Where the Apostle Paul stood

Imagine being a goat herder in the first century A.D. and, with tremulous curiosity, entering Athens for the first time. It must have been a terrifying sight. The 6-story columns at the Temple of Olympian Zeus alone would send me back to the safety of my backcountry hut. Athenians at the time were falling over themselves to pay respects to Zeus, Athena, Poseidon and the other gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus. Zeus could issue thunderclaps and set the sky ablaze with streaks of lightning. Athena was a font of wisdom and good counsel. Hades kept a three-headed dog. They could all kick your ass.

So imagine the audacity it took for St. Paul to set foot in Athens in 51 A.D., stand on Aeropagus Rock, below, and issue his "Men of Athens" speech, recounted in the Bible's Book of Acts. "I see that you are very religious," he began, going on to suggest their worship was misplaced. My god is neither brutal nor jealous; give him a try. I'm kind of surprised he made it out alive. Pilgrims from around the world continue to climb atop the slippery rock to sing hymns and pray.

From here I hunted down the legendary lamb chops at Το Στέκι Του Ηλία (Επταχάλκου 5). Hot off the coals, they made for the best meal of my trip thus far. Do not miss this place.

And no, you may not.

There is a lot of idle chatter on the intertubes about how Athens is a shithole, Europe's ugliest capital, and on and on. Please don't fall for this nonsense. It is no tarted-up toy town, but it has a wonky dynamism that is fast making it one of my very favorite places on the continent. It is, as the writer Naguib Mahfouz famously said of Cairo, "like meeting your beloved in her old age." Or to put it another way, like finding an onion ring in a bag of fries.

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Parting observations

The city has a lovely, decaying quality — both doomed and beautiful. I suspect that inheritors of many properties are waiting for just the right offer. Athens is the size of Chicago but in many ways remains a village. As for the rest of Greece? After emerging from bankruptcy, it is back in the EU's good graces. Yet prices are uncomfortably high, tax evasion is real problem, and people continue to arrive on little boats. The capital is an intoxicating place. Waiting for an elevator that is just wide enough for my elbows, I hear Arabic and Indian music leaking from my neighbors' doors. I want so much for them to invite me inside, offer me tea and an uncommon biscuit. Yes, I have an active fantasy life. So many dogs to pet! I home in on the handsomest breed, telling this guy his beagle was well-marked. "Thank you. But he is a little crazy." You don't say! Half the traffic in the city center involves small-displacement motorcycles carrying puffy tourquoise food...

Plateia Syntagma

I came to Athens' busiest square only to find out where the X95 bus left for the airport. While I was here, a changing of the guard broke out in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Parliament building. I had a passing familiarity with the evzone soldiers' fustanella skirts (400 pleats ― one for each year under Turkish rule) and pompommed shoes, but the slow high-kick choreography? No, I was not prepared for this level of Balkan/oriental strangeness. Two and half weeks ago this was the site of a pitched battle as police dodged firebombs during a protest over soaring energy costs. Greek politics are wild. Check out Costa-Gavras' 1969 movie "Z" if you haven't already. It's in French for some reason. Anyway, if you have an early flight, here's where to catch the bus. (The metro doesn't start running till 5 a.m. and a taxi ride before then will cost $70.) A guy in this kiosk will sell you a ticket for 6E or so. It's in front of the Chin...

336 hours in Athens

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