Athens (Piraeus)

Our plans to spend the day wandering around the Plaka and then having high tea at the Hotel de Bretagne were scotched when we were told about the taxi and metro strike in Athens. We “could” walk half an hour into the center of Piraeus and take a train, but a) I could barely move after 3 days of heavy walking and b) who knew whether the train schedule would allow us to return to the ship in time. Ross actually walked into Piraeus as soon as the ship docked, found the restaurant where we had dinner two years ago and had a coffee there.

We decided to book a half-day tour to Cape Sounion and it was a lovely excursion. What made it even more delightful was that Christine Roussel (the lecturer) and her daughter, Diane, were along. Christine was raised in Athens and regaled us with stories of weekend jaunts to Sounion with her mother. Plus, she provided additional archeological and historical information.
The highway along the Aegean is scenic – known as the “Attic Riviera” – and we passed through some very attractive and upscale areas. The road wound around little towns and bays – oohs and aahs around every corner!

Cape Sounion is a promontory, southeast of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula. It is the site of ruins of an ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, built around 450 BC. The remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea. The ruins bear the deeply engraved name of English Romantic poet Lord Byron, which we did not find, but some people did. Only some columns of the Sounion temple stand today, but intact it would have closely resembled the contemporary and well-preserved Temple of Hephaestus beneath the Acropolis, which may have been designed by the same architect.

From the promontory, the panoramic views of the surrounding Aegean islands – Makronis, Patroklou, Kea, Kithnos, Serifos, Milos, Andros – are stunning.

According to legend, Cape Sounion is the spot where Aegeus, king of Athens, leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea. The story goes that Aegeus, anxiously looking out from Sounion, despaired when he saw a black sail on his son Theseus 's ship, returning from Crete. This led him to believe that his son had been killed in his contest with the dreaded Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull. The Minotaur was confined by its owner, King Minos of Crete, in a specially designed labyrinth. Every year, the Athenians were forced to send 7 boys and 7 girls to Minos as tribute. These youths were placed in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. Theseus had volunteered to go with the third tribute and attempt to slay the beast. He had agreed with his father that if he survived the contest, he would hoist a white sail. In fact, Theseus had overcome and slain the Minotaur, but tragically had simply forgotten about the white sail.

After an hour at the site, we set off on the return trip and stopped at a Taverna for drinks and meze. We each got a plate of calamari (as good as in Bristol!!!), dolma, tzaziki, baba genoush, and a kind of sesame-encrusted rissole filled with cheese. All washed down with a wonderful white wine. It was absolutely delicious. Yum.

Back to the boat – we were the last bus to return (one half hour late) and they were waiting for us anxiously, especially Darren who rolled his eyes – “You lot again!”
We had a bit of a rest and went to drinks late, then on to dinner with our hilarious table. After dinner, we went to our favorite after-dinner bar, the Mid-Ships Bar…..we sat at the bar itself and proceeded to be absolutely outrageous…and had the best time.

Epilog: Byron mentioned Sounion in “Don Juan”:

Place me on Sunium's marbled steep,
Where nothing, save the waves and I,
May hear our mutual murmurs sweep...

P.S. We encountered some lovely grouse at the temple ruins…..very tame.