Climbing Philopappou Hill

OK, so all the other students have already been up this most interesting hill. 

Now it was our turn.

The Philopappos Monument (Greek: Μνημείο Φιλοπάππου) is an ancient Greek mausoleum and monument dedicated to Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos or Philopappus, (Greek: Γάιος Ιούλιος Αντίοχος Επιφανής Φιλόπαππος, 65–116 AD), a prince from the Kingdom of Commagene. It is located on Mouseion Hill in Athens, Greece, southwest of the Acropolis.

Philopappos died in 116, and his death caused great grief to his sister Julia Balbilla, citizens of Athens and possibly to the imperial family. As a dedication to honor the memory of Philopappos, Balbilla with the citizens of Athens erected a tomb structure on Mouseion Hill near the Acropolis of Athens. His marble tomb monument is still known as the Philopappos Monument, and the hill is today known as Philopappos Hill (Λόφος Φιλοπάππου). The Greek geographer Pausanias (Description of Greece, I.25.8), describes Philopappos’ grand tomb as a monument built for a Syrian man. The monument was built on the same site where Musaios or Musaeus, a 6th-century BC priestly poet and mystical seer, was held to have been buried. The location of this tomb, opposite the Acropolis and within formal boundaries of the city, shows the high position Philopappos had within Athenian society.

In 1898, excavations were carried out at the monument and in 1899 conservation work was undertaken. In 1940, archaeologists H. A. Thompson and J. Travlos conducted small additional excavations. Recent investigations have certified that architectural parts of Philopappos’ Monument were used for construction of the Minaret in the Parthenon. Only two-thirds of the façade remains. The tomb chamber behind the façade is completely destroyed except for the base. The Philopappos Monument was apparently still intact in 1436, when the traveller Ciriaco de' Pizzicolli visited the monument and wrote in his memoirs that the monument was still intact. The destruction of the monument must have occurred after this time. ~wiki

The views from this hill were fantastic. You can truly see how Athens is just a sea of concrete and humanity.

another tourist on the hill

in the foreground is the Acropolis Museum (can you see the people sitting with coffee on the deck?)
further, you can see the Marble Stadium and our CYA building (to the left of the stadium)

my sweet companion

the flowers are starting to come out!

on the way down the hill there is a grotto that was used as a sanctuary of sorts -
there was actually a rather creepy altar set up with offerings the day we were there

you can kinda see that altar in the back...it was covered with fruit, flowers,
and some sweet liquid that was attracting a lot of bees

Zappion and the National Gardens