20. Athens, Greece

Jon and Jackie reminisce about Greek Food while going on their international exploration of Athens, Greece.  They examine how Ancient is Ancient, talk about statues that are off the beaten path, and fight over the pronunciation of “Souvlaki”.

Jackie Reilly: Host
Jon Schaller: Host
Charles: Producer
Email: cozynookexplorers@gmail.com
Instagram: @cozynookexplorers

Community Shoutout:
KHORA Community Center

Mentioned in this episode:
New Acropolis Museum
National Archeological Museum
Taverna Kyclades (Astoria, Queens)
Plaka
Anafiotika
Mount Lycabettus
The Parthenon
Acropolis Hill
Agora (Ancient Marketplace)
Erechtheion
Antikythera (Ancient Computer Clock)

Transcript

JACKIE: I’m Jackie 

JON: And I’m Jon 

JACKIE: And we are the cozy nook explorers!

JON: Welcome to our show where we explore the world from our cozy nook here in a guest room in Southern CALIFORNIA using the power of the internet!

Jackie: Yes and it’s Wednesday which means it’s time for another exploration!

Jackie:  Today we are going to Athens, Greece! So many ancient things! So many new things! So much to dive into!  So many opportunities to throw coins in the adventure jar!

Jon:  Yes. Everytime we make a mistake we throw a coin in the adventure jar.

Jackie:  And we will use that money on our next adventure! So, Jon and I have never been to Greece, but we both lived in Astoria, Queens for quite a few years, so we’ve had the good fortune of eating a ton of delicious greek food and getting olives at greek deli’s!

Jon: Ummmm olives…. I miss the olives.

Jackie: I miss the fish from Tavern- how do you say it?

Jon: Kyclades?

Jackie: Yeah that’s it!

Jon: Oh yes- that fish was fantastic! (sigh)  

Jackie: Should we keep going?

Jon: I need a second to remember the fish. 

Jackie: Alright, while you dream about the fish I’ll tell everyone what’s keeping me cozy this week. 

Jackie:  Big Salads. Since it’s summer in California I’ve been eating a lot of really big salads! They have been very nutritious and enjoyable to have something that isn’t hot this time of year! 

• What is your favorite salad add in? AVOCADO!
• What is your favorite salad dressing? Olive Oil, White Balsamic Vinegar, Lime, Garlic, Salt, and Pepper!

Jon: Car Washes

• Do you like the car washes where you go through in your car or the ones where you wash the car yourself?
• Did you like car washes when you were a kid?

Let’s Get Into It

Jackie: Ok, so Athens. You said you wanted to talk about that clock thing first?

Jon: It’s not a clock, Jackie, it’s a computer- an ancient computer.

Jackie: Oh, yes! A clock computer!

Jon: It’s not a clock!

Jackie: Ok, ok, it kind of looks like one, but go ahead and tell them all about the big, old computer. 

Jon:  Well it is called the antikythera.

Jackie:  Why can’t it be pro-ki-ther-a

Jon:  I will choose to ignore your joke the antikythera was made in the year 200 BCE and is made mostly of bronze

Jackie:  Tell them about how it tells the time… like a clock

Jon:  It is a computer that you could enter in the date and it could tell you the position of the sun, what phase of the moon, if it was a solar eclipse or not.

Jackie:  That is cool. Some watches do that too.

Jon: And it could tell you the locations of the stars and planets

Jackie:  Sounds like a watch to me. 

Jon:  And it could tell you when the olympic games were

Jackie:  Ok, I don’t believe any watches are currently offering that feature.

Jon:  Do you want to know what the absolute bonkers thing about the entire apparatus

Jackie:  What?

Jon:  It would compensate for leap year

Jackie:  Oh

Jon:  Do you know how nuts that is?

Jackie:  Really nuts?

Jon:  The Julian Calendar the calendar that would introduce the leap year wasn’t going to be around for another 154 years.  It was a machine and nothing would be built that would be as complicated for over 1 thousand years.  The very first recorded clockwork computer.

Jackie:  So not a clock… A CLOCKwork computer.

Jon:  hehehe no not a clock

Jackie:  I think the audience will agree with me and not you, but that’s for them to decide. It really really seems like it’s a clock. Moving on- welcome to Athens!

Jon:  Yes Welcome to Athens a city that less than 200 years ago was only 10,000 strong now it is-

Jackie:  -close to 4 million people!

Jon:  Incredibly right now 40% of the population of Greece lives in Athens.

