At the site of Aristotle’s Lyceum in Athens

The site was only recently discovered but unfortunately was not open to hoi polloi when I was there. Hence these two through-the-fence shots:

Lyceum-1

The site is on the east side of Rigillis Street, about a kilometer east of the Acropolis. It’s just south of the Byzantine Museum and a neo-classical building that apparently serves a military function.

(Suggestion: do not take pictures of the military building, charming though it may be, or two sturdy, uniformed men will coming running down the street after you and insist, quite firmly, that you delete the photo.)

It felt solemn to actually be where Aristotle thought and taught 2,400 years ago. It also felt abstracted, as only minimal foundations remain of the original living and working structures. And it felt somewhat incongruous, as immediately to the south is a very modern building housing the Athens Conservatory, all of it in the midst of the suburban bustle of contemporary Athens.

Lyceum-2

Sidebar 1: I probably should mention that other guy who founded a pretty important school. Here’s an irreverent selfie at the site of the Academy in Athens. I call this one Hicks and Plato, with a nod to Raphael.

Hicks-Plato-Raphael

Sidebar 2: Discovered on a street in the Plaka neighborhood. Who knew this about Aristotle?

Aristotle-chocolate

1 thought on “At the site of Aristotle’s Lyceum in Athens”

  1. It is not open because our government is a copycat of the values of the West. Which are not (btw) the values of ancient or real Greece.

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