Hellenic getaway! A tribute to Goddess Athena!

Day 1- Athens!! I will associate Athens with the word plunder from now on. It's a lot like India in my opinion. For a kingdom that was under a democratic rule for eons, it showed so much promise and progress. But such prosperity comes with its level of peril. The visit to the Acropolis was such a moving experience for me. One, I was denied a visa into this country-the only country ever to do so. So, all the more, I wanted to come here. Second, the Parthenon atop the Acropolis was so majestic and imperial in its structure. You could not, but admire its sheer enormity. The construction of this was completed in 430 BC. That blows my mind that we are able to see this monument from thousands of years ago!!! It also shows just how minuscule you are in the world. Third, it made me very sad. Persians, Brits, and many more plundered this prosperous empire leaving it demolished and torn in its wake. Britains Lord Elgin as late as the 1800s took some of Greece's most precious artifacts which till today are showcased in London's museum. Such wondrous works of art has no one to protect it from such plunder. I sensed a bitterness and a desolate tone of our tour guide when she described the state of the Acropolis and the country's inability to fix it. In all this, a thought came to mind. It's about time England did good for all the plunder....time to return what rightfully belongs to each country. Return the cartyids back. Return the parthenons sculptures. For India, they sure can't bring back the lives lost during the Jalianwallah Bagh massacre, but they can surely return our artifacts and the KOHINOOR.