Day 27 - Athens, Piraeus & Brauron
Off to Piraeus again! As if yesterday wasn't enough. I wanted to go to the Piraeus Archaeological Museum today so I felt it best that I go early in the morning. The museum opened at 08:30 and I was there. I took the metro down to Piraeus and then took a taxi to the museum. I didn't want to struggle to find it and it only cost €3.50. It's not a big museum, but it has three complete bronze statues that date back to the fourth century BC while a fourth, of Apollo, dates back to the sixth century BC.
The bronze room.
Only a handful of bronze statues have survived since antiquity and I saw four of them today. They really are beautiful, with their stone and glass eyes. There were also a couple of really well executed funeral steles as well as a rather nice lion.
Once I was done, it was off to Brauron. I took the metro to Nomismatokopio and then a bus to Artemisa. It's an hour by bus and then three kilometers from the last stop. Lucky there was a taxi hanging about who took me to the site for €5.00. I really didn't feel like walking. I arranged for him to collect me an hour later.
Brauron was a sanctuary to Artemis where young girls served the goddess until they reached marriageable age. They were known as her arktoi or she-bears.
The sacred spring still flows strongly and many votive offerings have been found in it.
The only stone bridge dating back to classical Greece
After an hour, the taxi driver came to collect me and dropped me off at the stop. Next bus into Athens was at 14:30. Took the metro to Victoria station and went looking for The Sounion bus. I missed it by minutes and the next one was only at 17:30. It's a two hour trip to Sounion so that was a bit of a waste as the sun would have set already. The whole idea behind Sounion is to see the sunset. Oh well, try again tomorrow.
Loitered around a bit and went for an early dinner - roast chicken and vegetables. Very tasty and only €8.50. Missed gravy. I like my gravy.
Tomorrow is the Acropolis and Sounion so I will be able to sleep a bit later.
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