Athens, Temple of Olympian Zeus and The Arch of Hadrian

I am putting both of these ancient sights together because they were built so close together and they were finished by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, he admired Greece greatly and wanted Athens to be the cultural capital of the Roman Empire.

Ruins of the Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Temple sits on top of another ancient sanctuary dedicated to Zeus, after it's destruction 2 sons started to build one of the largest temples in Antiquity in 520BC, but with the fall of their tyranny and the advent of Athenian Democracy the building stopped and was left unfinished for 336 years.  Then a crazy Seleucid King who thought he was the earthly embodiment of Zeus restarted the works with a new architectural plan in 174BC, work stopped at his death in 164 BC, it was half completed.  It was finally completed by Emperor Hadrian in 132 AD, some 300 years later, taking over 600 years to complete, talk about a big UFO (for my sewing buddies). It was badly damaged and sacked in 267 and was never rebuilt.  The ruins are massive and if you use a little imagination you can just picture how big this Temple would have been.  In the picture above you can see the Acropolis in the background.

Arch of Hadrian, just outside the iron fence of the Temple of Zeus

This is right on a major road, Amalias Avenue, it is like a Roman Triumphal Arch and is dedicated to Hadrian by the Athenian Panhellenes, built around the same time that the Temple of Zeus was finished around 132AD.
All of the major sights of Athens are within easy walking distance to each other, especially if you are staying in Plaka or Monastiraki areas, or just down from Syntagma metro station.  The entrance fee for the Acropolis can also get you into the Temple, you can get this ticket at the front gate to the Temple if you go there first.

History of Map Making

CARTOGRAPHY- The art or technique of making maps or charts.

Did you know that this word is Greek, it derives from the word χάρτης (written in greek) -khartēs (sounds like), "map" (means); and γράφειν (greek) graphein (sounds like), "write"( means).  Everything in Greece is backwards so it basically means write map!
A Greek man by the name of Anaximander is considered by many to be the first mapmaker, a philosopher who lived between 610 - 546 BC.

A possible rendering of his map, libya is Africa's old name

 I personally love maps, and am so glad we have gone from thinking that the world is a flat circular surface with only a few places to travel, to seeing Earth from Space and all of the beautiful places out there.

"The Blue Marble"

A map on a main road in Corfu, Greece

Kalami, Corfu, Greece

 I especially find maps helpful while traveling and some places are great at telling you where you are, one such place is Corfu, a beautiful island in Greece.  Corfu is located on the west side of Mainland Greece and is a quick ferry ride (1 1/2 hours) from Igoumenitsa, or you could fly there direct from any number of large cities in Europe.

Just in case your lost, my son will show you the way.

Maps have gone a long way from being drawings on caves and I for one and happy to have the benefit of such a useful instrument.