Jackie:  Athens is 723,840 acres or 1,447.68 Disneylands! It is a city that is beautiful, ancient, and filled to the brim with things to do! 

Jon:  How many things to do?  Too many things to do!

Jackie:  Yes! The amount of culture Athens has to offer is beyond!

Jon:  Beyond what?

Jackie:  Just beyond.

Jon:  Well it definitely had the time to develop

Jackie:  Athens has been inhabited in one form or another for 7,000 years.  How is that even possible?

Jon:   Athens has lived under Communism, Socialism, Capitalism, Monarchy, Democracy

Jackie:  Again how is that even possible?

Jon:  The city of Athens developed the Olympics, Western Philosophy, Western Literature, Aristotle's Poetics, Aristotle, a crazy amount of Math...

Jackie:  Did Athens invent lists too?

Jon:  No that was the Mesopatamions.

Jackie:  Oh well, I guess you can’t develop everything

Jon: Hehehehe

Jackie:  You know, I learned a lot prepping for this show. There’s a lot of words that I knew, but I kind of had them confused in my mind.

Jon: Like what?

Jackie: First- the Acropolis. It’s a hill. I honestly thought it was an ancient building. But, the Acropolis is a big hill and ON TOP of the  hill sits the Parthenon and the Erechtheion. Those are buildings.

Jon: Not just buildings- architectural marvels built during the 5th century BC.

Jackie: Yes! So, the 5th Century BC was totally the golden age of Athens. At that time they were the big cheese of western europe! Periclise was the ruler of Athens and he decided that they needed an epic statement piece to show the world how awesome they are, so he raided the greek treasury, took all the money, and that’s how the Parthenon and Erechtheion ended up on top of Acropolis hill.

Jon: The Parthenon was built first and even if you haven't seen it, you will recognize it because it’s considered one of, if not the most copied building of all time. 

Jackie: You know all the columns outside fancy buildings? It all started with the Parthenon. 

Jon: The parthenon took about 8 years to build and 20 tons of marble. 

Jackie: It’s 20,000 tons of marble, Jon.

Jon: That number is inconceivable to me.  The Parthenon has 46 outer columns and is dedicated to the goddess Athena. 

Jackie: She’s the goddess of wisdom, war, and - my favorite - crafts!

Jon: She also had the best olive tree and that’s why they named the city Athens in dedication to her.  In Greek Mythology there was a contest between Athena and Posiden to see who was going to be the head honcho of Athens.  Poseidon gave horses and Athena gave an olive tree.  And the olive tree was what made her win the contest.  Delicious olives.

Jackie: Yum! So, to get back to the Parthenon. It had 92 statues and the largest statue was of- you guessed it- Athena. It was destroyed, so there’s no modern day version of it, but it is believed to have been about 30 feet high and to have been made of gold and ivory.  

Jon: I like how they put the statue inside of the building so that it kind of snuck up on you and scared you once you got inside.

Jackie: Yes, it was definitely a statement for sure! I loved learning all about the Parthenon. Did you know that it was actually colorful?! It was painted red, blue, and gold.

Jon: Very neat! That must have been quite a site at the top of Acropolis Hill. 

Jackie: ALSO- Even though the building lines of the Parthenon look really straight, it was actually built with a curvature because from a distance it appears to be straight this way. So, the middle of the Parthenon actually curves upward.  If it was built exactly straight it would have appeared to be curved- WHAT?! Isn’t that astounding! 

Jon: Yes, that is amazing. What’s so amazing to me is that you can still visit the Parthenon today.  They are currently working on a reconstruction project because of the years of pollution, but the original building is still standing. 

Jackie: While you are there, you should definitely visit the Erechtheion as well. The neatest part of that building are the lady columns! 

Jon: Do you mean the porch of the maidens?

Jackie: Yes! There are 6 female figures that take the place of columns and they hold up the porch! Pretty cool! This was built after the Parthenon from 421-405 BCE.

Jon: So, still super ancient. 

Jackie: That’s correct, Jon.

Jon:  Speaking of ancient, I would really like to visit Agora! 

Jackie: The ancient marketplace?! Yes please!

Jon: So, it’s technically in ruins now, but I’d still like to walk among it. The 30 acres of land was the social and political center of ancient athens. The area is also home to the Hafastian Temple which is really well preserved and is actually a temple dedicated to the craftsmen who made the Parthenon. And I assume Hafestas himself, who was the God of Craftsman.

