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Snap.
Bending to the right, I adjusted my camera and focused in on Hadrian’s Arch, trying to get the best shot in the late afternoon sunshine.
Turning my body, I felt a tug on my backpack and turned to find a woman, her hands in my bag.
Confronting her, she backed away, feigning innocence in her native language. Thankfully, she was unable to get my wallet which was deep in the carryall that I don’t normally use when I travel.
Sadly, this is a common theme in Athens. Pickpockets roam the city, looking for marks in crowded areas or at monuments not normally secured by gates and guards.
What was still more shocking was that others were nearby, probably watching her trying to help herself to my hard earned cash and no one said anything.
Since this is the first time I have had an encounter of this kind…ever…especially in this ancient city, I am trying to not let it deter my affection for Athens and the spectacular history it presents.
Pickpockets aside, the Arch of Hadrian is an astonishing triumphal arch located near Syntagma square and between the rock of the Acropolis and the Temple of Zeus and should not be overlooked on any trip to Athens.
The monument was started in 131 BC to celebrate the arrival of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and to express gratitude for his contributions to the city. Though it is not known who built the arch, its location was chosen to mark the line between the ancient part of the Athens and Hadrian’s new city.
Built of marble from Mount Pentelikon, the arch, originally acting as one of the seven gates serving as a defense, reaches a height of almost sixty feet and is forty-one feet wide by almost eight feet deep. The lower area is an arched gate through which pedestrians could pass and there are two inscriptions carved into the structure. The first reads, “This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus” and the second on the opposite side, declares, “This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus”, informing of the two districts designated by Hadrian.
An important landmark in Athens, take a short walk from the central square and check it out while enroute to the other attractions in the area…the Temple of Zeus, the National Gardens and the Panathenaic Stadium.
Imagine what it was like to walk beneath this magical arch when it served as a tribute to Hadrian, a supporter of Greek culture and who did all that he could to raise Athens to a special place in the Roman Empire.
Just keep your eyes open!
Hadrian’s Arch
- Address: Leoforos Vasilisis Amalias, Athina 105 57, Greece
- Hours: 24 hours, daily
- Admission: free