A real premiere

There is a lot more on and around the Acropolis than just the Parthenon.  In particular, the Theatre of Dionysus was an unexpected treat for us.  Not only did it yield a weird/cool sign and the first of what we hope will be many tortoises, but it was also where all the great Greek playwrights -- Euripedes, Sophicles, etc.--premiered their plays.  The theatre was in use for a thousand years, and today large parts of it are still visible, although not exactly in a performance-ready state.

The Theatre of Dionysus from above

What really brought it home was that a few years ago, we saw a performance of The Persians, by Aeschylus, at the Folger theatre in DC.  It's a great play, still topical after 2500 years, and it was rather amazing to realize that the first performance was at this spot in 472 BC, with Pericles in attendance as a leader of Athens.  At the time, the Parthenon was still but a gleam in his eye.