Athena and Poseidon both want Athens and you get to judge
A scavenger hunt in the Acropolis, Athens, Greece
Made by Mused
The trial begins at the gate.
Welcome, judge. Two gods want Athens and you must weigh their evidence. Athena sprang from the head of Zeus already dressed for battle, and something she never took off was left on the great stairway up to the gateway.
Follow the silver.
You have walked through the Propylaea, the grand gateway to the hill. Athens paid for its buildings with silver coins stamped with Athena's owl, and some of that silver was dropped on the way you just came in.
Her house in marble.
This is the Parthenon, the home of Athena the Maiden. Inside once stood her giant statue holding a great shield, and a copy of that shield was left on the gravel near the trees on the other side of the path.
The sea god answers.
Now Poseidon gets his say, so face the sea he rules, out past the city to the gulf. Storytellers said he gave the horse as well as water, and his horse is waiting somewhere along this walkway.
The gift that grew.
Athena's answer to the salt spring was quieter. She planted the first olive tree, and its fruit gave food, light and oil. The jar that holds her gift is by the old temple, past the porch of the Caryatids.
The last witness.
The Erechtheion kept the signs of both gods, the trident marks and Athena's olive, and the Caryatids hold up its porch. A guardian lived here too, a snake fed with honey cakes, and it slid off behind you to sun itself.
You have weighed every gift and sign, and like the Athenians in the old story, you choose Athena. Poseidon's salt spring was a wonder, but her olive gave the city food, light and oil for its prize jars for centuries. Look around you, because the whole hill is her answer, and it still stands.
Hosted on Spacery