Areopagus

Above: Omonoia Square or "Concord Square", often simply referred to as Omónia is a central square in Athens.

Friday 20th January 1984

We grabbed our usual breakfast on the move as we walked down to Syntagma Square. We spent some time in a bargain record shop laughing at some pathetic album covers from little known artists, especially a lot of female singers whose virtues appeared to be wholly carnal!

Walking through the morning rush hour crowds we attracted what we considered unwarranted attention with our boots (I think they were high leg Dutch M90 Parachute Regiment Combat Boots which we had purchased from an army surplus stall in Brentford, West London as budget motorbike boots).

Fashionable extroverts and motorbikes were our chief source of amusement and many beautiful girls were a pleasant distraction. At our usual coffee stop the sun broke through the clouds for a short while and the waiter shooed away the shoe-shine boys and beggars alike. George got chatting to a bloke with a big head who luckily didn’t stay for too long.

We returned to the Flea Market and George substituted the scruffy shapeless bags that he had been wearing for some smart American police trousers, which he donned in a public toilet. We did the rounds of the stalls, amazed at the ill-temper of many of the stall owners. Surely it would be beneficial for their livelihood to be happy and courteous.

We went on to ascend Filopapou Hill, stopping midway for a coffee in a pleasant tree-circled open-air café which appeared to be the favourite haunt of the young, arty and trendy set. We passed Socrates Prison Cell, which was mostly ruined. We now know that this structure, the so-called Socrates Prison, is not where the great philosopher was imprisoned and finally executed.

Plato described Socrates's execution in his Phaedon dialogue: Socrates drank the hemlock mixture without hesitation. Numbness slowly crept into his body until it reached his heart. Shortly before his final breath, Socrates described his death as a release of the soul from the body.

The use of the rooms is yet unknown. Its cave-like structure and its proximity to the Athenian Agora must have led to the legend that the building is none other than the Prison of Socrates, or an ancient bath, as guidebooks and history books inform us. During the WWII, the structure was used to hide antiquities of the Acropolis and the National Archaeological Museum sealed up behind a thick concrete wall, in order to protect them from the systematic theft by the German looters.

We took some fine photographs of the Acropolis dominating the adjacent Areopagus, a prominent rock outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis. Its English name is the Late Latin composite form of the Greek name Areios Pagos, translated "Hill of Ares" (Ancient Greek: Ἄρειος Πάγος). In classical times, it was the location of a court, also often called the Areopagus, that tried cases of deliberate homicide, wounding and religious matters, as well as cases involving arson or olive trees.

Also called Mars Hill, it is the ancient site for the people of Athens to congregate and for speakers and orators of the day to address the public. Most importantly to Christians of the present time, this is the location where St. Paul addressed the Greeks when he was preaching in Athens during the first century.

The Filopapou Monument on the summit was an obscure relic of a once imposing building. The Philopappos Monument is an ancient Greek mausoleum and monument dedicated to Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos or Philopappus, (Greek: Γάιος Ιούλιος Αντίοχος Επιφανής Φιλόπαππος, 65–116 AD), a prince from the Kingdom of Commagene. It is located on Mouseion Hill in Athens, Greece, southwest of the Acropolis.

We wandered about the remains and I struck up an Eros pose on an unadorned plinth for a light-hearted photograph. We could see the sea, acres of white buildings and the observatory on the lower slopes. The National Observatory of Athens (NOA; Greek: Εθνικό Αστεροσκοπείο Αθηνών) is a research institute in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest research foundation in Greece, as it was the first scientific research institute built after Greece became independent in 1829, and one of the oldest research institutes in Southern Europe.

We walked back up Apostolou Pavlov Street, across the Flea Market and straight up Eolou, arriving back at the Youth Hostel at 16:15 hrs. The official siesta was still in force, so we were denied any food by virtue of the fact that all the shops were shut until 17:30 hrs.

Our Walkman’s filled the gap, music being the food of love. As we lay on our backs our stifled senses still took in the gallivanting about of the Greek occupant of our room. Although he never seemed to go out, he was constantly changing his clothes and grooming his hair none-the-less (Greek Care in the Community?).

At 17:30 hrs. we hit the supermarket and got “solid” on mammoth bread rolls stuffed with luncheon meat and beef tomatoes. We stayed in the cold Youth Hostel summer dining area writing our daily logs and remarking on the miserable faces of the family shoppers and shop assistants in the supermarket. Is life such an ordeal?

Back in the dormitory I mixed my bottle of Ouzo 12 50:50 with water in my water bottle. Resultant inebriation from frequent swigs made for a giggly tour of the cheapo shops around Omonia Square.

Omonoia Square or "Concord Square", often simply referred to as Omónia is a central square in Athens. Forming the centre of Omonoia. It marks the northern corner of the downtown area defined by the city plans of the 19th century and is one of the city's principal traffic hubs. It is served by Omonoia train station.

Omonoia Square is one of the oldest squares in the city of Athens and an important shopping centre. It is located at the centre of the city at the intersection of six main streets: Panepistimiou, Stadiou, Athinas, Peiraios, Agiou Konstantinou Street and 3rd Septemvriou Street.

We sat down at an outside table to watch the world go by. A seedy ugly ape-man in an ill-fitting off-the-peg suit came over and began pimping near us. “You want a little girl”? he asked men passing by.

Excited youths in military uniforms were going on leave, jabbering excitedly as they lugged their suitcases along. A waiter brought out some oily black coffee which we dawdled over before strolling back to the Youth Hostel.