After the impressive and warm reception of our first article about the secret sights of Athens, the team searched again and identified seven new places in the city, unknown to most visitors and locals. We believe that the result (which came not without adventures, like when we were trying to photograph the interior of Giannarou Mansion or to spot Pan’s relief) will impress you. We present the seven new sights in chronological order.
Pan’s Sanctuary
At the junction of Athanassiou Diakou and Ardittou Streets, at the traffic lights from where Vouliagmenis and Kallirois Streets start, in a verdant area and in lower level from the road, is the Church of Agia Fotini (in the location once known as Vatrachonisi). Going down to the church, you will see on your right a sign showing the location of the ancient Sanctuary of Pan, which can not be determined when it was built. It is actually a large rock (which blocks the pavement on Ardittou Street) with two carved sides and a small natural cave at its base. The Sanctuary was first identified and explored in the late 19th century. A shelter was probably supported in the notches of the rock. Excavations inside the small cave showed that it was used for burials.
In 1911, according to the related bibliography, archaeologists located on one of its two polished vertical surfaces, a relief representation of Pan, the ancient tramp-footed god of wildlife. Unfortunately, the unmaintained relief exposed to pollution has almost disappeared and it is very hard to distinguish it. So the next time you cross Ardittou Street and wonder why this rock blocks pedestrian crossing at this point, you will know why they do not destroy it. (Junction of Athanassiou Diakou and Ardittou Streets, Mets)
[Read also our article about Vatrachonisi]
Meton’s Solar Clock
Meton was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, geometer and engineer, who lived in Athens in the 5th century BC. According to the testimonies of ancient historians, Meton installed in Pnyx the first Heliotropio / Helioscope (solar clock) of Athens. Its foundations of which are still visible just behind the podium of Pnyx. Meton determined the dates of the equinoxes and the solstices based on the specific location of the Heliotropio. From this position, the sunrise during the summer solstice is seen from the top of Lycabettus, while six months later, during the winter solstice, the sun rises from the top of Mount Hymettus. The annual apparent movement of the sun on the horizon creates an arc of 60°, the bisector of which is aligned with the rock of Acropolis.
In this way, at the equinoxes, the sunrise aligns with Acropolis’ rock. With his calculations, Meton introduced the Attic Calendar in which the summer solstice played an important role to ancient Athenians, because it marked the beginning of the new year. Also, the oldest known astronomical computer in the world the Antikythera Mechanism, constructed in the 2nd century BC, performs calculations based on the Metonic circle. Thousands of visitors come to Pnyx every year but almost none of them knows the importance of this small construction just above the main podium. (Pnyx, Thissio)
Propylon of Hadrian’s Reservoir
Hadrian’s Aqueduct was built by Roman Emperor Hadrian and completed by his successor, Antoninus Pius, during the 2nd century AD. The project aimed to supply Athens with water collected from rainfall on Mount Parnitha, improving the city’s water resources considerably. The aqueduct began at the foot of Mount Parnitha, crossed much of Attica, and eventually reached Lycabettus Hill. There, Hadrian’s Reservoir was constructed and remains today in Kolonaki, within the neighbourhood area known as Dexameni. The Greek word Dexameni means reservoir, reflecting the site’s original purpose and its important connection with Athens’ ancient water supply. From the reservoir, water travelled through bridges and channels towards different parts of Athens, particularly the Roman quarter.
This Roman district extended across an area that now includes Zappeion Park, connecting the ancient water system with Athens’ development. The Hadrian’s Reservoir had a monumental propylon with Ionic columns which according to the testimonies existed there until 1778. After its complete demolition, the left part of the propylon was incorporated in the lost fountain of Boubounistra. The fountain was located approximately at the junction of the later Othonos and Amalias Streets. This part of the propylon now survives hidden among heavy vegetation in the National Garden of Athens and bears the Latin inscription “IMP CAESAR T AELIVSAVG PIVS COS III RIBPOT II AOVAED VCTVMINNOVISCONS V MMAVIT”, which refers to the foundation of the aqueduct by Hadrian. (National Garden of Athens, Syntagma Square)
[Read also our article about the Waterbridge of Hadrian’s Aqueduct]
The ancient calendar of Little Metropolis
The Little Metropolis, formally known as the Church of Agios Eleftherios or Panagia Gorgoepikoos, stands in Mitropoleos Square. It is beside the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens and remains one of the city’s best-known landmarks. Builders constructed the church over the ruins of an ancient temple. Scholars have proposed various dates for its construction, ranging from the ninth century, during the reign of Empress Irene of Athens, to the 13th century. The church follows a typical Byzantine cross-in-square design. Builders constructed its walls entirely from marble spolia. However, the most impressive and mysterious element of its exterior decoration appears above the main entrance. A frieze of Pentelic marble covers the facade and features representations connected with the ancient Attic Calendar.
