What lurks among and below the streets and buildings of Plaka?

The fenced archaeological sites of central Athens with gates, tickets and guards are well known and frequently visited. What is not obvious to the average visitor to Athens and for many of the residents of the city are the “unknown knowns” of the settlement that existed from the 9^th/8^th century BC to the 19^th century CE. What I mean by this is that from various literary and epigraphical sources we know of many places, buildings and monuments of this settlement but we don’t know exactly where they were located and we have few physical remains to be certain where they might be buried; hence, “unknown knowns”. Further, the remnants of the old town that was Athens during the Ottoman period are scattered through the modern urbanscape of the Plaka district along with some houses from the mid-19^th century.

On Saturday, April 9^th I will lead a walking tour of Plaka to find and to attempt to understand what Athens could have looked like in the 6^th century BC, in the 2^nd century BC, in the 2^nd century CE, in the 18^th century CE and in the 19^th century CE. The tour will start at 10 am in front of the Tourist Information Center immediately behind the statue of Makriyiannis (up the street from the Akropolis Metro Station). Around 1 PM we will end up at Monastiraki Square. Along the way we will weave our way along the Street of the Tripods, Kirristou, Lisiou, Adrianou and Aioulou Streets as well as skirting the Roman Agora and the Library of Hadrian to contemplate selected monuments from the city’s past. Some Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches will provide some variety. For the ancient Athens component his will be a cerebral tour as most of the “sights” are not visible. For this reason scholars have debated endlessly the presumed locations of these monuments. It should be noted that as no official archaeological site will be entered during the walk there will be no entrance fees to pay.

As I am working on an iBook updated and expanded version of my now out-of-print guide to Athens, Peripatoi. Athenian Walks (2^nd edition, 2004) this will provide me and you with an opportunity to test out the new parts for this section of the city.

The cost of the tour is 10€ for members of the Institute or of the Athens Association of Friends. For all others it is 15€. The proceeds will go towards our 40^th Anniversary Colloquium to be held on June 10^th and 11^th at the Italian School of Archaeology at Athens (see http://www.cig-icg.gr/node/647). As the size of the tour is limited to 25 and there are there are only a few places left please make a reservation TODAY by sending your name and mobile number to: ad@cig-icg.gr . For more information please call 210 7223201 between 09:00 and 13:00, Monday to Friday. Unless there is truly inclement weather the walk will take place as scheduled.

I look forward to sharing with you my love for this challenging city with a very rich past and a vibrant present! At the end of the tour those who wish can gather at a mezedopoleio at the beginning of Adrianou Street to discuss what we “saw” along the way.

Kali Anoxi!
David Rupp
Director