The Acropolis at Athens is fantastic. I am not going to give a tour guide of the Acropolis. There are millions of these around, and much better than anything I can ever write.
The shot above was that, of some of the statues at the Erecthion. Apparently, this was the site where Poseidon and Athena had a spot of rivalry to decide who would be the patron of the city. Poseidon's trident caused a spurt of water to spurt. And, when Athena's spear touched the ground, an olive tree sprung up. She won, and Athens is named after her! So now I know the origins of one of the truly fantastic cities in the world.
June is the wrong month to climb up to the Acropolis, unless you are climbing up early in the morning or, late in the evening. I was a puddle of sweat by the time I reached the top. Yet the place was teeming with tourists, all sweating like me. I am Indian, and people normally assume that I would be used to the heat. Yet, I don't like hot weather. I can't stand hot weather and, Athens can get really hot in the summer months.
When I look back on the pictures that I took that day, I realize that they were not such great shots. Which, is a tragedy. A lesson. Photography can never be a rush job. It can never be an activity undertaken when you are cribbing about the heat.
Like all things, mystical or otherwise, greatest achievement is possible only when you are immersed in the act that you forget everything else.
For me, I am pretty sure that the people who built the Acropolis were so totally immersed in their art that they forgot everything else. The result is a monument of lasting beauty.
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