Some archaeologists believe the sculpture dates from the 2nd or 1st century BC and originally formed part of an unknown ancient building. The sculpture features sections corresponding to the calendar months, with each section depicting a month alongside its associated zodiac sign. The sections also portray agricultural activities and festivals connected with each month. Two calendar months appear to be missing, and relocation probably caused their destruction. Byzantine craftsmen clearly added the Christian crosses carved into the frieze during the Byzantine period. It remains fascinating that such a remarkable historical secret lies hidden in one of Athens’ most popular tourist areas. (Mitropoleos Square 8, Monastiraki) [See also the photo at the top of the page]
Church Tower
The Tower stands in central Plaka and is an 18th-century Ottoman building, the only surviving example of its kind in Athens today. It belonged to Sir Richard Church, an Irish general and devoted philhellene who strongly supported the Greek independence movement. This distinctive house survived the Ottoman occupation of Plaka and was originally owned by George Finlay, an English historian of the Greek Revolution. The building resembles a small tower, featuring unusual chimneys and narrow windows that reveal its Ottoman architectural origins. During its time, it appeared particularly striking because humble Athenian houses surrounded it throughout the neighbourhood.
Church Tower originally served as a Turkish garrison, or karakoli, functioning as a police outpost before the Greek Revolution. After the Revolution, the building was repaired and later became associated with Sir Richard Church, an important philhellene and military commander. Following the fall of Messolonghi, Church arrived in Athens in early 1827 to support the Greek struggle for independence against Ottoman rule. The Third National Assembly of Troizina elected him commander-in-chief and director of Greece’s land forces. They sent him to Faliro to assist Georgios Karaiskakis.
After Ioannis Kapodistrias arrived, he appointed Church as leader of Western Greece, allowing him to continue his prominent role in the newly established Greek state. Following Otto’s election as King of Greece, Church became a State Councillor and later served as a Senator after the September 3 Revolution. Today, the Greek State protects the building, but its elongated facade looks neglected and extensive graffiti covers its exterior. (Scholiou 5, Plaka)
Giannaros Mansion
The mansion of Giannaros at the corner of Othonos and Filellinon Streets, in the busiest part of the city, is an impressive building even to today’s standards. The seven-storey building of the journalist and publisher of the newspaper “Esperini” was built in 1917. It was the tallest building of its time in Athens and the concern it caused resulted in the issuance of a decree limiting the height of buildings. At the same time, the building became one of the first structures in Greece to use the then-emerging reinforced concrete, alongside Hotel Ilion Pallas at no. 11 Stadiou Street and Mansion Ephesiou at no. 28. Although Hotel Ilion Pallas no longer operates as a hotel, both buildings demonstrate the early use of reinforced concrete. Many people have described this building as the first Greek “skyscraper”.
Nevertheless, the building, although impressive, is quite simple in terms of its external decoration. In photographs of the 1920s and 1930s, the imposing building stood out in a city that until then had low construction and in many areas the poor homes of the refugees of the Asia Minor Catastrophe were the majority. An interesting detail is that in the building the probably oldest surviving elevator in Athens is still operating. (Filellinon 1, Syntagma Square)
The house of the poet Kostis Palamas
If you pass by this unknown corner of Plaka and see this beautiful and abandoned house, you may notice the marble sign stating that one of the most important Greek poets, Kostis Palamas (the poet of the Olympic Anthem), died here. The house has two floors and was built in the 1920s. It has the characteristics of a neoclassical urban house of the interwar period with cornices and iron decorations on the balconies. In 1935, Kostis Palamas, at an advanced age, was forced to move, after being evicted from his previous residence at Asklipiou Street, where he had lived for more than forty years (1894-1935). Palamas, lived in this house in one of the two apartments on the second floor, sharing the house with other tenants
But apart from the poet’s last residence, this house has another significance for the history of Athens. On the day of his funeral on February 28, 1943, at the height of the Nazi occupation of Athens, thousands of Athenians gathered outside the house on Periandrou Street, flooded the surrounding streets, and accompanied him to his last residence, paying last respects to the great poet. The official authorities, trying to limit the meaning of the popular gathering, were represented at the funeral by the Nazi-controlled Prime Minister, members of the government and representatives of the German and Italian army.
Thus, from this house began the greatest anti-Nazi protest of the Athenians, which gave them a historic opportunity to send a strong message of resistance to the occupying forces. Fortunately, the house has been declared a historical monument and there are plans by the State to turn it into a centre of the study of modern Greek literature. (Periandrou 5, Plaka)
A different way to discover Athens
All the above sights (and the ones mentioned in our previous article) are an inseparable part of Athens’ history. For the visitors, it is a different way to discover Athens and make their visit unique and exceptional. But for the Athenians is a new way to rediscover their city and learn to love it again.
