The "electric train" runs mostly on the surface, becoming a "scenic line." Starting the view from the wealthy district, just as the classical villas nestled in the greenery stirred my heart, the Athens Olympic Center's "Calatrava"-style sports complex rushed into view. This modern architectural artwork, drawn in steel, made the quaint old houses seem mundane by comparison.
As the graffiti on both sides of the tracks increased, the train carriages gradually became crowded. Well-dressed Greek office workers were surrounded by brown-skinned Asian refugees, proving the fact that "equality in life for everyone is impossible." Approaching Victoria station, the "electric train" finally went underground, becoming a true "subway." Although this station shares the same name as the "Victoria" station on the London Underground, it certainly does not have the reputation of being the "busiest subway station." However, the "Confucius Institute," which entered Athens a couple of years ago, is nearby, and it is likely the easiest place to find Greek students who can speak some Chinese.
The next station, Omonia Square, was the first place where Chinese immigrants settled and hung red lanterns. Over the past twenty years, it has seen the success of many millionaires from Qingtian, Wenzhou, and has also witnessed the hard work and hardships of tens of thousands of Chinese people. In the 1930s, Mr. Luo Niansheng passed through here and left these words in his "Ramblings on Greece": "There are nine goddess statues, and you can see herds of donkeys carrying flowers through the streets from here." Today, neither the goddess statues nor the donkeys exist, and the romantic "Omonia Square" has become a "chaotic colony" for foreigners.
Let me not feel sorry for Mr. Luo just yet; this great scholar of Greek studies must have a more profound interpretation of the ancient Greek philosophical maxim "everything flows." The train passes the Byzantine-era Monastiraki station and enters the territory of Socrates in the ancient Athenian Agora. It is only one stop from here to the Temple of Hephaestus (Thisio), yet it is one of the most charming historical landscapes in Athens. When this railway was expanded in 1985, a corner of an ancient building was demolished. This regret overshadowed that regret.
Piraeus has been a major Mediterranean port since ancient times, and the terminal station being built here has significant importance for shipping and trade. In this foreign port, where only Mr. Luo and Jiao Da were the only Chinese figures in 1934, COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company) obtained a 35-year franchise for Piers 2 and 3 in 2008, with total projected revenue exceeding 2.8 billion euros. In 2011, nearly 100,000 Chinese tourists boarded ships from here to visit Santorini and other islands.
The new Athens Metro, which opened in January of the new millennium, has become a symbol of the city's improved quality of life and international status. The new metro extends from the city center, with the Red Line 2 connecting to the southeastern coast and the Blue Line 3 connecting to the new airport in the northeast. I still remember the advertising slogan for the metro construction: We go further, so that we can bring you closer!
Everyone who has ridden the new Athens Metro has a deep impression of the archaeological artifact exhibitions in the stations, which resemble modern museums. The exhibits include ancient daily necessities unearthed locally, such as amphorae, pottery, and gold jewelry, as well as marble capitals from ancient buildings and stone tablets inscribed with ancient Greek. They are all precious original artifacts. Below each exhibit, there are labels in Greek and English indicating the era and name; some exhibits also have more detailed explanations introducing the economy, politics, religion, and daily life of ancient Greece.
At the famous "Acropolis" station, there is a large sculpture group, which is a replica of the large ancient figure art sculptures on the east pediment of the Parthenon, depicting the "birth" of Athena. On the lowest level, there is also a replica of the frieze on one side of this great temple, depicting the grand scene of the Panathenaic procession held every four years in ancient Athens.
There is also a model of an ancient loom in the "Acropolis" station, made from terracotta loom weights unearthed during excavations. It explains: The life of ancient Athenian women was confined to the home, and weaving was their main work. They not only wove cloth to make clothes for family members but also made linen bed sheets. Several large amphorae in another display case were the main transport vessels in ancient Greece. Ancient Athenians used them to carry wine, olive oil, milk, and honey for maritime economic and trade activities. This peculiar shape was conducive to the efficient use of space when loading ships.
Travel agency guides often say: If you are interested in museums and art galleries, you will definitely fall in love with the Athens Metro. But some people became interested in archaeology and modern art only after visiting the Athens Metro, like me. Taking the "Syntagma" station in the city center as an example, the artwork "The Great Clock" hanging in the center of the hall is shaped like the "Wheel of History," and behind it is a seven-meter-high, forty-meter-long archaeological schematic wall—the Layer of Life.
I also learned later that the city center section of the new Athens Metro project was the largest archaeological excavation project in Greek history and is world-famous. The project covered an area of more than 79,000 square meters and unearthed more than 50,000 ancient artifacts spanning 5,000 years, with the intense excavation work lasting ten years. It not only turned the ancient city walls, ancient river channels, ancient roads, ancient cemeteries, ancient dwellings, ancient utensils, and ancient workshops recorded in historical documents into physical objects, but also unearthed ancient granaries, ancient boundaries, ancient drainage pipes, and even ancient garbage that no one knew about before. The ancient society under the dust of thousands of years met with archaeologists unexpectedly with the roar of excavators. That surprise and pride made the six platforms of the Athens Metro the world's unique museum artifact exhibition halls.
In addition to those six "museum-style" platforms, most other platforms have become stages for Greece's most famous modern artists to showcase their skills. These modern artistic masterpieces represent the new views and philosophies of Greek artists on life and society. The sculpture "Four-Colored Large Handprints" by female artist Sarantopoulou warns people that "the city accommodates different races." Only time will tell when it will also become a "historical relic."