Plenty of Nothing

The Philopassos Monument, 1794

The monument to Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos, prince of Commagene, occupies the peak of Mousaion Hill overlooking Athens. Pausanius mentions the tomb in his guide. Some of its stone was removed to build the minaret on the Acropolis in Ottoman days. Source.

The Palace of St Michael and St George

The Palace of St Michael and St George, Corfu, c. 1830, by Joseph Schranz. From 1815 to 1864 some of the Greek islands formed a British protectorate grandly named the United States of the Ionian Islands, for whose government this palace was completed in 1824. Today it houses the Corfu Museum of Asian Art. Source. Also.

Acropolis Palace

Following the creation of the Kingdom of Greece in 1832, Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel drew up plans for a royal palace on the Acropolis. It was never built, but he is the man behind the Altes Museum in Berlin, where the Germans show off their Greek antiquities. Source.

Temple of Olympian Zeus, 1833

A view of Athens painted by Johann Michael Wittmer in 1833. In the middle distance are the remains of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, with a stylite's cell, later removed, still perched on top. The middle one of those three pillars later blew down in a storm. Source.

Bitten by a Macaque

King Alexander of Greece died on this date in 1920 after having been bitten by a macaque. Source.

Acropolis, 1865

Daguerreotype by Philippos Margaritis of the Acropolis in 1865, showing the medieval Frankish tower. Source.

Parthenon, 1869

Study of the Parthenon, 1869, by Sanford Robinson Gifford. Source.

Praying Hands, Athens

Source.

National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Source. The British talk about there being no place in Athens to put the Elgin Marbles. Wrong.

Mastic

Resin from the mastic trees of Chios has been used as a breath freshener for millenia.