Jackie: Pereclise was thoughtful like that. So, we could obviously spend forever just talking about Ancient Athens, I mean, I didn’t even get to talk about how advanced their water and sewage system is yet, BUT should we go ahead and talk about some more modern aspects of Athens?

Jon: Sounds good. Let's take a quick break first. We’ll be right back.

AD BREAK

Jenny: Hi! I’m Jenny and welcome to really big salads where we sell salads!

Earl: Hi, could I have a sandwich please?

Jenny: No, you can't. Would you like a salad?

Earl: No, thank you. I would like a sandwich.

Jenny: You can’t have a sandwich.  

Earl: Yes I can. If I can’t get one here I will just go to another store.

Jenny: But, Earl, you can’t leave. I’ve locked the door. 

Earl: How did you know my name?

Jenny: You said it when you came in.

Earl: No I didn’t. Who are you?!

Jenny: Let me ask you again- Would you like a salad Earl? … EARL?

Earl: … Yes?

Jenny: Ok, great! I’ll get going on that right now. Eat Really Big Salads where salads are forcefully good!

LET’S GET INTO IT 2

Jon: Alright, so let’s get into some not so ancient Athens.

Jackie: Something I was happy to see is that Athens has a really great public transit system! They have a metro and busses. That’s always so helpful when traveling, especially in a city where there is so much to see! 

Jon: There are also some really great museums.  In fact they have more archaeological museums than any country in the world.

Jackie: There’s the New Acropolis Museum which highlights and focuses on findings from Acropolis Hill! There’s also an archaeological site underneath the museum that they’ve been excavating and you can see it when you’re in the lobby!

Jon: Very cool! The other main museum in Athens is the National Archeological Museum which is the largest archeological museum in Greece and it is devoted to Ancient Greek art! They have over 11,000 exhibits, so I’d imagine you could easily devote a whole day there.

Jackie: How about a whole week! Also, you can see the Ancient Clock Computer there!

Jon: It’s not a-

Jackie: Should we talk about Plaka! So, Plaka is the coziest part of Athens in my opinion. It’s basically Athen’s old town. There are tons of shops and restaurants on windy roads and it’s very walkable! 

Jon: It looks so whimsical with the old buildings and the cobblestone streets. Did you see Anafiotika?

Jackie: I did! It’s a little village at the top of Plaka with a wonderful story.

Jon: Anafiotika was built during the 19th century by people from the island of Anafi who came to Athens looking for work.  The homes are all bunched together and they all seem to be painted white or very pale colors. 

Jackie: There are lots of flower pots and colorful doors that brighten up the whole look. It has a totally different feel from the rest of Athens- almost like you’re on a Greek island! I’d love to spend a day wandering through this area and having a bite to eat!

Jon: I’d love to have a greek coffee there. 

Jackie: Greek coffee comes in the cutest little cups! 

Jon: It comes in smaller cups because the coffee grounds are ground very thin and the coffee is very strong.

Jackie: You know, something else I finally learned is the difference between a gyro and a souvlaki.

Jon: How did you live in Astoria the Greekest part of the United States and not know this?

Jackie: I always got a gyro and hope for the best. It was always good so I never questioned it. 

Jon: Oh. And in Greece they would be pronounced “Yero”

Jackie: Yes it would. For those of you who don’t know, a souvlaki is meat and/or veggies on a stick- so a lot like a shish kabob. And a gyro is the meat that cooks on a vertical rotisserie that is cut into thin pieces and served on in pitas and all sorts of yumminess. I like little tricks for remembering, so I just think- souvlaki and shish kabob both start with an ‘s’ and then gyro spins like a gyroscope! 

Jon:  Just sort of an oddball fact to throw around the uniforms of the parliamentary guards have skirts with 400 pleats in them.  Each pleat stands for each year of the Turkish occupation and the Greek National Anthem has 158 verses.

Jackie:  That is a lot of verses. Did you have a chance to watch the guards do their guard dance?

Jon: I told you during the Copenhagen episode it’s not called a guard dance.

Jackie: It looks like a guard dance and in Greece those guards also wear the cutest pom poms on their shoes.

Jon:  The guards are called Ebsasars and they are pretty tough characters and yes they do have little poof balls sewn onto their shoes.

Jackie: Did you know there is a height requirement to join the guards. You need to be 1.87 meters to join which is about 6.1 feet tall! Jon- you meet the height requirement! 

Jon: I don’t know if I’m coordinated enough to do all the choreography. 

Jackie: Fair. The guards do their performance outside of the Parliament building which is in Syntagma Square.  Athens has quite a few squares, but this is the busiest one. It’s actually home to the busiest metro station in Athens. 

