ancient ruins need maintenance?

The second week of November I went to the Žižkov Television Tower in Prague. 

It was built in the late 1980s/early '90s and designed by the architect Václav Aulický and the structural engineer Jiří Kozák.

 

What are those tiny black dots along the sides of it, you ask?

Sculptures of babies of course! (I find this terribly odd...)

In 2000, sculptures by Czech artist David Černý of crawling babies were temporarily attached to the tower's pillars but made permanent in 2001. 

 There was a great view all around......

 So great in fact, that I could see the Acropolis from the tower!!!!!!

 Okay, not quite the real Acropolis, but I found it pretty humorous.

Anyway - 

So two weekends ago I was in Athens, Greece. 

I have dreamed of seeing the Acropolis my whole life. I was so anxious. I wanted my experience on the Acropolis to be perfect. 

It turned out to be different than I thought it would be....

As we're walking up to the Acropolis Friday morning, I found this sign. My architecture history professor, Dr. Schaffer, lectured about the approach to the Acropolis and the details of the structures on it, so I was ready to experience it! Sadly, there was a sign telling us, visitors, which way we're supposed to go.

I'm Greek! I don't need a silly map, I should be able to know where to walk. It's in my blood, right? Hahaha

The Propylaea is a monumental gateway that marks the entrance to the Acropolis.

Oh no, can it be? Do I see construction? Oh no. no. no. NO!

Yep. It's construction. I was so upset. I couldn't believe it. 

I had a hard time appreciating what I was seeing with the "artificial" things in the way.

For example. Look at these steps in the picture below. Hideous right? THESE steps are on the propylaea?! They could have built fake steps to look like the stone that's around it.

Ah yes, and of course, the lights! That's a great touch (that's sarcasm). 

The view from the steps up through the Propylaea was nice.

Alright, so the Propylaea was a slight disappointment, but I was ready to see the Parthenon.

In my history class, my professor told us that when one steps out of the Propylaea, one sees the Parthenon in perspective (meaning you see the Parthenon at an angle, you see the corner instead of the front side by itself). She shared her admiration for the Greeks designing it that way and I never felt more proud to be a Greek architecture student.

As I walked through the gate (pictured above), my heart rate quickened....

this is it! I'm going to see the best view ever!

And then......

 

Can it be? Can it really be a CRANE IN FRONT OF THE PARTHENON?!

I was crushed. I still am, looking at these images as I type this. Why does an ancient ruin need so much maintenance? I should be glad that the Greeks care enough to maintain it, but I wasn't expecting to see so much construction. I would've paid to have that crane moved!

I think it's beautiful as a ruin. So what if some columns are missing? So what if the color has changed over time? That's what makes it beautiful and meaningful to people.

The picture below is in front of the Erechtheion. Apparently, this temple is placed on the most sacred spot on the Acropolis. Do you see those female statues on the left-hand side of the picture? 

According to Wikipedia: A caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term karyatides literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient town of Peloponnese.

I found out later, that the ones below aren't the real Caryatids. Gee, really?! Five of the original ones are in the Acropolis Museum and the 6th is in the British Museum.

 

 

 As an architecture student, how can I go to the Acropolis and not draw? Abe and I spent 4 hours there drawing. We didn't want to leave. I however, wasn't feeling so good about the construction, so I had a hard time drawing. The picture below isn't perfect (i need to work on perspectives) and columns are the most difficult thing to draw. 

I used pen, charcoal, and even indian ink to draw the Parthenon. Silly me, I stood up holding my indian ink, turned around, and spilled ink on my pants. To ruin my mood even more right? Haha oh goodness. But now, I have this epic ink stain on my pants that I wear proudly, since I got it on the Acropolis!

Even though I was upset about all of the maintenance and cranes, I am glad I went. 

I am so proud to be a Greek American and to have such an amazing Greek heritage filled with such rich culture, history, and wonderful architecture.

I will definitely go back to the Acropolis.

And I'll be sure not to spill any ink on my pants again...