Piraeus, Greece

Sunday, April 10, 2011  66 degrees                                         7:00 AM – 5:00 PM

When sailing in the restricted waters of the Greek Islands the navigators use parallel index lines to assist in monitoring the ship’s position.  These are electronic lines placed on the radar parallel to the ship’s track and at a distance equal to that of the land. 

Piraeus is a city in the periphery of Attica, Greece, located south of Athens and the capital of the Piraeus Prefecture.   If Athens represents the Greek soul, Piraeus harbor is its heartbeat.  It was the port of the ancient city of Athens, and was chosen to serve as the modern port when Athens was re-founded in 1834.  It remains a major shipping and industrial center.  It consists of a rocky promontory, containing three natural harbors, a large one on the northwest, which is an important commercial harbor for the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and two smaller ones used for naval purposes.  The port serves ferry routes to almost every island in the eastern portion of Greece, the island of Crete, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, and much of the northern and the eastern Aegean.  The name Piraeus roughly means “the place over the passage”.

The urban sprawl of Greece’s capital surrounds an inner historic core overlooked by the imposing temples of the Acropolis and the hills of Attica.  Despite its size, Athens retains a village charm, with little squares shaded by palm trees, cafes and tavernas at every corner and pots of geraniums growing on apartment balconies.

Atop the Acropolis, the Parthenon is a majestic sight.  Below it is the picturesque Plaka where tourists and Athenians alike flock to soak up the thriving outdoor café culture.

The Port of Piraeus, Greece

The Acropolis is a mighty rock formation standing 230 feet above the city.  Admire the Parthenon, built atop the Acropolis to house the long vanished statue of the goddess Athena Parthenos, and still amazing in its grace despite the ravages of time and the loss of the Elgin Marbles.  You also see the Temple of Zeus, the Temple of the Wingless Victory and Hadrian’s Arch – a magnificent list of treasures from the Classical age.



Unbelievable to bungy jump in canal.



Corinth Canal

We went on a shore excursion”Ancient Corinth and Canal”.    Corinth is an ancient city about 48 miles west of Athens on a narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnese to the mainland of Greece.  It played a major role in the missionary work of the Apostle Paul.  Temple of Apollo constructed in 550 BC at the height of the city’s wealth.  A canal through the isthmus of Corinth was begun under the Emperor Nero in 67 AD but the canal was not completed.  In 1822 Corinth returned to Greece hands and in 1893 a 4 mile Corinth canal was finally completed providing an essential shipping route between the Ionian and Aegean seas.  The canal is 70 feet wide and has sloping sides 170 feet in height. 



Temple of Apollo



The baths with the fountain of Peirene

In the museum

Our next stop was ancient Corinth.  The ruins that lie in this area are a surprising mix of an ancient 6^th Century BC Greek City and a 44 BC Roman city – the latter was built after Julius Caesar placed a colony on the desolate site.  The most notable ruin is the Temple of Apollo.  We viewed the elaborate fountain of Peirene in the Roman Forum where St. Paul had to plead his case in front of the Roman governor Gallio in 52 AD.  We enjoyed a 1 hour drive along the coast back to the ship.