A visit to Athens, Greece

I'm loving Yvonne's Out and About theme at Art Journal Journey this month.  It has given me the opportunity to work in my 7-Continents altered book (AB), a project I started in late 2003 or early 2004.  I am sure many of you long time readers realize I will probably never finish this book, no matter how hard or quickly I work on it.  Having a wonderful theme like Yvonne's allows me to play at Art Journal Journey, as well as work on this often neglected AB.

One would think that since Athens is the largest city in Greece, as well as the capital, there would be more pictures honoring it. 

However, after going through countless, and I do mean COUNTLESS travel magazines, these were the only two I found.

Both images show the porch of the Caryatids at the Erechtheum.  The Erechtheum is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis which was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon.

Both show the "Porch of the Maidens," with six draped female figures acting as columns.  Although only four can be seen in the large image, if you look closely at the smaller image, you see one of the figures in the background.   Unfortunately, the maidens have suffered breakage over the centuries since the Erechtheum was first built between 421 and 406 BC.  In fact, they are really replicas, with five of the originals now located in the Acropolis Museum and one in the British Museum in London.

Athens has a rich and diverse history and many beautiful examples of architecture, including the Parthenon on the Acropolis. 

Materials include a used file folder, various paints for the background, two images of the Porch of the Maidens, one slide mount, one leaf decoration, and computer generated text.

Although I might not say it often enough, I am always grateful for your visit and your comments, too.  Won't you join me at Art Journal Journey to see what others are doing when they go out and about?