Tarawa (CV 40) - Naval Cruise Book

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J ? f if I l .wt .., Hi Q5 .K 5 li +. l 5 all v Il 'ii i ill: l .l ,.: t 4 amkavs .4 i, . is C23-26 fanuary41949j On Sunday morning, 23 January, the TARAWA cruised slowly into Phaleron Bay fin the Saronic Gulfj and anchored about three miles south of Athens. From our anchorage we could see the mighty range of the Peloponnesian mountains in the distance. Our visit was marred only slightly by the unac- countably bad weather - overcast skies, rough water, and occasional flurries of snow and sleet - which prevailed upon our arrival and continued through the 23rd and 24th. However, if the first two days were made unpleasant by the bad weather, we were amply rewarded by the view which greeted us on the 25th, a beautiful sunny day, the shoreline, the ancient mon- uments silhouetted against the sky, and the range of glistening mountains in the background all combined to make a scene of almost indescribable beauty. l With the city of Athens as the stimuli, we brushed up on our history and learned that Athens is one of the most ancient cities in the world. It has been in- habited uninterruptedly for more than three thousand years. It is the capital of Greece, and her premier city, with a population of about one million people. It is the seat of the government the residence of the king, and the countrys educational and scientific center The city of Athens stands in the middle of the tri angular peninsula known as Attica Two of Athens very characteristic hills attracted our attention, they rose in the middle of the city and were visible from almost everywhere The one, crowned with a fortress like wall and buttresses built on bare rock and bearing on its summit various ancient monuments whose columns could be seen clearly against the sky, was the Acropolis It was the ancient fortress of Attica, its first prehistoric dwelling place, and one of the most important religious and artistic centers of Greece Here, the ancient and very The Parthenon IS a temple of the Dorlc order dedicated to Athena It was constructed of marble from Mount Pentelikon Building operations took fifteen years Q447 432 B CQ In the interior, opposite the main entrance, where there is a rectangular hole and a change of material in the pavement, stood the colossal gold and ivory statue of Athena the Virgin, by the sculptor Phidias. In one of the two great west halls was the Parthenon proper QParthenon is the equivalent of maidensl, from which the whole temple took its name. Here the maidens of Athens possibly prepared various ornaments for the colozsal statue. In the inner west hall were kept the treasures of the temple and the public monies. The other hill, Likavittos, which is the higher of the two, is partly covered by a small pine forest. At the summit one can see the little church of St. George with its tiny belfry. Another very conspicuous landmark is Mount Imittos with its long range extending to the east of Athens and famous for its honey and beautiful sunset colors. To the north of Athens and at a great distance from it, can be seen Mount Parnes, the highest mount of Attica, with its fir tree forests. In the northeast is Mount Pentelikon, known the world over for the snow-white glistening marble extracted from its quarries, which are quite visible as white scars on the mountainside. The landscape of Attica has a beauty all its own which is mainly due to the incomparable harmony of the long chain of mountains drawing their beauti- ful lines in fading shades to the far distance, to the wonderful transparency of the atmosphere, and also to the changing hues which color the landscape, especially in the sunset hours. It is no doubt these elements of simplicity and loftiness in their natural surroundings that inspired the artists of old to create that blend of simplicity and grandeur which is known as Greek art and literature. The Pelagosi and later the Ionians are the people who according to tradition are considered as the earliest inhabitants of Athens Traces of then dwell which seems to have been the11 city and fortress In our transactions ashore we used the Greek drachma which is a unit of currency and can be divided into 100 lepta At the time of our visit the ofliclal rate of exchange was 10000 Greek drachma to the U S dollar For purposes of comparison, it is -f I, f .1 1 ., . . ' 1 i 4 v , Y cfff FQ 3 ' ' ' .J fx ' 1, ' ,ff q iii , . . . r 'lil , fr 5. , fi -Q ' i s ET l. y . a ' 25 ' ' - . ' 1 . . . . . . . . . . . Q . I ' 1 . . pi it - - - -' . . ' . if -ll famous Parthenon is situated in S and f 'H - ' Q - l , M 3. - g orti cations are to be seen on the Acropolis, t g, gy 2 its . . ' . . wif 5, .rx ' f . Fifi? 2 I lil' ' - ' ' 5' . I . I ' ' ' f I' if ' 13 . if SQL X 1-SF f r