Soul’ digital collage by Angela Zafiris

View of Acropolis/Θéa της Aκρόπολης

View of the Acropolis from the Agora below

The Acropolis from Below

A model of how the Acropolis looked like in ancient times.

A model of the ancient city

View of the Temple Of Hephaestus within the Agora

“A great city, whose image dwells in the memory of man, is the type of some great idea. Rome  represents conquest; faith hovers over the towers of Jerusalem; and Athens embodies  the pre-eminent quality of the antique world, Art.” Benjamin Disraeli

 

Temple of Hephaestus/Ο Ναός του Ηφαίστου

After years of living in Athens I paid my first and overdue visit to the ancient Agora.  For the past few weeks I felt drawn to the Temple  of Hephaestus. The temple is located  just below the Acropolis in the ancient Agora (market place). Hephaestus is the God of blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, fire and volcanoes.  The temple is the best preserved ancient temple in all of Greece. Upon visiting the temple I was awe-struck by its beauty and energy.  Even though I don’t work with metals I do get crafty, I am good with my hands. What a coincidence that I would feel a pull to visit this place!

The temple with the Agora below

The temple with the Agora below

View of the temple from the front with its Doric columns

The west side of the temple facing Thiseio

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Not a bad-looking temple for a God who was considered the ugliest God of all, and who was crippled by Zeus!I walked for hours that day and the next I could barely walk. I felt crippled just like Hephaestus!