Jon: Syntagma means constitution and it is where the Greek peoples protested until they got a constitution. Would you like to walk to the top of Mount Lycabettus? 

Jackie: Yes! It is the highest point in Athens and such a neat mountain because it’s limestone, but the bottom is covered with pine trees. So, the bottom is all green and forest-like, but then this massive stone peak comes out the top. I’ve never seen anything like it. And- you can hike to the top!

Jon: I bet the view from the top is amazing.  And speaking of from the top I wanted to talk about Icarus.  He was the mythological guy that flew too close to the sun and got burned and fell to the ground.  And there is a statue of him in Athens falling to the ground that is dedicated to fallen aviators.  In a place that has more beautiful sculptures then I have ever seen.  I am saying something when I say this is my favorite. Well, I think that’s just about it over here. Anything else?

Jackie: Oh, yes! So you may be wondering what happened to great and powerful Ancient Athens… And even though there were multiple wars with Sparta and other tensions it was actually a PLAGUE that took them out.  About 25% of the city’s population died during the plague including Periclise and they eventually surrendered to Sparta basically because they ran out of hope. It is speculated that the plague was probably typhoid. Anything else?

Jon:  The English Poet Lord Byron actually went to fight in the War for Greek Independence.  And that is where he died at the age of 36 but he was such a big deal they built a statue to him that you can still visit to this day.  Anything else from your end?

Jackie:  Athens has 148 theatres which is more than the Broadway theaters in New York and the West End theaters in London combined.

Jon: And on that note let’s take a quick break to hear a quick word from our sponsor before the community shoutout.

Ad Car Wash

Bruce:  Good Day and Welcome to Down Under Car wash.  The only car wash in the world that cleans the underside of your car.

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Janet:  It is still filthy

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Janet:  That tastes awful

Bruce:  No it doesn’t.  “Downunder Car Wash clean what’s unseen”

 Community Shoutout/ Outro

Jon: Every episode we like to research and highlight something special in the community that we are exploring. 

Jackie: Today’s community shoutout is the Khora Community Center in Athens!

Jon: According to their website, they are a collective who have come together to create community spaces and facilitate the provision of services for people forced from their homes by poverty, oppression, climate change and war. 

Jackie: The Khora Community Center is amazing. They have multiple projects and each one is really special.

Jon: First there is Free Shop which provides clothing, shoes, and other essential items to people in need. Instead of giving out the items, anyone in need can make an appointment at the shop and come grab what they need. 

Jackie: This is great on its own, but I also love that they want people to be able to pick out clothes that represent their personal style.  So, next there is Social Kitchen- where- you guessed it- they make food! They produce hundreds of nutritious meals a day, 5 days a week! 

Jon: To collect food they request that you just show up with a smile. So next...

Jackie: Can you believe there’s more?

Jon: I know, right? So much more. Next, there’s the asylum support team where they offer information and support to those that are navigating the greek asylum system. They do lots of things, but a few examples are that they help set up appointments with lawyers and accompany people to asylum offices.

Jackie: That’s so great. Next, there’s the beehive and finally the sound lab! These are both really cool! So, the beehive is a community creative space with a focus on making art as a therapeutic practice. Their main goal is to have a safe and creative space for women and LBGTQIA+ migrants and asylum seekers.

Jon: AND the Soundlab is in the process of creating a broken orchestra!

Jackie: Yes they are! With the power of a 3D printer they are taking old and broken instruments and repairing, reusing, and augmenting them to create a broken orchestra! 

Jon: This place sounds amazing. 

Jackie: I know, I really want to go there and volunteer. 

Jon: Me too. We will put a link in the show notes so that you can check out their website.  There is a place to donate there as well.

Jackie: Sounds good. Well, that’s our show. Thank you so much to Charles, our trusty producer.

Jon: Thank you Charles! And thank you to our listeners! We really appreciate that you take the time to listen to our show.

Jackie: Yes we do! If you’ve been enjoying this podcast please take the time to rate us and write a review on apple podcasts. It helps the show, so we’d really appreciate it!

Jon: Also, you can follow us on Instagram @cozynookexplorers or send us an email at cozynookexplorers@gmail.com. Let us know where you think we should travel to next. And we love hearing what’s keeping you cozy!

Jackie: Or just drop in to say hi! 

Jon:  We will be back in TWO Wednesdays with our next exploration.

Jackie: Yes, on Wednesdays we explore!

Jon: Stay cozy, and we’ll see you soon.