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Culture
Athens probably has the most long-standing and impressive cultural heritage of any city in Europe. However, this pedigree is not confined to past greatness – the city has a number of international performance groups and a continued enthusiasm for the arts is expressed annually at the Athens Festival. In 1985, Athens became the first European City of Culture. The idea to showcase the cultural achievements of cities around the continent was conceived by Melina Mercouri, a Greek actress turned politician.
In addition to the venues detailed below, a variety of English-language cultural events are also on offer at the British Council, Kolonáki Square 17 (tel: 210 369 2333; fax: 210 363 4769; website: www.britishcoucil.gr), or at the Hellenic American Union, Massalías 22 (tel: 210 368 0000; website: www.hau.gr).
During the summer, tickets for all performances included within the Athens Festival and the Athens International Jazz and Blues Festival are sold at the Athens Festival Box Office, Stadiou 4 (tel: 210 322 1459; website: www.greekfestival.gr). Tickets to other cultural events are available for purchase direct from the venue box offices.
Metropolitan Radio Athens (98.4FM) broadcasts a listing of cultural events in English daily at 0730 and 2030.
Music: Many tavernas, particularly in the Pláka, put on music and dance shows at night. Most shows are designed for tourists but are lively and entertaining nonetheless. The more authentic Greek music in Athens consists of dhimotiká – folk songs accompanied by guitar, clarinet and violin – and rembétika. The latter is a kind of Greek blues, developed by refugees from Asia Minor in the 1920s. The music combines Middle Eastern and Greek influences and the lyrics deal with the lives of the city’s poor and outcast.
The city’s major orchestra is Athens State Orchestra, who hold many of their performances at the Mégaron Mousikis Athenon (Athens Concert Hall), Leofóros Vassilissis Sofías (tel: 210 728 2333; website: www.megaron.gr). This modern venue hosts ballet, opera and classical music events, as well as conferences and exhibitions. The main auditorium seats 2000 and there is also a 500-seat recital hall named after the Greek conductor and composer Dimitri Mitropoulos. The Greek National Opera (website: www.nationalopera.gr) is based at the Olympia Theatre, Akadimias 59-61 (tel: 210 361 2461), which also hosts operas and musical events performed by touring companies and musicians.
Theatre: The tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripedes, and the comedies of Aristophanes represent the highpoints of ancient Greek theatre and heralded the birth of Western drama. The original performances were held in the Théatro Dionysou (Theatre of Dionysos), on the southern slopes of the Acropolis. This stone auditorium, from the fourth century BC, held 17,000 spectators and remains one of the most atmospheric of Athens’ ancient sites. The ruins are open daily 0830-1430. Nearby, the Odion Iródou Attikou (Odeon of Herod Atticus) is a Roman theatre from the second century AD, also known as the Herodeion (tel: 210 722 7209). The auditorium is usually only open on summer evenings for the Athens Festival, when it provides an impressive setting for performances of music and classical drama. The outdoor Lykavittós theatre, on Lykavittós Hill (tel: 210 722 7209), hosts a range of plays and concerts throughout the summer.
The National Theatre of Greece (tel: 210 528 8100; website: www.national-theater.gr) encompasses five theatre groups: the Central Theatre (Kentriki Skini), the New Theatre (Nea Skini) and the Experimental Theatre, all of which are based at Agiou Konstantinou 24-26, as well as the Kotopouli-Rex Theatre and the Katina Paxinou Children’s Theatre, both of which are based at Panepistimiou 48.
Altogether, there are around 50 theatres in Athens performing between October and May. However, visitors without fluent Greek may be restricted to the English-language performances of touring companies.
Dance: The Dora Stratou Dance Theatre (tel: 210 324 4395) was founded 35 years ago, by a dancer and devotee of Greek folk culture. Each evening May-Sep, the troupe – dressed in traditional costume – puts on a show of exuberant Greek song and dance at an open-air theatre on Filopáppou (Philopapps Hill), opposite the Acropolis. The National Ballet Company also perform in the Olympia Theatre (see Music above).
Film: Athens may not be Hollywood but, with hundreds of traditional and modern cinemas throughout the city, the Greek capital is an excellent place to see a film. Many are closed in summer when dozens of open-air screens take over to create impromptu cinemas, such as Cine Pallini, Venizelou 3 and Marathonos Aveneu, Pallini (tel: 210 666 6815/284), which provides chairs and tables in a garden setting, and Thission, Paylou 7, Thissio (tel: 210 347 0980 or 342 0864), with a view of the Acropolis. Asty, Korai 4, off Panepistimou, shows arthouse movies. About 90% of films are shown in the original language. The local press provides listings of English-language films.
One of the most respected Greek film directors is Theo Angelopoulos whose credits include the 1995 film, To Vlemma tou Odyssea (Ulysses’ Gaze), starring Harvey Keitel. His 1998 film, Mia Aioniotita ke Mia Mera (Eternity and a Day), won the Palme D’Or at the 51st Cannes Film Festival. Other directors to watch out for are Michael Cacoyannis – director of Zorba the Greek (1962) – Alexis Damianos, Kostas Ferris, Pandelis Voulgaris, Tonia Marketaki and Nikos Panayotopoulos.
Cultural events: The Athens Festival (website: www.greekfestival.gr) takes place every summer (June to September). This major international festival was inaugurated in 1955 and combines music, modern and classical theatre, and contemporary and traditional dance. Venues for the festival are the Roman Odeon of Herod Atticus, the open-air theatre on Lykavittós Hill, the Veákio amphitheatre in Piraeus and the amphitheatre at Epidaurus. The Athens Festival box office, Stadiou 4 (inside the arcade) (tel: 210 322 1459), is open Monday-Friday 0900-1600 and Saturday 0900-1430. Unsold tickets are available from 1800 at the Odeon of Herod Atticus box office on the evening of the performance. The Athens International Jazz and Blues Festival takes place in June – tickets are available from the Athens Festival box office.
Literary Notes
This classical city is most closely revisited through the classical authors. Of particular interest are The Histories (fifth century BC) by Herodotus, The Rise and Fall of Athens (first century) by Plutarch, and History of the Peloponnesian War (fifth century BC) by Thucydides.
The Greek myths provide an essential background to the achievements of Classical Athens – the most celebrated sources being the Iliad and the Odyssey (ninth century BC) by Homer, as well as works by Hesiod. Classical drama is at its best on stage but is also available to read in translation. Some of the most important works include the tragedies: Prometheus Bound and the Oresteia (fifth century BC) trilogy by Aeschylus, Antigone, Oedipus Rex and Electra (fifth century BC) by Sophocles, Trojan Women and Iphigeneia in Taurus (fifth century BC) by Euripedes; and the comedies: The Frogs and The Birds (fifth century BC) by Aristophanes.
More recent accounts of the city include The Longest Night – Chronicles of a Dead City (1985), a collection of stories by Petros Haris evoking the atmosphere in Athens during World War II. The Noble Prize winner, Odysseus Elytis, died in Athens in 1996. His poems can be read in English in The Collected Poems of Odysseus Elytis.
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General
